Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1369: Chapter 96: Let Time Slow Down

Austria, Hallstatt.

Ring… As the ringing sound echoed, customers started to flow into a bakery — several clerks began to take out freshly baked bread, which quickly sold out.

The little girl from the Vandos household was only ten years old this year but was much shorter than her peers. She had arrived early to buy bread from this bakery, but when the doors opened, she couldn’t get in due to the crowd of large-bodied ladies.

She sat with some frustration outside the bakery window… These ladies were really crazy!

The main reason was that Mr. Baizhi, the bakery owner and baker, was just too handsome… Her father, Mr. Vandos, said that Mr. Baizhi was almost the enemy of all the men in town.

“Didn’t get bread today again, did you.”

In her frustration, unsure how to explain when she got back, a pleasant voice sounded in the little girl from the Vandos household’s ear… She looked up to see a young man wearing a baker’s uniform, with black hair and heterochromia eyes.

“Mr. Baizhi!” The child from the Vandos family called out immediately.

The young man… Mr. Baizhi, made a gesture to be quiet and then handed a paper bag containing bread to the little girl from the Vandos family. “This is just freshly made, take it.”

“Thank you! Mr. Baizhi!” The little girl from the Vandos household was delighted, hugging the paper bag, and curiously examined the bakery owner’s eyes.

They were always so beautiful, like gemstone-like eyes.

Brown and blue eyes.

Her mother said this was a natural eye color, but only a rare few in the world have it, caused by some sort of pathological mutation… Even though it’s technically a disorder, it gave the young man those captivating eyes.

“What is it?” The young man squatted down, smiling as he asked.

The little girl from the Vandos household curiously asked, “Mr. Baizhi, did other kids tease you for your eyes when you were young?”

The young man thought and said, “When I was young, people often thought I was a devil’s child. I did experience quite a bit of bullying. But that was a long time ago.”

“Ah? They actually believed in devils! That’s horrible!” The little girl from the Vandos household was instantly upset. “These eyes are clearly so pretty.”

The young man ruffled the child’s head, casually laughing, “Back then, people still had reverence for legends about devils… Alright, hurry back, the bread won’t taste good if it gets cold.”

“Mhm, mhm!”

The little girl bounced away.

Soon after, the bakery was already sold out of goods, and the clerks simply closed the door early — though it was just the start of the day, business was overwhelmingly good.

Closing so early seemed to mock the nearby shops.

“Business was good today.”

After closing, the young man chatted with his clerks and then sent them home, returning to his upstairs residence himself.

The young bakery owner seemed like a minimalist… His upstairs residence contained only the most basic furniture needed for living.

The cement walls bore no extra decorations, save for a small pot of roses planted on the window sill.

But the room did have a noticeable item… A large castle entirely made of transparent dice was set on a low table in the center of the room.

This castle was far from complete, roughly seventy percent finished.

The young owner brought a glass of water, sat on the cushion in front of the table, then picked up a pair of tweezers, lifted a die, and gently placed it at the castle’s West Tower, close to completion.

His actions were careful, steady, and slow.

He put down the tweezers and began to sit quietly.

Because he had completed his quota for the day — every day, he placed only one die, doing so unfalteringly.

Just then, from the unornamented cement wall, a rectangular mirror mysteriously surfaced with ripples on its reflective surface.

A symbol of a Major Arcana card, [The Sun], began to appear on the mirror.

“I’m guessing correctly, Ares’s failure happened even faster than imagined.”

The voice came from the mirror… The voice of the Seat of The Sun.

The young man… Baizhi looked at his dice castle for a while before casually speaking, “Speaking of which, why are you so certain Ares would fail? I actually think his line of thought is alright… Experiments wouldn’t hurt, we can’t always let theories remain at the theoretical stage.”

“You underestimate the power of the Godly Land’s true dragon. She’s not only the true dragon of the Godly Land, but was also once a princess of the Xuanyuan Royal Family… If you can’t kill her, you’ll face her mad vengeance.”

“Actually, thinking about it, it is quite terrifying.” Bai Zhi suddenly chuckled, “If such an unparalleled power truly went on a rampage…”

It stopped here.

Bai Zhi shook his head and continued, “Alright then, I’ll propose to remove Ares’s Seat later. A new replacement should take up the role soon enough. After this incident, the Magician’s Association won’t just stand by without taking any action, I suspect. Besides… after offending the little princess of the Xuanyuan Royal Family last time, and now adding the Godly Land’s true dragon, there’s suddenly a feeling of worrying about the association’s future.”

After a brief silence, [The Sun] suddenly asked, “The true dragon, is it really only in this world?”

“It’s really only in this world.”

Bai Zhi’s voice was extraordinarily sure, “In all the worlds I’ve peered into, it only exists here… Unique, not even the Xuanyuan Palace exists elsewhere. Moreover, this place has too many intersections of legends, it’s like… the origin of those legends themselves.”

“Your apocalypse?”

Bai Zhi shook his head, “For some reason, I can’t foresee it recently… I can’t derive anything from the world’s will for now. I only have a vague feeling that there’s been some kind of alteration in the world’s will. It’s really like the script got randomly changed by a reckless investor for personal whim.”

“Details?”

“I don’t know.” Bai Zhi still shook his head, “But since there’s no new revelation, it means the previous revelations haven’t changed. As Michael is the chosen, the main character to end the world… here should be the same as any other world’s club. We’re continuing our work across different worlds… in various ways. So we just need to stick to the plan we already had.”

“Hopefully.” [The Sun] paused, then after a long while, suddenly said, “By the way, the fighter position of [The Tyrant] should be vacant now?”

“It is indeed vacant now.”

Bai Zhi nodded, “Although Nero’s life is still uncertain at this stage, his disappearance during this period, and judging by the false evidence of the Yama Sword, we’ve enough basis to determine Nero’s betrayal… Do you have any plans?”

[The Sun] said calmly, “I plan to let one of my new clones take the fighter position. The Xuanyuan Palace is no longer suitable for nurturing clones, so I’ll temporarily place him with you, feel free to use him at your discretion.”

“Isn’t he already on the way, there’s no need for you to formally inform me, right?” Bai Zhi turned to look at the mirror.

“By protocol, I still need to inform you… [The Fool].”

The ripples on the mirror faded along with the ceasing voice, and even the mirror itself gradually vanished into the cement wall… At this moment, Bai Zhi picked up the tweezers again, pinching a new die.

But he ultimately didn’t add the die to the castle, instead, he set it down.

He quickly changed into casual clothes and left the door, heading outside.

The town offers a view of the Alps, with houses painted in magnificent colors and a tranquil, transparent lake, like a paradise from a fairy tale.

“Hello, Mrs. Ryder.”

“The weather is really nice today, Mr. Quinnick… No, thank you, I’m not hungry.”

He lingered on such streets, greeting acquaintances along the way, occasionally chatting a bit, and time passed very slowly.

…

…

Near the Torrido Clan castle.

Having climbed up from a small cave on the cliff, Zhong Luoyue and Queen Elizabeth felt a sense of unreality—Miss Third watched the little bloodsucker girl holding a badge in her hand.

This is the token given by the Luminous Tower Master.

—I currently have urgent matters to attend to, but you can use this token to find me at the Association… I hope to see you soon.

After that, the Master of the Association vanished with a swipe — yes, just a ‘swipe’ sound, and he was gone.

“Yue, are we really going to the Magician’s Association?” Though encouraged, the little bloodsucker girl still felt somewhat hesitant at this moment.

It seems that even as a student of the First Tower Master, reaching Ms. You Ye’s level of charm is quite difficult…

“Why not give it a try, it’s another opportunity.” Zhong Luoyue had her own plans. For now, she could only rely on Queen Elizabeth… So allowing Elizabeth, who she relied upon, to develop better was also necessary… Besides, she had truly invested emotionally.

“You need to properly plan for your future.”

Miss Third sternly said, “In the past, for whatever happened, you might have your grandfather to help and protect you. But now, you can only rely on yourself… You know better than I do how the hierarchy within the Clan works. Yes, indeed, perhaps the Thirteen Clans may temporarily treat you favorably for certain reasons, but what about the future? You must realize that the guy back in South America just randomly borrowed someone else’s name… The Clan merely gave you some favorable treatment due to this false relationship. But who knows when this might be exposed. Can you imagine how those Clan aristocrats would rage, humiliated and angry? Yet if you become a student of the Luminous Tower Master, the situation will naturally change.”

“I understand.” The little bloodsucker girl nodded.

Speaking of which, her actual age was much greater than Miss Third’s, only that she had spent more time asleep… But this did not imply that after her first bloodsucking, her mental development would maintain a slow state.

She was forming her opinions at a speed difficult for ordinary people to comprehend… However, she did not know that during this rapid molding phase, Miss Third of the Zhong Household would have a profound impact on her.

“It’s good that you understand.” Zhong Luoyue smiled with satisfaction, “Women are naturally more disadvantaged, but even so, we are not entirely powerless. Since we naturally fall slightly behind men in terms of advantages, we should be even more adept at using all available resources around us, striving to maximize our strengths. Whether in life or relationships, passive and disadvantaged women will never truly succeed.”

“Re-relationships, such things…”

The girl suddenly covered her face with both hands.

Did she even listen to the key points… Miss Third instinctively sighed, feeling the road ahead was long and arduous.

“Not good, a patrol is coming this way.” The girl at this moment suddenly released her hands, looking at a certain spot in the night sky.

“Let’s leave here first.” Miss Third thought for a moment and said.

…

No golden light or magical spell glow… The Godly Land True Dragon appeared in the small villa as if out of thin air.

Feeling like she entered a hair salon and ended up with a bunch of membership packages due to the hairstylist’s various maneuvers, the Godly Land True Dragon not only consumed strategies but also used transportation services upon returning.

It was quite convenient indeed…

Just this time… She muttered to herself and instinctively pushed the door to the living room… Hmm, this merchant was rather considerate, not directly making a sudden appearance inside.

Actually… quite thoughtful.

Thinking away, the Godly Land True Dragon originally intended to push the door straight in but suddenly paused, then tidied her scattered hair, adjusted her clothes, and knocked on the door.

“Sister Long! You’re back!”

At the moment of opening the door, she saw the little butterfly monster holding a half-eaten cake in one hand, with crumbs all over her face, making Long Xiruo freeze, “Didn’t I say you’re not allowed to eat sweets!!”

A mother teaching daughter face.

Seeing the True Dragon Master’s knuckles start to form into drill shapes, the little butterfly monster immediately displayed a frightened, frozen posture… then stuffed the remaining half cake into her mouth.

“Dragon Miss, welcome back.” Came the voice of Boss Luo from the living room.

“I’ll deal with you later!” The True Dragon of Godly Land could only glare at this Zhongshan Butterfly, feeling that while she was fighting life and death out there, this creature was here happily enjoying free sweets!

The little butterfly monster stuck out her tongue, then hid behind the Godly Land True Dragon, following her into the living room.

“The desserts were made with artificial sweeteners, no side effects on the body.” Boss Luo smiled slightly, “Moreover, with Miss Pianqian’s digestive ability, it doesn’t matter if she eats more. Dragon Miss needn’t worry so much.”

“Mind your own business!”

“Forgive my carelessness.” Boss Luo waved his hand, “…Dragon Miss, are you satisfied with our service this time?”

“How do you say…” The True Dragon of Godly Land suddenly became shy, touching her ear while turning her head aside, stammering, “Well… Anyway, thanks!”

“It’s wonderful that you are satisfied.” Boss Luo smiled slightly, then snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, a piece of goatskin gently unfolded in front of the Godly Land True Dragon… At that moment, Long Xiruo felt a piercing chill entering her neck, a cold shiver ran through her body.

“What’s this…”

“As mentioned earlier, it’s the contract for your customized package.” Boss Luo smiled, “Please sign the contract, Dragon Miss.”

She reached out for the goatskin… She’s seen similar things before, having signed one for Mo Xiaofei’s body problem… But just once.

This time, however, the True Dragon’s power seemed slightly chaotic… accompanied by the hand approaching closer to the goatskin.

“Is there any problem, Dragon Miss?”

She instinctively looked at Luo Qiu’s gaze, suddenly recalling the events from the underground basement at the Mount Tai villa, her thoughts slightly disturbed, she unconsciously stamped her handprint on the contract.

A dizzy sensation struck… But it was fleeting, the Godly Land True Dragon shook her head lightly, feeling no unusualness anymore.

…

Godly Land, Kunlun.

On a solitary peak, watching idle clouds, Daoist Bai Jie was alone brewing tea when his hand suddenly trembled slightly.

The Kunlun mountain range gently trembled at this moment… It was as if a mournful cry was emitted, the clouds above swirling, refusing to calm.

“The world’s ley lines emerge from Kunlun, and now the mountains weep. What is the purpose of this… Could it be, another calamity awaits?”