"Two billion," I stated firmly, raising my paddle with confidence I didn't entirely feel.
The auction hall fell into stunned silence. Just moments ago, we'd been debating the value of what appeared to most attendees as an unremarkable weed. But I knew better—this Ancient Transcendent Knotweed, this Polygonum multiflorum Thunb, was exactly what I needed for my next breakthrough.
Asher Lane's eyebrows arched in surprise before his lips curled into a smirk. "Three billion," he countered smoothly, his voice carrying across the now-silent hall.
I clenched my jaw. Three billion was already stretching the limits of my financial capabilities. The money I'd planned to use wasn't even entirely mine—it was borrowed capital from various business ventures I'd established in recent months.
"Four billion," I called out after a moment of deliberation.
