America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 252 Auction

Upon arriving at the auction entrance, after being checked and verified by security personnel, Zhang Ailun and Old George received number plates and temporary passes, and successfully entered the auction venue.

I never expected that the minimum requirement for entry to this thing is to have real estate and assets in Los Angeles, with a minimum entry fee of $200 million! Or you need to have a guarantor.

Fortunately, the head of the foundation was a bona fide billionaire; otherwise, on their first visit, they could easily have been mistaken for a freeloader. Upon seeing the more than ten million US dollars in the foundation's accounts, the security personnel's attitude changed drastically, and they were warmly welcomed into the auction.

Upon entering, one is immediately struck by the prominent high platform, the chandelier overhead, the red carpet underfoot, and the neatly arranged round tables and seats, making it seem as if one is attending someone's wedding or funeral.

There was still some time before the auction started, and many people had already arrived.

The leader found his seat, table number 124, but didn't rush to take it.

Many people who come here aren't there for the auction items; their real purpose is to expand their network and exchange contact information.

Of course, there are also perverts who are purely there to pick up and sleep with female celebrities.

For example, the bald, middle-aged man Coulson immediately spotted a glamorous female celebrity in the crowd, Katharine Newton, as soon as he entered.

With blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a formal gown and wearing exquisite makeup, she was chatting and laughing with the producer.

The old man was like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey. He couldn't wait to throw down a sentence at the group and headed towards them.

Old George and his friends were used to this, and one of them quipped, "Every time this guy does business with a pretty female client, he tries every trick in the book to seduce her with sweet talk and all sorts of tricks, and surprisingly, a lot of women actually fall for it."

Zhang Ailun waved his hand dismissively, "Men, exchanging resources is a matter of mutual consent."

The opponents are all bald, how could they not be strong?

To get to this place, everyone here is an open and honest person, and quite shrewd. It's obvious that you're after my body and I'm after your money and resources. There's no need to keep it a secret; whether it works or not is just a matter of a word. Anyway, no one loses out.

If you're not willing to do this kind of love, there are plenty of others who are.

Do you really want to talk about love here?

After following Old George and the others around the auction house restaurant, where they got a free glass of champagne and cake, and seeing the scantily clad white waitresses, the leader felt as if he were suddenly transported back to a party on his private island.

Last time I was on a security mission, I stood in a corner like an ant, but now I've squeezed into the upper class.

It wasn't as high-end as I imagined. Everyone had their own circle. Those people were either shareholders of private equity funds, directors of food and snack companies, investors in film and entertainment companies, self-media personalities, e-commerce experts, YouTube influencers, and movie stars. They were basically millionaires with assets of millions or tens of millions. It was a mixed bag.

Basically, there are two types: those who create platforms and provide resources and connections, and those who are backed by powerful companies and are considered cash cows.

Then there are speculative investors like Old George who make money by exploiting loopholes.

The leader's circle is clearly focused on waste recycling and pawnbroking. The people he comes into contact with are mostly in the recycling industry; for example, the major shareholder of Parker Resources Recycling Company is frowning and sighing, complaining to his peers about the poor state of his business.

Zhang Ailun also saw the shareholders of Bali Foods, and thought back to the first few days after he arrived on the West Coast, when he relied on their relief food trucks to get by.

Old George's network of connections was clearly wider than the leader had imagined. He could talk to many of the wealthy people present and even took Zhang Ailun and the others over to greet the owner of Parker Resource Recycling Company.

The leader also saw Reco, the department head of Parker Resource Recycling Company.

Last time, with the help of the leader, he caught his wife cheating on the spot and taught Craig and the basketball coach a lesson. I don't know if the two have divorced or what the court ruled.

Lei Ke was clearly surprised that Zhang Ailun was able to attend the auction. After all, as far as he knew, although the leader had some influence on the streets, he only ran bars and recycling stations and probably didn't have a very substantial fortune.

"Burger King... no, Mr. Kim, are you here to auction or consign items?" Reco asked.

"Otherwise what? Dude, I can't be here to pick up female celebrities, can I?" Zhang Ailun said half-jokingly. It felt good to see acquaintances here. "And how did you sneak in? This doesn't seem like a place for a working-class person like you. How's your divorce going?"

Are you being polite?

Go all out at face-to-face!

"I'm already a shareholder of Parker Recycling, so of course I'm qualified to attend the auction." Reco cleared his throat. "Let's not dwell on the past. I'm single now."

Zhang Ailun was somewhat surprised. "What happened in between that made you a shareholder of the company?"

Upon further inquiry, it was learned that Parker Recycling Company's recent business environment was not good, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The company is also troubled by the lawsuit, because a fire and explosion occurred at Parker's factory in the suburbs of Los Angeles, which burned 120 tons of electronic waste and sorting machines, resulting in losses of nearly ten million US dollars and the deaths of 12 workers.

The deceased's family is now pursuing legal action, seeking as much as 3.7 million yuan in damages from Parker Corporation!

The court has ruled that the accident was due to inadequate safety measures and that the company must pay a minimum of $760 million to each family of the deceased employee, as well as a $300 million fine and deposit in order to continue operating.

Twelve families, that's $9120 million. Add to that the loss of factory buildings and the loss of resource customers, and the company almost declared bankruptcy!

Leaving aside how much of this went to the law firm as a share of the profits, the amount that actually reached the families was certainly not that much, probably only a million or two dollars. But Parker Recycling Company really bled a lot, having already sold off several recycling plants.

We still owe the bank 2000 million yuan. Our assets could be seized at any time to pay off the debt.

Parker Recycling's annual revenue barely reaches a little over $100 million, with profits only in the tens of millions. Shareholder dividends are only around several million dollars annually, and many shareholders are already clamoring to pack up and run away. Reco, this diligent and long-time employee, was promoted at this critical juncture, essentially forced into a difficult position and now stuck with it.

The owner of Parker, who had spent half his life in the recycling industry, was suddenly back to square one, and was also being reaped by the cruel market.

Because the incident happened so suddenly, they could only rush to find someone to do public relations to suppress the situation, prevent the media from reporting on it, and stop the public opinion from escalating and the situation from getting out of control. They spent a lot of money on public relations for this.

They then contacted a shareholder of an entertainment company, and after communication, bought the career of an unknown, obscure female celebrity under that company. They then exposed the celebrity's scandals and major revelations, thus deceiving everyone and minimizing the impact of the scandal, quickly covering it up.

No wonder I haven't seen much related news. YouTube and other media outlets are basically all about female celebrities cheating on their spouses, dating professional athletes and using a dozen condoms in one night, or suffering groin strains, and all sorts of exaggerated news stories.

Truly influential news is rarely broadcast; it's only known to those who are actually familiar with it or within the industry.

"How could a perfectly good factory catch fire?" Old George and the others exclaimed in disbelief.

Parker's boss, Parker, also sighed. "We suspect this might have been a deliberate accident because we had a business conflict with Azure Metal Renewable Energy Company recently, and we didn't expect them to choose malicious competition! Of course, this is just our speculation, because there is no actual evidence, and no suspicious persons appeared during the incident. The fire destroyed all the survivors and facilities in the factory, and of course, the site's cameras and chips would not have survived either. There were not many clues left, only some white phosphorus powder burned to ashes, but that cannot be used as direct and valid evidence."

Reco, standing nearby, added, "Our company is currently in a downturn and needs investment to survive. If no one is willing to help, we'll have no choice but to sell our premises and declare bankruptcy."

Parker's boss looked haggard and was already numb.

What a coincidence!

Zhang Ailun pondered, "In other words, if your company is found to be engaging in malicious competition and relevant clues are found, wouldn't you be exempt from bearing primary responsibility and having to pay compensation to the families?" "If we can find clues that Azure Recycling Company did this, the court will definitely reopen the case, and Azure Company will have to pay a heavy price for it. Malicious competition is illegal everywhere! But the fact is, we can't find any effective relevant clues at all. Even though we have hired private investigators and searched many channels on the street and the dark web, it has not been effective at all."

Parker sighed. "Now the company's shareholders have all withdrawn their investment, leaving behind a mess. We can only take it one step at a time. Besides selling a sea-view villa, two apartments, my luxury cars, and various collectibles, I came here this time also to try to attract investment. If I really can't hold on, I'll have to auction off my company at a low price."

Zhang Ailun also lamented the unpredictability of life.

"Mr. Jin, you should have connections with intelligence channels, right? Perhaps you could help us find some clues?" Lei Ke was desperate and turned to the Grand Master for help.

After all, the Grand Master's recycling station had signed a recycling contract with Parker Corporation, so it could be considered half an ally.

Parker Corporation went bankrupt, so your recycling center will have to find a new owner again. The contract terms offered by Azure Corporation might not actually be as good as those from Parker.

"You think too highly of me. Even private investigators and hackers couldn't find any clues. How could I, a bar owner who does scrap recycling, have such great abilities?" Zhang Ailun immediately declined.

The collapse of Parker Recycling Company might not be a bad opportunity for the CEO.

I'll just buy your company at a low price, then find the people responsible and demand compensation for the company's losses. Wouldn't that maximize my profits?

Having a conscience can certainly make money, but those without a conscience who take advantage of others' misfortunes can obviously make even more.

To be honest, if you give me 6 cents per jar, making at least 2 cents profit off me, there's no way I'm going to help you!

The eldest brother has fallen, but the sky hasn't collapsed. If the second brother doesn't betray him now, when will he?

Pike and Reco sighed again.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Ailun and George turned around and said goodbye. They then wandered around the venue and met some other people.

Surprisingly, Los Angeles's social circle is quite small. The leader even spotted the manager of Red Company, who was chatting animatedly with several hot girls, looking very pleased with himself.

When he turned around and saw the leader's smiling face in the crowd, everyone was shocked and at a loss for what to do.

I hesitated whether to come over and say hello.

Zhang Ailun waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to come over, and the other person finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After walking around, I saw a few more black rappers, stand-up comedians, a porn director from the VE website, and a sales manager from Victoria's Secret.

The Grand Master has dirt on several people, and they're all acquaintances.

On the surface, they appear glamorous and respectable, but behind the scenes, they are neither human nor ghost.

Zhang Ailun also lost interest in this, feeling utterly bored. Is this all there is to high society?

With the auction preparations complete, staff began reminding everyone to take their seats. Zhang Ailun and Old George, along with a few others, took their assigned seats, and staff set out fruit platters and pastries.

The Grand Master does nothing but show off. "This is delicious, eat this; that's delicious, eat that."

He acted like a complete outsider, seemingly indifferent and relaxed about everything else.

The bald, middle-aged man, Coulson, returned looking dejected and sat in his seat without saying a word.

"What's wrong? Didn't you go looking for clients and dating that young female celebrity? Why the long face? Did she not reach an agreement with you?" Old George gloated.

"Don't even mention it, she stood me up! I greeted her warmly, but she said she didn't remember me. It was my agent who was in contact with me before, so the agreement is no longer valid."

Coulson was furious, gritting his teeth. "She's hooked up with one of the shareholders of the celebrity club, and he's willing to pay $27 for her collection. I'm only willing to offer $20, so of course she won't sell to me. And I even have her private photos in my collection."

"This isn't about selling any collectibles; it's just that no one's interested in your resources."

Andrew chuckled: "They're film and television actresses, isn't it normal for them to find partners within their own circle? Unless you're a billionaire, she definitely wouldn't want to have much contact with you."

"I was just a toad trying to eat swan meat," Coulson retorted, his expression softening. "But I didn't come away empty-handed. I made an appointment with a female internet celebrity. I'll be going to her house to see a toy collection, and I'm absolutely confident I can win her over."

"..."

The group was speechless.

The auction started as scheduled, and a sexy female auctioneer came out, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 26th Loch Ness Auction..."

He spent a few minutes giving an opening speech and thanking the sponsors before getting down to business, picking up the remote and playing the collection projection.

"The first item up for auction is a fossilized skull of a long-necked dinosaur, certified by a professional appraisal institution. It was commissioned by Mr. March, a renowned collector from the Amazing Museum. This type of fossil is historically significant and has a profound impact. It was pieced together by Mr. March and his archaeological team over a period of one year and two months in Kansas. The estimated value is $350,000 to $460,000. The starting bid is $150,000, and each bid must be at least $2000."

The spotlight and screen projected a pieced-together skull fossil of a long-necked dinosaur, which looked incredibly lifelike—a stunning appetizer.

Once the auction began, everyone immediately engaged in a heated competition.

21.

"16,000."

23.

"65,000..."

"...29."

36.

After rounds of bidding, a well-dressed, slightly overweight private collector bought it for $56, beaming with joy. His female companion was also delighted, laughing heartily.

"Congratulations to buyer number 166 for successfully bidding on the Longneck Dragon skull fossil. Please wait for our staff to contact you after the auction."

The female auctioneer offered her congratulations, saying, "Now let's move on to the next round of the auction. Today's item is a pair of custom-made gemstone earrings with a paisley design. The estimated price is between $18 and $25. The starting bid is $7, and each bid must be at least $2000."

(End of this chapter)