Chapter 509 Attending the Auction
Originally, Dennis was supposed to foot the bill for this meal, but Valentin, with his considerable wealth, waved his hand and generously covered the over ten thousand dollars in dining expenses. His gesture was exceptionally magnanimous.
After parting ways with Tobias's family, Jennifer pulled James aside and asked, "James, what are you doing? Why do you want to go find Brent? You heard what Tobias said, Brent is the son of the Lewis family, very powerful."
James replied, "It's better to take the initiative than to sit and wait."
"But," Jennifer was still very worried, as she was becoming more and more concerned about James.
James held her hand and smiled, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Nothing will happen."
Jennifer looked at James and chose to trust him, nodding silently.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. James took a leave of absence to attend the auction in Starlight State.
Walter had initially planned to travel to Lindwood City to personally escort James, but James found it too troublesome. Instead, after obtaining Walter's address, James decided to fly over on his own.
This auction was not open to the public; hence, its scale was relatively small, with only a limited number of participants and no media coverage. However, those who did attend were all prominent figures, and the entry fee of three hundred thousand dollars alone was enough to dissuade many potential attendees.
The venue was also quite remote. When James arrived, there were already many limousines parked, and many people had arrived.
"Sir, please leave. This is not a place you can come to. Please go back," a security guard blocked James as he tried to enter, speaking coldly but politely.
"I was invited by Brent to attend the auction," James said.
Upon hearing Brent's name, the security guard's expression immediately changed. His attitude shifted, and he bowed slightly, "My apologies, I didn't know you were a friend of Mr. Lewis. However, the rule here is that you still need to pay the $300,000 entrance fee. I hope you won't make things difficult for us."
James nodded and said, "No problem. You accept credit cards here, right?"
"Sir, you can make the payment here with your card," the guard said, gesturing towards the nearby reception desk.
James promptly went over and paid $300,000, gaining entry.
Although he had left the Smith family and lost his inheritance rights, he had already taken back his assets. This mere $300,000 was nothing to him.
James had attended numerous auctions of this nature before. Tobias was right; ordinary people concerned themselves with basic necessities like food and shelter, while the slightly wealthier might focus on purchasing homes, cars, or perhaps a watch worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, for the true elite of society, these rudimentary needs were long surpassed; such fundamental items no longer sufficed to meet their desires.
The true elite of society seeked things that ordinary people couldn't touch or afford, like antiques and famous paintings.
It was precisely this craving for the extraordinary and the bizarre that had given rise to today's auction.
At an exclusive auction like this, anything could be up for bid. Antiques, famous paintings, and calligraphy were the most common items. More unconventional lots might include a favor from a prominent figure or even the first night with a renowned beauty, among other things.
Tonight, James was still dressed casually, ambling in lazily. He scanned the grand auction hall, which could accommodate thousands without feeling crowded. It was enclosed and had everything one could need.
Besides the guests, there were more service staff, two-thirds of whom were young and beautiful women, dressed in gowns, bikinis, or various uniforms like flight attendants, nurses, and police officers, mingling among the crowd, very enticing. The remaining third were men of various styles, from handsome to muscular to refined white-collar elites.
The air was filled with the scent of hormones.
As soon as James entered, two young, beautiful, and sexy bunny girls in bikinis swayed their slender waists and approached him, "Sir, would you like us to accompany you?"
James noticed that the two bunny girls were twins, quite tempting for any man.
"No, thank you," James declined.
They were a bit surprised but not disappointed. To them, it was just business. If James didn't want them, plenty of other patrons did. "Sir, what type of companion would you like? We can find someone for you."
James shook his head, "Not for now. You can go attend to others."
The twin sisters gave James a curious look but didn't ask further. They left, their attitude very good. Here, one could experience imperial-level service. The part of the $300,000 entrance fee was for this experience.
James strolled around, looking for Brent.
James didn't know what Brent looked like, but that didn't stop him from recognizing Brent by presence.
After searching for a while without finding Brent, James did spot a familiar face, Michael, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, chatting with someone.
James hadn't seen Michael for quite some time. Judging by Michael's look, he seemed to be doing well. Indeed, since the Perry family had fallen, the Brown family had no rivals in Lindwood City and was thriving.
James was about to go greet Michael when he noticed someone from afar spotting him and walking over quickly.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Smith. You actually managed to scrape together $300,000 to come here?" It was Tobias, blocking James's path. He was dressed in a custom-made designer suit, custom-made shoes, and a watch worth over a million dollars. His outfit alone cost at least two to three million dollars.
In contrast, James was wearing a few hundred-dollar casual outfit, making the difference between them starkly apparent.
Tobias stared at James, his face showing undisguised contempt and a superior attitude. To Tobias, James wasn't even worthy of shining his shoes.
James had actually noticed him long ago but had simply chosen to ignore him. Now, however, Tobias had taken the initiative to approach.
"Yeah," James nodded, not wanting to get entangled with him. He greeted him perfunctorily and continued walking towards Michael.
However, to Tobias, this behavior seemed like a cowardly escape, making him look down on James even more. He blocked James again, smirking, "Hey, Mr. Smith, where are you going? Are you embarrassed and trying to leave?"
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