Chapter 37: Arena Of Wealth 2
"Alright then! I’m going all out!!" Joshua turned to the Manager, his face flushed with reckless competitive heat:
"Bring a car worth one million or more!"
"Alright!" The manager snapped out of her shock, her eyes gleaming with dollar signs, and pointed a finger at another car, gesturing for the sales girls to get the contract ready for the cars.
"This here is McLaren Senna, worth 1.6 million dollars." She said with a smile, showcasing the aerodynamic supercar like a prized jewel.
’This bitch! I said one million, can’t you bring a one million dollar car?! Even if I added more, you should have used your head!’ Joshua snapped inwardly, glaring at the manager’s oblivious smile before turning to his brother, seeking reassurance:
’No worries, as long as we win this, we both will have five hundred billion dollars... That’s more than enough.’ He thought, finding solace in the sheer magnitude of their family’s capital, and nodded his head:
"Swipe the card!!"
[Payment Received.]
"Your turn, remember your rule!" Joshua said, turning back to Asher with a smug smirk, eager to see the broke commoner sweat under the pressure of millions.
"A million dollar car? I don’t like playing with foolish kids too much... Do you have Rolls-Royce Sweptail?" He asked, staring at the manager with an unbothered expression.
"...Rolls... Rolls-Royce Sweptail, that’s worth 15 million dollars." She stammered, her breath catching in her throat at the casual jump in scale.
"Yeah, I need that, bring it here... Swipe the card." Asher said, a small smile on his face, handling the astronomical figure as if purchasing a bottle of water.
"Sir, the car isn’t in this branch, it will take three days for it to arrive." She quickly added, sweating under the sudden pressure of an ultra-luxury order.
"No worries, swipe the card."
The manager nodded her head, her hands trembling violently, and shakily swiped the card:
[Payment Received.]
"....?!!!"
The whole room instantly dropped dead silent, to the point you could hear a pin drop. The onlookers, sales staff, and estate agents stared in absolute shock. They all slowly turned their heads towards the twins; they’ll have to buy a more expensive car than that, which is above 15 million dollars, just to stay in the game.
"Brother, my allowance is only 20 million, and I already used 2 million already. If I continue, I will exhaust my allowance." Joshua whispered in a low voice, his previous arrogance entirely evaporating into cold financial panic.
"This guy! He just raised the price to lock us up, mine is only 30 million, and the five hundred billion that Dad gave us..." Caleb gritted his teeth, his sharp mind trying to navigate the trap.
"Can’t we use that?" Joshua whispered, eyeing the family fund.
"How do you want to answer Dad if we lose everything?" Caleb asked back, his voice cutting through his brother’s desperation.
"Oh..."
"Are you two still bidding? If you want to surrender, simply come here, kneel down and apologize to my wife." Asher said with arms crossed on his chest, standing like an unshakeable mountain before them.
"You?! Of course, we won’t back down!!" Joshua snapped, his bruised noble ego overruling his common sense as he turned to the Manager: "Bring a car higher than that!!"
"Huh? Young Master Joshua, we don’t have the cars here..."
"I don’t care!" He snapped at her, completely blind to the trap he was sprinting into.
"Oh, alright, the next car is Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, 30 million dollars, there are only five in the whole world." She said with a smile, her words freezing the two brothers in place like a bucket of ice water.
’Is this woman mad?!! Why did you double the amount?!! Do you think money falls from a tree?!!’ Joshua yelled inwardly, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.
No matter how much he wants to slap the manager, he couldn’t do anything, and he couldn’t bring himself to ask for something a lot cheaper in front of the crowd.
Caleb stood still, a slight frown on his face, that one car took all his allowance. If they combine both his and his brother’s, they should cover the money, but should they really spend so much money for just a car?
"Um... Do you have anything cheaper?" He asked, his teeth gritted in anger, swallowing his pride just enough to ask the humiliating question.
Hearing Caleb, the Manager was stunned, easily getting her mistake, and quickly opened her mouth, terrified of losing the sale entirely:
"Oh, I am so sorry, I made a mistake calling the wrong car, I meant Bugatti La Voiture Noire, worth 20 million dollars." She said with a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, but the damage was already done.
"Swipe the card." Caleb said, giving her his own card, his tone had lost a bit of its arrogance, even Joshua was silent, crushed under the weight of the transaction.
The manager nodded, and swiped the card:
[Payment Received.]
Everyone turned to Asher, who was lost in thought, holding his jaw as he contemplated his next move. After two seconds of silence, he nodded his head smoothly:
"I like the car he bought, do you have another?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." The manager answered with a bright, reverent smile.
"You do know your car should be more expensive than mine, right?" Caleb pointed out, staring at him, desperate to catch him on a technicality.
"Of course, that’s why I am buying one Bugatti La Voiture Noire, and the five Rolls-Royce Boat Tail... Can you get me the whole five?" He asked with a smirk, his eyes locking onto the frozen twins.
"....?!!!"
Deadly Silence...
Everyone stared at him like he was a monster from hell, or the god of wealth; he actually wanted the whole five Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, that’s terrifying. To casually buy out an entire world production line of hypercars was beyond comprehension.
"You?! You?! You must be kidding, right?!!" Joshua yelled in shock, pointing a shaky finger at Asher, his voice cracking.
"What’s the total?" Asher ignored him, turning to the Manager.
"The total, the six cars, that’s... Well, that’s one hundred and seventy million dollars." She stammered, her mind numb from the sheer volume of numbers.
"Swipe the card."
"....?!"
The manager shakily moved the card to the machine, everyone’s eyes fixed on her hand as if watching the execution of a kingdom.
DING!
Time seemed to slow down, as they all waited for the next word, the digital terminal processing the astronomical sum through the world’s most secure networks, then...
[Payment Received.]
"...?!!!"