Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1186: Chapter 27: No More

The two quickly entered Qian Er’s home.

Perhaps due to Chang Xiao’s death, the debt collectors hadn’t shown up these past two days, so Qian Er felt a bit carefree. The floor was littered with beer and peanut shells, and when Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao arrived, this guy was snoring away on the sofa.

However, this made their work easier.

Wei Zidao first took a slender metal rod and prodded all over Qian Er’s body. “Brother Hao, no abnormal energy reactions.”

“It seems he’s not a power user… You can proceed,” Liu Minghao said casually, then brought over a chair, covered his nose with a tissue, and sat down.

Wei Zidao nodded, approached Qian Er, and formed a strange seal gesture with his hand, muttering something under his breath, then placed it on Qian Er’s forehead — a kind of minor Taoist magic, similar to hypnosis.

Of course, the effect of hypnosis varies from person to person, as well as the skill of the caster — at school, Wei Zidao excelled in this area, so he graduated early and was officially promoted to an agent eligible for field duty.

Under the effect of practical Taoist magic, Qian Er slowly opened his eyes, but his expression was dull and his consciousness unclear.

Liu Minghao began asking questions about that night’s events… What Qian Er said was basically the same as the testimonies given to the police by Chang Xiao’s companions.

Just as Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao figured their luck had run out without uncovering anything new, Qian Er mentioned some details that hadn’t been recorded.

“A gun?” Liu Minghao frowned at this moment. “What gun, who gave you the gun?”

Qian Er’s eyes were vacant, but his speech was clear, “A silver gun. I couldn’t see his face. He said he could help me kill Chang Xiao, so I pulled the trigger.”

“Where is that gun?” Wei Zidao hurriedly asked.

Qian Er shook his head slowly, “I don’t know.”

Liu Minghao stared at Qian Er for a long while before waving his hand, and Wei Zidao cast another spell, making Qian Er slump onto the sofa and fall into a deep sleep.

“Brother Hao, there’s a hint of something suspicious now,” Wei Zidao pondered, “The deceased in the detention center and Chang Xiao both died from gunshots to the forehead, and no bullets could be found… And Qian Er said someone gave him a silver gun.”

Liu Minghao nodded, “This gun is likely a specially crafted magic artifact… Perhaps this explains its unusual killing method. But one thing puzzles me, why didn’t the person behind it use the gun directly, instead handing it over to Qian Er? Then, was the incident at the detention center also a similar operation?”

Wei Zidao paced around, struck by a thought, “If the killer acted personally, there wouldn’t be such an oversight like Qian Er, who’s difficult to track down. But the killer did it this way, perhaps because the killer themselves couldn’t directly use the gun?”

“Or maybe using this gun requires certain conditions,” Liu Minghao speculated wildly, “It’s even possible they are conducting some kind of experiment?”

“If it’s an experiment, then it’s very likely another victim will appear,” Wei Zidao quickly realized, “Brother Hao, if that’s true, it’s extremely dangerous!”

“Let’s not panic, it’s just our conjecture,” Liu Minghao shook his head, “If it’s really shooting bullets that kill, and the bullets disappear after killing, then this gun isn’t an ordinary magic artifact. You see, even considering just Chang Xiao in his sealed car, a bullet would only suddenly appear upfront to kill him… Just think, this kind of space-defying method, have we learned anything similar in the various Taoist arts?”

Wei Zidao thought for a moment, “I’ve heard that some powerfully skilled Taoists can use a technique to move people a thousand miles instantly. And many Taoist sects have escape techniques to pass through walls.”

“The wall-passing technique is only applicable to energy bodies like ghosts. Normal people, even Taoists or demons, can’t achieve it. The development department has conducted countless tests on this. It can only be said that this magic artifact can generate bullet-like energy within a specified range, and after killing, the energy disappears, as does the bullet,” Liu Minghao shook his head, “Tearing through space is not impossible, but the energy required is too immense. Even the epicenter of a nuclear explosion doesn’t possess such a capability.”

“It’s not that the energy isn’t enough, it’s that our method of utilizing energy is still quite rudimentary,” Wei Zidao countered, “I attended Dr. Zhao’s lecture. He mentioned that with humanity’s current methods, there are still deficiencies in how we use energy. As for Dao Monsters, they are just slightly more advanced than us, but not necessarily the endpoint.”

Liu Minghao waved his hand dismissively, “Let’s not delve into that. We just need to know that someone gave Qian Er the gun, and that person was present in the alley — with that, we’re not completely clueless… Let’s head to that alley.”

…

…

The optimized world in the game left Luo Qiu quite satisfied.

But he didn’t stay long, treating it merely as a field trip — he didn’t even bother looking for the ‘Main God’ enjoying himself in the castle.

Luo Ya was the same as always, completely unfamiliar with everything upon entering, and still unfamiliar upon exiting. Only when she was beside Luo Qiu did she show a secretly reassuring expression.

It wasn’t until she gradually fell asleep that Luo Qiu left her room.

“Master, are you going home?” The maid appeared beside Luo Qiu and asked softly.

This seemed no different than usual. Luo Qiu would come in the morning and leave after dinner, always returning home to rest, come rain or shine.

“Yes, see you tomorrow.” Luo Qiu nodded with a smile.

You Ye liked this answer because tomorrow came quickly for her, and in the long stretch of years, such a short wait was nothing more than a brief slumber.

She had been born in the club, and after three hundred years, had experienced two different owners.

The new owner gradually brought her out of a certain coldness, and naturally, she wanted to cherish her current master from her heart… and was even more unwilling for a new owner to replace him in the future.

All she needed to do was close her eyes, wait a night, and she could see him again… What more could she wish for?

She wasn’t even surprised by this strong sentiment, finding it quite pleasant, as if she had broken through some shackles and received some kind of permission.

Luo Qiu was also curious; he felt his maid seemed to have gained a touch of human warmth… In Luo Qiu’s eyes, at this moment, the maid appeared more and more dazzling, in his black-and-white vision, setting aside her alchemical automaton body.

A dazzling presence to freely embrace and possess.

He didn’t choose to leave as he usually did but held You Ye’s hand, taking her to her usual resting place, quietly watching her slumber — only after she was entirely immersed in the automaton body, with a hazy soul, did he reluctantly leave.

He didn’t extinguish the candles in the hall, letting their glow accompany her, as Luo Qiu gradually vanished from the place.

Temporarily signaling the end of his day as the owner.

Vaguely, Luo Qiu felt a certain connection to the altar that he himself couldn’t quite discern — it seemed even closer than before.

He still couldn’t fathom the altar’s intentions, but it seemed the altar was beginning to actively respond to some of his thoughts — perhaps becoming even more mechanical… like closing the doors.

In the true sense of closing, genuinely shut down and not in business… the passive situation where a transaction would inevitably occur whenever he appeared seemed to have changed somewhat.

Luo Qiu instinctively felt that he seemed to be able to freely turn on and off this ‘passive’ ability… no longer having situations where he was unsuited to appear.

Luo Qiu couldn’t say whether this was good or bad… it was as though the altar gave him greater freedom, but if it was greater freedom, it also seemed to indicate that he was more aligned with the altar’s needs.

Had his emotions already worn down, unknowingly, to a degree that he himself also felt indifferent?

Yet his heart still carried everyone from over the years, without any difference.

He vaguely felt that some kind of opportunity might have appeared before, but it flashed by too quickly, even he himself didn’t notice, or perhaps it was forgotten due to more irresistible matters.

The moment he stepped out of the club’s door, Luo Qiu even had a strange feeling… the altar seemed to hope he’d continue like this.

A feeling like a pair of hands gently embracing him.

…

The white Alpha had actually been parked outside the police station for the past two days.

In fact, two other similar Alphas were simultaneously present in different places — one at the University of Political Science and Law, and another at the Traffic Police Brigade.

There’s no doubt that this was Miss Song’s effort.

After gathering a large amount of information through the Zhang Family’s hands, they finally narrowed down the suspects of the past to three people, and Miss Song Ying, who was delegated to handle this, showed commendable persistence, even personally taking action.

However, this kind of surveillance work was actually quite monotonous — at least these past few days consisted of sitting idle in the car, eating and drinking were all purchased from street vendors, which weren’t considered fine foods — not even exercising, Miss Song Ying felt like her belly had developed a layer of grease.

Miss Song suddenly felt a bit wronged… Why should she be so dedicated?

So frustrating!

She adjusted the seat, almost reclining completely… Feeling moldy, Song Ying yawned and casually asked: “Has Zhou Yusheng really not come out again?”

“No, Miss.” The person beside her quickly replied, noticing this seemed to be the limit of Miss’s patience, and said: “Miss, why don’t I have someone take you back to the Zhang Family to rest? Let us handle this kind of work.”

“Wouldn’t that make these past few days of hard labor a waste?” Song Ying snorted coldly, “Dead face, dead face… Don’t let me find out the truth… so fierce to me, so fierce!”

Actually, Miss Song Ying had her own imagination.

——The noble and aloof Miss Song Ying threw a pile of materials heavily onto the table, with an air of superiority, “Look! I’ve found out your truth! Without breaking a sweat!”

——Then Luo Qiu looked at her with admiration, “Song Ying, you’re amazing. I never knew you cared so much about my matters… I’m sorry, I haven’t treated you well in the past. Could you give me another chance?”

——Miss Song Ying: “Realize your mistake? Too bad, it’s too late, unless you…”

“Miss, Miss?” The bodyguard felt that their young lady seemed a bit off, her face inexplicably showed a strange smile, and couldn’t resist, cautiously calling out.

“Huh? Oh… Nothing, I suddenly thought of something.” Song Ying remained unchanged, pulled open the curtain, and peeked outside, “By the way, remove the people over at the traffic police, focus on investigating Gao Wen and Zhou Yusheng.”

The bodyguard nodded, agreeing with what Song Ying said — today, they discovered Gao Wen and Zhou Yusheng appeared at the cemetery one after the other.

“Alright, I’ll arrange that.”

Song Ying continued, “Go a bit further later—don’t buy me any more soy milk and rice rolls… eating them makes me want to vomit!”

The streetlights had long been lit, the street moving quickly to sparsely, the time for late meals had arrived at its late point.

“Understood.” The bodyguard nodded, casually saying: “There’s a stall selling mouth-watering chicken at the street corner ahead. Miss, would you like to try it?”

Song Ying indifferently waved her hand, “Do as you like, as long as it’s not soy milk and rice rolls.”

“I’ll go now.” The bodyguard immediately set out.

Two bodyguards were still seated at the driver’s seat ahead, both experienced individuals, so a brief departure shouldn’t be too problematic… With this thought, the bodyguard went to pull open the car door.

But just at this time, there was a knocking on the car door… this sound of knocking made the bodyguard frown, and also made Song Ying’s expression a bit heavy.

The bodyguard blocked Song Ying with one hand, while his other hand was placed behind his waist, suddenly opened the Alpha car door, and sternly said: “Who’s there!”

Only to see a casual young man, holding two bags, standing outside the car door — Luo Qiu.

“Qiu… Young Master Qiu?” The bodyguard naturally recognized this new young master of the Song Family at first glance, feeling a bit out of reach.

Out of reach felt also by Song Ying, she widened her eyes, opened her mouth, and after quite a while managed to squeeze not-so-well speaking, “Where… where did you pop out from?”

“Passing by, saw you here, so thought I’d come and check on you.” Luo Qiu smiled gently, “I guessed you haven’t eaten, so I brought a little something.”

“Young Master Qiu, you’re considerate.” The bodyguard naturally changed his attitude, they were trained and instilled with the notion of serving people of the Song Family… akin to ancient servants.

“Are you really that kind?” Song Ying softly huffed, “Are you here to see me make a fool of myself?”

“Thank you for doing so much for me.” Luo Qiu softly said.

Song Ying’s spirit collapsed like a defeated army, “What… what did you buy? I’ll tell you I certainly won’t stuff just any garbage into my stomach!”

“Soy milk and rice rolls, want to eat?” Luo Qiu lifted the bags in his hand slightly, “Old shop, I’ve eaten often before, tastes good, still warm.”

This is bad… The bodyguard sighed, that’s exactly what Miss asked not to have.

Sure enough, Song Ying’s lips trembled… “Okay then, I’ll reluctantly accept.”

Miss… Where’s your dignity?