Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1206: Chapter 47: Ordinary People

Time passed bit by bit, Zhao Le was secretly anxious in his heart.

He sat outside a room, silently looking at his phone—no signal.

Clearly, not long before he was brought into this building, it was in the middle of the city. How could there be no signal?

Zhao Le couldn’t help but recall today’s encounter, meeting those who possessed powers, causing his mind to become a mess… He felt like he was just an ordinary person, inexplicably swept into an unknown event.

Zhao Le also thought of that last scene where Dong Shaofeng unexpectedly saved him, still finding it unbelievable to this day.

He subconsciously looked at the room in front of him—at this time, Dong Shaofeng was being taken inside for further treatment, and he didn’t know how things were going.

“Oh, so you’re here, come with me, young man~”

A spirited young man, at this moment, walked up to Zhao Le with a smile and said loudly… Bu Bugao.

…

“Temporarily no way to solve it?”

Inside the room, Dong Shaofeng had actually regained consciousness earlier—he was wrapped in thick bandages, and his heel had also been bandaged and treated.

According to what this man named Liu Minghao said, the injury on his heel, once healed, would not affect his original athletic ability… At this moment, however, Dong Shaofeng wasn’t too concerned about his injuries but was considering something else.

He didn’t know what happened after Xiang Qiang stabbed him in the chest with a dagger, but he remembered that scene… or rather, Xiang Qiang’s appearance at the time.

That was clearly not a human appearance.

Beside him, Wei Zidao cleared his throat, “Student Dong Shaofeng, we apologize for your injuries… given the conditions of our office, we really can’t dispel the strange powers lingering on you. Currently, we can only stop this lingering power from being active… well, you can understand it as a method similar to sealing.”

Dong Shaofeng had a strong ability to accept—especially after seeing Xiang Qiang’s abnormal and terrifying appearance.

Of course, later on, the video records provided by Liu Minghao of some battles with the mysterious youth were enough to prove this point—but primarily, it was his own life-threatening injuries.

His heel, abdomen, and even chest had been pierced by the dagger, yet within just a few hours, he could get out of bed… Even though his body was still very weak, ordinary medical means probably couldn’t achieve that.

“So, will this affect me in the future?” Dong Shaofeng frowned.

Liu Minghao hesitated a bit but eventually spoke honestly, “We also can’t give you a definitive answer. Because that residual power on you is a bit strange, even if it’s temporarily sealed, we can’t determine what effect its presence in your body will have on you, nor can we determine how long the sealing will last… After all, this kind of sealing is just a temporary measure of ours. My colleague and I are not specialized in using sealing and healing methods.”

“So, that means there are people who specialize in sealing or healing, right? Where are they?” Dong Shaofeng frowned, calmly saying, “You claim to exist to protect the public, you can’t just leave a victim like me in the lurch, can you?”

“Of course not.” Liu Minghao nodded—somewhat surprised by this young university student, after all, not only did he have strong receptivity, but he was also exceptionally calm, not panicking after things happened… maybe he panicked, but his heart was strong enough.

“Then please bring someone here.” Dong Shaofeng nodded, his expression slightly softening.

Wei Zidao couldn’t help but look troubled, “This… I’m afraid it’s not possible right now. This classmate, our base in this city is a bit special, generally, we don’t dispatch personnel here.”

“Then what about me?” Dong Shaofeng didn’t make a big scene, just asked more calmly.

Even though he was still a student, due to his family circumstances, he had witnessed many situations in workplaces and officialdom where people left others to fend for themselves from childhood… especially the frequent shirking of responsibilities.

Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao didn’t adopt a cold and indifferent attitude from the start, which made him feel that this so-called Management Bureau really prioritized people.

“This you can rest assured.” Liu Minghao smiled slightly, “Although here it’s not possible, we can send you to a place with conditions for treatment. We have better facilities in the provincial capital, I believe it can help you recover completely. However, we can’t guarantee how long it will take, you might have to leave here for a while… so you’d better discuss it with your family first.”

“That’s not necessary.” Dong Shaofeng calmly said, “Let’s just decide that, I can go to the place you’re talking about at any time.”

Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao exchanged a glance, not expecting Dong Shaofeng to agree so quickly… Liu Minghao nodded, “Alright then, we will arrange for someone to take you there.”

As it happens, Bu Bugao came by and could be tasked with this.

“Thank you.” Dong Shaofeng slowly exhaled and then added, “When I get there, if anyone asks about this, I’ll say it was you who saved me.”

Liu Minghao looked at Dong Shaofeng in surprise.

He wasn’t afraid that Dong Shaofeng would make a big scene, after all, missions usually had complete recordings when necessary, especially when there were combat situations—and Dong Shaofeng’s injury happened before their team arrived.

Logically, there wasn’t an issue, but if Dong Shaofeng went to the provincial capital and insisted that his inability to dispel the Different Kind power was due to their careless rescue, it could cause some trouble.

Of course, the bureau wouldn’t easily believe an ordinary person’s words, but making a fuss could still spread… most agents in the Management Bureau were meticulously selected, generally unmoved by financial temptations but extremely protective of their reputation.

After all, among the many agents in the bureau, aside from their strength, the only thing they could compare was reputation.

But back in the early days of the Management Bureau’s establishment, due to management loopholes and the mixed involvement of Taoist and Demon Race Descendants, there were frequent mishandling incidents, and many citizens were treated poorly.

Lately, with improving management and a stronger emphasis on people-centered principles, every field agent was subject to strict records—medicines like ‘Fragmentation’ also had strict usage standards, and over time, the bureau’s conduct became more upright.

Especially after the Mount Tai incident, there was a focus on avoiding conflicts between the public and the bureau, and between the Transcendent and the bureau, as the core principle.

If it was in the past, Liu Minghao would have had more ways to handle it, but now, being in a sensitive period, he naturally had to be more cautious.

“We are just doing our duty.” Liu Minghao now smiled slightly, his attitude becoming more gentle.

Dong Shaofeng suddenly asked, “Xiang Qiang is already dead… How will you handle this matter?”

Liu Minghao replied casually, “We naturally have our methods, student. You don’t need to worry. We will try our best to bring you back to your daily life and ensure this matter doesn’t affect your future life in any way.”

“What about Zhao Le?” Dong Shaofeng raised his head, “I mean the one who was brought back with you.”

“Him…”

…

…

“This… What’s this?”

Seeing the small capsule and a cup of water presented by Bu Bugao, Zhao Le couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

“Fragmentation, that’s the name of this medicine.” Bu Bugao casually sat down, crossing his legs, “If you take it, you’ll forget the events of the last few hours, and unless something special happens, you won’t recall them in the future.”

Zhao Le hesitated for a moment, then carefully asked, “Does this medicine… have any other dangers?”

“Don’t worry.” Bu Bugao said calmly, “This medicine has been tested over ten thousand times on-site. As long as a person doesn’t take more than ten, nothing will happen.”

Zhao Le curiously asked, “What if someone takes more than ten?”

Bu Bugao shrugged, “You better not know. Besides, an average person wouldn’t take more than ten, probably just one or two. If you really managed to accumulate ten, then I have to admire your disaster-prone nature, to encounter us more than ten times.”

Zhao Le forced a smile, “So after I take it, I can leave?”

Bu Bugao nodded, “Of course, you’ve already given your statement, and we won’t bother you again in the future.”

—At most, just send someone to secretly observe and see if the Fragmentation takes effect…

“Alright.” Zhao Le nodded.

But at this moment, the door suddenly opened, and Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao entered with Dong Shaofeng… At this moment, Bu Bugao didn’t dare to maintain such a “beautiful” sitting posture and quickly stood up.

“Come outside for a bit.” Liu Minghao said to Bu Bugao, and then looked at Dong Shaofeng, calmly adding, “I’ll give you half an hour.”

…

They sat facing each other.

A table’s distance between them.

Neither Dong Shaofeng nor Zhao Le spoke first, as time ticked away—Zhao Le recalled, “I’ll give you half an hour.”

Suddenly, Dong Shaofeng pulled out his phone. In front of Zhao Le, he removed the SIM card and placed the phone on the table, pushing it directly towards Zhao Le.

The phone slid out, landing in Zhao Le’s lap.

He frowned, “What does this mean?”

Dong Shaofeng calmly said, “Nothing, just got tired of it, found it boring… You wouldn’t think I’d be so bored, playing with you all the time? If I had that time, I’d rather find a few more girls.”

Zhao Le let out a cold laugh… but handing over the phone was a good thing—probably the best thing that happened to him all day.

At this moment, Dong Shaofeng said, “I threw away Ming Zhen’s phone, and Xiang Qiang is dead, so no one will bother you anymore. Continue with your ordinary life.”

“Thank you so much,” Zhao Le replied nonchalantly… but he quickly frowned.

Because he remembered one thing, ‘Fragmentation,’ and that he needed to take this thing, Dong Shaofeng might need to take this drug too—what if he forgot about it, then what would happen in the future…

“Don’t worry, I won’t be taking this drug anytime soon.” Dong Shaofeng seemed to see through Zhao Le’s concerns and said indifferently, “They say this drug can only clear about a few hours of memory; even if I take it in the future, I won’t forget today.”

Zhao Le’s expression improved slightly.

He couldn’t possibly forgive Dong Shaofeng for saving him at the last moment and forget what he had done to him before—at most, it evened out, and he didn’t want more involvement with Dong Shaofeng.

Thinking of this, Zhao Le didn’t want to wait for another half hour. He reached out and directly grabbed the ‘Fragmentation’ into his hand, along with picking up the cup of water.

“Are you really planning to take it?” Dong Shaofeng suddenly said.

Zhao Le was startled, instinctively looking over, only to see Dong Shaofeng staring at him sharply, “What do you mean? How else do I leave here if I don’t take it?”

Dong Shaofeng said, “If you take it, you’ll completely forget what happened. You won’t remember those events that were unlike ordinary ones; you’ll forget the extraordinariness you’ve encountered, and you’ll forget the other side of the world you’ve seen—after today, you might never have this kind of opportunity again. Are you content with remaining ordinary your whole life?”

“So what?” Zhao Le said with amusement, “No matter how extraordinary those things are, I’m just an ordinary person. Facing such so-called power, I don’t even have the strength to resist; even if I remember it, what’s the use?”

Dong Shaofeng said indifferently, “There’s said to be another way to handle it. You also saw, people like Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao travel all over the place frequently, and there are many more like them. It’s a huge organization.”

Zhao Le frowned slightly.

Dong Shaofeng continued, “Obviously, these people are capable. And they can’t do everything by themselves, so surely there’s a larger team behind them, supporting their work.”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Le was somewhat moved and had a vague idea of what Dong Shaofeng meant.

Dong Shaofeng smiled, “In general, ordinary people who encounter an ‘event’ also have a chance to join this organization. Of course, not everyone meets the criteria. They prefer young people who must pass their tests, and after qualifying in all aspects is there a possibility to join—although they mostly become external members… Even so, your life will be entirely different, with a bigger world waiting for you.”

“I said, these things have nothing to do with me.” Zhao Le shook his head, “I am just an ordinary person, too ordinary to make mistakes. Just like I said before, because of what you did to me, I even had thoughts of killing you, but in the end, I wouldn’t do that… I will not destroy myself.”

Dong Shaofeng looked at Zhao Le without speaking, just watching.

Zhao Le took a deep breath, suddenly chuckled, and said self-deprecatingly, “Like you said, I am just an egg, easy to break, and you are like jade, just a little stain that can be wiped clean. The world is unfair like this, but so what? You may not have what I have. I can be happy with a very ordinary feast, but for you, when delicacies are in front of you, you might not even have the appetite… What I want is ordinary happiness and joy, not living on edge after becoming extraordinary, making my family worry… You know what kind of people populate the world the most?”

Dong Shaofeng asked instinctively, “Ordinary people?”

Zhao Le shook his head, seriously saying, “The common folk.”

…

Dong Shaofeng was stunned, opened his mouth.

In that moment of being stunned, Zhao Le directly opened his mouth and swallowed the capsule in his hand with water, without a shred of hesitation.

In the end, Dong Shaofeng sighed, and even the words on his lips didn’t come out.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

This was the last sentence Zhao Le said before losing consciousness.

Dong Shaofeng shook his head, watching Zhao Le sleep on the table, finally let out a bitter smile, “Still couldn’t remember… I should never have tried to lose weight.”

Not long after, Liu Minghao came in, and Dong Shaofeng stood up using the table as support, “Please take care of it.”

Liu Minghao didn’t say much… consider it a little reward for this clever little dog.

…

…

A gust of cold wind made Zhao Le shiver. He looked around and realized he was sitting in a park, feeling somewhat confused.

But he quickly remembered what had happened.

Dong Shaofeng had suddenly asked to meet him, after giving him a thorough beating, returned all the items he used to threaten him.

Looking at the phone without its SIM card in his hand, Zhao Le still found it hard to believe… Yet the throbbing pain from his shoulder made it feel real.

But… to settle everything with just a beating from this fat guy, Zhao Le felt it was fair… However, this sudden gesture from Dong Shaofeng left him puzzled.

He had many questions, but couldn’t figure out the answers.

Zhao Le shook his head, glanced at the time… it was already past seven, nearly eight in the evening, which made him tense up, and he immediately got up and ran out of the park.

By the river, Zhao Le hesitated briefly, waited for a moment when no one was around, and then tossed the silver pistol from his backpack into the river, quickly walking away from the place.

As Zhao Le left, two shadows emerged… One of them was extraordinarily large.

It was Bu Bugao and Wang Hu.

The Management Bureau wasn’t going to let Zhao Le go that easily, especially since they didn’t know if that mysterious young man, number 24, would suddenly return and harm Zhao Le, so they were keeping him under temporary protection—the task naturally fell to Bu Bugao and Wang Hu.

Bu Bugao didn’t mind doing a bit more to strive for some recognition—while Wang Hu, basically followed Bu Bugao’s lead, doing things step-by-step.

“Looks like he threw something,” Wang Hu observed, looking at the flowing river.

Bu Bugao yawned, saying casually, “Probably trash… truly unethical.”

Wang Hu suddenly jumped into the water, but soon emerged, completely dry, just holding a nearly rotten shoe in his hand.

Wang Hu shook his head and tossed what he picked up back into the water without hesitation.

Bu Bugao then dragged Wang Hu away, as they needed to ensure Zhao Le’s temporary safety.

…

…

Upon reaching the rehabilitation center, Zhao Le found his sister in the waiting area. After a day of rehabilitation exercises, Zhang Xiaoqin seemed exhausted, having fallen asleep against the chair.

Zhao Le sat down, inadvertently rousing Zhang Xiaoqin.

“Little brother, you’re here. I’ve been calling your phone but couldn’t reach you, I was so worried!”

“My phone’s out of battery.” Zhao Le smiled, “I rushed over, but it’s Friday, and traffic was terrible.”

“It’s so late already?” Seeing Zhao Le was fine, Zhang Xiaoqin relaxed, not pressing further.

“Let’s go have dinner, celebrate!” Zhao Le chuckled and took out an already prepared gift from his backpack, “Sis, happy birthday!”

“Thank you!”

That was enough to bring happiness, Zhang Xiaoqin beamed with a joyful smile.

…

Later, Wei Zidao came to the temporary room arranged for Dong Shaofeng.

The decision to let Zhao Le go was based on the fact that Zhao Le was only a half-participant in the whole affair—Dong Shaofeng was the one who still carried the power of that mysterious young man, number 24.

If that mysterious young man were to cause trouble, Dong Shaofeng would likely be his target—so, in Liu Minghao and Wei Zidao’s view, the one needing protection was Dong Shaofeng.

“It’s not like home, but it’s not too bad. You’ll have to stay here for a few days, it’s safer,” Wei Zidao said with a gentle smile, “If you’re missing anything, just let me know.”

Dong Shaofeng nodded… the room didn’t even have windows.

He glanced at the clock on the wall and suddenly asked, “Do you have candles?”

“Candles?” Wei Zidao was taken aback.

“Birthday candles,” Dong Shaofeng said expressionlessly.