About an hour later, all of Ian's purchased rough stones were moved into the warehouse.
The warehouse looked simple on the outside, but its security was actually extremely tight. First, the whole building was made of thick reinforced concrete, and there were surveillance cameras installed both inside and outside.
Besides that, the warehouse had three doors in total.
The first door had a regular password lock, the second was protected by a fingerprint lock, and the third used an iris scanner. Outside the warehouse, armed soldiers stood guard around the clock.
So even international master thieves would have a hard time getting inside.
Of course, not every warehouse had such strict security. The main reason was that Ian's batch of rough stones was worth 220 million yuan, so the organizers provided this warehouse for free.
The warehouse could only be used for ten days; after that, each extra day would cost a million yuan in fees.
When Ian walked out of the warehouse accompanied by the female attendant, a middle-aged man was already waiting outside.
"Hello, Mr. Song. My name is Harvey Wu, manager of the service desk for this public auction. Here is your invitation to the premium auction. Please accept it!"
Ian took the invitation and smiled at him. "Thank you, Manager Wu."
Now, Ian had just tipped ten thousand Yanhuang yuan. Even though she had to give half to her employers, it was still five thousand yuan.
An ordinary worker couldn't make that much in a year.
"Thank you, Mr. Song." Yuki Ruan said gratefully as she accepted the stack of cash.
"No need to thank me. Your service has been excellent. I'll be buying more rough stones in the coming days, so I hope you'll continue to assist me!" Ian said coolly.
"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Song! I will do my very best to serve you!" Yuki Ruan bowed deeply to Ian.
Since Xiang Shan wasn't interested in rough stones, he'd been waiting in the lounge the whole time.
Meanwhile, Harold Han had finished his business and was sitting in the lounge chatting with Xiang Shan.
Of course, Xiang Shan was the silent type; mostly Harold Han did the talking, while Xiang Shan occasionally replied with a grunt or two. This left Victor Liu quite dissatisfied.
When Ian walked into the lounge, Victor Liu couldn't help but sneer, the corners of his mouth curling with disdain.
"Young Master Song, such a big move! I heard you bought over four thousand rough stones," Harold Han said with a hearty laugh. He'd lost to Ian in their last stone-gambling contest and was convinced Ian wasn't acting recklessly.
Ian smiled, "What choice do I have? I opened a jade jewelry store in Flame City, and without any jadeite supply, I can only buy at the public auction!"
Hearing Ian's words, Victor Liu rolled his eyes. That guy talked as if every stone he bought contained jadeite.
As for Sabrina Han, after hearing Ian's words, she also thought he was being a bit too arrogant.
"Young Master Song, you truly act beyond the norm—I'm impressed!" Harold Han praised.
Hearing his own master praise Ian yet again, Victor Liu couldn't help but interrupt: "Master, with all due respect, that kind of crazy stone-buying behavior is not advisable."
"Oh? Why not?" Ian looked at Victor Liu and asked. He'd already noticed Victor's hostility, but out of respect for Harold Han, he hadn't confronted him—though now Victor was pushing it.
Victor Liu smiled arrogantly, looking down on Ian: "Young Master Song, not every rough stone contains jadeite. In fact, most don't. So your plan to secure jadeite by buying up rough stones just won't work!"
"What if every stone I bought did have jadeite?" Ian replied playfully. In truth, Victor's point was valid, but Ian wasn't an ordinary person—he had the Clairvoyant Vision that could see inside any stone.
"Impossible! Not just you—even my master wouldn't dare claim every rough stone contained jadeite!" Victor Liu sneered.
Harold Han suddenly turned to Victor Liu: "Victor, as the saying goes, there's always someone better out there. You underestimated him! Ian is a stone-gambling master. If anyone else said they could secure a jadeite supply just by buying at the auction, I wouldn't believe it—but if Ian says it, I absolutely do!"
As Harold Han spoke, he deliberately winked at Ian. Ian was momentarily puzzled, then realized what Harold meant.
Overall, Harold Han was quite satisfied with Victor Liu as a disciple, but found him too arrogant. That was why, when meeting Ian, he hadn't told Victor that Ian was the one who had defeated him.
He wanted Ian to knock some arrogance out of him.
Now that Victor Liu was actively provoking Ian, Harold Han winked at Ian, inviting him to humble Victor.
"He's a stone-gambling master? Master, I don't believe it. Sabrina, do you?" Victor Liu found Harold's words ridiculous.
Sabrina Han didn't say anything, but her expression showed she didn't believe Ian was a stone-gambling master either.
"If you don't believe it, why not have a stone-gambling duel with Young Master Song?" Harold Han suggested smoothly.
"Sure, I'd like to see just how good you are at stone gambling, Young Master Song." Victor Liu agreed without hesitation. Earlier, he and Sabrina Han had each bought two stones; both of his produced jadeite, earning him three million yuan easily.
Sabrina Han only got one profitable stone, but still made over a million.
That's why Victor Liu was brimming with confidence.
As Harold Han spoke, he deliberately winked at Ian. Ian was momentarily puzzled, then realized what Harold meant.
Overall, Harold Han was quite satisfied with Victor Liu as a disciple, but found him too arrogant. That was why, when meeting Ian, he hadn't told Victor that Ian was the one who had defeated him.
He wanted Ian to knock some arrogance out of him.
Now that Victor Liu was actively provoking Ian, Harold Han winked at Ian, inviting him to humble Victor.
"He's a stone-gambling master? Master, I don't believe it. Sabrina, do you?" Victor Liu found Harold's words ridiculous.
Sabrina Han didn't say anything, but her expression showed she didn't believe Ian was a stone-gambling master either.
"If you don't believe it, why not have a stone-gambling duel with Young Master Song?" Harold Han suggested smoothly.
"Sure, I'd like to see just how good you are at stone gambling, Young Master Song." Victor Liu agreed without hesitation. Earlier, he and Sabrina Han had each bought two stones; both of his produced jadeite, earning him three million yuan easily.
Sabrina Han only got one profitable stone, but still made over a million.
That's why Victor Liu was brimming with confidence.