Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1057: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (65) — It Won’t Always Be This Unlucky

Although the tour time had stopped progressing, the two Gaia units currently being printed in the Universal Material pool had not stopped and were nearing completion.

Jiang Zuo’s gaze grew somewhat dazed—not because he was captivated by Gaia’s nearly flawless appearance, but because of the technology behind her creation.

It seemed to reignite his passion for science.

When the first Gaia finished printing, a conveyor-like mechanism emerged from the Universal Material pool, transporting the completed Gaia unit out.

Hmm… even the outfit was printed—some kind of strange, combat-suit-like material. Jiang Zuo had no idea what the Universal Material was actually recombining.

Despite his deep curiosity, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t extract more information from the control interface—aside from that folder suspected to contain Gaia’s memory data, he couldn’t make sense of anything else.

There wasn’t even a way to copy any data. Jiang Zuo could only try to memorize everything he could see.

At this moment, the first printed Gaia had left the Universal Material pool, but remained motionless. Jiang Zuo glanced at the Gaia who had guided him and saw she was still standing with her head down, completely in standby mode.

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Zuo mustered his courage and walked up to the newly printed Gaia, calling out a few times casually—there was no response.

This new Gaia’s skin was unnaturally pale. Unlike the guiding Gaia, if you didn’t speak to her, she looked completely human—yet still clearly artificial, like an unpainted figurine.But the moment Jiang Zuo approached, a light screen suddenly popped up in front of the new Gaia—it displayed many things he still didn’t understand.

He guessed it was some kind of parameter configuration screen… In the center was a six-dimensional diagram that gave him a strange sense of déjà vu.

Thinking in a normal way, it was like this newly assembled “body” was in a default “zero” state and needed manual calibration?

Six attribute values? But what did these attributes represent… maybe strength, senses, thinking speed?

At that moment, the guiding Gaia suddenly raised her head.

This small motion startled Jiang Zuo. He quickly stepped away from the two newly printed Gaia units, fearing it might look like he planned to purchase them.

【Hidden directive… Priority execution… Cognitive system overloaded… Splitting process initiated…】

Jiang Zuo: ???

Before his eyes, the guiding Gaia’s body dissolved and vanished!

The tour timer still had not resumed.

Now, in the massive room housing the Universal Material pool, the silence felt eerie.

Jiang Zuo sighed.

With the guiding Gaia gone, and no idea what had just happened, Jiang Zuo felt completely trapped inside this room.

He looked at the interface in front of the new Gaia, which resembled a configuration panel, and frowned… Would this Gaia activate if he adjusted the settings?

He began reaching toward the six-dimensional diagram, carefully watching for any reaction.

As his finger tentatively swiped across the diagram, the Gaia suddenly opened her eyes.

The sudden movement startled Jiang Zuo, and in his panic, he inadvertently maxed out one of the parameters.

He frantically tried to reduce it—realizing that the values probably had limits and couldn’t all be maxed at once… likely due to the original design of the “body.”

But windows kept popping up on the interface, preventing him from adjusting the value back. Jiang Zuo scratched his head… he definitely messed something up.

Then the Gaia moved.

Her pale skin took on a snowy luster, gradually becoming more lifelike. At the same time, she reached out her hand.

Jiang Zuo suddenly felt an overwhelming force slam him into the wall!

The wall was incredibly hard—there was no human-shaped dent or anything, just pure pain. Jiang Zuo felt like his bones had shattered.

He didn’t fall but was pinned against the wall by an invisible force.

Jiang Zuo felt panic rising. The Gaia calmly walked to the white pillar, placing her hand on it.

【Scan complete… Defensive forces severely lacking… Searching for countermeasures… Clause 47… When the main unit is unresponsive, mass-produced combat Gaia may act autonomously.】

【Deploying reinforcements】

【Universal Material pool activated… Maximizing combat Gaia production…】

【Combat readiness initiated】

From the massive Universal Material pool, dozens of printing arms suddenly shot out—an overwhelming sight!

They began moving with precision, like synchronized sewing machines—printing Gaias.

Pinned to the wall, Jiang Zuo witnessed this horrifying scene and mentally collapsed: Can someone tell me what stat I just maxed out??

Combat readiness?

Seeing over fifty Gaia units being printed simultaneously in the pool gave Jiang Zuo a terrible feeling… He didn’t know what the upper limit of this "maximized production" was, but even this initial batch of fifty was terrifying enough—if they all had equal combat power...

"What… what did I just do…"

———

Emmmm...

Being a Black Soul Envoy had its perks—unless mortally wounded, you recovered quickly. That’s why Tai Yinzi was still lively after taking countless blows from Huang Baifu’s Dominating Fist.

But when he woke up, he was confused about his situation.

More accurately, he was trapped inside a giant crystal.

His body wasn’t restrained, since the crystal was hollow—but it reminded him of the misery of being sealed away for 500 years, and it was unbearable.

Across from him was another similar crystal. Inside, Tai Yinzi could faintly see a floating golden orb.

Aside from that, the space was small and completely white. The only thing Tai Yinzi could clearly see was a Gaia standing between the two crystals—in front of her was a white pillar.

She had her palm placed on it.

“What the hell! Why the hell am I locked up?!” Tai Yinzi shouted, pounding on the crystal. He wasn’t even sure his voice could be heard. “Gaia! Let me out!”

【Access denied】

So… his voice could be heard. But this wasn’t the time to worry about details!

“Gaia! I, your Daoist elder, order you as a Subordinate Permission Holder—release me!!” Tai Yinzi screamed from within the crystal.

【Refused… Hidden command takes precedence over all permission orders… Gaia… executing】

“Damn it! Are you brain-damaged now?!” Tai Yinzi pounded harder against the inside of the crystal.

At that moment, the crystal he was in began to emit a faint glow—and the crystal across from him also started to shine with the same light.

A sense of foreboding crept over Tai Yinzi.

“Gaia!! What are you planning to do to me?!”

【Executing hidden command… Implanting host consciousness into vessel… Assisting host in reclaiming an Eternal Kingdom citizen body… Awakening】

Gaia’s palm slowly pressed further down onto the white pillar—and Tai Yinzi suddenly felt a pulling force!

Not targeting his body—but his mind, his soul!

It felt like his soul was about to be ripped from him!

“Stop! Stop!! St—” Tai Yinzi’s fists slowed as he pounded the crystal; he eventually collapsed weakly, staring at the abnormal Gaia, and the flickering golden light ball inside the opposite crystal.

A chilling thought struck him… was the thing inside that crystal about to possess his body?

The host… Gaia’s master… the owner of the Penglai Treasure Vault?

“What… what the hell did I do…”

——

——

Since Da Zhe was here, there was no need for the club’s Miss Maid to inspect the mysterious man with the severed arm who had fallen from the sky.

Da Zhe was observant—he knew full well that if even a speck of dust touched the boss, Miss Maid wouldn’t rest until it was cleaned off. The odds of her handling this unknown man with a missing arm were basically zero—as long as Da Zhe was present.

“There’s still blood at the break, so it happened recently. But the wound’s already healed.”

Da Zhe flipped the man over and squeezed his arm. “Hmph… muscles like steel. Must be pretty strong. Boss, are we saving him?”

“Move him over there first.” Luo Qiu pointed to a tree not far away.

Da Zhe nodded, slung the one-armed man over his back, and carried him toward the tree.

You Ye, watching Da Zhe work diligently, said softly, “He really is willing to do these things—not reluctant at all.”

Luo Qiu recalled the days when he first met Da Zhe back in his hometown.

The man had long outgrown his reckless youth, and ten years in prison had made him grounded and steady.

Luo Qiu smiled faintly. “Maybe it’s just his nature… but who knows what he’ll face next.”

You Ye, standing beside her master, spoke gently, “The deal was to send a high-ranking Black Soul Envoy here. We don’t know what he’ll encounter. But since the contract was signed, the risks were already factored in—hence the high compensation. You don’t need to worry. Da Zhe’s survived in dimensional gaps for quite some time. The Zhanlu Sword’s power is almost fully awakened—he should be able to handle himself even in danger.”

Luo Qiu nodded. “That’s why we had him go into the rift.”

You Ye chuckled. “Still, Da Zhe probably doesn’t realize it was your decision to send him there. He probably just thinks No. 18 was being capricious… but in time, he’ll understand your intentions.”

“Don’t flatter me.” Luo Qiu shook his head and walked toward the tree.

When Luo Qiu and You Ye arrived, they saw the man’s stump padded with leaves—clearly Da Zhe’s doing.

Da Zhe was pressing the man’s philtrum reflexively, though it wasn’t helping.

“Wake him up,” Luo Qiu said casually.

You Ye nodded and stepped forward. Da Zhe quickly moved aside. Miss Maid pulled on white gloves, then pressed her fingertip to the man’s forehead.

After a few seconds, she withdrew her hand.

The one-armed man’s eyes suddenly shot open—he gasped for air like a drowning man surfacing—he was awake.

——

His head felt like it had been run over by a hydraulic press—his vision blurry and doubled. Huang Baifu could barely focus as he regained consciousness.

He saw three people standing before him and instinctively grabbed the tree for balance—only to notice his right arm was gone.

He fell silent.

Not because he couldn’t handle the shock—but because he had no memory of anything after using his third-stage Divine Beast Transformation.

He’d used that loathsome power again… but what was the outcome?

That damned old ghost… that woman in white… where were they? And who were these three?

They didn’t look like members of the Daoist Association—despite Huang Baifu’s brawler image, he was a sharp observer.

Before being transferred here, he’d memorized every face in the Daoist Association’s party. These strangers definitely weren’t among them.

“Feeling better?” Luo Qiu asked when he saw Huang Baifu rub his forehead.

Huang Baifu lowered his hand. His vision cleared. He frowned. “What… what happened to me?”

“You dropped from the sky,” Da Zhe said. “We’re curious what happened too.”

From the sky?

Maybe… during the fight with that thing…

But the wound had healed—it wasn’t a fresh cut.

In fact, since waking up, Huang Baifu couldn’t sense his right arm at all—it was as if it had vanished. If it had been utterly destroyed in battle…

His face darkened.

“You guys… are from around here?”

Since they weren’t from the Daoist Association, nor likely from the Demon race… and didn’t seem like people from the Management Bureau… were they locals?

“No, we came from the outside—just arrived,” Luo Qiu replied politely.

“From the outside…” Huang Baifu frowned.

The Daoist and Demon factions were the first to enter. Anyone else must’ve wandered in from near Mt. Tai—probably some uninvited rogue cultivators.

He felt like his luck today was awful—first the despicable old ghost, then that bizarre creature, then that terrifying woman in white. All overwhelming opponents.

He could dismiss the strange creature, but he’d never even heard of the woman in white—she’d come out of nowhere. It made him question his past victories—was this year’s batch of Four Celestial Spirits just that weak?

He shook his head. No way he’d keep being this unlucky—surely not everyone he met would be absurdly powerful.

His demonic energy was weak—he could barely use the first stage of his Divine Beast Transformation. Still, even without it, he was a top-tier combatant among demons.

“You’re good people for saving me. I always repay my debts.”

He spoke solemnly, “Once I return, I won’t treat you unfairly—there will be rewards! But for now, I’m a bit parched. Go fetch me some water. I could use a few attendants. Serve me well, and you’ll have rewards beyond your imagination.”

Da Zhe’s expression froze partway through the speech.

Luo Qiu showed no particular reaction.

But Miss Maid let out a cold chuckle and narrowed her eyes.

(End of Chapter)