Ying Chen's actions left the assembled guests dumbfounded.
Those who had harbored resentment towards Ying Chen moments ago now had no room for it.
The reason was simple: Ying Chen had dropped the pretense, no longer playing games.
Ying Chen had openly revealed his true colors – he was taking advantage of the situation!
The only thing slightly better than He Chongxu was that Ying Chen didn't have He Chongxu's enormous appetite, demanding a billion from each person.
Instead, he asked for a hundred million per person.
This inevitably reminded everyone of the analogy between China's two major gaming companies.
When "Pig Farm" (Zhuchang) fleece its players, it would rather take a million from a single wealthy player than ten thousand from a hundred ordinary ones.
But when "Swan Farm" (Echang) fleece its players, it would rather take ten thousand from a hundred ordinary players than a million from a single wealthy one.
It was clear that He Chongxu was the embodiment of Pig Farm; Ying Chen was the embodiment of Swan Farm.
Although their methods seemed similar, both trying to extract money from players, their actual profits were vastly different!
This was because the number of players who could be milked for a million was extremely small, whereas players who could be milked for ten thousand were commonplace!
In this round, Ying Chen won with his "low price, high volume" strategy.
"Is there anyone who doesn't want to pay? A kind reminder, your clothes will shatter in about five seconds. If you lose your lives, you can't blame me," Ying Chen said leisurely.
Hearing that they only had five seconds left to consider, the guests, whose minds had already gone blank and who were on the verge of a breakdown, dared not refuse.
They scrambled to agree, "We'll pay, we'll pay!"
"A hundred million for a life is worth it!"
"Can we get a discount for our family of three?"
"Our family has seven people this time! Seven hundred million is too much, we can't afford it!"
Hearing those who claimed to have brought their families and were lamenting their hardships, Ying Chen, with unusual consideration, waved his hand, "Forget it, since I'm a reasonable person. Payment will be per family unit!"
"Thank you, thank you! You are truly a benevolent benefactor!"
"Wuwuwu, I'm so touched. I thank you on behalf of my entire family of seven!"
These people, who had been resentful moments ago, were now showering Ying Chen with gratitude.
And what had Ying Chen done?
He had merely switched his "good guy" persona to an "evil guy" persona, and then, from within the "evil guy" persona, he had shown leniency, bestowing small favors.
This had instantly flipped the narrative, creating a completely different scene.
It was akin to the Buddhist saying of "He who drops his butcher's knife becomes a Buddha instantly." A bad person drops his butcher's knife and can immediately become a Buddha; a good person toils their whole life and may not even get a chance to ascend to Buddha's realm.
It was both laughable and pathetic.
He Chongxu, listening to the assembled guests agree to pay, was so furious he could grind his teeth.
He wished he could stop the Tian Yue He Xue immediately, preventing this scumbag merchant Ying Chen from making a single cent!
But then he thought, if he stopped the Tian Yue He Xue, wouldn't that be equivalent to letting Ying Chen off the hook?
That wouldn't do!
What's more, once Ying Chen was killed, all the wealth he had accumulated would belong to He Chongxu!
What? If Ying Chen dies, he won't fulfill his promises and pay?
Bah!
He Chongxu hated untrustworthy people the most in his life!
Everyone who had agreed to pay earlier, not a single one would escape!
After everyone had paid, he, He Chongxu, would hold a grand Luo Tian Da Jiao and Shui Lu Dao Chang ceremony for Ying Chen, burying him with great fanfare, thus finding a use for those hundred billion.
What? A Luo Tian Da Jiao doesn't cost a hundred billion?
Yes, an ordinary Luo Tian Da Jiao wouldn't cost a hundred billion. But a Luo Tian Da Jiao presided over by He Chongxu would be worth a hundred billion!
And this was even a discounted price!
The more He Chongxu thought about it, the happier he became, as if he could already see the beautiful scene of him presiding over the Luo Tian Da Jiao, chanting prayers while collecting money.
His anger and unwillingness from before vanished completely.
However, He Chongxu failed to notice that as he was happily fantasizing, Ying Chen suddenly raised his palm gently.
There was no special movement from Ying Chen, it was like an ordinary village shrew fight, slapping each other.
He flicked his palm towards the celestial crane in the void.
*Slap!*
The sound was crisp and loud.
The celestial crane was flying high in the void, far beyond the reach of Ying Chen's palm.
But for some reason, the celestial crane suddenly stumbled and plummeted straight towards the ground!
It was as if an invisible palm had caught the celestial crane off guard and slapped it hard!
*Crack...*
The celestial crane's massive body hit the ground with a grating sound of fragmentation.
Everyone was terrified, thinking that the celestial crane's enormous body would crush them into meat paste.
But to their surprise, the celestial crane did not cause them any harm!
Instead, it floated through their bodies, shattering only when it touched the ground, and then dissipated into a puff of smoke and mist.
Only then did everyone realize what Ying Chen had meant by "projection of a dead beast"!
He Chongxu, at this moment, finally sensed something was wrong. His face turned ashen with shock and he cried out in anguish, "My Crane Son!"
He had always raised this celestial crane as if it were his son.
Now that the crane was destroyed, he was more pained than if he had lost a child!
"Aaaahhh, I'm going to kill you!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
He Chongxu's eyes blazed with fury as he roared at Ying Chen.
Ying Chen, however, had no time to attend to He Chongxu. He merely addressed the guests, who were now out of danger and no longer had snowflakes falling, saying, "Work is done, remember to pay up!"
Then Ying Chen looked at Zhuang Ruoting, "Could you do me a favor and collect the money? Remember, no delays or shortages. This is the hard-earned money of the working people!"
"..." Zhuang Ruoting and the guests were all speechless.
Ying Chen had only struck once, and it had somehow become the hard-earned money of the working people?
Where was the blood?
Where was the sweat?
However, despite their inner thoughts, no one dared to resist.
Some even proactively approached Zhuang Ruoting, "Miss Zhuang, please provide an account number. I'll have someone transfer the money immediately. A UBS account would be best, without so many procedural clauses, it will arrive quickly."
Zhuang Ruoting, being the daughter of a prominent family, did have a UBS account.
She immediately provided one.
The guests present all noted it down and, with expressions of heartache, began to transfer the money.
A hundred million was not a small sum for them, though perhaps not crippling.
To attend an auction and end up losing a hundred million out of nowhere was certainly cause for pain.
While people were transferring money, Ying Chen was leisurely watching He Chongxu.
"Do you have any other tricks? Bring them all out!"
"Preferably something that threatens everyone's lives like the last one."
"Then I'll set the price at two hundred million per person. After it's done, I'll give you 1%, how about that?"
"..." The guests who were transferring money fumbled, almost adding an extra zero.
He Chongxu was even more infuriated.
1%?
Who was he trying to insult?
It should at least be 10%!
No, wait. Why would I want your dirty money?
I am irreconcilably opposed to you!
Huo Sheng, Li Fengcheng, and the others nearby also looked grim and urged, "Master He, stop playing with him, end this farce quickly!"
"We'll add another billion to you, no problem."
With the assurance from Huo Sheng and Li Fengcheng, He Chongxu's aura instantly surged.
He Chongxu's dark robes billowed like a flag in the wind.
"Since you are so foolish, then I shall let you witness the methods of an immortal!"