CSGO Unboxing Streamer: A Charity-Driven Tycoon

Chapter 173 It turns out it was just a blacklist!
As the auctioneer brought down the gavel.

The snake and ram heads were sold for £95 million.

This is the highest single transaction price ever recorded at Christie's in the city.

It also has the most exaggerated multiples between the reserve price and the transaction price.

The starting bid is two million pounds.

The transaction price was 47.5 times higher.

After the auctioneer suggested applause for the bidders.

The scene was filled with cheers and applause.

at the same time.

Among the two people in VIP room number two.

One of them stood up and stared at the scene in astonishment.

He muttered to himself, "How could he possibly give up? How could he possibly give up?"

He kept repeating this phrase to himself.

Rich people care about their image.

This is a promise made in public.

Especially when it carries a patriotic atmosphere.

It doesn't seem like they'll give up halfway through.

How much of the 95 million pounds he's going to lose?

First of all, the contract he just signed requires a payment of 25 million pounds.

In addition, there are high taxes incurred from the transaction and auction house fees.

He will lose at least £50 million in total.

at this time.

The man next to him didn't speak, but looked at his friend—no, his "partner"—with pity.

All I can say is that he was too greedy.

You can stop once you reach 80 million.

However, this has nothing to do with him; according to the contract, he can still take his share.

As for refusing to pay?

His legal team is no joke.

The news that the bronze animal heads appeared at Christie's auction quickly swept across the entire Chinese internet, especially the scene where Lu Yiming questioned Qin Hao, which, driven by a mysterious force, became a trending topic even before he left.

Stolen national treasures are being auctioned off.

This directly provoked the anger of netizens.

As in previous years.

They launched a protest against Christie's auction.

Meanwhile, relevant departments are also putting pressure on Christie's in the city through various means, including on the winning bidder, since the bronze head is on the list of items to be recovered.

It was also during this process.

The auction price reached 95 million.

Say something.

Once the price was announced, virtually no one on the internet wanted Lu Yiming to continue. However, his decisive departure with his luggage drew applause from many netizens.

However, netizens were happy.

Lu Yiming also encountered trouble.

If he doesn't want to pay for the house, he will face a lawsuit from Christie's.

at this time.

Qin Hao was trying his best to persuade Lu Yiming.

In this regard.

Lu Yiming, who was in the car, retorted, "If you do the first thing, don't blame me for doing the fifteenth. Sue me if you want, but if you have any problems, talk to my legal team!"

The words fell.

Lu Yiming closed the window and strode away.

Qin Hao watched the departing car carrying Lu Yiming with a rather complicated expression.

At that moment, he was internally cursing the person in charge for being a complete idiot.

They knew perfectly well that there were Chinese people among the VIPs who came to participate in the auction.

They even pulled this stunt at the auction.

In the car.

Lu Yiming interacted with the viewers in the live stream with a relaxed expression.

I saw someone asking me if I would be okay.

Lu Yiming shrugged and said, "Anyway, I didn't sign any contract. If there's a problem, it's the auction house's problem! If they really sue me, I'll just respond! Anyway, it's impossible for me to spend money to buy that house!"

Today's lucky number is six.

If there were a problem, he would have started to panic long ago; the fact that he doesn't feel that way means that what he's doing right now won't have any impact on him.

However, the viewers were not convinced.

Various suggestions were offered in the comments section.

The most popular suggestion is for him to run away as soon as possible.

In this regard.

Lu Yiming laughed and said, "Don't panic, brothers! Let me put it this way! Christie's should be the one panicking now."

Don't underestimate the influence of the world's second-largest economy.

Christie's is an auction house with locations in many countries around the world.

Applying pressure is so easy.

Shortly after the grand opening ceremony at the auction, Christie's representative in Chongqing received a constant stream of phone calls.

Now I can finally take a breather.

But soon Qin Hao called.

"We are very sorry! Our VIP guest is extremely angry! He has stated that if we do not provide him with a reasonable explanation, he will not only refuse to become our VIP guest, but he will also refuse to pay for the house he purchased at today's auction!"

Refusing to pay is unacceptable for any auction.

This situation has likely occurred before.

Therefore, additional supplementary conditions were added to the bidding requirements.

But it's a pity.

VIPs do not need to sign this supplementary contract.

In other words.

If Lu Yiming refuses to pay, their only recourse is to file a lawsuit, but the legal process can take anywhere from a few months to a year and a half.

Moreover, Lu Yiming is Chinese.

The other embassy will definitely help in this incident.

Things will become even more complicated.

at this time.

The person in charge was driven to the brink of collapse by the constant barrage of questioning phone calls.

He immediately said, "Let him handle this little matter! The most troublesome thing right now is the pressure from the East! I really want to crack open the brain of the person in charge of this autumn auction and see! How much shit did he stuff in his mouth to make this stupid decision!"

Nobody wants to offend the Eastern powers.

Especially such a blatant offense.

If there's support from above, that's fine.

But it's not what he wants to see if it's just his subordinates causing trouble.

However, his words were entirely an attempt to shirk responsibility. As the "general" person in charge of Christie's autumn auction in Chongqing, who would believe that he didn't know what the main axis was?

Anyway, that's all he said.

Qin Hao didn't believe it.

But I don't believe it.

At this moment, Qin Hao asked, "Then what should I do here?"

The words fell.

There was no response from the other party for a long time.

After a long silence, the person in charge replied, "Try again to see if you can get a better outcome! I need to deal with the pressure from the East, so I'm leaving this matter entirely in your hands!"

Qin Hao was not given a chance to respond.

The person in charge hung up the phone immediately.

At this moment, Qin Hao angrily said, "Call lao ye! (Cantonese)"

It is clear.

He won't get credit if the matter is handled well, but he'll be the scapegoat if it's handled poorly.

Lu Yiming returned to the hotel in the early hours of the morning in China.

They immediately announced the end of the live stream.

The million-strong online army disbanded that very night, becoming Lu Yiming's free online supporters. They were present in the comments section of virtually every video or trending topic related to Lu Yiming's livestream that night.

The phrase "I was there in person" will appear in every video.

In particular, the scene where Lu Yiming saw the animal heads appear at the auction and questioned Qin Hao was posted online during Lu Yiming's bidding process.

At this point, he ended his live stream.

The number of views has exceeded five million!

It was wildly reposted by mainstream media and independent media outlets that joined Douyin.

Meanwhile, the comments section was filled with positive responses from netizens.

This positive response lasted until the following morning.

Only then did some dissenting voices emerge online.

A prominent blogger posted: "While Christie's certainly made some mistakes, is Mr. Lu completely without fault? If he had continued bidding and brought the national treasure back, I would respect him as a man of principle. But he promised not to give up until he reached 100 million, and then backed down when faced with 95 million. Does someone who can't even keep his word deserve all the praise you've given him? And isn't refusing to pay a disgrace to us? He has absolutely no sense of contractual obligation."

Such related comments.

Throughout the day, numerous influential figures on social media platforms spoke out or shared the posts.

If even one in a hundred people believes the hype, then the whole thing is a success.

After all, the cost of spreading rumors is much lower than the cost of debunking them.

There are already quite a few pro-Western netizens in China, and even more of them are concentrated on Weibo. That noon, they were arguing fiercely with netizens who supported Lu Yiming on Weibo.

In addition, the well-known domestic media outlet Crownet launched a special column on the same day.

Many experts were invited to discuss Lu Yiming's refusal to pay.

Experts do not believe that Lu Yiming's refusal to pay is a good thing, saying that it damages the image of the country and undermines foreign trust in our credibility.

This infuriated Lu Yiming's fans.

It's 8:00 AM in Chongqing.

Lu Yiming answered Cao Siyun's call while eating breakfast.

I learned the general situation on the Chinese internet.

Lu Yiming laughed and said, "These people would eat any kind of blood-soaked bun!"

Lu Yiming had anticipated the situation online.

However, there is no solution to this.

Public opinion is highly manipulable, but the good news is that he currently has the majority of supporters, so there's not too much to worry about it affecting him.

If he was really disgusted or angry because of this.

This might just be falling into their trap.

Upon hearing this, Cao Siyun said, "We've already contacted Zhang Wei's law firm! We're preparing to handle it the same way as last time!"

Last time, Lu Yiming faced the rumors spread by the Shark platform.

They spent ten million.

The effect was quite obvious; a total of 47 people were sent in, and hundreds of self-media outlets deleted their posts and apologized.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yiming indicated that there was no problem.

He can even add more budget if the money is not enough.

Afterwards, Cao Siyun reported on the company's recent situation.

After hanging up the phone, I started dealing with the online issues.

However, Lu Yiming had just hung up the phone.

Qin Hao called to say that if it was convenient, he hoped the two of them could meet in person.

Qin Hao was in the hotel lobby.

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the conference room in Lu Yiming's suite.

The first thing he said upon meeting was a slight bow to Lu Yiming: "On behalf of Christie's Chongqing branch, I would like to apologize to you, Mr. Lu! We regret that this auction process gave you a bad experience!"

Lu Yiming did not hold a grudge against Qin Hao.

He was objective, not personal.

Moreover, he believed that this matter was beyond the reach of the person who received him.

Hearing this, he shrugged and said, "I'm sorry! I can't accept your apology! You should have Christie's so-called Chongqing branch give us an explanation! Instead of you coming to apologize to me!"

Lu Yiming emphasized the word "we" very much when he said that.

Qin Hao understood what he meant.

With a rather awkward expression, he said, "That depends on how they handle it! I came here today to discuss with you, Mr. Lu, the four items you bid on."

Having said that.

Lu Yiming interrupted, "I cannot pay for the house! This is my protest against your wrong approach. As for the other three collectibles, there is no problem!"

Lu Yiming's attitude was very firm.

This isn't him making a fuss over nothing; it's mainly because as a public figure, if he hadn't made any statement on this matter, the domestic media would have made a much bigger fuss about it than it has now.

At the same time, it's impossible for him to have that many supporters.

It is better to bear certain legal risks than to let things develop and do nothing.

Qin Hao looked at Lu Yiming's expression.

I also know that there is probably no room for maneuver in this matter.

Just as the person in charge said.

This is just a small matter, but it's a big deal to him. If he doesn't handle it well, he'll have to take the responsibility.

at this time.

Qin Hao also sighed and took his leave.

It's 7:17 PM domestic time.

State media devoted a full sixteen seconds to reporting on the auction held in Chongqing last night, and in addition to the due condemnation, used the keyword "patriot" to describe Lu Yiming.

This means that the official media has made a final assessment of Lu Yiming's actions.

It can be said that Cao Siyun's side didn't even have time to start exerting its strength.

All negative news about Lu Yiming disappeared online before 8 p.m.

Lu Yiming was having lunch when he heard the news.

Say something.

Lu Yiming was quite surprised.

After Cao Siyun finished her report, she asked Lu Yiming if he wanted to start a live broadcast during this time, since she could imagine how much popularity awaited him.

In this regard.

After careful consideration, Lu Yiming shook his head and said, "Let's not! Being in the limelight too much isn't a good thing. I'd better keep quiet for a while! The hype should die down after the wedding, then I'll do a live stream!"

One can imagine how popular he is right now.

But the higher you stand, the harder you fall.

His sixth sense told him that it was best to lay low for the time being.

It was also during Lu Yiming's phone call with Cao Siyun.

His fans in China were collectively excited because Lu Yiming made the news.

These days, nine out of ten news anchors appear on the news about the rule of law.

The fact that Lu Yiming received positive coverage is actually a good thing for the entire livestreaming industry.

of course.

This naturally excludes the Shark platform.

The stock price of Shark Platform has actually plummeted due to Lu Yiming's situation.

Investors are complaining about Shark Platform's previous handling of Lu Yiming.

The billion mark was not held.

The stock price plummeted to $900 million when it opened that evening.

However, another piece of news quickly became a trending topic that same evening.

That is Christie's posted a statement at 2 pm local time.

They blacklisted Lu Yiming from their auction house.

They also called on other auction houses in the industry to do the same.

To be honest, this behavior reminds me of those people in China who send out lawyer's letters at the drop of a hat. Is it just a blacklist? It's not very effective!

[Haha! They probably won't dare to sue! After all, they're in the wrong! Didn't someone else bid and then not pay? In the end, they were given away for free!]

[Hilarious! They even blacklisted him. Mr. Lu probably won't even visit your country anymore!]

[That scared me! I thought it was a lawsuit! It's just a blacklist!]

【.】

The blacklist is a last resort for Christie's.

They have too many things to deal with right now and simply can't spare the time to deal with Lu Yiming's matter.

Adding them to the blacklist is the strongest statement they can make.

That's all for today.

Starting tomorrow, I will update two chapters at 6 PM each evening.

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(End of this chapter)