Since Guo Jiuxiao needed black crystal pear ore, Qin Siyang certainly would not let him get it easily.
Still, Qin Siyang intended to watch a little longer. Guo Jiuxiao had only made one bid so far. Entering too early would keep Qin Siyang from maximizing his gains.
"Twenty Gold Coins," bid Wang Xuzuo, head of the Wang Family.
"Twenty-five Gold Coins."
As soon as Wang Xuzuo finished speaking, Ulit, Leader of the Three Harmonies Church, followed with his bid.
"Thirty."
"Thirty-five."
More and more people joined the bidding. Representatives from every faction spoke up, sparking a small surge of excitement as the highest bid kept climbing. Although Qin Siyang had never known anything about black crystal pear ore, he could tell that it was indeed a valuable material, and that the reserve price set by the Three Major Merchants' Associations was probably far below market value.
The price of the black crystal pear ore soared. Once it passed sixty Gold Coins, the bidding began to slow noticeably. The shrewd faction leaders started calculating their costs and potential returns. Realizing there was little profit left at the current price, they backed down one after another and withdrew from the competition.
Only a handful of university professors and Research Institute researchers kept going.
"Seventy-eight!"
"Seventy-nine!"
"Eighty... eighty Gold Coins!" An elderly professor with graying hair spoke in a trembling voice, clearly nearing his limit.
The researchers gritted their teeth and raised their bids one Gold Coin at a time. Each bid felt like cutting away a piece of their own flesh, yet they still refused to bow out.
Apparently, the lack of black crystal pear ore had become a bottleneck in some crucial research of theirs. Now that an actual supply had appeared, they would not let it slip away, even if