Just then,
The two lines of text on the giant screen dissolved.
The interface seemed to return to normal.
The profile for the Astral Titanium reappeared.
Followed immediately by the live bidding screen.
It paused on the final call of 5.28 billion, displaying the associated bidder's seat number.
"Is the system back?"
"Can we bid again?"
The guests stared at the restored display.
The countdown timer had restarted.
Arthur let out a massive sigh of relief and was just about to instruct the auctioneer to resume the frenzy.
But the guests quickly realized something was wrong.
"Why is my bidding button still grayed out?"
"Mine too! It's not responding!"
"Are the devices broken?"
"Maybe the system hasn't fully rebooted?"
"No, look! Look at the screen!"
Every head snapped back to the massive display.
The astronomical figure of 5.28 billion suddenly began to spin wildly.
But it wasn't climbing.
It was plummeting.
It dropped until the numbers hit absolute zero.
Finally, the screen reset to the starting price page.
Only this time, the starting bid wasn't the 500 million the Doyle family had set.
It was a number that made everyone's jaws drop.
[Starting Bid: $1]
"W-what is going on?!"
Arthur lunged forward, staring at the one-dollar starting price, his voice shaking. "Tech! Where the hell is the tech team?! Fix this right now!"
A few operators furiously hammered at their control boards.
But it was utterly useless.

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