Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1179: Chapter 20: Companion Candidate

“Scan to pay?”

“Yes.”

With a quick phone scan, Ren Ziling casually picked up the two cups of coffee and turned around just in time to see what was happening outside the glass door at the open seating area.

The boy stood up and bent over to kiss the girl who was sitting quietly; everything was so beautiful, like a work of art… Ren Ziling lifted the two cups of coffee to cover her eyes, then secretly peeked.

With a heart full of delight, Mammy Ren’s face faithfully reflected her mood, continuously sneaking a laugh.

It sounded something like… hehe.

“You can still get enlightened after all…” Nodding her head, Mammy Ren seemed satisfied, “Then I won’t disturb you~”

Thinking this, she would act.

She handed the drinks she just bought to the clerk and instructed her to take them out, then quietly left through the side door—not long after, the red mini sedan slowly drove away.

“Lizi! Are you home? I’m back… Shall I pick you up? I’m in a good mood today, how about a drink? Manuscript? What manuscript! I don’t know anything about that! It’s not happening! There’s no way I’m working overtime!”

Emmmm…

…

“Ms. Ren seems to have already left.”

They seemed to disappear in an instant from the tea seats, out of everyone’s sight, leaving no trace of Luo Qiu and You Ye’s presence—yet they remained sitting there.

Luo Qiu smiled slightly, without saying a word.

The maid softly asked, “Is Master heading back to the shop?”

Luo Qiu shook his head, “Not just yet, since we’re already out, let’s do something else.”

You Ye looked puzzled.

“How about catching a movie?” Luo Qiu suggested with a gentle smile, “It seems like we haven’t properly watched a movie together before.”

“A movie?”

Luo Qiu stood up, extending his hand, “Beautiful lady, would you honor me with a date tonight?”

The maid did not hesitate and placed her hand in Luo Qiu’s palm, softly said, “Of course.”

She smiled slightly, her gaze shimmering like stars… Suddenly, tiny dust-like particles began to drift away from the maid’s body.

Not much, and they soon vanished.

The maid looked somewhat surprised at these changes in her body, but quickly seemed to understand.

She gently furrowed her brow, even in astonishment, “When did you…”

Only to hear Luo Qiu softly say, “Next time, don’t get so upset, you know better than anyone… that I’m not going to get hurt.”

“Made Master worry,” the maid showed a hint of regret, “You Ye… still lacks perfection.”

Luo Qiu took her hand, walking toward the long street, “When It sold you off, a thread of sadness naturally took root in your soul. When the predecessor was around, your thoughts weren’t free, and this seed of sadness was always there, being suppressed… I walk a different path than the predecessor.”

You Ye gazed at Luo Qiu’s cheeks, slightly moved.

“I like you staying by my side, not just because I’m your master.” Luo Qiu said earnestly, “No matter how deeply you hide that thread of resentment, I will bring it out, and make it disappear.”

“Master.” The maid’s eyes sparkled again.

Time abruptly stopped for her, and the world, the space, everything naturally paused.

…

Luo Qiu sighed, gently caressing the maid’s face, calmly said, “I don’t plan on quitting, that’s enough. Doing too much would actually make me dislike it… What’s the point of you cautiously stripping away my emotions? To keep me, just make me happy.”

Movement resumed.

Time began flowing once more for the maid… only her deep blue eyes became chaos, seeming to contain countless stars, encompassing everything.

“You… remembered?”

This was You Ye’s voice… yet it wasn’t her.

Altar.

Luo Qiu could easily sense a different consciousness, now attempting to converse with him through You Ye’s body—a face-to-face conversation, a dialog unlike before.

“You finally decided to see me.” Luo Qiu smiled slightly, quite pleased with the outcome.

“If I didn’t show myself, you’d… forget it, I’ll satisfy you!” ‘You Ye’ glared forcefully at him, then, like deflating, said, “How much do you remember?”

“Not much, just some fragmented pieces that can’t form anything tangible.” Luo Qiu calmly said, “There’s only some sensations.”

“As expected…” ‘You Ye’ lowered her head slightly, soon saying, “Luo Ya’s last attack affected you. The Royal Power infiltrated your body, ultimately causing your power to resonate.”

“Isn’t that what you’d rather see?” Luo Qiu retorted unexpectedly, “I seem to vaguely sense it.”

‘You Ye’ shook her head, remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, “The Root Agent still has a loophole; the Royal Power is the ultimate measure… but if the heir of the Royal Power simultaneously becomes an agent, the loophole will be sealed, the agent will be flawless.”

“So my existence came to be, huh.”

“No… you are merely an accident.” ‘You Ye’ shook her head, “I can’t reveal too much.”

Luo Qiu squinted his eyes, “You… represent the altar, or the root?”

‘You Ye’ also locked eyes with Luo Qiu, seriously said, “I am the altar, and also the root, but the root is not me… keep in mind, the root requires a perfect proxy agent, I will aid you.”

“Why?” Luo Qiu furrowed his brow.

‘You Ye’ stepped closer, gently leaning her head on Luo Qiu’s chest.

In that moment, even he as the master… his time stopped.

“Because no matter what you wish to do, I will make it come true for you…”

‘You Ye’ embraced him for a moment, then slowly raised her head, suddenly tiptoed, and lightly kissed Luo Qiu’s lips before gently drawing back.

‘You Ye’ gazed for a moment, slightly spread her arms open, and a cold aura slowly dispersed from ‘her’ body.

[Surface consciousness link, disconnect…]

[Proxy agent growth rate surpasses the limit… activating backup emergency protocol…]

[Sealing all royal memories of the Proxy Agent… Adjusting growth rate…]

[Upgrading the Proxy Agent’s servant, elevating ‘Saint Joan of Arc’ to ‘Companion Candidate’ status]

[Reconnecting surface consciousness… Deep consciousness fluctuation rate is 1.3%… Repairing… Repair complete, this time the True Soul consumption is 62,400,090…]

[Surface consciousness begins embedding… Embedding successful… Deep consciousness has gone dormant… Surface consciousness begins dormancy… Activating self-running program…]

‘You Ye’ looked at Luo Qiu, slowly closing her eyes, “Next time we meet, I’ll definitely swallow it. So this time, don’t be faster than me, okay? By then, I will truly make you…”

…

Luo Qiu instinctively looked around.

“Master?” The maid’s eyes were bright at this moment.

Luo Qiu apologetically said, “I seem to have broken the mood a bit. Sorry, I shouldn’t have been distracted.”

The maid smiled and shook her head.

“Something seems a bit different.” Luo Qiu looked at You Ye and suddenly said,

The maid moved her mouth in confusion, “Maybe it’s with master’s help that You Ye’s mood has become lighter.”

Luo Qiu nodded, recognizing this was the maid who brewed red tea for him in the afternoon, silently accompanying him, making him feel extremely pleasant and comfortable.

“Come, the movie should be starting now.” Luo Qiu smiled slightly, “I don’t think you’d want to miss this movie either, right?”

…

…

Just like the roaring declaration at that time.

The true dragon of China is now dressed in pajamas, lying on the sofa, propping her head with one hand, eating sunflower seeds, watching a mindless TV series, and spitting complaints.

“What the hell, transforming qi into a horse? Tsk tsk!”

Unlike this true dragon with no sense of decorum, the little butterfly monster from the pet hospital sat obediently beside her, unaffected, working on a ‘Three-Year College Entrance Exam’ exercise book.

Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell rang… Just wanting to stay indoors for a few days without worrying about anything, the true dragon of China frowned, “Pianqian, get rid of them!”

“Okay!” Luo Pianqian nodded, quickly walking out—soon, the little butterfly monster came running back.

Watching the little butterfly bounce back with her chest moving up and down, the true dragon of China rolled her eyes, but the little butterfly monster said, “Sister Long, two people in black suits came and handed this to you.”

Luo Pianqian presented a small red booklet, embossed with some steel stamp.

“From the Management Bureau?” Long Xiruo immediately frowned. Though reluctant, she still got up, “These guys, with nothing better to do? What else did they say?”

Luo Pianqian said, “They said there’s a case happening here, and they wanted to apologize for the disturbance, so they came to say hello first.”

“A case?” Long Xiruo mused for a moment.

In general, this city is her private domain. The Management Bureau exists, but it’s just an empty shell, leaving only a few clerical staff, generally helping to fulfill some of her requests.

For example, arranging residence for certain monsters, setting up residential identities, or arranging education for little monsters.

…

Appearing in front of the two Bureau Investigators, the true dragon of China naturally couldn’t be in pajamas — though the true dragon’s clothes, many of them were prepared by a turtle with a certain special fetish during her child’s state.

Long Xiruo’s original clothes were almost all shirts and jeans paired with a white lab coat.

“Intermediate Investigator Liu Minghao, greetings to the Dragon Consultant.”

“Junior Investigator Wei Zidao, greetings to the Dragon Consultant.”

“Are you very idle?” Long Xiruo looked at the two Management Bureau Investigators in front of her, who didn’t even dare to raise their heads.

Investigator Liu Minghao then explained their purpose, “Consultant, we received a special event application from here, so we came to investigate… This is the application materials personally written by the local police chief, and here’s the document approved from above for your review.”

Long Xiruo grabbed it casually, opened it and looked, “Died in the detention center?”

This caught Long Xiruo’s attention, so she continued reading. After a while, she set the documents down.

Liu Minghao seized the opportunity and said, “Dragon Consultant, we have already reviewed the incident video, and there is no post-processing. The criminal was shot out of nowhere, with no bullet residue inside… Normal methods can’t achieve that.”

“Hmm.” Long Xiruo nodded, but didn’t pay much attention.

Such things, which appear extremely strange to ordinary people, could boil down to dozens or even hundreds of possibilities if it involved the Transcendent.

Surveillance cameras unable to capture it might be due to some form of Daoist Magic, or certain demons inherently possessing hidden abilities — Long Xiruo really wasn’t interested in dealing with this kind of thing.

However, one thing did surprise her.

She looked at the two mid-level investigators and frowned, “As far as I remember, you haven’t gone public… Why would the chief of this city write this application?”

Liu Minghao quickly said, “That’s it, Consultant… Since the Mount Tai incident, the upper level passed ‘Special Emergency Cases,’ and the encrypted files have basically been conveyed to top officials at major city levels or above, and into the hands of police chiefs.”

“Special Emergency Cases? When did this happen?” Long Xiruo opened her mouth, “Why don’t I know?”

Liu Minghao nervously said, “This… this was decided by the higher-ups, I don’t know either… Perhaps the Consultant could inquire about it.”

Long Xiruo pondered for a moment, then waved her hand, “Alright, you go about your business, do what you need to do, and write me a report later.”

The two quickly excused themselves.

Afterward, Long Xiruo picked up the phone, dialing a number far away in the capital.

Answering the call was the Fiery Cloud Evil God, who had just returned to the capital and hadn’t yet begun his secluded cultivation, “Lord Long? Calling at this time, I wonder what it’s about?”

“Fire Cloud brat, I want to ask you, what is this Special Emergency Case about?” Long Xiruo said angrily, “Are you planning to bypass me, doing something?”

“Lord Long jokes, the Special Emergency Case is to better respond to the influence brought by the Spiritual Energy Awakening.” The Fiery Cloud Evil God said slowly, “Originally, we planned to discuss this with you after a few more days when more data had been gathered. But since you’ve asked, I’ll tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“The day after the press conference, we received three special reports.” The Fiery Cloud Evil God said seriously, “In three different hospitals, three newborn babies appeared. These three infants all have unusual and weak abilities. And these three hospitals aren’t far from where the disaster initially erupted… Moreover, today we received two more similar reports.”

“What do you mean?” Long Xiruo subconsciously frowned.

The Fiery Cloud Evil God said gravely, “Perhaps… a Superpower Era is about to emerge.”

“That’s troublesome…” Long Xiruo murmured to herself.

The resurgence of nature’s spiritual energy allows not only Dao Monsters to gain more survival space but also grants ordinary people a slight chance at evolution…