Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1706: Chapter 56: The Delivery Has Arrived

“You discovered a path?”

Ke Duojin returned and brought such news, making Lei Yaz quite pleasantly surprised… He even grabbed Ke Duojin’s wrist, anxiously asking, “Where exactly?”

“Just up ahead, not far.” Ke Duojin waved and pointed, “It seems to have been exposed due to the previous tremor… But there might be danger, I’m not sure. Whether or not to check it out, you decide.”

Lei Yaz instinctively looked at Helen, knowing she wanted to stay and wait for her sisters to return.

“If you trust me, we’ll definitely come back to help you find your sisters after we leave.”

“I believe you.”

A simple sentence from the Siren Girl seemed to give Lei Yaz immense courage.

Without taking too much time to decide, after the Siren Girl spoke those words, Lei Yaz had already made up his mind.

“Then let’s go take a look.” Lei Yaz said to Ke Duojin.

“Follow me then.” Ke Duojin nodded and turned to walk back the way they came.

Lei Yaz called Helen over to his side, then crouched down, signaling her to climb onto his back again.

But this time, Helen shook her head, instead extending her hand to take Lei Yaz’s hand, softly saying, “Walk with me holding my hand.”

“Okay! Don’t let go of me.”

This was a feeling he had never experienced before… And for the Siren Girl, it was the same — Ke Duojin turned and glanced at them in confusion, muttering, “What happened while I was away?”

“Nothing!”

They spoke in unison.

Ke Duojin suddenly rolled his eyes, his gaze making Lei Yaz feel somewhat guilty… But Helen’s small soft hand in his palm gave him a strange sensation.

Suddenly, Lei Yaz moved his nose, then said alertly, “Wait, I seem to smell something.”

“What smell?” Ke Duojin stopped, without turning around.

Lei Yaz hesitated for a moment, carefully distinguishing, “A bloody smell… It’s a bloody smell! Coming from over there!”

Ke Duojin thought for a moment and said, “On the way back, I did see some carcasses of deep-sea creatures, as if they were gnawed randomly by something… Quite horrifying to look at.”

“Ah…” Helen gasped quietly, trembling as she said, “It might… It might be the giant sea monster that attacked me earlier!”

“We can’t stay here long!” Lei Yaz was shocked, quickly saying, “We need to quicken our pace.”

“We’ll be there very soon.” Ke Duojin gave a reassuring look.

Up ahead at a cracked fissure, a faint wind sound could be heard… It indeed suggested an exit on the other side of the crack.

…

They were gnawing on something… It was a bloody mutilated body.

Visible muscle tissue, bony fragments… The pungent bloody air permeated all around.

Two blood-soaked monster-like canines, with sharp teeth, had almost devoured half of the body — suddenly, they stopped.

They seemed to sense something, raising their heads in confusion.

A human figure was approaching… The blood-soaked canine monsters lowered their bodies slightly, revealing tightly clenched sharp teeth.

Feeling their territory was being invaded, they let out a roar directly.

But the person merely glanced at these blood-soaked canine monsters casually, causing them to immediately bow their heads, then tuck their tails and scatter frantically.

He arrived before this half-eaten body.

“Do you have any last wishes?” he… Luo Qiu No.3 asked softly.

The already dead body suddenly twitched — he lacked a face, with blurred bloody cheeks, a pair of pupil-less eyeballs rotated once.

Unable to speak… his throat had been bitten through, vocal cords long torn — he could only use his terrifying eyes to stare at the person before him.

For a long time… no movement at all.

He was truly dead.

“I heard it.” Luo Qiu nodded lightly, “Don’t worry… I will fulfill it for you.”

A pale white light orb slowly floated from his broken chest, eventually landing in Boss Luo’s palm — thereafter, Three’s figure gradually faded.

Return.

…

…

In the complex terrain of a quarry, several figures quickly leaped and moved through stone pillars resembling forest trees — none other than Lady Kaia and the remaining Undersea City Warriors chasing Master Karen.

Suddenly, a petite figure closed in, landing directly in front of Lady Kaia.

They hurriedly stopped… the one who caught up was naturally Girl Liuge, who had dealt with two giant squid monsters.

Lady Kaia, predicting Girl Liuge would follow, left markers along the way. Upon seeing Liuge, Lady Kaia immediately said, “Lord Liuge, Professor Jin Kailun suddenly…”

“I know already.” The girl waved her hand, directly saying, “Moreover, you still haven’t caught up.”

Lady Kaia helplessly said, “After all, his true identity is Destiny’s Master Karen… inherently a powerful combat master… Lord Liuge, I’ve always wondered why the Emperor, knowing Jin Kailun’s identity, still arranged for him to join the exchange mission?”

“I don’t know either.” The girl gave an answer that left Lady Kaia deeply puzzled.

“You don’t know either…” Lady Kaia revealed a surprised look.

Liuge shook her head, “These aren’t important… I will go after him next. If you can keep up, then follow along.”

After speaking, the girl set off first, her speed left Lady Kaia and the others quite helpless — in the blink of an eye, she covered several hundred meters, almost rivaling Flywheel’s pace, how could they keep up?

“Lady Kaia?”

“Let’s follow.” Lady Kaia waved, “Otherwise, we can’t face those comrades who died behind… Let’s just hope nothing happens later.”

In this Undersea City, a girl reputed as the Emperor’s shadow, did she also not know the Emperor ordered Professor Jin Kailun to join the envoy’s purpose…?

Why would the Emperor keep secrets from Girl Liuge?

A flash of doubt crossed Lady Kaia’s mind, but she quickly suppressed it… Whatever the reason, she just needed to maintain absolute loyalty to the Undersea City Emperor.

It felt like some sort of engraving, an absolute command… a voice that incessantly surfaced in her mind.

…

On the other side, Master Karen had already followed the coordinates given by Konghai and successfully left the mining site—only, having reentered the deep sea, Master Karen found himself puzzled.

He didn’t know where Konghai had gone—the place turned out to be filled with irregularities.

The bones of a massive number of Strange Beasts buried on both sides of the rock walls made this scholar, well-versed in knowledge, feel horrified—in the long history of the Undersea City, he had never found any documented knowledge related to this.

The deeper he went, the more anxious and uneasy Master Karen became.

But soon, Master Karen saw three [Flywheel]s docked together… He recognized these [Flywheel]s; they were indeed the models Konghai and the other two mysterious audit students from the Tianchen Courtyard rode.

Master Karen frowned… He was already aware of Konghai’s association with the two mysterious audit students when he contacted Konghai.

But now, the pursuit forced him to disregard these matters… Master Karen swam directly to the area where the three [Flywheel]s were parked.

He did not have special gear to withstand deep-sea pressure, relying solely on a small device he carried on him—though the device couldn’t sustain for too long, and he urgently needed the pressure-resistant system of the [Flywheel].

As for Longgang… Longgang didn’t need to worry about the deep-sea pressure—his physique was extraordinarily special, allowing him to freely operate in the deep sea without depending on equipment… Even though Longgang showed no reaction, he was alive and well, the fish-gill-like folds behind his ears subtly trembled, filtering oxygen from the seawater for him.

“Professor, we are over here!”

Just as Master Karen was about to press the control panel of the [Flywheel] to activate it, Konghai’s voice suddenly echoed.

Master Karen’s pupils involuntarily narrowed a bit… His palm pressed against the control panel, yet he didn’t retract it—only, at this moment, the [Flywheel] didn’t activate because of his contact.

The panel displayed this message: Insufficient permissions, unable to activate.

These were military-grade [Flywheel]s authorized by the Emperor for use on this expedition… but seemingly limited to the initial drivers… Master Karen cursed the Undersea City Emperor under his breath as he resentfully withdrew his hand.

“Konghai, start this [Flywheel] now, I need to leave this place.” Turning back, he quickly said to the approaching Konghai, “I’ve rescued Longgang!”

“Congratulations.” Konghai, detachedly, glanced at Longgang, who was carried by Master Karen, curiously asking, “How did you manage to rescue him?”

“We’ll discuss that later.” Master Karen urged, “Start the [Flywheel] first.”

But Konghai didn’t move… Boss Luo and Ms. Ren leisurely swam over.

Seeing Luo Qiu and Ms. Ren arrive together, the urgency on Master Karen’s face intensified, raising his voice, “Konghai! Do you hear me? Start the [Flywheel]!”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible.” Konghai shook his head, “Professor, it’s evident these [Flywheel]s use military signals, surely equipped with Kingdom Government tracking devices. Your intention is to escape with Longgang… using these [Flywheel]s would make the target too obvious; you might be captured by the Third Legion before even escaping the Somna Trench.”

Master Karen sneered, “It’s merely a tracking device, I can surely dismantle it… Your concern is unnecessary.”

“It’s not possible to dismantle.” Konghai shook his head, “I’ve checked before, the device is linked to the power system, removing it directly shuts down the power system… I suppose it’s a measure by the Kingdom Government to prevent abnormal behaviors by soldiers.”

“What the… Really!” Alarmed, cold sweat gradually appeared on Master Karen’s forehead… he gritted his teeth, sharply saying, “It can’t be helped, seems we’ll have to walk through the Somna Trench… The other side of the trench is the territory of the Sea Demon Clan. Unless the Undersea City plans to wage war with them, it won’t be easy for them to catch us.”

“Provided you can walk through the Somna Trench, Professor.” Konghai remained calm.

“Can’t you ever refrain from arguing with me?” Master Karen looked at Konghai angrily… helplessly. He barely remembered how long he’d known Konghai—the prolonged years during which Konghai’s appearance remained unchanged, not even his tendency to mock.

“I’m merely offering you potential references.”

Master Karen shook his head with a wry smile… He couldn’t be unaware of these matters, only the pursuing forces disturbed his judgment.

If the pursuers were solely Lady Kaia and her companions, Master Karen might still have confidence in escaping—but the appearance of the Silver Moon Witch left him unable to calm down.

He rubbed his forehead, subconsciously scanning around, perplexedly asking, “You… why did you come to such a place? What is this place?”

“This place may relate to my origins.” Konghai stated, “In here, I found some broken memories… It seems I originally came from here.”

“Your origins?” Master Karen instinctively opened his mouth.

Konghai pointed forward with his lighting tool, guiding Master Karen’s gaze… The depths of the crevice revealed an extraordinarily imposing door!

The door was adorned with lifelike, terrifying strange beast reliefs—just a glance would send chills down one’s spine. At its center was a massive emblem.

“We’re trying to find ways to open this door.” Konghai continued.

Master Karen looked down in contemplation, silent… Meanwhile, Konghai suddenly asked, “Professor, could you let me see the item in your hand?”

Master Karen instinctively looked at the metallic box he held… after a brief hesitation, he tossed it to Konghai, opting not to disclose its origin.

Along the way, Master Karen had attempted to open the box—only to discover there was no opening; this metallic box was a solid whole.

Konghai observed the box meticulously, and then unexpectedly looked at Luo Qiu, “Mr. Luo, doesn’t this box resemble the shape of the indentations on the door?”

“Perhaps you might try.” Luo Qiu smiled, suggesting.

Konghai looked at Mr. Luo in surprise… remembering Mr. Luo’s prior words: wait a while, perhaps there’ll be a turn of events—could he have known all along?

“What indentations?!” Master Karen promptly inquired.

Konghai gave no response as he kicked off slightly, body moving towards the emblem on the door.

“What indentations exactly?” Curiously and sternly, Master Karen glared at Luo Qiu.

“It’s a mechanism akin to an opening device found on the door.” Luo Qiu calmly explained, “This box seems fitting.”

Though Boss Luo displayed no anger, Ms. Ren, deciding not to record in her notebook, softly squinted her eyes, discreetly flicking a finger.

In a flash, the miniature device concealed within Master Karen’s body to combat deep-sea pressure exploded—in a harmless way.

The ensuing terrifying pressure instantly turned his face as red as a pig’s liver… his blood vessels swelled across his body.

Suffocation!

A cry for help… unutterable.

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PS1: Well… I intended to take a nap then write, but the nap accidentally lasted two more hours =. =

PS2: (41/83)