Liam immediately felt as though he was engulfed by a terrifying aura, and he couldn't help shuddering a few times.

Liam's words were indeed very inappropriate, and he was as crude and uncouth as lowly gangsters, which was a huge disgrace to the scions of wealthy and prestigious families. Many of the guests present at the auction began to look displeased.

Russell's face was just as cold and sullen as he berated, "Mr. Wallace, please mind your words and manners! Also, once you've paid the sum of thirty million dollars, Beauty No. 1, who's on the stage now, will belong to you. Until then, you have no right to do anything to her. Now, please make your payment!"

The staff member in the black uniform asked again, "Mr. Wallace, would you like to pay by bank transfer or by check?"

Liam was being forced to the point of being at a loss for what to do, and Lucas refused to fall for his trick. So he could only bite the bullet and say, "I… I don't have so much money on my card now…"

"You don't? Then why didn't you think of that when you were bidding just now?" Russell snorted coldly. "Mr. Wallace, your family is wealthy and prestigious. In fact, even this auction venue we are standing in as we speak belongs to the Wallaces. On account of your grandfather, I'll give you one more chance. Call your father or the senior Mr. Wallace immediately and ask them to bring the money here to make the payment for you!"

Liam's forehead was already covered in sweat. If he had to call his grandfather and inform him that he had just spent thirty million dollars at the auction to purchase a woman who had nothing to offer except a pretty face, he would definitely be beaten to death!

Holding his phone with trembling hands, he couldn't bring himself to dial that familiar number.

"Wait!" At this moment, Kyle suddenly interjected and slowly walked toward Liam from behind.

Russell frowned slightly, but as a subordinate of the Kingstons, he had to be polite. "Mr. Kingston, do you have any objections?"

Kyle glanced at Russell, but he didn't answer him directly. Instead, he turned his head to say to Lucas, "I heard that you were very generous and bought the first nine beauties in a row during the auction tonight. Before Mr. Wallace appeared, you've also offered as high as six million dollars for the last girl. When you were competing with him during the bidding, your final bid was twenty-three million dollars, right?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "That's right. So what?"

"Let's put it this way. Since both of you are keen on buying this girl, and Mr. Wallace happens to be short of cash at the moment, let's consider his bid invalid and yours successful. In that case, you shall take the last beauty home for six million dollars," Kyle said self-righteously. Without even asking Lucas if he agreed at all, he instructed the staff member beside him, "Proceed with the arrangements for the payment transfer procedures for Lucas Gray. This matter is settled then."

Russell's face was sullen, and after some hesitation, he said softly, "Mr. Kingston, I'm afraid this is not an appropriate way to handle this matter. After all, Mr. Wallace succeeded in bidding for the last item during the auction, but he's now unable to come up with the money to pay what he bid. If we get this matter over and done with in such a hasty manner, I'm afraid it will damage the reputation of the Kingstons' auctions…"

Kyle glared at Russell scornfully. "I'm the heir of the Kingstons, while you're just a subordinate who works for us. Are you sure you want to contradict me too?"

Having worked for the Kingstons for decades, Russell had always been highly respected by the Kingstons, including the helmsman and staff members. This was the first time that he had ever been publicly rebuked by a junior of the Kingstons.

Although he was indeed working for the Kingstons, Russell still had his own set of principles that he would abide by. For the sake of the Kingstons' reputation, he decided to try and persuade Kyle further, but the latter interrupted him with a look of annoyance.

"That's enough. I don't want to hear any more nonsense from you. I've already made my mind up regarding this matter. Should there be any consequences, I'll bear full responsibility for them. Will this do?"

When Russell heard Kyle's stubborn insistence, there was nothing else he could say. He could only keep quiet and stand quietly at the side.

After giving these instructions, Kyle turned to Liam. "Mr. Wallace, we're friends after all, so I will help you settle this matter this time. However, you must be careful in the future!"

Overjoyed, Liam hurriedly thanked Kyle, "Thank you so much, Mr. Kingston! I owe you a huge favor for this today. Regardless of what happens to you in the future, I'll definitely go to great lengths to help you at all costs!"

"Haha, sure!" Kyle chuckled and then turned around to face Lucas again. He then ordered Lucas like Lucas was his servant, "Okay, hurry up and pay up! Stop wasting our time here!"

Lucas remained seated, not moving by a single inch. His lips curled into a mirthless smile as he said sneeringly, "What if I don't agree?"

From the beginning, Kyle had never asked for Lucas's opinion and presumptuously exempted Liam from bearing the consequences of his actions. He even used such a disgustingly condescending tone to order Lucas to pay up immediately.

If Liam hadn't interrupted the auction halfway and tried to deal with Lucas, Lucas would indeed have paid the six million dollars for the bid he placed.

Unfortunately, Kyle decided to let Liam off without any consequences. Lucas naturally wouldn't agree to it, especially since Kyle spoke to him in such a rude and snobbish tone.

Lucas wasn't bothered by the fact that he was a Kingston and wouldn't let himself be shortchanged for the sake of pleasing Kyle.

"Punk, I'm being kind enough by not asking you for twenty-three million dollars directly. How dare you turn me down? Seems like you want to do this the hard way! It's a piece of cake for me to deal with you!" Kyle threatened softly.

They weren't speaking loudly, and only the few people nearest to them could hear them, such as Lena and Bruce, who were sitting right next to Lucas. Both of them had fury in their eyes.

Lucas sneered and glanced at Kyle, who was putting on airs and acting all high up in the air, before turning to look at Liam, who was looking all smug and conceited. He suddenly said loudly, "I've given up on that last bid just now, and yet you're trying to force me to be the winner of the auction just because Mr. Wallace can't afford to pay? Is there such logic in this world? It turns out that the rules of the Kingstons are so twisted. I've gotten an eyeopener today!"

Only then did the crowd figure out exactly what Kyle Kingston had said to Lucas. They immediately got into an uproar and looked at them with displeasure in their eyes.

There wasn't a single auction where such a rule applied.

Generally, if the successful bidder didn't have enough money to pay for what they bid on, it would be deemed as malicious bidding, and they would be required to pay for the goods immediately while also being subject to penalties such as getting blacklisted.

If the bidder really couldn't afford to pay, he would have to bear severe consequences, and that auction would also be considered invalid. With the permission of the guests, a new round of bidding would then begin.

In short, such a practice where the second-highest bidder was forced to buy the item while the malicious bidder faced zero punishment as if nothing had happened would never occur in auctions.

If that were the case, there would be plenty of malicious bidders in the future, and the rules of the auctions would be thrown into jeopardy.

Everyone discussed. When Kyle saw that Lucas had ruthlessly exposed the truth of this matter, his face turned sullen, and he hollered furiously, "Lucas Gray, are you bent on going against me?! Don't blame me for being nasty to you then!"