Chapter 155 - I'm Not Selling It

"Still doesn't change the fact that I'm not selling it," The auctioneer shrugged his shoulders as he responded. 

"But I still want to buy it," Hecathe also showed his stubbornness through a smile. 

Marvin and LeiLei gulped and nodded their heads as they supported Hecathe. They were clearly aware of the fact that this was just plain disrespect to the auctioneer but since Hecathe had brought them over to support him, that would be what they'd naturally do. 

"And what if you can't buy the auction? Are you going to threaten me?" The auctioneer asked and this time, his feelings at the moment were a bit hard to understand as his eyes narrowed down on Hecathe with both suspicion and great interest. 

Hecathe chuckled dryly as he heard this question that was meant to trick him.

"I'm sorry but that's not possible," Hecathe spoke a bit too confidently, "I have no power to threaten you with." 

"Then why do you so confidently believe that I'd sell the auction house to you?" The auctioneer tilted his head as he asked with a bit of amusement evident in his tone. 

"Because you lose nothing from it and there is a lot to gain from taking my offer," Hecathe answered with a small smirk that was hardly noticed. 

"A lot to gain?" The auctioneer repeated in a questioning manner. 

Hecathe nodded his head as he confirmed it and spoke, "That's right. You get to own the auction house and you get to have a large percentage of the profit share as well. I'm sure that is not interesting enough for you so I decided to offer something more luring. If you agree to my demands then I provide hundred pure mutant beads to the auction house per month for only one million Lenix." 

The auctioneer's eyes widened as he heard this offer and he was clearly finding this deal a bit hard to believe. As expected, the latter offer was a lot more alluring than the former and the auctioneer finally started to consider Hecathe's proposal seriously. 

If Hecathe was willing to sell the pure mutant beads for such a small amount then he might as well be just giving it out for free. 

"What is the deal?" The auctioneer gulped as he folded his hands and asked. 

Hecathe smiled as he heard this question and nodded in satisfaction before he continued, asking, "Have you ever heard of stocks?" 

"Eh?" The auctioneer tilted his head in confusion as he questioned, "Do you mean livestock?" 

Hecathe shook his head as he explained, "I mean stocks of a company." 

The auctioneer frowned as he heard this and from his facial expressions alone, it was clear that the man had never heard of such a thing before. 

It seemed that the system of stocks wasn't yet found in this world and this was just perfect for Hecathe. 

"Stocks are parts of a company. I give you money and you give me a certain percentage ownership of your auction house. In this way, we both become the legal owners who share the profits and losses created. In this case, I'm only asking for a one percent ownership and the profit I earn would also be limited to that one percent ownership." 

The auctioneer took a few minutes to understand all this information and when he was done processing it all, he couldn't help but be a bit intrigued with this new idea of ownership. 

"If you earn a profit of Ten Lenix, I only get to earn One lenix while you keep the other nine," Hecathe continued with an example as he tried to best explain to the man how this whole system worked, "In accordance to that, you also get to keep all the profit that you gain with the pure mutant beads that I provide." 

"But then, what is in it for you?" The auctioneer asked with a bit of confusion and this was a smart question. 

This whole deal sounded extremely good for the auctioneer but it didn't really give such a good offer to Hecathe and this made the auctioneer wonder why this man was here to propose such a deal. 

"Because I then get to be one of the owners of this great auction house," Hecathe didn't bother hiding the truth as he spoke with a warm proud smile. 

Finally, when Marvin heard this, he understood what Hecathe was trying to do. 

What Hecathe needed to do was own the auction. He needed to show that he was trying to overtake the city but he didn't really need to go through with it. 

It didn't matter if he owned a big share of the company or a relatively small one. What mattered was that he owned it. 

It was as simple as that. 

"From what I've heard about you, it seems that you're immortal because of your abilities but we are not the same. There would eventually come a day when the three of us would die and when that time comes, the stocks would be sold back to you for the exact same rate that we bought it for," Hecathe added as he informed, "It is eventually like borrowing a certain percentage of ownership for a bit of time. You have nothing to lose and if you still don't trust me enough, I am willing to let you negotiate the terms of the agreement." 

The auctioneer chuckled awkwardly as he quickly shook his head and responded, "Sir, it's not that I don't trust you! You've been a really valuable customer for us so of course, we would trust you, but the offer you are giving is just too good to believe." 

Hecathe, "If it sounds that good then why not just take it?" 

"..."

"I am not going to lie to you. This offer is really bad for me and not only is there no profit but there are only losses in it for me but even with all that considered, I still need this. If I don't manage to buy a part of the auction house then I'm afraid I'll be eaten alive by my boss," Hecathe sighed as he lied with an honest demeanor. 

If this deal only consisted of losses for Hecathe then he would have certainly not taken it. 

Some things weren't exactly what they appeared on the surface and this deal was also like that. Although it looked like a waste to Hecathe, it was actually quite profitable. 

He also didn't have a boss that he needed to report to but there was a particularly important reason why Hecathe had casually said this. Not only was he looking to gain sympathy but he was also looking to make the auctioneer think that Hecathe was here under someone else's orders. 

The auctioneer gulped as he thought about it for a bit and nodded his head before asking, "How much are you willing to pay for the one percent?" 

Hecathe's lips curled up in satisfaction as he heard this and instead of giving a clear-cut reply, he responded back with a question, "How much are you asking?" 

"I'll need to think about it," The auctioneer sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. 

Hecathe nodded his head in understanding as he heard this, "You can take as much time as you need but do keep in mind that you need to give me an answer today itself." 

The auctioneer nodded his head and stood up as he heard this before politely bowing his head and leaving the room. 

"Is he going to agree?" Once the man had left the room, LeiLei immediately spoke up as she enthusiastically questioned. 

Hecathe chuckled softly as he nodded his head and answered, "He would. He is a greedy man. If he sees profit in it then he would surely agree to the offer." 

"Are you sure about that?" This time, it was Marvin who questioned with a frown. 

Hecathe nodded his head once again as he confirmed it, "He'll agree no matter what, and if he doesn't, we'll just have to make him agree using a different tactic." 

Marvin's frown deepened as he heard this and the boy opened his mouth to say something as a response to that but before any words could leave his mouth, he heard the door open once again. 

The auctioneer returned with a warm smile on his face as he calmed himself down and thought about it for a few minutes. 

"I hope you brought good news...?" Hecathe asked with a smile as his eyes narrowed down on the man. 

The auctioneer sighed as he nodded his head, "I'll agree to it." 

LeiLei and Marvin gulped in shock as they heard this and they soon turned to look at each other in shock as if asking whether the other was also just as shocked to know that Hecathe had got this auctioneer to agree to such an offer. 

"But I can only sell one percent for Thirty Billion Lenix," The auctioneer continued and LeiLei was even more shocked as her eyes widened and almost looked as if they were ready to pop out of her sockets.