"Ten million!"
The moment the auctioneer's voice fell, someone immediately bid ten million.
This was already the highest price at the auction so far.
However, Fang Xun was not in a hurry to bid. He still needed to assess the situation.
"Twelve million!"
Fortunately, this time it only increased by two million. This meant his subsequent bids wouldn't need to be too high.
"Thirteen million!"
"Fifteen million!"
"Sixteen million!"
The subsequent bids increased by no more than three million each.
However, Fang Xun noticed that among the bidders, their most feared opponent was absent.
Following Ye Sihan's instructions, if the opponent did not bid, they should not act rashly for the time being.
Yet, the price had already reached thirty million, and the opponent still hadn't bid. What was the reason for this?
Fang Xun began to hesitate. At an auction, if an opponent could bid, they could estimate a price range the opponent might offer.
This way, they could make corresponding bids to compete.
But now, the opponent's delayed bidding made Fang Xun increasingly uneasy.
He couldn't determine if the opponent intended to bid in the upcoming auction, or if they were planning to give up on this competition.
How long should he wait before bidding? Or should he place a bid to test the waters first?
Bidding or not bidding became Fang Xun's most important question at this moment.
"Are you going to play or not?" the spectators were growing impatient.
No one expected that after making a move just now, Zhan Jinzhi would abandon his usual decisive playing style and become hesitant.
This wait lasted for over ten minutes.
Qiu Shaoyi, standing beside him, was so nervous he was sweating profusely. He clearly saw that the opponent's pieces had reached a crucial position. If a countermeasure wasn't devised promptly, the next move might lead them to completely fall into the opponent's trap.
Zhan Jinzhi must have been contemplating this, which was why he had waited so long.
"Little friend, if you concede at this point, we won't laugh at you," the opponent said. "After all, you lost to such a formidable opponent as myself. No one would find that embarrassing."
Hearing this, the surroundings erupted in laughter. They had long felt that Zhan Jinzhi was out of his depth here.
However, at this moment, Zhan Jinzhi placed a piece on the board. Yet, it had no relation to the opponent's pieces; it neither blocked their path nor enclosed them.
Seeing this move, Qiu Shaoyi's heart sank. It was bad. Had Zhan Jinzhi completely missed the intention behind the opponent's last move?
What could be done now? Were they really going to lose today?
And what about his sister?
"It seems this game is mine today," Yu Bei revealed a smug smile. "President Zhan, don't forget our bet."
This time, even Wei Yumeng could tell that if things continued like this, Zhan Jinzhi had no chance of winning.
"Mohan..." she nervously tugged at Zhan Mohan's clothes.
Zhan Mohan remained as steadfast as ever: "Until the game truly ends, anything is possible."
Yu Bei merely let out a light chuckle. "President Zhan, perhaps you have too much faith in your son."
"Naturally, after all, he is my son, Zhan Mohan's child." With that, Zhan Mohan closed his eyes and began to rest.
Just then, Yu Bei's phone buzzed with a message. The corners of his mouth turned up. The Zhan Group had finally made their move.
"Thirty million!" Fang Xun declared the price.
Based on his observations, these small enterprises could only reach this level.
As expected, after he announced this price, the small enterprises that had been bidding stopped their competition.
"Thirty million once! Thirty million twice!" Just as the auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer, a voice rang out.
"Sixty million!" This price made everyone in the hall gasp.
The thirty million offered by the Zhan Group was already beyond their reach, and now someone had doubled the price.
Fang Xun was extremely tense. It seemed the opponent had been waiting for him to make a move before bidding.
And based on his calculations, the thirty million he bid was the closest value to what he believed the land was worth.
Sixty million far exceeded its original value.
However, Zhan Mohan had instructed him to acquire this land, so he had to make a choice.
Moreover, his next bid should ideally secure the land in one go, leaving no room for the opponent to contest.
But how much should he bid?
Yu Bei was surprised because Zhan Mohan was different from him. Although Yu Bei was physically present, he was constantly monitoring everything at the auction site via his phone.
The people there were merely his subordinates, and even their bids were directed by him through his phone.
Zhan Mohan, on the other hand, had been resting with his eyes closed since the beginning, seemingly unconcerned about the chess game or the auction.
This made Yu Bei even more unable to fathom Zhan Mohan, nor did he know what he was thinking or planning next.
Wei Yumeng, however, wore all her worry on her face. Her gaze was constantly following Zhan Jinzhi, showing how anxious she was.
Zhan Mohan slightly opened his eyes and saw Wei Yumeng's restlessness due to the chess game. He said, "Don't worry, in three moves, this game will be over."
"Three moves?" Wei Yumeng looked at the chessboard again.
Yu Bei remained nonchalant. "President Zhan, are you perhaps confused? My person needs five more moves to win this game. How can it end in three moves?"
Zhan Mohan let out a light chuckle and turned to Yu Bei, saying, "I didn't say you would win."
Yu Bei was skeptical, but he still looked at the chessboard.
At this moment, Zhan Jinzhi had placed his final piece.
"I'm sorry, you lost." Zhan Jinzhi stood up.
"Impossible, this is impossible! I had already secured match point! This is simply impossible!"
Although the man was filled with disbelief, everything on the chessboard indicated the final outcome.
Zhan Jinzhi explained, "You thought you had secured match point, only because you didn't see my match point. From the beginning, you were so sure you wouldn't lose, that you would definitely win. So, when I was hesitating, you only thought I was stumped by your pieces, and your attention would then return to your own layout."
He paused and continued, "I admit your plan was clever, but playing chess is not just about strategy on the board; it's also about controlling human emotions."