Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 841: Chapter 85: Why Are You So Skilled?

The three-headed monstrous dog was continuously sniffing the ground, moving forward slowly. It wore a massive ring, which was connected to a chain, and the end of the chain was in the hands of a particularly muscular man with a wrestling mask.

This three-headed monstrous dog was sent by Charlotte to search for the missing Three-Star Demon, Harfuv’s Qiqi.

Qiqi suddenly stopped, and the masked wrestler looked around perplexedly.

Nearby was a residential area for middle-class families, and they were now standing outside the fence of the backyard of a two-story house.

“Is this where Harfuv last disappeared?”

The masked wrestler looked curiously at the unremarkable house in front of him and then went inside. However, after wandering inside for a while, he didn’t discover anything unusual.

Except for the fact that the male owner of the house was installing a surveillance system after a complete set of expensive suits was stolen a few days ago, nothing special had happened.

Qiqi, however, had a strong urge for fresh flesh, forcing the masked wrestler to drag Qiqi out forcefully.

Just then, a woman was approaching from the front of the masked wrestler.

Black long boots paired with a deep blue retro-style zipped cloak and woolen coat, with large round brown sunglasses obscuring her face—only the exposed figure could be described as perfect.

Quite fresh meat… the masked wrestler muttered to himself. But now was not the time to let Qiqi feed; he still had tasks assigned by Charlotte.

“Let’s go, Qiqi.” The masked wrestler tugged hard on the three-headed monstrous dog.

They had invisibility magic cast on them, and if the devil was unwilling, ordinary people couldn’t see them.

The masked wrestler led Qiqi past the woman, and the woman’s gaze didn’t seem to fall on them—until the moment they were about to pass each other, the sound of boot heels hitting the floor suddenly stopped.

“Is this a descendant of Cerberus?” the woman’s voice inquired.

The masked wrestler was suddenly startled… This woman could see him and Qiqi! The masked wrestler quickly turned around, only to find the woman examining Qiqi.

“Just ran out of materials the last time.” The woman said lightly and then glanced at the masked wrestler, her lips painted with bright red lipstick forming a small curve, “Actually, I deliberately didn’t cover it up… that Three-Star Demon.”

“Who are you!” The masked wrestler felt a surge of intense danger.

The woman gently waved her hand through the air, and a black light flickered briefly in the wind. The masked wrestler and the three-headed monstrous dog, Qiqi, suddenly froze.

Because, at that moment, their bodies split into two halves—yet, even so, no large amount of blood splattered.

The cuts on their separated bodies were unnaturally smooth, and the wounds were scorched black, sealing in their blood.

The woman smiled slightly at this moment, then removed the large round brown sunglasses from her face, revealing a pair of deep blue eyes… the maid from the club.

You Ye looked at the corpses on the ground that had now turned into four parts, lightly biting the tip of the glasses frame, narrowing her eyes in satisfaction, “Enough to last for several days.”

…

This kind of filthy flesh was impossible to enter the kitchen of a maid with obsessive cleanliness—so, the place they were processed was a starred restaurant in the city.

Although, simply cooking them would suffice (after all, they weren’t for the master to eat), the reason they chose this star-rated restaurant was naturally because of the maid’s personal whim—the ordinary kitchen was too messy and too dirty.

The strange chunks of meat were placed on a clean kitchen workbench. The chef standing nearby appeared unmoving—even though the meat seemed to be the heart of some kind of creature, still beating, with its blood an unusual deep green, he was unaffected.

“As usual, once it’s dealt with, I’ll come to pick it up… Hmm, let’s make stew today.”

It wasn’t until he heard this that the chef silently picked up the basin filled with the meat chunks, turned, and entered the processing room, before numbly picking up a kitchen knife, cutting piece by piece.

After instructing the chef, the maid left the restaurant through the back door.

She walked alone on the streets of Rio, whenever she passed an interesting fashion store, she would take a special step inside, selecting and trying on clothes, but wouldn’t buy anything.

She would sit quietly in a shop recommended by a food magazine, watching the passersby outside the window. No one would approach her… because she wouldn’t allow any strangers to sit near her.

She felt that it seemed to have been quite a long time since she had this kind of leisure, quietly enjoying some time alone.

Before, there was once a period when she was passionate about wandering around in her free time… During that time, the club hadn’t changed to a new owner. The previous owner kept changing addresses.

But gradually, she lost interest in these activities… Gradually, she spent more time just sitting quietly in the dimly lit lobby, waiting for different guests to arrive.

Everything was silent and soundless.

Everything was silent and soundless.

Everything was silent and soundless.

“Miss, do you need anything?” A clerk approached, offering a professional smile.

“Do you have any recommendations?” she replied with a slight smile, “I read about this restaurant in a magazine, and it seems quite good.”

The clerk promptly suggested, “Then you should try our cocktail. It took our owner more than half a year to create it for his wife’s fortieth birthday, and it has a great reputation.”

“Then please give me a glass.”

Everything… began to have sound.

…

…

Caroline only woke up around three in the afternoon—which, actually, was her usual waking time.

So not only did she not feel unusually tired, but she also had the illusion of returning to her usual everyday life.

However, with a shift of her gaze, when she saw ‘Arno’ leaning by the window looking outside, she snapped back to reality—these were still dreadful days.

But she couldn’t let this ‘Arno’ discover she knew something. So Caroline tousled her scattered hair, yawned, and slowly said, “Didn’t you go to class?”

‘Arno’ shook his head, then suddenly said, “The weather outside is nice, do you want to go for a walk?”

Caroline looked at ‘Arno’ quizzically, hesitating, “Go outside? Didn’t you say it was quite dangerous?”

‘Arno’ said, “I can’t let you stay here all the time.”

He came up to Caroline, smiled, and said, “It’s been several days and no one has come around. I think it’s safe for now… Come on, let me take you to a nice place.”

Caroline hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Then let me take a shower before going out?”

‘Arno’ agreed readily.

Upon entering the bathroom, Caroline quickly climbed onto the sink, opened the ceiling, and retrieved some paper and a pen she had hidden up there when she returned in the early hours before ‘Arno’ came back.

Quickly, she wrote a line in her notebook, then tore it out, crumpled the paper into a ball, and stuffed it into her pocket.

When leaving, Caroline said to Arno, “Hold on, take out the trash… Don’t you guys have this habit?”

Arno paused, watching Caroline go to the trash bin and begin tidying up. He said blankly, “Maybe it’s because I’m used to being alone.”

“Living alone can be refined too,” Caroline shrugged as she picked up the trash bag, “no matter who we are, right?”

Arno suddenly said, “What if it becomes two people?”

Caroline frowned and gave Arno a puzzled look. Arno shook his head and directly pushed the door open, “Nothing… oh, put on a hat.”

Caroline didn’t say anything, and after putting on a hat, she followed Arno out of the dormitory with the trash bag.

It’s not unusual for the staff to see women in the men’s dormitory; they’re long used to it. Caroline casually threw the trash bag into a bin downstairs, glanced around, and quickly returned to Arno’s side.

“Where are we going?”

Arno naturally took Caroline’s hand, “This makes it more natural.”

Caroline glanced over and chuckled, “Normally, I’d charge for this.”

Arno said, “There’s a masquerade ball in the new school auditorium today. We can go and have some fun.”

“A masquerade ball?” Caroline exclaimed in surprise…

… The clothes are provided by the university club, coproduced by the drama club, so students can borrow many costumes.

Caroline looked around the large auditorium at the strangely dressed men and women, gradually adapting — she had been to many crowded places like this.

Nightclubs, wealthy family parties… For these students, Caroline might be considered battle-hardened — but for Caroline, attending these events was mostly for work.

Arno found a green tight outfit, accompanied by a red cape and a black mask; he dressed as Robin Hood.

“Come on, don’t just stand there. Let’s move to the center.” Arno said, pulling the unresponsive Caroline towards the crowd.

Caroline had chosen a catwoman outfit herself. Her curves looked even more attractive under the tight leather, attracting masculine, hormone-charged gazes.

“Mas-Que-Nada,” the music playing at the ball.

Arno lifted Caroline’s hand, spinning her among the crowd. He looked at her with an unusually vibrant smile, “Move… yes, just like that. Don’t think too much.”

“Like this?”

“Faster, a bit faster… yes! Let yourself go. Imagine you’re catwoman and I’m Robin Hood.”

“Oh… I can’t, I’m feeling a bit dizzy, it’s too fast.” Caroline stopped, breathing heavily, leaning on Arno’s shoulder, “I haven’t moved like this for a long time.”

Arno smiled… the music’s tempo suddenly slowed, switching to another tune.

The men and women in the auditorium began pairing up, no longer dancing wildly, weaving through as if guided by the Queen Bee’s signals.

Arno naturally placed his hands on Caroline’s waist, slowly swaying.

Caroline smiled, “I thought you were a bookworm, but you’re surprisingly familiar with this kind of party.”

Arno just smiled, “Actually, you’re quite suited for this kind of life too.”

Caroline shook her head, staying silent.

Arno said, “If you were given a chance, to have a new life, like now, would you take it?”

Caroline looked up at Arno, the gentle music striking her heart. Perhaps due to the atmosphere, she began to ponder the question.

“Maybe, we can go somewhere new, a place where no one knows us.” Arno gently embraced Caroline, speaking in a magnetic voice, “We can’t stay at school forever. If we encounter Rio and them outside, the joy we feel today will be lost.”

Caroline suddenly snapped back to reality. She didn’t resist Arno’s light embrace but remembered that he had been a dancer at the Qata Clubhouse… Did he whisper the same way in Livia’s ear?

“You… if you leave, what about all your efforts over the years?” Caroline said, “Your degree, your job, your future… are you willing to leave these behind?”

“No matter how much, it’s better than endless troubles,” Arno said bitterly, “I know, I’ve always known, as long as my brother’s around, I’ll never be free. No matter how hard I try, with his identical face, people will always think I’m him. But…”

He suddenly held Caroline’s face, softly saying, “But if it’s you… if you’re with me… we…”

Gradually drawing closer, and closer.

Caroline’s body suddenly stiffened, in the moment Arno came incredibly close, Caroline instinctively pushed him away.

“Caroline…” Arno softly called out.

Caroline lowered her head, “Sorry… I-I’m a bit thirsty, I… I’ll get something to drink.”

Finishing, she didn’t wait for Arno to respond, quickly pushing into the crowd, moving away from Arno’s sight.

…

— You can let a man kiss anywhere on your body, but not your lips.

In front of the bar serving drinks, Caroline instinctively touched her lips, what lingered in her mind was what Nia had once told her.

“Are you moved?”

Suddenly, an untimely voice appeared before Caroline, startling her — she couldn’t forget this raspy, terrifying voice — it was 403.

In front, it was indeed 403!

He was still in that eerie outfit from last night, like a monster from a movie.

Caroline looked around fearfully, especially behind herself, while 403 calmly said, “Don’t be nervous. See where we are? In this outfit, no one cares; students here will just think I’m dressed as a scary monster.”

Caroline froze, then sighed in relief.

403 said, “Though it’s ironic, because of this, I can openly appear among the crowd, instead of hiding in dark corners… No one will look at me with frightened eyes.”

Still, the voice was raspy, but to Caroline, it held an indescribable tone.

Caroline hesitated before saying, “Did you… you saw my note and came specifically? Why? Is it…”

She knew 403 wanted revenge, but didn’t know what exactly 403 planned. Just then, 403 suddenly grabbed Caroline’s hand, pulling her towards him forcefully.

In the split second Caroline failed to react, 403 seized her chin and kissed her hard.

In the distance, Arno who was searching happened to witness this scene; his pupils instinctively widened greatly, immensely!