The call ended with a quiet, "Understood," and the room felt several degrees colder.
[Thrum…]
Warning: Board Pressure / Consignor Threat
Timer: 00:20:00
Penalty on Failure: Survival −6%
Adrian Vale stepped back to the rostrum microphone, his face an unreadable mask of professional composure. "After consultation, Lot Seven will be re-presented for bidding," he announced, his voice cutting through the tense silence. "The condition addendum will be read aloud in its entirety and entered into the permanent record. No physical exchanges of the lot or its tray are permitted during this session. The floor will remain open for procedural questions."
[Ding!]
Event: Lot 7 Conditionally Reinstated (Disclosure Read)
Status:
- Survival Probability: 59%
Sub-Objectives:
- Enforce no-tray-exchange rule (on record)
- Read condition addendum aloud
The auctioneer, with a slightly strained smile, read the dry, technical language of the addendum—the dye pooling, the tool marks, the chain-of-custody anomaly. Each word hung in the air, a stain on the lot's perfection. Then the bidding opened.
The first bid came from Row A, from the man in the impossibly perfect tuxedo. It was too clean, too fast, as if rehearsed. Elara let the number hang in the air, feeling the room's pulse. Then she raised her paddle, not with the expected increment, but with an odd, uneven number that broke the rhythm. Across the aisle, the woman on the phone—Seat 12—her gaze flicked not to the jade, but to the auctioneer's mouth, waiting for the translated number. There was a slight delay, a heartbeat of latency as the instruction was relayed, then her bid mirrored the increment exactly.
Elara raised again, this time jumping a larger, more aggressive sum, throwing the cadence further off. She watched the shill in Row A hesitate, his eyes darting toward the consignor's lawyer for a split second before he bid. The buoy was sloshing in the wake she was creating.
[Ding!]
Event: Male Lead Interaction (On Site)
Status:
- Attention: 28/100 → 31/100 (Δ +3)
- Survival Probability: 59% → 58% (Δ −1%)
Note: Prolonged scrutiny increases risk.
She could feel Adrian's gaze on her, intense and analytical. He wasn't watching the bids; he was watching her strategy.
"Point of inquiry to the rostrum," Elara said, her voice clear and calm, her paddle still raised. "For the absolute clarity of the record: Can the house confirm whether the bidder in Row A and the party represented in Phone Seat Twelve are serviced by the same agent or agency?"
A murmur swept the room. The auctioneer's smile vanished. He leaned down as a clerk whispered urgently in his ear. The pause was telling. "The house acknowledges… a representation overlap is under review," the auctioneer said tightly. "Bidding continues."
But the damage was done. The synchronized bidding stuttered, the connection severed by the spotlight of scrutiny. The shill in Row A looked visibly uncomfortable, and the phone agent in Seat 12 suddenly became very interested in her program.
[Ding!]
Event: Side Mission — Expose Shill Bidder — COMPLETED
Status:
- Survival Probability: 58% → 64% (Δ +6%)
At the side desk, a clerk discreetly raised a small red flag, tapping a screen. The word COMPLIANCE lit up on an internal monitor like a silent alarm.
[Ding!]
Event: Compliance Review Initiated
Status:
- Survival Probability: 64% → 67% (Δ +3%)
Note: Representation overlap flagged for internal audit.
With the artificial inflation exposed, the bidding stalled at a figure far below the expected hammer price. The consignor's lawyer, his face pale with fury, touched his earpiece and gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
From the phone bank, a new, authoritative voice entered the fray, placing a bid so high it was a blatant knockout blow, designed to end the charade and reclaim control.
All eyes turned to Adrian Vale. As acting CEO, he had to rule on the validity of the bid amidst a live compliance review. To accept it could be seen as condoning the very manipulation he was supposed to police. To halt the sale now would be a direct declaration of war against powerful consignors and a nervous board.
Adrian drew a slow, deliberate breath, his gaze locking with Elara's for a fleeting moment before he turned to the auctioneer. The entire room held its breath, waiting for his verdict.