Chapter Three: The Zero Auction

Mingchuan valued it at two hundred million, but a rumored subway line would raise it to six hundred million. Each bidder could submit one offer per round. The highest won the asset and all losing deposits. “A variation on an all-pay auction,” Xu Zhi had explained. “He'll use shills. Your two-million investigation fund doesn't meet the ten-million minimum.” But the invitation allowed “equivalent information” approved by Mingchuan as collateral. Zhou Lin brought the blue ledger. Jiming accepted it at ten million and locked it in a transparent safe. The other bidders were developer Han Dong, fund manager Bai Wei, port owner Sun Qing, and a young man in sunglasses named Gu Chenzhou.