Chapter 515 The Props (1/2)
Chapter 515: The Props
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Tucson Brotherhood treasure hunters were rich. They monopolized the storage unit auctions around Tucson and had made quite a fortune over the years.
Especially Princeps, who was now nearly a member of the Million Dollar Club.
He had a personal net worth of millions of dollars.
The auction was ongoing. One thousand dollars wouldn't hold them back from bidding. Someone placed a bid of 1,100 dollars.
Li Du replied casually, ”1,200 dollars!”
The auctioneer looked at Li Du. Although he wanted to avoid his bid, under such circumstances he could not pretend he didn't hear Li Du's voice.
He struggled for a while and pointed to Li Du, defeated. ”Okay, 1,200 dollars, 1,200 dollars, this fella bid 1,200 dollars. Anyone bidding a higher price? How about 1,300 dollars?”
Princeps personally placed a bid in an aggressive tone: ”No need for 1,300 dollars, I bid 1,500 dollars!”
Li Du raised his hand. ”One thousand six hundred dollars!”
Princeps immediately followed. ”Two thousand dollars!”
As Princeps had increased the bid price with two large jumps, Li Du gave it a thought and shook his head, backing off from the bidding battle.
At this time, Dickens shouted, ”2,100 dollars.”
Princeps's target was Li Du. He didn't care about the rest of them. He watched Dickens for a while and thought of what he had seen in the unit. Seeing that Li Du and Hans had stopped bidding, he gave up as well.
Li Du smiled when Princeps stopped bidding. He thought, This Princeps really has mediocre foresight!
With that, Dickens won the unit and winked at his fellow treasure hunters. ”Thanks everyone, thank you,” grinned Dickens. ”It's a feat to take away any storage unit in Tucson.”
Olly patted his shoulder. ”You're going to be famous, lad. You did something that many treasure hunters are unable to do.”
The auction ended for that unit and everyone went to the next one.
Someone took advantage of the opportunity to knock into Olly, and said with a dark face, ”The one who laughs last, laughs longest. Don't get too conceited. If you cry later on, it's going to get ugly.”
Olly could hear the threat in those words. He was not intimidated. ”So what? If you're happy, you laugh. If I'm happy now why wouldn't I laugh?”
The Tucson treasure hunters wanted to teach Olly a lesson. Princeps stopped them with a stern glare and they walked away bitterly.
Big Beard Carl gave Olly a friendly punch and teased, ”Hey Olly, you old rascal, when did you become so tough? I remember when we were in LA, you were so scared stiff of Frank that you peed your pants.”
Olly gave him a dirty look. ”I was scared stiff, I admit it. But I didn't pee my pants! And what do we have to fear now? I'm on Big Li's side—I'm with him!”
”Since everyone's with me, I'll help all of you earn some money,” promised Li Du. ”Let's go. We're gonna make a killing in Tucson!”
Although he spoke confidently, it would still be difficult for them to make any money in Tucson. The two most valuable units had been taken away by the Tucson Brotherhood.
The units afterward were either won by the Tucson Brotherhood or Li's team of Flagstaff treasure hunters.
Li Du adopted tactics as well. When each auction started, he would let the Tucson treasure hunters bid first. He would then follow with another bid that caused a huge spike in the price. No matter the worth of the unit, he would always do that.
This was because he noticed that the Tucson Brotherhood had adopted the cast-a-fishnet tactic on storage units. They didn't really care what was inside the unit, they would try their best to coordinate with the auctioneer and win it.
When Li Du placed a bid, the Tucson treasure hunters would follow with another bid. This was why he would usually bid with a reasonable jump in price so that when the Tucson treasure hunters won, they would have to pay a higher price for it.
If the unit had some value, he would calculate the profit margin, determine a maximum price, and then continue bidding for it.