"What are you doing?!" An angry shout pierced the air.
"Kid, get down here this instant!"
The surrounding crowd erupted in commotion, and the security guards shouted in panic.
But it was already too late to stop him. Gu Chen had already stepped onto the stage, kicked the host aside, and gripped the priceless raw stone tightly in his hand.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" Xu Zhongwen was stunned at first, then burst out laughing. "Young Master Gu, are you going to commit robbery in broad daylight?"
Gu Chen's gaze turned cold as he flipped the raw stone over in his hand. "This jadeite raw stone had a starting price of ten million. Its quality must be excellent, right?"
"There should be some assurance of that." An elderly woman in fine clothes spoke before Xu Zhongwen could. "A raw stone at that price must have undergone a preliminary appraisal. Its quality surely can't be poor."
"Good." Gu Chen held the raw stone aloft. "In that case, there should at least be green inside this stone!"
"There should be." The elderly woman nodded. She was only an antique enthusiast and had not taken part in the bidding.
"Then I'll split it open right here and let everyone have a look!" Gu Chen sneered.
"You have no right to cut the stone!" Xu Zhongwen's face changed drastically as he shouted, "This raw stone hasn't been sold yet!"
"That's not for you to decide." Gu Chen ignored him completely and began exerting force on the raw stone with both hands.
"You think you can break it open?" Xu Zhongwen stared in astonishment, then roared with laughter. "Young Master Gu, do you think you're Superman?"
But the laughter stopped abruptly. In Gu Chen's hands, the raw stone was torn apart like tofu!
Everyone stared with their mouths agape!
What kind of strength was that?!
Cutting a raw stone required skill, but Gu Chen, like a raging bull, crudely tore it apart, shattering its edges!
Then came an even more shocking sight. Gu Chen threw the two halves of the raw stone to the ground and stomped them into powder!
"It's an ordinary stone!"
"It's not a raw stone at all!"
Gasps and cries of shock rang out all around. The raw stone, which had started at ten million and reached a bid of twenty-four million, was actually worthless!
Gu Chen stared coldly at Xu Zhongwen. "Boss Xu, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Xu Zhongwen's face turned ashen, but he stubbornly retorted, "What does this have to do with me? It only shows that the Treasure Gathering Studio was careless. You brat, you've been targeting me at every turn. What exactly are you playing at?"
"Boss Xu, your talent for playing dumb is truly second to none!" Gu Chen's voice was icy. "Since you refuse to see reason, I'll show you something else!"
With that, Gu Chen walked over to the auction table and picked up a booklet. The host tried to stop him, but Gu Chen sent him flying with a kick, leaving him howling in pain.
Gu Chen ignored him entirely, opened the booklet, and found a page to show everyone. "This is nothing but an ordinary stone picked up by the roadside. It says here quite clearly that Boss Xu only delivered it to the Treasure Gathering Studio this afternoon. Boss Xu, I didn't read that wrong, did I?"
"You conspired to cheat us?" The elderly woman who had spoken earlier rose to her feet in shock, her expression one of disbelief.
She was not the only one. Everyone else was dumbstruck too. The Treasure Gathering Studio was a leading name in Zhou City's antique trade, yet it dared to pull a stunt like this!
Gu Beichi came to his senses as if waking from a dream and glared at Xu Zhongwen. "Boss Xu, I trusted you so much, yet this is how you treat me!"
"Fuck!"
Seeing that the scheme had been exposed, Xu Zhongwen dropped his mask and sneered. "Gu Beichi, who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing but a castoff of the Gu Family! If you'd obediently bought it today, that would have been the end of it. But you sent your son to make trouble and made me lose face, so don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Xu Zhongwen thought this had to be Gu Beichi's scheme. After all, Gu Chen was just a young man in his early twenties. How could he have such cunning?
Gu Beichi was furious. "You're shameless!"
Xu Zhongwen scoffed. "Business is a battlefield, and besides, I was never an ordinary businessman. Boss Gu, the stone was mine, and your son destroyed it. For the sake of our friendship, I'll give you a discount: twenty-five million, not a penny less!"
"You want money for that lousy stone? Dream on!"
Enraged, Gu Beichi flung the dragon-shaped jade pendant back, then turned to Gu Chen. "Son, let's go!"
"Hmph!" Xu Zhongwen waved a hand, and several burly men suddenly rushed out and surrounded Gu Beichi.
"You think you can destroy someone's property and just leave? Not so easy!" Xu Zhongwen said viciously. "Boss Gu, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. If you want to eat without paying, you've come to the wrong place!"
Now that they had torn all pretense away, Xu Zhongwen's true nature was exposed. He was a man of the underworld to begin with, and the burly men rubbed their fists, brimming with killing intent!
The guests all fled, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
"Don't be afraid!"
After Gu Chen came down, Gu Beichi shielded him behind his back and patted his shoulder to comfort him. Then he roared, "Zhao Junchuan, are you running a crooked shop or committing robbery?"
Zhao Junchuan, the owner of the Treasure Gathering Studio, was a short, slightly plump middle-aged man. Hearing Gu Beichi's angry shout, he emerged unhurriedly from behind a roll-up curtain at the side.
"Boss Gu, if you destroy someone else's property, it's only right that they ask you to pay for it. We're all businessmen here, so let's not make things too ugly. Twenty-five million is a small sum for you, Boss Gu. Just pay it."