The garden, moments ago filled with disbelief, now turned tense with anticipation.
Silas's words echoed like a ceremonial bell.
"Bidding begins."
Hector Vane moved first.
"Five lakhs."
Leonard Crowe scoffed.
"Ten."
The numbers climbed rapidly—cold, sharp, merciless.
"Twenty lakhs."
"Thirty."
"Fifty."
The old men who once mocked PK now leaned forward, eyes burning with hunger. What they had witnessed was no longer medicine—it was life itself.
"One crore," Hector said calmly, as if testing the waters.
The air thickened.
Leonard didn't hesitate.
"Two."
Hector's jaw tightened.
"Five."
The garden fell silent.
The bidding accelerated violently.
"Eight crores."
"Twelve."
"Fifteen."
"Eighteen."
Even Riya found herself gripping the armrest.
"Twenty crores," Hector declared, his voice heavy.
Leonard laughed—sharp, aggressive.
"Twenty-five."
A brief pause.
Then—
"Thirty crores."
Silence.
Hector Vane clenched his fists. His pride screamed, but logic held him back. Thirty crores for a single bottle—no matter how miraculous—was already madness.
Leonard exhaled slowly.
"No further bids."
Silas looked around once more.
"Sold."
All eyes shifted to PK.
PK turned calmly toward Silas.
"Grandpa Silas," he said evenly, "since Leonard won, give him the medicine water."
Silas hesitated.
This was not something he wanted to hand over lightly.
PK added quietly, "I'll prepare another one for you later."
That single sentence tipped the scale.
Silas nodded.
He handed the bottle to Leonard.
Leonard accepted it with visible satisfaction, his fingers gripping it like treasure. Yet greed didn't stop there.
"And the sleeping spray?" Leonard asked bluntly.
PK's gaze snapped to him—cold and sharp.
"No."
Leonard frowned.
"What do you mean no?"
PK replied flatly,
"You bid for the medicine water. You got the medicine water."
The words landed like a slap.
Leonard's face darkened.
"You're playing with me, boy."
PK didn't flinch.
"You're free to think that," he said calmly. "But rules are rules."
The tension spiked.
Before Leonard could say more, Henry Law cleared his throat.
"PK," he said carefully, "is there… another way for us to obtain this medicine?"
Hector Vane nodded as well, swallowing his pride.
"Yes," Hector added. "Name your conditions."
PK finally stood up.
His presence felt heavier than before.
"There is a way," PK said slowly.
All eyes locked onto him.
"But it won't be through money alone."
The silence that followed was sharper than any threat.
And for the first time that night, the giants of Z City realized—
They were no longer bidding against each other.
They were negotiating with PK.