Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 977: The Abyss of Despair

"Paul, what do you want to eat tonight?" his mother asked.

However, the child being asked walked over to the storefront window, pressed his face against the glass, and became completely captivated by what was inside.

It was a rather exquisite box.

The mother glanced up at the store's name and realized it was a boutique. The box displayed in the window was indeed very finely crafted, and she couldn’t help but take a second look.

"Pa... Pa... Do..." The child was trying to read the name inscribed on the base of the box—this decorative piece's name.

"Pandora," the mother bent down, leaning over the child’s shoulder, and smiled. "Pandora, it’s Pandora's box, Paul."

"Pandora's box?" the child named Paul curiously tilted his head back and looked up at his mother's chin.

The mother said seriously, "Pandora's box is a very dangerous box. Inside it are countless disasters and misfortunes. If it's opened, not only will the one who opens it be hurt, but others will be hurt too!"

The child slightly opened his mouth, then lowered his head and looked back at the box in the display window, but his interest had already waned. His curiosity quickly shifted to something else.

Across the street, there was a street performer who seemed to be floating in mid-air while holding a cane."Mom! Look at that!" the child pointed excitedly at the performer and quickly ran over.

"Be careful! Paul, don’t run across the street!" the mother shook her head helplessly. Of course, she didn’t rush over because she had checked and there were no cars in sight; most of the vehicles were parked. "Use the sidewalk, I’ve told you so many times! You’re such a child!"

Despite her warning, the child had safely reached the performer and joined a group of people watching the performance.

The mother smiled, thinking how curious her child was.

She was about to go over too but glanced back at the box in the display window. "Pandora's box... so expensive, thankfully."

She looked at the price tag beneath the box and felt relieved that the child hadn’t insisted on having it.

But just as she turned back to look at her child, she froze in place.

There was a loud crash, and the child, who had just safely crossed the street, was now crushed under a massive billboard. Not just the child, but also the street performer and several onlookers.

She opened her mouth slightly, and the shopping basket in her hands fell to the ground.

She rushed across the street frantically, but before she could reach her child, a car quickly sped by and struck her, sending her flying.

Her last vision was of the box in the display window. She didn’t have time to feel sadness or pain; she subconsciously thought: such an ominous box.

The driver, who had hurriedly gotten out of the car, rushed to the spot where the woman had been knocked down, but when he arrived, the woman had mysteriously disappeared.

...

...

Her body had completely tipped over the edge of the steel platform, facing the abyss below—what was called a dimensional gap—Wearing a hoodie, Joan.

And it was White Joan, who had held onto Paul and then become spiritually disoriented.

Red Joan still desperately clung to the edge of the steel platform—though her fingers were severely injured, she was holding on as best as she could.

Hoodie Joan had already accepted that she was going to be pushed off the platform, but she hurriedly glanced back at White Joan, who had ambushed her from behind.

White Joan’s face was filled with terror, her hands trembling, but her push had given her an absolute advantage.

"No one can separate Paul and me! No one can... No one can!!!"

"You’re just like me."

Hoodie Joan sneered and looked at White Joan with an expression of strange recognition.

Finally, Hoodie Joan’s body fell straight down into the abyss.

Perhaps this marked the official elimination of one of them... Red Joan’s situation was perilous, while White Joan had almost secured victory.

But just at that moment, Red Joan suddenly felt an overwhelming weight on her body, causing her grip on the platform’s edge to nearly break!

Red Joan screamed in pain and looked down in fear—it was Hoodie Joan!

She hadn’t fully fallen into the abyss but had grabbed Red Joan's ankle instead. Her body swung in mid-air, and each swing placed great strain on Red Joan.

"Let go of me! Let go!!"

What frightened Red Joan even more was that Hoodie Joan, like a demon crawling out of hell, began climbing up after grabbing her legs!

Hoodie Joan’s hands were gripping Red Joan’s thighs as she crawled up her waist!

"Let go!! Let go!!"

In panic, Red Joan desperately kicked Hoodie Joan’s head!

No matter how hard Red Joan kicked, no matter how much damage she did to Hoodie Joan's face, the grip on her legs remained unyielding.

She kicked out several of her teeth. When Hoodie Joan opened her mouth, she looked terrified. Red Joan kicked her nose, bending it, yet she still widened her eyes, her persistence like that of a vengeful ghost, sending chills down Red Joan’s spine.

"I’ll stay until the end! Everything belongs to me!!" Hoodie Joan roared in fury, tightly holding onto Red Joan's clothes.

"Please, let me go..." Red Joan had no choice but to beg.

At that moment, Hoodie Joan’s face slightly changed, which made Red Joan instinctively look up.

A figure stood before them—none other than White Joan, who had also fallen from the platform with them. Red Joan couldn’t forget White Joan’s existence because, just a moment ago, White Joan had directly pushed Hoodie Joan down.

Now, both Red Joan and Hoodie Joan were in absolute disadvantage. If White Joan simply pried Red Joan’s hands off the platform’s edge, both Red and Hoodie Joan would fall into the abyss.

And White Joan... would be the victor of this survival battle!

"I... I just wanted to be happy with Paul..." White Joan's eyes opened slightly, her voice trembling, but her expression was cold.

Compared to the crazed Hoodie Joan, Red Joan was even more frightened by White Joan's demeanor!

"Don’t... No!" Red Joan quickly said, "You’re not like this! You’re not like her... You’re not, right?"

White Joan, however, seemed not to hear and slowly lifted her leg!

Both Hoodie and Red Joan widened their eyes—because after White Joan lifted her leg, she suddenly stomped down!

Thud—!!

The shoe sole landed heavily on the edge of the steel platform!

In that moment, Hoodie Joan, holding tightly to Red Joan’s hands, found that she could no longer grip anything. Her body lost support, and in that instant, Red Joan vanished but reappeared. However, Hoodie Joan, unable to hold on, fell into the abyss!

In the rapid fall, Hoodie Joan fixed her eyes upward, her gaze colliding with Red Joan’s!

She saw a cruel smile appear on Red Joan’s face.

"So, it turns out you are..." Hoodie Joan suddenly burst into laughter. "You’re the same as me!! You’re the same!! Ha ha ha!!! You’re the same!! Hahaha!!"

Her manic laughter echoed as she fell, gradually fading away, until the dark abyss completely swallowed her.

Three... now down to two.

...

...

"Just now, did the one in red... disappear for a moment and then reappear?"

Song Haoran, who hadn’t been able to speak earlier, suddenly did. He may have been granted a reprieve since he and Song Ying didn’t ask Luo Qiu and Alaya about their origins.

"Just now... was there?" Song Ying asked, looking confused.

"There was," Luo Qiu, not far away, glanced over and replied calmly, "She indeed vanished and reappeared for a moment. It seems to be the same technique you encountered with the Joan wearing a sweatshirt earlier—switching back and forth between the real world and the mirror world, creating the illusion of teleportation."

Song Haoran froze, furrowing his brows. "No, that's not right. She wasn’t the original... now I understand!"

"What do you understand?" Song Ying suddenly looked up.

Song Haoran looked toward the steel platform and spoke slowly, "I’m afraid the Joan that everyone outside knows must have been replaced. Otherwise, there's no explanation for how the original Joan learned to switch between realities and images like this."

"Are you saying that when we saw that Joan in the guard room, she had already...?" Song Ying opened her mouth in shock. "But... if it was a switch, she should have stayed at the same position when switching to the real world. Her body should have fallen down too. How did she manage to stay in the same place when she returned to the mirror world?"

Song Haoran replied calmly, "That’s probably an illusion. Just before she switched, she suddenly bent her arm with force, lifting her body a little. When she switched to the mirror world, her hands were free, and she extended them out. This allowed her arms to reach even further..."

He then pointed toward the steel platform. "Look closely, this Joan in red not only grabbed the edge of the platform, but she also grabbed the ankle of the Joan in white... that’s probably the best proof."

"She can do that too..." Song Ying looked in disbelief, unconsciously glancing at Luo Qiu, as if expecting him to have the answer.

"That’s about it," Luo Qiu nodded.

At this moment, Alaya’s gaze shifted to Song Haoran, and she suddenly spoke: 【Excellent individual.】

"Thanks for the compliment," Song Haoran replied, trying to suppress his rapidly beating heart, maintaining his composure.

However, Alaya didn’t continue observing Song Haoran. She slowly spoke again: 【Calculation: Remaining time 105 seconds.】

"That’s enough!!"

As though to demonstrate to Alaya, the Joan in red suddenly yanked at the ankle of the Joan in white, pulling her off the platform as well!

The Joan in white clearly lacked the same insanity and adaptability as the Joan in sweatshirt—she fell straight into the abyss below the steel platform.

"Paul—!!"

As she fell, she called out loudly, her outstretched fingers grasping wildly at the air—her body was swallowed up by the dimensional gap.

Three... and then there was one.

Finally, after both the Joan in sweatshirt and the Joan in white fell into the abyss, the Joan in red slowly climbed back onto the steel platform.

She collapsed onto the platform, gasping for air... Afterward, the Joan in red slowly stood up and looked down at Alaya.

She smiled, then shouted loudly, "I won!"

"So... you knew everything from the very beginning, but acted innocent." Song Ying took a deep breath. "You knew it when we were in the guard room, didn't you?"

The Joan in red casually smiled and shook her head. "No, I wasn’t sure at that time. It wasn't until you brought the child that I realized what was happening... this timeline, another person must have jumped over. I thought that at first, but what I didn’t expect was that not just one, but two, had jumped over."

"You tricked all of us..." Song Ying gave a bitter smile.

"In the timeline I came from, I was an actress," the Joan in red sneered. "And a far better actress than the Joan in this timeline. Should I say I’m just that good, or... that you’re all that foolish?"

"Damn... what a detestable face," Song Ying gritted her teeth.

At this point, Luo Qiu looked at the Joan in red and suddenly asked, "One thing, can you tell me? When I found you, you should have been without the ring, how did you manage to switch between realities freely?"

"The ring?" The Joan in red smiled, then tore open the buttons of her shirt, revealing half of her chest. "This precious thing... isn't it better to not wear it casually? I sewed it right here."

She pressed her finger to the soft area of her chest.

"I see," Luo Qiu nodded... if it was in a private area like that, he wouldn't have checked it himself.

"However, I do appreciate you."

The Joan in red smiled slightly. "That was close, I thought I’d have to eliminate that crazy person first. I really thought I was going to die... so thank you for saving me and helping me recover so well. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it this far! You’re quite handsome too. After I go back, be my boyfriend, okay? How about it... I’m really good at taking care of people!"

"Disgusting!" Song Ying couldn't help but curse under her breath, quickly glancing at Luo Qiu, as if fearing he might actually agree.

But Luo Qiu suddenly frowned, lost in thought.

"I’ve won! Why aren't you letting me down?" The Joan in red suddenly shouted again. "I’ve participated in other survival battles, in other timelines! I know the rules, hurry up and let me down, get me out of this damn place! You emotionless thing!"

【Denied: The survival battle is not over. The unstable factor still exists. Reminder: Time remaining 60 seconds.】

Alaya’s voice remained emotionless as always.

"What nonsense! They’ve already fallen! There’s only me left..." Suddenly, the Joan in red seemed to remember something, and quickly looked toward one spot on the platform.

There, Paul was standing with a pale face, confused, instinctively shrinking his body when he saw the Joan in red looking at him.

"He's..." The Joan in red's eyes suddenly widened, her expression changing. "Could it be..."

"I think you’ve misunderstood something, Miss Joan from the unknown timeline."

Luo Qiu said calmly, "The reason I saved you wasn’t because I thought you needed to survive, but to give the little life growing inside you a chance."

"What do you mean?" Song Ying froze.

Luo Qiu sighed and explained, "She’s already pregnant."