Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 852: The Devil’s Deal (3)

Although Bucky was quite resistant to the idea of running a tab—since it made him feel as if he were under the pressure of working for someone else—he didn’t feel too disheartened, as faith power could be generated continuously.

Typically, a fervent believer like Besong could generate one unit of faith power in three days, while believers a level lower than him would need around eight to ten days to generate a single unit.

Moreover, a unit must be generated from the same believer; it can't be pooled together from multiple believers. Therefore, theoretically, even for a fervent believer like Besong, there was a threshold to the amount of faith power he could produce in his lifetime.

To gain more units of faith power, one either had to recruit more followers or turn ordinary believers into loyal ones.

Bucky had heard that there existed a type of believer above those like Besong, capable of providing multiple units in a day; these individuals were referred to as "Prayers" by the gods. Generally, Prayers resided in the divine realms of the gods.

Oh… Bucky was a very pragmatic person, and the concept of Prayers seemed too distant for him. He didn’t even know how to create a Prayer.

In fact, he currently had barely over eighty followers, and the entire church was in the early stages of developing a mystical enterprise, a phase that would likely last a long time.

First, he set a small goal—let’s say a thousand followers.

“Well, if I want to purchase something in the future, how will I find you?” Bucky realized he couldn't keep the maid's exceptional assistance, so he began planning for the future.

When Lucifer initially contracted him, he was even given the ability to call on Lucifer. Thinking about it, the club wouldn’t be more stingy than Lucifer, would it?The maid smiled slightly, “This was left with me by my master before his vacation. I was waiting for the right time to give it to you, and now it’s time.”

With that, Yōu Yè handed Bucky a black card. He examined it curiously but saw nothing particularly special about it, just a unique golden mark on it.

The maid said calmly, “This is a 10% off card for five uses. When you need it, it will guide you to our store, and you’ll enjoy a 10% discount for up to five transactions.”

Bucky nodded and then curiously asked, “Why five times?”

The maid blinked and replied, “Because there are also ten-use 10% off cards, a hundred-use 10% off card, or five-use 20% off cards, ten-use 20% off cards… even the highest-level Eternal 40% off card. As for how many of these black cards you can get, it depends on your own efforts. The more generous customers who work with us long-term will naturally receive more discounts. Isn’t that the law of business?”

Eternal 40% off card!

Bucky didn’t think too much about it; he simply did a quick calculation in his mind—he owed the club 200 units of faith power, and with this Eternal 40% off card, he would only need to pay 120 units!

Bucky couldn’t help but breathe a little faster and nervously asked, “Has anyone really gotten an Eternal 40% off card?”

The maid replied nonchalantly, “Of course, and it was from one of your predecessors.”

“Predecessor… who?” Bucky was taken aback.

However, the maid smiled pleasantly and then vanished from before Bucky—just as she had said, her job of mentoring Bucky had been completed, and she would no longer provide him with any free assistance.

……

After finishing his conversation with the maid, Bucky made his way back. From a distance, he spotted his most loyal and charming follower, Mr. Besong.

As the chief servant responsible for the daily care of the divine messenger, Mr. Besong was indeed very dedicated.

Spitting into his palm, he casually rubbed it a couple of times and then ran it through his hair. Bucky adjusted his appearance in the mirror of a car before finally donning his carnival mask.

With his hands behind his back, Bucky stepped out from behind the car and cleared his throat, saying in a deep voice, “Besong, my servant, we can leave now.”

“Messenger!” Mr. Besong quickly approached Bucky, a look of delight on his face. “Just now, one of our lovely followers told me he is willing to bring his family to you to hear the gospel you deliver.”

“Oh, really? Let’s meet when we have the chance,” Bucky replied casually.

Now, with the maid's assistance, Bucky felt that his foundation was secure, so he wasn’t particularly anxious—after all, as a noble divine messenger, how could he appear mundane?

“Alright, I will inform him accordingly,” Mr. Besong nodded. “Let him and his beautiful wife and daughter wait a moment; the messenger is indeed tired.”

Bucky coughed a couple more times and said seriously, “I think it’s a bit inappropriate to make future followers who want to hear the gospel wait. How about this: if that person is free, have him come over to meet me tomorrow.”

“Messenger, you are so compassionate!” Mr. Besong praised. “I will notify him of his arrival at the first opportunity.”

Bucky nodded and added, “And I won’t miss the chance to meet his daughter and wife either…”

“Hmm?” Mr. Besong was taken aback.

Bucky replied calmly, “What I mean is, I won’t miss any opportunity to spread my lord’s glory.”

As Mr. Besong praised him once more, Bucky cheerfully got into the car and slowly left the hospital's underground parking lot.

At that moment, Mr. Besong’s phone suddenly rang again. “It must be more good news from our followers! Messenger, may I take this call?”

Bucky waved his hand—while he appreciated Mr. Besong's enthusiasm, his constant need to report everything was a bit tedious… Bucky quietly yawned, feeling a bit hungry.

Recently, he had noticed that he was especially prone to feeling hungry—whenever his stomach growled, he craved meat, particularly that medium-rare steak.

Bucky had never known that such bloody, undercooked steak could be so delicious… Should he have the chef try making it even rarer next time?

“Messenger! Another piece of good news!” Mr. Besong turned around with a look of surprise. “Indeed, under my lord’s guidance, more and more elites are joining us.”

“Oh? Who is it this time… who’s wife is it?” Bucky asked curiously.

Mr. Besong replied, “This one is different from my previous friends. This time, she is the real owner behind my company!”

Bucky was taken aback. During this time, he had often engaged in deep discussions about the brilliance of human nature with Mr. Besong’s wife, and he had learned quite a bit about Mr. Besong in the process.

For example, he talked about how he became rich over a decade ago, what business he is currently involved in, and how Mr. Besong’s company is actually a subsidiary of a large conglomerate, among other things.

As the president of such a small company, Mr. Besong’s friends are already part of the wealthy elite. So if Mr. Besong has a big boss behind him, one can only imagine what level of big shot that person is!

Bucky immediately became interested; if he could win over the big boss behind Mr. Besong, it would bring immeasurable benefits to his future development!

“Who is this person?”

Mr. Besong quickly replied, “It’s Mr. Saint Francis!”

Saint Francis?

Bucky was taken aback; he seemed to have… never heard this name before.

However, since this person was the big boss behind Besong, he probably held significant power in society, right? But Bucky wasn’t intimidated at all—after all, hadn’t he just recruited a big shot from the defense ministry?

“Oh, got it. When I’m free, bring him over so I can meet him.”

“Messenger, I will not let you down!” Mr. Besong solemnly nodded.

“By the way, what does his wife look like? Is she a smart woman?” Bucky asked about something that piqued his interest.

The car gradually pulled away.

……

……

Cold Residence.

The evening air was quite humid, especially in this ancient coastal city. Fortunately, it was summer, so the cool breeze from the humidity didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Song Ying was still busy with matters concerning the Song Dynasty Group.

Strictly speaking, the Song family was large in business but small in numbers. Since Song Tianyou had crossed the ocean years ago, he was the only true member of the Song family left, with only a few loyal old servants remaining.

Most of these elders had seen their losses diminish over the years. Therefore, even though Song Tianyou later settled in South America and reorganized the Song family, it still faced a sparse population.

The Chinese have their traditions, and Song Tianyou was particularly traditional, maintaining many old beliefs, such as the idea of passing down family businesses to sons rather than daughters. Although Song Ying had earned much leniency and change from Old Master Song through her outstanding performance, there was still a long way to go before she could truly overturn Old Master Song’s entrenched beliefs.

She worked hard for this, even turning her room into an office.

After eleven o'clock, a servant brought in some late-night snacks and refreshing drinks.

Song Ying set aside the documents she was working on and picked up her cup but suddenly remembered something, stopping to ask, “How is that guy doing? Has the etiquette teacher said anything?”

The servant was actually quite young, younger than Song Ying. She had trained in the village before coming out, and was a junior to Gan Hong, graduating two years after her. Her name was Akiko, and she was of Japanese descent.

“That guy?” Akiko, a lively and energetic girl, blinked her eyes and playfully asked, “Which guy are you referring to, Miss Ying?”

Song Ying rolled her eyes and said, “Want to die? How do you want to do it?”

Akiko giggled; although she was young, she had a lot of charisma. When she laughed, her chest shook shamelessly. She twirled a strand of her hair with her finger and softly said, “Young Master Qiu finished his etiquette teacher’s guidance a while ago. He should be resting now.”

Song Ying was taken aback and frowned, “Finished early? Did he get any leniency?”

Akiko replied, “Miss, you know what kind of old-fashioned person that etiquette teacher is. Even if we wanted to give Young Master Qiu some leeway, Teacher Claire wouldn’t allow it.”

Song Ying shook her head. “What do you mean?”

Akiko’s expression was strange as she said, “Teacher Claire said that Young Master Qiu doesn’t need to learn any etiquette at all. Just him sitting there is already the epitome of etiquette—what exactly it is, I can’t really say. In short, Teacher Claire went in, and not long after, he came out and scolded you, asking if you were intentionally making fun of him.”

“Is it really that good?” Song Ying frowned and muttered to herself, “Claire is the etiquette teacher for many descendants of ancient nobility, he’s practically an encyclopedia of etiquette. To give such a high evaluation… didn’t he grow up in an ordinary family?”

Akiko rested her chin on her hands and said, “Hey, Miss, don’t you think it’s a bit unbelievable that Young Master Qiu has appeared?”

Song Ying looked over at Akiko.

Akiko seemed oblivious to Song Ying’s change in expression and stared blankly at the ceiling. “Think about it. The eldest young master just threw out a random task, picked someone up, and it turns out to be a relative that old man has been searching for for decades. Isn’t that just too much of a coincidence?”

Song Ying suddenly asked, “What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting there’s something wrong with my uncle in this matter?”

Akiko shook her head. “Of course, I wouldn’t doubt the eldest young master, but this inexplicably appearing Young Master Qiu is another story. Anyway, with today’s technology, it’s pretty easy to forge a solid blood relation, isn’t it?”

Song Ying shook her head. Although she felt somewhat shaken when Akiko said this, others could easily associate the appearance of ‘Young Master Qiu’ with something suspicious, even suggesting he might be after the Song family’s wealth—after all, while old man Song’s search for relatives hadn’t been publicized, after decades, it was impossible that no rumors had leaked out.

If this were an elaborate scam, old man Song, her grandfather, really liked Luo Qiu too much… It was as if this Luo Qiu had been meticulously trained just to win old man Song’s favor.

“Akiko, help me with something.” Thinking of this, Song Ying changed her tone and said seriously, “We absolutely cannot let Uncle Wu know.”

“Miss, say it,” Akiko patted her chest.

Song Ying leaned in closer to Akiko’s ear and whispered, “I need you to go to China overnight. Officially, I’ll say you’re going on a business trip for me. Once you get to China, I’ll give you further instructions.”

Akiko nodded. “I’ll set off right away.”

---

In the same place, but opposite to Song Ying, Luo Qiu’s room was located in the west wing—Gan Hong's room was right next to Luo Qiu's, and the rooms were the same.

Using ancient terminology, Gan Hong could be defined as a concubine maid.

But at this moment, Gan Hong was already gone; she had been instructed to rest early—of course, Luo Qiu had used a bit of a trick to help the girl who insisted on staying up late fall asleep easily.

“Is that so? Bucky is already on track.” Luo Qiu smiled slightly.

Of course, he wasn’t talking to the air but to a three-dimensional projection on the table.

About thirty centimeters tall, this was the projection of the club’s maid in front of the boss—no matter from which angle, she looked perfect, almost like a lifelike figurine, making one want to reach out and hold her in their palm to play with.

“Now that Bucky has recruited Alfie, his path will be much smoother…” The maid was still reporting her work.

Although the boss was on vacation and had temporarily transferred most of his authority to the maid, her self-positioning had never changed. In Yōu Yè's eyes, this transfer of authority was merely to take on more trivial tasks for the master, allowing him to enjoy a pleasant holiday.

“You can handle Bucky’s affairs. I’m more curious about something else,” Luo Qiu pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, “If one wants to display miracles, there should be many ways. Why was Doctor Franky chosen in the end? I believe his last moments will be dazzling.”

The maid gently replied, “It is precisely because it is so dazzling that Yōu Yè wants to preserve it until your return, so you can see it with your own eyes. Time can brew fragrance, can’t it, Master?”

Luo Qiu was taken aback. Looking at the exquisite projection of the maid before him, his fingers moved slightly, wanting to touch the delicate projection’s lips.

A wonderful thought crossed his mind.

Luo Qiu took a deep breath… the suppressed emotions, the subtle feelings that should have been born long ago… were truly wonderful.

“I’ll be back,” he said softly.