"Damn it, do these people know Mr. Devonshire?" Mickey asked, confused.
Lawrence thought for a moment before realizing, "They must be from the Chinese Construction Group. Otherwise, they wouldn't go straight to Devonshire."
"The same Chinese Construction Group that snatched the £700 million contract from the England Construction Company?"
Seeing William turn his head to greet the Chinese group after being informed by his bodyguard, and then standing up with a big smile to shake hands with them, Lawrence nodded confidently. "That's right. Devonshire is notoriously difficult to approach. Unless he wants to know you, no matter how famous or wealthy you are, he won't give you the time of day."
"My God, these guys are incredibly lucky. In such tough times, it's like a £700 million contract just fell into their laps from the sky," Mickey said, his brain suddenly kicking into gear. He turned to Lawrence and asked, "Father, do you think Mr. Devonshire might have Chinese heritage? Otherwise, why would he insist on giving the contract to the Chinese?"
"Hm?" Lawrence was surprised at his son's rare display of intelligence, usually reserved only for womanizing. After a moment of silence, he replied, "There might be something to that. Otherwise, even if time was tight, it's not like Europe and the U.S. can't produce construction companies with excellent quality and fast work. Even if they're more expensive, they're still more reliable than an unknown Chinese group."
"Mickey, maybe your mother being Chinese is an advantage," Lawrence said, now pleased with his son. "Too bad your mother's genes are too strong—you don't look mixed at all."
"God, that's not what you used to say," Mickey shot back, rolling his eyes at Lawrence.
"Why don't you go try? See if your Chinese looks can help you get close to them."
"Do you think that will work? Mr. Devonshire doesn't have a good impression of me," Mickey hesitated.
Seeing his son's lack of courage, Lawrence glared at him and growled, "Just try. What's there to lose?"
"Fine." Under his father's glare, Mickey reluctantly approached the VIP area, but before he could say a word, Antonov, William's bodyguard, noticed him and shook his head, signaling for him to stop.
Mickey returned to Lawrence and shrugged, shaking his head in resignation. "I told you it wouldn't work. He doesn't care about us at all."
"That's only natural," Lawrence said without getting angry. Instead, he smiled and encouraged Mickey. "If you want to make money, you have to endure being ignored and ridiculed. Remember, my son, we are businessmen. If we get dismissed today, we can turn it around by finding something William Devonshire can't refuse—then sell it to him at a price far above the market value. Using brute force and violence is for barbarians."
Just as Lawrence finished speaking, he saw William snap his fingers. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity ran up Lawrence's legs, making him jerk violently and collapse into his chair.
"What's wrong, Father?" Mickey, seeing Lawrence twitch and fall into his chair, asked in concern. He rubbed his eyes as if he'd seen something strange.
After a few seconds in the chair, Lawrence, feeling okay, reassured Mickey, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just felt like I got shocked. Damn it, why would I get electrocuted?"
Relieved that his father was alright, Mickey hesitated for a moment before replying, "Father, it might be because you were mocking Mr. Devonshire, calling him a barbarian. I just saw a small round object roll toward the VIP area."
"Damn, I'm an idiot," Lawrence cursed, looking regretfully in William's direction. He hadn't expected William to be so sly. While taking back one of the robots in front of them, William had secretly left another one behind. Now, any careless remarks were met with a shocking punishment, leaving Lawrence too frightened to speak.
Listening to the report in his earpiece, William glanced back at Lawrence and his son. The two were smiling and nodding obsequiously at him, causing William to chuckle and give them a nod in return. Turning back to the man sitting on his left, the head of the Chinese group, Shen Cheng, William smiled and asked, "Who are you representing at this auction?"
Shen Cheng glanced at his companions. After receiving a subtle nod, he replied, "We're here on behalf of the Poly Museum, mainly for the auction of the ox, monkey, and tiger bronze heads." He paused for a few seconds, hesitating before saying, "William, could you do me a favor and not participate in bidding for these three items?"
"Hm? Isn't it the rat, ox, and tiger?" William asked, confused. "Never mind, doesn't matter. They're just some old faucets. Since this is the first time you've asked me for a favor, of course, I'll give you face. However…" William glanced around at the people who were subtly eavesdropping on their conversation.
"However what?" Shen Cheng asked in confusion. Then, realizing what William was getting at, he quickly added, "Oh God, please don't stir up any trouble. A lot of people are hoping for the return of the ox, monkey, and tiger bronze heads. We can't disappoint them."
"Haha, that's not entirely up to me," William said with a squint. "Shen, if I hadn't shown up today, the bidding would likely stay within reasonable limits. But look around—how many people here are watching me?"
Hearing this, Shen Cheng and his companions turned to look around the room. Sure enough, most of the people were covertly or openly eyeing their section. Shen Cheng, usually focused on external affairs, immediately regretted his decision. "What a miscalculation. This was a huge mistake."
He turned to his companions and said, "We shouldn't have sat next to William. People who know the situation are aware that he's a fanatic when it comes to Chinese antiques. As soon as he showed up at this auction, anyone who should or shouldn't know about the £1.4 billion worth of antiques in the Bank of England has likely gotten wind of it. Today, none of these items will go for cheap. These capitalists won't pass up this chance."
His companion, after thinking for a moment, understood and nodded in frustration. "You're saying the auction organizers might have set up shills? Even if William doesn't bid, people will assume we're his agents just because we're sitting next to him?"
"That's not impossible. Everyone knows William just made nearly a hundred billion dollars, and he's sitting on at least $14 billion in cash. Since this is his first time at an auction like this, how could they pass up the chance to fleece him?"
"Sigh, you're right. We really miscalculated." His companion nodded in regret before asking, "Do you think there's any chance William could help us out...?"
Before he could finish, Shen Cheng cut him off. "No way. If it ends up in his hands, the only way we'll get it back is by trading something he values. Let's wait and see. If the price exceeds our budget, we'll consider other options."
"Yeah, that's all we can do now. Sigh, if we fail the task assigned by the group, I'll definitely be in for a scolding from the chairman when I get back."
"Don't worry yet. The auction hasn't started. We still have a chance."
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