Max and Sophia waited patiently until everyone had settled down after the brief intermission.
"The next item we will be presenting is food processors," Sophia said, as the guards brought a machine that looked like a vending machine and placed it on the stage.
As soon as the announcement was made murmurs began to start in the audience.
without minding the noise Sophia continued
The food processor work entirely on the monster core and the ship captains just have to place the wood they have with them in the inlet present on the top.
Max, who was beside Sophia, quickly grabbed a monster core and placed it in the marked area at the center of the machine. He then took some wood from the inventory and started feeding it into the machine through the top inlet.
The machine then lighted up 3 options of brown bread, white bread and golden bread.
Max selected three of the options, and the machine started working with a slight shaking. Within a few seconds, the shaking stopped, and three loaves of bread, enough for one person to eat, were ejected from the bottom outlet.
Max carefully took the bread from the outlet, placed it on the plate, and began presenting it to the audience. Then, he picked up one of the pieces of bread from the plate, removed the paper wrapping, and started eating it in front of everyone.
Max found the brown bread acceptable to eat, though it had a smell like burnt wood. He then picked up the white bread, which was soft with no smell, unlike the brown bread. He tasted it and found it was just like soft bread, explaining this to the audience. Finally, he tried the golden bread, which made his tongue savor the richness of the flour. Unable to resist, he began eating it greedily.
Everyone was astonished to see him devour the golden bread greedily, leaving some to wonder if it was all part of an act.
Seeing everyone looking at him in wonder, Max realized that many had misunderstood, so he took a step forward and spoke.
"Many might be wondering, seeing me eat so greedily, if it was part of an act, but I assure you, I simply got carried away after tasting the golden bread and ate without restraint. To prove I wasn't acting, I'd like to invite a few members of the audience to come and try the bread to clear up any misunderstanding," Max spoke.
Soon, ten members from different seating arrangements were selected based on the recommendation of the audience, which helped prove that the decision wouldn't be rigged.
Max placed a monster core in the power supply chamber and instructed them to insert the wood blocks into the inlet, then asked them to select the three types of bread in order.
Soon, everyone received a plate with three different kinds of bread, and Max asked them to begin tasting with the brown bread.
All of them are well-known captains with a good amount of money, so they smelled the bread but didn't want to eat it. However, after some persuasion from the audience, they took a small bite and set it aside.
Then they honestly admitted that the bread was a bit hard to eat because of its smell and texture. They picked up the white bread, smelled it, and found it had the aroma of freshly baked bread. They started tasting it in small bites but soon ate more than they had of the brown bread, saying it was good and similar to bread made from flour.
Then came the third and final bread, golden in color, tempting many who could barely resist the urge to eat it just by its appearance, yet they stubbornly held back. Max, understanding their predicament, gave them permission to eat and offered an honest reply.
As soon as they were given permission to eat, the judges immediately tore the paper and dug into the soft golden bread without lifting their heads, eating just as Max had, which made everyone dispel any doubts about Max acting to raise the cost of the product.
Only after tasting the bread did they remember they were there to judge, so they gave a good reply with an awkward expression on their face.
Everyone in the audience started laughing after seeing their awkward faces, but the judges who had come weren't shy, as they felt it was worth a try to eat at least once in a lifetime.
When they were asked to return to their seats, they unanimously requested Max to give them a five-minute break so they could gather enough money before the auction of the item began.
Max reassured them that he would give enough time to gather the money and hurriedly sent them back to their seats.
Sophia then announced as she watched the audience settle back into their seats, "As you have seen, our auction house has dispelled the doubts. Now, we will make an important announcement."
This machine is the pro series of the standard version, capable of producing brown bread and white bread separately. These breads are sold in the merchant guild, and purchasing can begin once the island ocean monster siege is over.
The premium version will also be sold, but the release date will be pushed back by a month or two. Before the product hits the market, people interested in trying the golden bread can start bidding. The island lord has granted automatic permission to open a stall for selling the bread in the market until the production of the premium machines is confirmed.
Buy now, start your business in the city, and earn enough to upgrade your ship. Embark on an adventure without worrying about having sufficient firepower or defense!
Now we will take a five-minute break at the request of a few people who needed time to collect money.
As murmurs spread, the five-minute countdown ticked away. Max clapped to gather the audience's attention and announced that the time was up, and the item was ready for auction.
"The starting price of the item is one gold coin, and the increment should be no less than one gold coin," Sophia declared, igniting a frenzy as the auction began.
Bids started coming in small amounts, but suddenly, a bid that jumped by 1,000 gold coins silenced the entire crowd.
Then, as if on cue, the bids increased irregularly by 200 to 500 gold coins, eventually stopping at 3400 gold coins. Sophia asked if there were any further bids and, after confirming the amount the person had with him, declared him the winner of the bid.