Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1113: Labor Is the Most Glorious

What started to make Tai Yinzi panic was that he seemed to have become invisible—at least in the eyes of Miss Maid.

How so?

For example, Tai Yinzi deliberately positioned himself somewhere extremely noticeable—Miss Maid was in the kitchen preparing food for the master—and yet, even after rolling around the kitchen several times in wide loops, he still couldn't get a glance from her.

Or, when he purposely rolled under her broom, only to be swept up like garbage into a dustpan—still, no reaction from Miss Maid.

No matter how he tried to start a conversation… of course, he’d never dare to be rude—that was simply impossible.

It was as if he had truly become zero presence, entirely transparent… but clearly, that wasn’t something to be happy about. On the contrary, it made Tai Yinzi even more anxious about his future.

"I was wrong! I was really wrong!! Miss You Ye, I shouldn’t have taken that item and run off to the Penglai Treasure Vault without permission! I really was wrong!!" Tai Yinzi sobbed bitterly.

Miss Maid, as if suddenly remembering something, opened a cabinet, took out a decorative item, and began carefully wiping it.

"I was wrong! Truly wrong! I shouldn’t have left my post during working hours! Please punish me! I’ll accept any punishment!!" Tai Yinzi knelt down in supplication, raising his dog head to gaze at Miss Maid’s chin.

“What to make for lunch…” Miss Maid murmured dreamily, her mind clearly elsewhere."I was wrong!! I shouldn’t have lost the Black Soul Envoy’s body, only to end up stuffed inside this dead dog body!! I’ve disgraced both the master and you!!"

Probably the most sincerely ashamed he’d ever been.

"Maybe I’ll try making osmanthus fish today?" Miss Maid said to herself.

"I was wrong!! Really!! Oh great Miss You Ye, the most beautiful woman under the heavens! I shouldn’t have used your likeness as the model for ‘The Pitch-Black Maid’—and I definitely shouldn’t have planned to make a MOD out of it!!"

“Oh? So it wasn’t just a boss character, but an entire MOD?” Miss Maid finally looked down with a sweet smile at the sobbing metal dog on the floor.

Tai Yinzi’s eyes widened in horror, his entire body trembling.

—しまった！！ (Shimatta!! / I screwed up!!)

His mouth gaped open, tongue stiff with panic, as imaginary cold sweat slid down his metallic dog body… He’d said it! He’d let the biggest secret slip out!!

"Tai Yinzi," Miss Maid suddenly called softly.

“Here!!” Tai Yinzi instantly stood at attention.

“Store expenses have been a bit high lately. What do you think we should do?”

“Uh…” Tai Yinzi took a deep breath and said righteously, “Given this situation, I think we should work harder! Find more customers for the master! And of course, generate more revenue!”

“Very good…” Miss Maid nodded. “But that might be a bit too slow.”

Tai Yinzi’s heart sank. He quickly added, “Not only should we expand income, we should also cut costs! Honestly, Miss You Ye! I sincerely want to serve the Boss! The Boss is like a second parent to me!! Without the Boss, there would be no second life for me! I’d still be stuck in that White Jade Token! Serving the Boss for 500 years doesn’t come close to repaying that kindness. 600 years? No, no—1,000 years! I request to extend my service to 1,000 years! No, that’s still not enough!! How can I, a mere servant, offer so little!! I’ve decided! From now on, I’ll give up all salary and bonuses! For the Boss!!”

“Didn’t expect that kind of loyalty from you, Tai Yinzi. Almost makes me look bad,” Miss Maid chuckled. “But service duration is set by the master—you’ll need his approval for that. However, I’ll approve the rest. No commissions, no benefits. Truly a model worker.”

“Yes, of course—absolutely…”

—My heart hurts so much…

“Talking about something interesting?” came Boss Luo’s voice from the stairs.

…

“Master.”

Upon seeing Luo Qiu come down, You Ye swiftly turned and performed the proper maid etiquette.

Luo Qiu walked over slowly.

Miss Maid smiled and said, “Nothing much. Tai Yinzi was just saying how grateful he is for your kindness, and has decided to give up all commissions and benefits. He also said he’d like to extend his service time to 3,000 years.”

Tai Yinzi looked up in despair at Miss Maid.

“Three thousand years?” Luo Qiu raised a brow and gave Tai Yinzi a once-over, then smiled. “That’s quite a sentiment. Not bad.”

“Master, you flatter me! It’s only what I should do! Even 3,000 years doesn’t feel like enough!!”

Luo Qiu looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “We’ll revisit the service term when your current one ends. As for commissions and benefits… hmm, let’s do this.”

He waved his hand, and black mist wrapped around Tai Yinzi, beginning to disassemble his metal dog body bit by bit.

“You lost the envoy body. I’ll remake it for you. But the cost will be deducted from your future commissions and benefits. Once you’ve repaid it, you can resume enjoying normal compensation.”

The new Black Soul Envoy body looked no different from the old—it was made from leftover materials after Nero’s conversion.

When his familiar afro returned, Tai Yinzi burst into tears and rolled back to the main server room… seemingly revitalized.

Watching him roll away, Luo Qiu sighed and turned to Miss Maid. “The ‘Lord God’ project is quite profitable. If it keeps going, those commissions could help Tai Yinzi obtain power beyond this world’s limits, right?”

“Yes,” Miss Maid smiled gently. “Such loyalty is rare.”

Luo Qiu shook his head and tapped her nose with a laugh. “You.”

“Has Miss Luo Ya woken up?” Miss Maid asked softly.

“If she’s left to wake naturally, it should still take a few days,” Luo Qiu replied casually. “Just let her rest.”

At that moment, the lobby door opened with a click. Da Zhe and Nero walked in, each carrying bags full of supplies.

Perhaps feeling physically lighter, Nero was in high spirits. “Boss! Huge haul! Everything in the supermarket was free! Da Zhe and I brought back a ton of stuff!”

“Has everyone left the town?” Luo Qiu asked Da Zhe.

Da Zhe replied, “We looked around—couldn’t find a single living person. But there were plenty of corpses. Probably people who died while trying to flee.”

With nothing living nearby, naturally there were no new customers walking into the club—things had been quite peaceful since their return from the Penglai Treasure Vault.

Of course, there were plenty of solutions. For example, they could move the club again… or restore the area to its former state.

But Luo Qiu wasn’t in a hurry to decide—after all, there was still a huge debt waiting to be collected.

Su Youqian… Su Zijun’s transaction had been completed—but on credit.

So settling that bill was only natural.

…

This time, Luo Qiu left with Nero.

Miss Nero rolled her eyes and walked up to Luo Qiu, lowering her voice.

“Boss, are you dancing back and forth on the edge of whether your maid will kill me or not? You’ve got a seriously evil heart, don’t you?”

“You said you wanted to be mine,” Luo Qiu replied calmly. “So how I use you is my choice, isn’t it?”

Nero froze, momentarily speechless, unable to find a single rebuttal. She could only watch Luo Qiu silently as he stepped into the thick fog.

“…Why do I feel like he’s the darkest one?” Nero muttered, then quickly followed after him.

The two soon disappeared into the fog.

At that moment, Miss Maid finally closed the club’s main door… turning her back to it, gently running her fingers over the lock as if admiring it.

Inside the lobby, Da Zhe hesitated before speaking. “Um… Miss You Ye, why don’t you go too? I can handle watching the place.”

“No need.” You Ye shook her head and looked at Da Zhe. “I still have to look after Miss Luo Ya… but Da Zhe, I do have something I’d like you to do for me. Originally it was No. 18’s job, but she’s not around right now. Can you handle it?”

Da Zhe nodded. “No problem.”

…

Modern technology couldn’t operate in the fog—but ancient methods weren’t affected.

Within the dense mist, a massive shadow moved swiftly. On closer look, it was a giant black wolf.

This was a spectral wolf, a special underworld creature raised by Gui Ying.

Spectral wolves could naturally run through the darkness, and the thick fog posed no threat to its nature. At the moment, it was carrying Long Xiruo, Su Zijun, and Jessica.

“This pearl?” Su Zijun was holding Kui Qianyi’s treasure, the very object that allowed Long Xiruo to retain a portion of her combat strength.

Since her condition was already exposed, Long Xiruo made no effort to hide it anymore. She didn’t fear Su Zijun learning that the True Dragon of Divine Land now needed a pearl to display any strength in public—a fact that could shake both the Daoist and Demon realms.

She took the pearl from Su Zijun and held it in her palm.

Su Zijun frowned. “You can’t draw nourishment from the earth anymore. Sure, Kui Qianyi can mix potions to replenish your qi and blood. But how many herbs could possibly match the value of your True Dragon blood? I hate to say it, but if this goes on, you’re going to run dry eventually… Don’t you understand the consequences?”

“It’s still better than doing nothing,” Long Xiruo said, shaking her head.

Su Zijun snorted coldly. “Since that shop caused this, let the one who tied the knot untie it. Next time I see them, I’ll buy it back for you.”

Long Xiruo glanced at her. “You’ve been using the evil spirits sealed within the secret seals, haven’t you? Since the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Xuanyuan royal family has sealed countless evil spirits… That’s your reliance?”

Su Zijun shrugged. “Those spirits were sealed anyway. We can’t really destroy them. So why not put them to use? That Boss loves this kind of thing, right? If he likes them, and I don’t use them, why shouldn’t I?”

Long Xiruo scowled. “Do you know how many heroic spirits from the Xuanyuan army were sealed along with those evil spirits? You think those seals came without cost? Every seal, every battle against the evil spirits, countless warriors sacrificed their lives and souls to hold them back. Again and again, that’s how the seals were made. We can destroy the evil spirits—but doing so would also erase those heroic souls! You, a royal princess, should be thinking of how to rescue them—not spending them like disposable currency!”

“Then tell me—how many years would it take to separate those heroic souls from the evil spirits?” Su Zijun scoffed. “A thousand? Two thousand? It’s been two thousand years… have you succeeded? You accepted the inheritance and became the True Dragon. In two thousand years—have you succeeded?”

“That doesn’t mean I never will,” Long Xiruo growled back.

Su Zijun laughed. “What a load of crap—Xuanyuan royal destiny, daughter of the Human Emperor… We were born to carry this burden? Why must this world be worth our sacrifice?”

“Zijun! That’s enough!” Long Xiruo shouted angrily.

But Su Zijun didn’t flinch. She met her gaze head-on, refusing to back down.

The tension crackled between them, until Jessica quickly waved her hands. “Ladies, can we not do this right now? Don’t you have something more important to handle?”

Long Xiruo glared at her, clearly frustrated. “Save your tantrum. Don’t drag unrelated people into this.”

Su Zijun was just as defiant. “Whatever. The artifacts are mine now. I’ll use them however I want—you don’t get to control me. If you really want to stop me, come take them. If you disapproved so much, you should’ve never—”

Suddenly, she was cut off.

“Look!” Jessica shouted, pointing ahead.

The spectral wolf came to an abrupt halt—just before the edge of a cliff.

Before them, the fog suddenly vanished—or rather, this place had been untouched by it all along. It was a vast, open area, concealed within the thick mist.

Long Xiruo and Su Zijun peered over the cliff’s edge… and were stunned.

Below, the land was teeming with people—crowds packed densely together, easily over a hundred thousand strong.

In the center of this area, a massive crater-like pit glowed with an eerie red light.

People were walking through the surrounding fog into this pit—empty-eyed, one after another. They stepped to the edge… and jumped in.

(End of Chapter)