The entire venue turned from unruly toplete silence in moments, thanks to Tina''s antics. After judging that everyone was focused on her, Tina began to speak in a loud voice, addressing the crowd.


    "Gentlemen, we possess quite a few Eclipse Orchids, but I''m not sure if there''s enough for you all to share." She started, shing her practiced business smile. "Thus, to give everyone a fair chance, we''ll be conducting the trade in the style of an auction!"


    Aster quickly understood Tina''s n.


    She kept quiet about how many orchids they had, creating a sense of mystery. The more orchids they sold, the more others would think that the next one could be thest, pushing the bidders to go all out.


    They walked away from the portal and moved to the opposite side of where the medical tent was ced, setting up their auction spot without wasting any more time.


    "Let''s start with the first one we picked up! It''s already been with us for 16 hours, and we used the best harvest methods to preserve it, ensuring it will remain in perfect condition for at least 24 hours!"


    Lory pulled out one of the Orchids from the first batch and disyed it for everyone to see while Tina continued her pitch. "... Now, let''s start the bidding for this one! Starting at 5 million with increments of 1 million!"


    The starting bid was half of its regr price, but with only 8 hours left in the orchid''s life, the others hesitated.


    "5 million!" Finally, one of them raised their voice.


    "7 million!"


    "Twelve!"


    "Fifteen!!!"


    And with that, an intense bidding contest began, pushing the price from 10 to 29 million Tels before the orchid was sold. Tina smiled, earning 19 million over the regr price with just one item. Her n was working better than anticipated!


    The first batch of orchids sold within minutes, averaging 25 million Tels each. It wasn''t anything crazy yet, as both Tina and the bidders were still gauging one another.


    "Then, let''s proceed to the next one!"


    About five minutester, after selling exactly 12 orchids, Lory approached Tina with a concerned expression and spoke softly but clearly.


    "Tina, I ran out of orchids."


    "...!"


    Her words caused everyone who had been dying their bids to freeze in shock. They had heard Tina say she had "a few" orchids but hadn''t expected there to be only twelve! Cold sweat trickled down their backs as they realized they''d missed their chance… but Tina''s next words threw them into a frenzy.


    "I see. Thanks, Lory. Cassy, let''s start with your batch!"


    There were more orchids!


    Lory had 12 orchids in her pack, and since there were five more people in the group, they quickly calcted that Tina''s party might have a total of 72 orchids. However, they had no idea they were ying right into Tina''s hands.


    "Alright, let''s proceed!"


    One after another, the orchids were sold. As the number sold approached half of the estimated inventory, the average price started to decrease, dropping to almost 19 million Tels per orchid.


    "18 million! Going once! Going twice! SOLD!"


    But after they sold the 50th orchid in half an hour, things heated up. As buyers began to believe that the inventory was running out, the bidding war became more intense, raising the price from 20 to 50 million! Each nt sold for multiple times its usual market price!


    Some of those who had dyed their bids, hoping thepetition would cool down, regretted their decision, while those who had already secured one or two orchids were ted. Tina watched it all unfold, her smile widening.


    "Alright, let''s go!" She announced. "51st item! Same description—harvested roughly 10 hours ago! Starting price of 10 million!"


    As expected, the bidding war intensified. The peak came at the 70th orchid, which sold for a whopping 100 million Tels! The st two" items went for 80 and 93 million Tels, respectively.


    By the end, the buyers were divided into two camps: those celebrating their sess in securing orchids for their organizations and those despairing over having missed out. Tina watched their reactions with satisfaction. Everything had gone exactly as she nned.


    "That''s it for the individual sale of the orchids!" She dered in a clear, authoritative voice, her announcement sounding like a death sentence to some.


    But what she said next left the crowd stunned. "Now, let''s begin batch-selling the remaining orchids! First up, a batch of five orchids, intertwined together and near-impossible to separate without damaging them! The starting bid is 80 million, with increments of 5 million!"


    When Aster presented the batch of tangled orchids, everyone gasped. Those who hadn''t secured an orchid yet thought this was their chance.


    "100 million—no, 200 million!"


    "Damn it! I need that orchid! 210 million!"


    "Mr. ***, let''s pool our resources and split the orchids afterward. 250 million!"


    Within moments, the price ballooned. A fierce battle of wits and intimidation began, with some even forming alliances in their desperation to secure the orchids.


    "405 million going once! Going twice! SOLD!"


    """YEAAAH!!!"""


    In the end, a coalition of five smallbs won the bidding war for the batch of orchids. They cheered, ted by their victory. Tina watched the scene unfold, barely able to contain herughter.


    "Then, let''s move on to the next one! A batch of three orchids this time, harvested eight hours ago! Starting bid of 40 million, with increments of 2 million!"


    "..."


    Afterward, with the buyers unable to gauge the true number of orchids left, all 100 orchids were sold at impressive prices. By the end of the auction, the average price had soared to 75 million per orchid. Tina and her party earned a staggering 7.5 billion Tels in a single day.


    Aster turned to the group, grinning. "Since this is all thanks to Tina''s wits, we''ll each take 1 billion t, and she can keep the rest!"


    No one objected—except for Tina herself.


    "No way, darling. I''ll just take a billion like the rest of you. You can hold on to the rest!" She whispered yfully as she wrapped her arms around Aster''s chest from behind. "In exchange..."


    "Gah! Stop that, you vixen!"


    Kali, unable to watch the flirting any longer, rushed over to separate them.


    "You may have multiplied the value of the orchids, but it''s still just money! You''re pushing your limits too much!"


    "Huh? I belong to darling, and darling belongs to me!" Tina growled in retaliation. "What gives you the right to butt into our rtionship?"


    "You''re not even in a rtionship yet, you delusional woman!"


    As usual, the two shed, but Aster didn''t bother intervening. He was used to their antics by now and knew they wouldn''t let things escte beyond control. After all, they were adults who knew when to stop—most of the time.