Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1257: Chapter 98: The Evil God and the Song Emperor

In the water prison, Jimmy mostly looked angry… but a hint of panic quietly appeared since ‘Tang Tianlin’s’ question.

“How do you know about the Perfect Being…”

‘Tang Tianlin’ calmly said, “Is it that strange… or have you forgotten who were in the original laboratory?”

Jimmy lowered his head in silence.

The original laboratory… Will Douglas, Qin Zheng, Nan Xiao Nan… Several names flashed through his mind in an instant.

“I don’t know.” Jimmy raised his head, “Haus never told me anything about the Perfect Human Cells… I’m just a tool in his hands. Do you think he would tell me all his secrets?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ coldly said. “If you were really just a personal assistant to Haus… Too bad you aren’t.”

Jimmy frowned, he was at an absolute disadvantage in the current situation, with his life and death being in the hands of the opponent— but as long as this guy is interested in the Perfect Human Cells, he still had a chance to negotiate… Even though he truly didn’t know where Haus had hidden that batch of cells.

“I truly am only Haus’s self-assigned assistant.” Jimmy shook his head, “Did you misunderstand something, do you think I could be his illegitimate son?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ glanced at Jimmy, seemingly realizing, “So you don’t even know your own identity… Makes sense, given Haus’s suspicious and mistrustful nature, he indeed wouldn’t tell you this.”

“Qin Zheng! Don’t talk in riddles here!!” He roared fiercely.

‘Tang Tianlin’ sighed, “It’s okay to tell you… I’ve said, you’re only Haus’s first failure— and moreover, the initial laboratory was created by me and my teacher.”

“You’re talking nonsense!!!” Jimmy’s expression suddenly became extremely angry… furious and fearful.

‘Tang Tianlin’ calmly said, “That’s just how it is. Cloning technology existed long ago, why do you think Haus waited until today to truly start planning? Haus indeed wants a long life, but the original concept wasn’t like the current one, transferring consciousness to a completely new body… Of course, facts prove that this is impossible, at least with human technology, it can’t be achieved. So, ever since my teacher was captured, these past few years, Haus has been living in a nightmare he may never wake from.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, I don’t know what you’re saying…” Jimmy’s voice trembled… some things he never thought about… making him feel terribly afraid.

“Don’t you find it strange yourself.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ sneered, “You’re by Haus’s side, helping him, you should understand his character most clearly. Let me be clear… why do you think you could gain Haus’s trust? Do you think your abilities are truly exceptional, surpassing everyone else?”

“I…”

“You’re just the first clone Haus created as a backup.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ looked at him compassionately, “Initially Haus didn’t want consciousness transfer… He just wanted a complete and healthy body that could provide fresh, genetically compatible organs without rejection at any time. Simply put, you’re a part Haus created. Even you’re Haus’s last resort, if he couldn’t last until the experiment succeeded, you’d be sent to the operating table, providing sufficient organs for his body.”

“You’re talking nonsense!!!” Jimmy roared, “I am me, I am Tang Tianlin, I am nobody!!! I have complete memories, from birth till now!”

“Stop deceiving yourself… Do you remember events before the age of ten?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ shook his head, “Your true memories are only these past few years, before that, since your creation, you’ve been continuously receiving hypnosis. We couldn’t achieve consciousness transfer back then, but using hypnosis and drugs, giving you a complete enough life was doable.”

“Nonsense!!! Nonsense!!! Nonsense!!!!!!!”

He crazily rattled the chains in the water prison, splashing water.

Yet ‘Tang Tianlin’ took out a kerosene lighter from his clothes, opening and closing it, the sound of metal clashing so clear.

Jimmy didn’t know what he was doing, like a wild beast, the whole person rushed to the water prison’s edge, trying to climb up… to no avail, even his nails scratched till they fell off.

‘Tang Tianlin’ expressionlessly, just slowly uttered some unrelated, meaningless words, in various languages, “snake, butterfly, paper, Leonardo-da-Vinci, 17, Femme, La-libertà-di.”

The almost uncontrolled Jimmy, as ‘Tang Tianlin’s’ voice sounded, along with the lighter’s clicks, gradually quieted down, until finally, he stood motionless in the water.

‘Tang Tianlin’ finally said, “Kurikaeshi.”

Jimmy instantly seemed wound up, empty-eyed, yet his voice slowly continued, “snake, butterfly, paper, Leonardo-da-Vinci, 17, Femme, La-libertà-di… Kurikaeshi.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ slightly smiled, put away the lighter, and softly said to Jimmy, “Welcome back… Number 1, remember me, I’m Qin Zheng.”

“Hello, Mr. Qin…” Jimmy said one word at a time, still with empty eyes.

“I need information on the Perfect Human Cells.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ slowly said, “How much exactly did Haus tell you, tell me everything.”

“He never told me anything about the Perfect Human Cells.” Jimmy slowly said.

‘Tang Tianlin’ frowned, “But you clearly know something about the Perfect Human Cells.”

Jimmy slowly raised his head bit by bit, “It’s information I obtained unintentionally, another time I heard Haus talking over the phone to someone, I heard a message regarding the Perfect Human Cells.”

“Phone? Do you remember the content?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ asked intently.

Jimmy said, “Saint… ceremony… he seemed to be pleading with the person on the other end, hoping they could help him, relieve him from pain, hoping to accept the beginning…”

“Accept… the beginning?” ‘Tang Tianlin’ frowned, Jimmy paused at this moment, he couldn’t help asking, “Beginning of what?”

Jimmy shook his head, “He noticed the me outside and immediately cut off the call. Since then, he rarely called anyone in my presence.”

“Accept… the beginning.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ paced back and forth in the water prison, murmuring, “Saint… ceremony?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ suddenly turned around, looking at Jimmy, “You felt strange, so didn’t you do anything?”

Jimmy entirely in a question-answer, slow-thinking state, finally slowly said, “I tracked the source of the call… it came from Britain, roughly from Middlesbrough.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ pondered, “Has Haus visited Middlesbrough in recent years?”

Jimmy shook his head, “He’s been in Hua Country this entire period, hasn’t left.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ asked again, “Does he have any secret business interests in Britain?”

Jimmy directly said, “He has an estate in Middlesbrough, and also two ranches, plus two yachts and a private jet.”

‘Tang Tianlin’ looked at Jimmy for quite a while, before slowly sighing. He took out the lighter again, producing the same rhythmic sound, while reversing the meaningless words he had previously uttered, “…Kurikaeshi.”

“La-libertà-di, Femme, 17…”

As Jimmy repeated these words, ‘Tang Tianlin’ silently left the water cage.

Until Jimmy finally said slowly, “Kurikaeshi.”

His body suddenly trembled, his vacant gaze regained clarity, feeling the cold water and the pain from his fingers… he roared again.

He could not remember what had happened… he did not know when the other person left, but the feeling of being manipulated made him feel unprecedentedly… terrified!

…

When ‘Tang Tianlin’ returned to the ground-level office and closed the secret passage, more than an hour had passed.

He sat alone in the luxurious office, seemingly pondering something, murmuring to himself, “The woman from that night, seems to be Xiao Nan… but how could Xiao Nan’s skills become so good? Isn’t it… no, the voice, the reminder, the facial features almost match, even with disguises, I shouldn’t be mistaken…”

He slowly sighed, stood up, “Perhaps I should approach Xiao Nan… as Tang Tianlin. But, not now…”

Thinking this, he pressed the desk phone, “Prepare a car for me.”

“Assistant Tang, where are you going?”

‘Tang Tianlin’ thought for a moment and said, “To the hospital. I want to check on Mr. Haus.”

“Okay, Assistant Tang.”

…

…

Capital time, PM, 22:23.

The building named Temple of Heaven had closed all its decorative lights… tourists had already dispersed. It appeared empty, extremely empty.

Above the massive round altar, the dim night sky stretched.

A young man around twenty years old with a square face was walking slowly in front of the Temple of Heaven plaza with his hands behind his back—the weather was still cold, yet his clothes were so thin.

He seemed not to feel cold, and what’s more peculiar was that the biting wind would automatically part as it approached him… but since the night was deep and no one was nearby, this strange scene went unnoticed.

“Built during the Yongle Era…” the young man slowly sighed, murmuring in the night wind: “How much have I missed…”

He gazed at the night sky of the entire capital from here.

Coming from the coastal region of Minnan to this moment did not take much effort, but once he stepped into this huge historical capital, a feeling of constraint promptly arrived.

He could sense the terrifying things buried beneath the capital, “What kind of master could set up such a large formation… could it be a descendant of Clothed Dao?”

He hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his solitary visit to the capital this time… he needed to find the Zhao Family, those who claimed to be the most legitimate descendants of the Zhao Clan.

But it didn’t seem easy… originated from the ubiquitous pressure within the capital—ordinary people would not notice, but at his level, it was easily detectable.

Especially as he forced himself to remain among the living in the most extreme way, perhaps slightly better than the evil demons, but compared to the ghosts, essentially no difference.

The closer to the center, the continuously emerging righteous Qi of Heaven and Earth, even the country’s vigorous humanitarian atmosphere, faintly pressed him to the point of breathlessness.

Yet he was, after all, once an emperor, although the Zhao Clan’s ley line had broken, remnants still lingered… someone as remarkable heir, bearing great fortune, faintly showing signs of reunifying the Zhao Clan’s ley line, he, as a former emperor, instead gained some benefits, not being treated by the capital’s underground formation as a ghost.

But he had to tread carefully.

“Forget it.” He shook his head, “Better to wait for Gong Fanxing to come.”

With that thought, he became somewhat disinterested… partly because of the powerful fortune of this New Kingdom, making him feel quite powerless, and partly because witnessing the modern advancements during his journey north, as though stepping into a fantasy.

He didn’t even know whether waking a thousand years later was right or wrong in this world.

“Such a nice evening, it would be a real pity not to drink…”

But just as he was about to turn and leave, a long voice came from behind… he frowned and turned around, only to see a figure treading moonlight atop the Temple of Heaven.

A man clad in a white traditional attire, his hair a mix of gray and black, holding a jug of wine in his hand.

Finally… the man in the white traditional attire landed lightly before him, a half-smile on his face, saying, “When did such a terrifying martial arts master come to the capital? I didn’t know, I’ve been far too lazy lately.”

He frowned… this man in traditional attire gave him an intensely dangerous feeling—even more powerful than his previous subordinates, who had already died at Song Haoran’s hands.

He squinted, “I… I am also curious, there exists such martial arts practitioners still. How may I address you?”

The man in traditional attire smiled slightly, took a small sip from the wine jug, smiling, “Those who know me just call me an old fool.”

He couldn’t help but smile, then earnestly said, “An old fool’s anger, blood flows… What an old fool!”

The old fool… Fiery Cloud Evil God looked up and down at the young man—generally, martial artists can easily discern age, but this man Fiery Cloud Evil God truly couldn’t see through… couldn’t see his age, only felt him eerie, terrifying, with blood energy resembling a Blood Demon, murderous and soaring, yet oddly protected by Dragon Qi.

“The moonlight is splendid tonight, shall we have a sword duel, friend?”