Chapter 269

"Then it's settled. Come, let's make a toast!"

Second Great-Uncle said with a smile.

On Fengyi Technology's side, although many were somewhat disappointed that parts of their post-interview footage had been cut,

the fact that Fengyi Technology had made an appearance on the News Broadcast

had already made them extremely happy.

Everyone was beaming with joy, working with renewed vigor.

The next day, when Lin Yi arrived at the company,

not a few employees were in a different state of mind because the company had appeared on the News Broadcast.

This was probably what constituted the employees' sense of identity with the enterprise.

"Mr. Lin, your interview last night was very handsome!"

CEO Yang Chen said with a smile the moment they met.

"Old Yang, you've learned to joke too!"

Lin Yi remarked.

Hearing this, Yang Chen then said:

"I believe that with this News Broadcast appearance, Fengyi Technology's fame will rise even higher..."

"Yes, this is good for the company!"

Lin Yi nodded.

After chatting for a while,

the two went their separate ways to attend to their work.

That evening, Lin Yi did not go to Li Li Xueying's apartment again,

but instead returned to Maoming Mansion.

When the clock struck exactly 12:00 midnight,

the judicial auction on the DWS platform officially began.

As before, the virtual character Long Yi served as the auctioneer.

"The item up for auction this time is an HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. Regarding its performance specifications, I believe all bidding guests already understand them, so I will not elaborate further. The auction now officially begins; the starting price is 1 billion USD, with each bid increment being no less than 10 million USD..."

Bidding may now commence!"

The Ugly Country: "...2 billion USD."

The Dragon Country: "2.5 billion USD."

Little Japan: "2.9 billion USD..."

Mao Xiong: "3 billion USD."

The price immediately soared,

making John Bull extremely anxious.

It must be known that this HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier had originally cost John Bull himself 3.1 billion pounds, equivalent to 5 billion USD...

However, this price was due to construction delays and immature technology.

In reality, a reasonable price for an HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier would be around 4.5 billion USD.

Thus, after the price surged to 3 billion USD, the rate of increase slowed down.

Old Saudi Country: "3.6 billion USD..."

Little Japan: "3.9 billion USD..."

Seeing the price approaching 4 billion USD, John Bull did not hesitate and placed a bid of 4.1 billion USD.

This auction was quite fierce; it seemed every nation had considerable confidence,

with no one using increments of 10 million; all bids were round figures.

In the Imperial Capital, Wang Luchuan, having received authorization from the military, placed a bid:

"4.3 billion USD!"

The Dragon Country's maximum valuation for this aircraft carrier was 5 billion USD,

meaning that as long as the price stayed within 5 billion USD,

the Dragon Country could secure it.

After all, the displacement of the HMS Queen Elizabeth reached 70,000 tons,

which was 5,000 tons higher than the second aircraft carrier independently built by the Dragon Country.

Furthermore, the various advanced technologies aboard this carrier held some reference value for the Dragon Country.

Just as 10 billion USD was the final bottom price for the Ford-class,

5 billion USD was also the final quoted price for the Queen Elizabeth carrier.

"4.5 billion!" quoted the representative of John Bull.

Old Saudi Country: "4.8 billion USD."

The Dragon Country: "5 billion USD..."

Following this bid,

there was a long silence, and no further offers were made.

"5 billion USD, going once... 5 billion USD, going twice..."

Just as Wang Luchuan thought the Dragon Country was about to secure this aircraft carrier,

John Bull directly placed a bid:

"5.5 billion USD."

This price immediately made many national representatives frown.

"Have these John Bulls gone mad? Raising the price so high all at once!"

Wang Luchuan, the leader of the DWS platform team, murmured.

In truth, many people from various nations could not understand the John Bulls' longing for the Queen Elizabeth.

With this ship, the John Bull navy would regain a portion of its strength.

It would also restore confidence among the populace.

Therefore, the John Bulls were determined to acquire this aircraft carrier.

Actually, the John Bulls possessed another aircraft carrier, the sister ship of the Queen Elizabeth,

the Prince of Wales.

However, that carrier was still far from completion and fundamentally

incapable of forming combat power in the short term, so the John Bulls had set their sights on the Queen Elizabeth.

Yet, clearly, some nations were unwilling to let the John Bulls obtain this aircraft carrier.

Argentina, which had remained silent until now, placed a bid:

"5.6 billion dollars!"

At this point, the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier

had actually far exceeded its true value.

Nevertheless, Argentina simply bid 5.6 billion dollars.

Although Argentina's economy was in poor shape, merely annoying the other party was feasible.

As for what to do if the John Bulls refused to raise their bid,

Argentina could simply buy it back; though expensive,

if they then purchased some F-18 fighter jets from the DWS platform,

Argentina would be fully capable of strutting and flexing before the John Bulls.

For the John Bulls, who possessed no navy, watching others flaunt themselves at their doorstep

would be the darkest moment of all.

Especially when the other party was piloting a source of pride like the Queen Elizabeth.

Thus, after Argentina's bid, the John Bulls flew into a rage and shouted:

"6 billion dollars...!"

"6.1 billion!" The Argentine government bid through gritted teeth.

As for placing a final bid and then refusing to pay,

neither Argentina, nor the John Bulls, nor even the Ugly Nation dared to attempt such a thing.

Otherwise, who knows what those madmen on the DWS platform might do.

By then, they could directly parachute into the capitals of various nations and unleash a frenzy of bombing; the losses would be far more than just six billion US dollars.

For instance, if John Bull dared not to pay.

Lin Yi would absolutely dare to flatten Big Ben, London Bridge, and Buckingham Palace.

He would even dare to unleash a frenzy of bombing in London.

Therefore, unless absolutely forced to, John Bull would not offend the other party over a mere few billion US dollars.

"6.4 billion US dollars," John Bull shouted.

At this, Argentina lowered its flag and beat its drum, retreating from the contest.

After all, when it came to money, John Bull, having sat as the world's leader for over a century,

possessed wealth far more substantial than Argentina's.

Seeing that he had finally scared off his opponent, John Bull finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"6.4 billion US dollars once, 6.4 billion US dollars twice, 6.4 billion US dollars three times... Sold... Congratulations to the John Bull government for winning the bid for the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Within two weeks, we will be responsible for delivering the weapons to your country!"

Long Yi continued speaking:

"Additionally, in four months, this platform will judicially auction a B-2 bomber.

We hope governments of all nations will arrive on time..."

"A B-2!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Luchuan became extremely excited.

After all, that was the renowned stealth heavy bomber.

The technology involved remained highly advanced even by current standards.

It required thorough study by the Dragon Nation.

Therefore, as long as the price during this auction was not excessively outrageous, the Dragon Nation would actively compete for it.

However, these words from the DWS platform sounded ironic to the ears of the Ugly Nation.

This was because the B-2 bomber had always been the pride of the Ugly Nation.

Although it was so expensive that even its creator, the Ugly Nation, had not manufactured many of them,

the B-2 integrated the most cutting-edge technology of the Ugly Nation at that time.

If it were leaked, it would expose various classified data of the Ugly Nation's military industry.

Chapter 201: The Dragon Nation's Demand! The Koreans Attack Fishermen!

Upon hearing about the B-2, all nations were also eager to make a move.

After all, this aircraft represented the most cutting-edge technology of Old Ugly.

Even now, it was not outdated.

Among them, the one most interested in it was none other than Mao Xiong.

After all, Mao Xiong's technology in stealth aircraft had always been inferior to that of the Ugly Nation.

Although the Su-57 had an impressive name, being a combination of the F-22 and F-35,

implying that one of their aircraft could match the other two combined.

But in reality?

Compared to the F-22, which had been in service for decades and was already highly refined,

the Su-57 had various flaws from the very beginning of its design.

Especially with the rise of the Dragon Nation's J-20, which defeated the F-22 to become the world's number one heavy stealth fighter.

Mao Xiong was also in urgent need of proving the worth of its Su-57.

Of course, if possible,

Mao Xiong would certainly prefer to buy the F-22 and J-20 for research purposes.

However, neither the Ugly Nation nor the Dragon Nation would ever sell such cutting-edge weapons.

Even the DWS platform had blocked these two weapon systems.

Now that the DWS platform was suddenly auctioning the B-2 bomber,

it made Mao Xiong feel there was an opportunity to glimpse the military technology of the Ugly Nation.

As for the Ugly Nation, it naturally did not want to see any possibility of its military technology being leaked.

After all, much of the technology on board was used in various aircraft models of the Ugly Nation.

As long as one truly understood the B-2,

many military products of the Ugly Nation would hold no secrets whatsoever.

With the conclusion of this DWS platform auction, a plan for the defense of the B-2 by the Ugly Nation began.

For this purpose, the Ugly Nation did not hesitate to apply to Congress for a special budget, with the goal of purchasing this aircraft from DWS.

Meanwhile, both the Dragon Nation and Mao Xiong were rubbing their fists, awaiting the auction a week later.

After concluding the auction, Lin Yi received a message from the official account of the Dragon Nation.

"Old Wang, what is the matter? The auction has already ended!"

"I just want to know, does your organization accept employment contracts..."

Lin Yi was somewhat caught off guard; since when did the Dragon Nation government want to hire their illegal organization?

"Old Wang, tell me what the matter is?"

Lin Yi replied.

Upon hearing the other party address him as "Old Wang" repeatedly, Wang Luchuan's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Although technical means prevented him from identifying the person he was chatting with,

based on his many years of experience,

the other party's Stone Stone Stone Stone Age was definitely not advanced, likely only in their twenties or thirties.

Unfortunately, investigating solely based on the other party's response style and estimated Stone Stone Stone Stone Age

was simply unrealistic.

Thus, Wang Luchuan instructed Fang Xiang of the Anquan Bureau to reply:

"I will send you a video!"

Lin Yi immediately received a file in video format.

He clicked it open, and before long, his brows furrowed.

It turned out the video depicted a fleet of Rod Nation coast guard vessels opening fire on a Dragon Nation fishing boat.

After killing and injuring several people, these Rod Nation individuals actually threw the corpses of the Dragon Nation fishermen into the sea.

Their methods could be described as heinous.

"What is the story behind this video?"

Lin Yi asked.

"This just happened; it is likely due to the previous Xuzheng Prefecture war,

which caused some people in the Rod Nation to harbor intense hostility toward Dragon Nation citizens. This video was filmed by a survivor who went into hiding.

Domestic discussions are currently underway, but the news should soon leak out."

"And then? Will it just be dropped?" Lin Yi asked.

"Of course not. We will lodge a protest with the Rod Nation government and demand the criminals who shot the fishermen,

!!" Wang Luchuan stated.

"Heh, just like the Mekong River incident. Yet, I have never heard of anything happening to those nine Siam soldiers?"

Lin Yi replied directly.

Hearing this, Wang Luchuan flew into a rage:

"We are different from you; you can act without restraint, whereas we must adhere to international law. Abroad, we possess no law enforcement authority.

Everything relies on the laws of those nations; once foreign laws fail, we are powerless.

Naturally, I personally would not hesitate to grab a rifle and eliminate those nine Siam soldiers myself.

I believe any Dragon Nation citizen would feel the same, including you and me,

but the nation cannot act so recklessly; we must operate according to global rules!"

— Author's Notes —

(PS: New book seeking flowers, tips, and review tickets; your support is the author's motivation!)