Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 898: Sorry, I’m a bit emotional right now

In fact, there were still a few survivors left.

They were guests who had escaped from the underground labyrinth. However, counting all of them, only four remained.

These four had been trapped in the labyrinth and only managed to escape when a crack opened as it began to collapse. They found themselves less than a meter away from the surface.

The four survivors were utterly terrified, huddled in a corner and shaking. When some bodyguards from the estate discovered them, they asked what had happened.

After what they'd experienced in the labyrinth, the survivors were mentally on edge.

"Vampires... Zombies! So many zombies! They were all zombies!!"

The survivors recounted their terrifying experience in a panic, but those who found them were baffled by the fantastical nature of their claims.

"Hey, ladies and gentlemen, I think you were so frightened that you started hallucinating," a Black bodyguard remarked. "I just need to ask if you've seen the person in this photo. He's my employer, and I need to know if he's still trapped down there."

Other bodyguards also began to ask about their respective employers.

"Please, believe us!! Believe us!!" One of the survivors clung tightly to the Black bodyguard.He frowned, glancing at his companions and some other bodyguards. They all suspected these survivors had been scared out of their wits.

No one noticed the figure crawling out from the ruins in the darkness. If Zhong Luoyue had been there, she would have recognized the person as Natasha, who had briefly teamed up with her in the labyrinth.

Natasha had been fortunate; the collapsed tunnel had prevented her from encountering any zombies on her way to the exit. However, as she reached the end, the labyrinth began to collapse.

Still, she was lucky not to be buried alive, but the ordeal had drained all her strength.

As soon as she emerged, Natasha saw a group of bodyguards and the few remaining survivors. She tried to call out to them but collapsed from exhaustion before she could utter a word, falling unconscious.

Meanwhile, the survivors were becoming more agitated, and more bodyguards gathered around them. The strange situation made several bodyguards frown, sensing something eerie about the entire affair. Had these people really seen something terrifying, or were they hallucinating?

And what about the sudden collapse of the estate? The whole thing felt mysterious and unsettling.

At that moment, a bat flew out of the ruins, landing on a cracked stone, observing the commotion below.

The bat transformed into black mist, from which emerged a handsome man.

"What foolishness have these unruly and unteachable people gotten themselves into this time?" the man muttered, shaking his head.

Dressed in a black tailcoat, he strolled over with his hands behind his back. As he reached the edge of the crowd, he raised his hand, revealing a small bottle. He uncorked it and gently blew on it.

A light purple smoke drifted toward the crowd, and as they instinctively inhaled it, their expressions went blank, their minds suddenly clouded.

Even the agitated survivors grew calm.

A strange silence fell over the area, and after a moment, the survivors blinked as if waking from a dream. They looked around in confusion at the ruined estate, finally asking, "What happened?"

The bodyguards also scratched their heads, equally perplexed by the situation.

None of them noticed the handsome young man in the black tailcoat as he casually strolled away from the ruins, muttering to himself, "I'm almost out of memory-erasing potion... Time to restock."

Meanwhile, far off in the sky, several large shadows—likely helicopters—were approaching the scene.

...

Fortunately, the three Song brothers managed to escape through a secret passage from the vault. When they emerged, they found themselves a kilometer away from the estate.

There was no way they could just leave. As soon as their phones regained signal, they contacted Grandpa Song, who was playing chess with Uncle Wu at the Cold Residence.

Grandpa Song didn't doubt his grandsons' words. After years of military service, Song Tianyou had seen plenty of strange things, and he knew the world wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

But with his two most important descendants in danger, he couldn't sit still.

He made a call, and a nearby military unit immediately dispatched several armed helicopters. Never doubt the Song family's influence behind the scenes.

If time had allowed, Grandpa Song—halfway to the grave—might have sent an entire military force to wipe out the threat at the estate.

"I don't care if it's zombies or monsters... If anyone dares touch my grandchildren, I’ll destroy them!!"

Uncle Wu hadn’t seen Grandpa Song so enraged in over a decade—not since Song Ying's parents were assassinated.

No one knew who the killers were, but a month later, a small country's government was completely overthrown.

The power of the great families is like a sleeping lion—never provoke it into waking.

As an armed helicopter hovered overhead, a rope ladder was lowered, and the three Song brothers hurriedly climbed aboard.

"Mr. Song, long time no see!" said a military officer in his thirties.

Song Da didn't engage in much small talk, saying, "Colonel Honey, we'll drink next time; saving people is the priority now... Have your men fully armed?"

Colonel Honey patted his chest and replied, "Rest assured, the general gave us three armed helicopters and a transport plane, all loaded with elite commandos—enough to fight a small battle! But tell me, Mr. Song, what kind of enemy are we facing?"

Song Da nodded gravely, "Just be cautious... I hope you won't be too scared later."

Colonel Honey had met Mr. Song and his two brothers, Mr. Song Er and Mr. Song San, before. In a private meeting between Master Song and the general, the three brothers took down a squad of the general's guards in under a minute. Since then, the martial-minded Colonel Honey had held deep respect for the Song brothers.

"It must be serious then..." Colonel Honey nodded and gave orders. The hovering armed helicopters took off toward the manor.

...

"What... what should we do now?" Zhong Luoyue had to ask, noticing that Elizabeth didn’t seem to have a strong sense of direction.

Having glimpsed some of Elizabeth's memories, Zhong Luoyue knew that Elizabeth was far older than she looked, but due to her habit of sleeping to reduce the need for blood, her mental age was about that of a girl in her late teens. More importantly, many decisions had been made by her late grandfather, Aamon.

As for Luo Qiu, all Zhong Luoyue knew was his name, that he was brought by Song Ying, and that he had some mysterious power. Beyond that, she had no further information.

What was even more frustrating was that Luo Qiu seemed utterly unconcerned about the situation, completely calm and indifferent. So, Zhong Luoyue had no choice but to speak up.

When she said "we," it was with a bit of calculated intent.

"We don't need to do anything," Luo Qiu replied casually. "Just blend into the crowd and act like innocent bystanders."

"Mm-hmm!" Elizabeth nodded eagerly, obediently.

What are you nodding for...

Zhong Luoyue couldn't help but rub her forehead. Are all these supernatural beings this reckless? Don't they think about the consequences?

Seeing Zhong Luoyue’s anxious demeanor, Luo Qiu found it amusing—not mocking, just that the situation felt somewhat lighthearted to him.

He briefly considered erasing Zhong Luoyue's memories of the labyrinth in the cellar but ultimately decided against it. He figured he'd do a small favor for the Song family, out of respect for Grandpa Song’s hospitality.

This Zhong family girl would likely tread more carefully in future encounters with the Song family. As for her transformation into a different kind of life form... well, that would be her problem to worry about, with occasional monitoring.

As Zhong Luoyue stewed in frustration, Luo Qiu turned toward a collapsed wall. Elizabeth, sensing something, also looked over.

A figure emerged from behind the wall. The collapse of the manor had started fires, likely due to the numerous candles used for lighting.

Through the flames, a handsome man in a black tailcoat walked out slowly.

The moment Elizabeth saw him, her face paled with fear. She clutched her clothes nervously.

The man clearly knew Elizabeth as he directly called out, "Elizabeth Arden, what happened during your Hunt? Why is the Fernandez family's castle in ruins? You didn’t mention any additional actions in your Hunt request, did you?"

"Who is this?" Zhong Luoyue asked quietly, noticing Elizabeth's reaction.

Elizabeth lowered her head, unable to meet the man’s gaze, stammering in a trembling voice, "He... he's Ivan, an inspector of the Thirteen Clans. He monitors unruly vampires and is authorized to eliminate them if necessary."

"This woman..." Ivan, the handsome man, stared at Zhong Luoyue, "A newborn? Who granted the Embrace? Unauthorized Embraces are forbidden. I need an explanation."

Elizabeth quickly responded, "Lord Ivan, Lady Eve gave her the Embrace... I believe Lady Eve was too excited at the time and couldn't control her urges..."

Inspector Ivan shook his head and said indifferently, "That troublemaker... Where is she now? I know there were members of the Takizawa family from the East, the dark merchant Cythacyl, and the last of the Yishel family with you. And I encountered some survivors who mentioned zombies. What’s going on?"

"Well... some things did happen," Elizabeth stammered fearfully, glancing at Ivan.

Those involved in the True Blood plan had always been careful, but the Thirteen Clans maintained tight control over many vampire families. As a mixed-blood, Elizabeth held a low status within the clan and often couldn’t get the pureblood supplies she needed. Ivan was the one in charge of that.

She had yielded to the immense pressure of Ivan and his backing forces more than once. To her, Ivan felt like a mountain pressing down on her and her grandfather, making it hard to breathe.

"We’ll discuss this later."

Ivan turned his attention to Luo Qiu and said, "First, let’s deal with the matter at hand... Who is this man? You're not one of us, are you?"

"Lord Ivan, he's my friend. I invited him here! Please, don't hurt him. I’ll tell you everything about what happened in the cellar later!" Elizabeth pleaded.

Even though Elizabeth knew Luo Qiu was powerful—he had effortlessly destroyed Viscount Fernandez and the mutated creature in Jin Wucheng—she also knew that Ivan represented the Thirteen Clans, with each clan backed by an invincible prince.

"I didn’t ask you to speak." Ivan's sharp gaze cut to Elizabeth, and in an instant, her body flew backward, smashing against the wall.

"Disobedient half-blood," Ivan sneered before turning back to Luo Qiu. "Now, tell me, what's your connection to this incident?"

"None at all," Luo Qiu shrugged. "I just happened to pass by... By the way, are you the only one here?"

Ivan frowned, suddenly feeling a sense of dread.

Luo Qiu sighed, "Honestly, if it weren't for Miss Karen and Mr. Tu, I’d have a much worse opinion of your kind."

"Oh, really?" Ivan narrowed his eyes.

"And isn’t it rude to strike a lady?" Luo Qiu snapped his fingers.

Before Ivan could react, he was flung backward. But instead of hitting the wall, an invisible barrier formed behind him, smashing his bones instantly. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

Looking at the inspector lying on the ground like a broken doll, Luo Qiu said expressionlessly, "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit emotional today."