Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1225: The Taste of Memory

“Mingming? Mingming?”

“…What is it?”

After being called several times, Chen Mingming finally responded. His colleague didn’t think much of it, assuming Chen Mingming was just too focused on the materials in front of him.

With a smile, the colleague said, “We’re all getting some late-night snacks. What do you want to eat?”

Without realizing it, time had already flown by. Chen Mingming glanced at the clock, then shook his head, saying he didn’t need any. The colleague nodded and left. Chen Mingming took a deep breath and looked back at the files and materials on his desk.

One document listed the times and locations of the photos Wang Liang had posted on his social media before his death. Another contained Wu Rong’s social media updates before she died.

And the last one—was a list he had copied from a ticketing app—his own travel times and destinations.

“They all match…”

Chen Mingming exhaled slowly. His travel records perfectly aligned with Wang Liang’s and Wu Rong’s social media posts. That was no mere coincidence.

He suddenly wasn’t sure whether these travel records were real or just part of the test’s fabricated background—just like his now “harmonious” relationship between his parents, which might all be an illusion.But one thing he was certain of—he had definitely forgotten something important. He tried to recall memories from those travel days, but everything was blank.

Were his true memories of those trips erased? Or had they simply been blurred to confuse his thinking?

Half an hour ago, Chen Mingming had tried once again to summon that mysterious shop—but unlike the previous two times, there was no response this time.

His call vanished into silence… He understood now that the other party had no intention of giving him more clues.

There were only about 48 hours left until the end of the test.

The real killer still hadn’t surfaced, and now his own travel records had surfaced, making the situation even more complicated.

“As expected, I’ll have to start with Zhao Le…”

Chen Mingming subconsciously frowned.

He had already spoken with Zhao Le before, and from Zhao Le’s reactions, Chen Mingming could tell—Zhao Le knew far more than what he’d confessed. He might even hold the key to the entire truth.

Zhao Le could very well be the real murderer.

But if that were true, then there was still another person’s shadow behind the scenes. Was that person an accomplice—or the true mastermind? What identity had they used to get involved in all this?

Or suppose that person was… himself. Why hadn’t Zhao Le revealed that on the night in question, and instead referred only to “that person”?

Or perhaps “that person” was himself—but Zhao Le, like his parents and police colleagues, had part of his memory rewritten. So he knew of “that person’s” existence, but not their identity?

“How can I prove who ‘that person’ really is…”

Chen Mingming had to admit that, with all the clues currently available, this was the hardest puzzle he had ever faced in his life.

“I want to go out for a bit.”

The mounting confusion made it impossible for him to stay in that useless conference room any longer. He decisively requested to leave from Zhou Yusheng.

“Reason?”

“I want to verify something.”

Zhou Yusheng thought for a moment, then nodded. “Go to the armory and get a gun before you leave.”

A gun.

Instinctively, Chen Mingming thought of his silver pistol. He nodded slowly, took Zhou Yusheng’s signed approval, collected his firearm, and went out alone.

Not long after, another colleague came by and handed Zhou Yusheng a composite sketch.

It was from the boss of the electronics repair shop—the man had reconstructed his memory of the mysterious customer who bought the freezer. But too much time had passed; the sketch probably wouldn’t help much.

Zhou Yusheng glanced at it casually. The man in the image wore a mask and a baseball cap, with only his eyes visible. Just a pair of eyes—hardly useful.

Still, they looked strangely familiar…

Zhou Yusheng froze for a moment, but couldn’t recall why. He set the sketch aside. “I’ll head to Forensics.”

…

In the past, Zhou Yusheng remembered that Chief Qin from the Forensics Department was almost always on duty—a man who could be found in his cold, sterile office at any time.

“Forensic Nan?” he asked.

But this time, only Little Bao was there. Ever since Chief Qin went on leave and disappeared, Little Bao had practically moved into the lab.

“She took the day off,” Little Bao said casually. “Said she wasn’t feeling well.” Then, without looking up, he minimized his game screen—he’d just caused another raid group to wipe. Sorry, guys…

“Mm.” Zhou Yusheng nodded and walked into the office, sitting down quietly. He seemed lost in thought.

Growing impatient, Little Bao sighed. “Captain Zhou, did you need something?”

“Not really,” Zhou Yusheng said. “Just wanted to ask—about Wu Rong and Wang Liang’s bodies. Have you found anything new?”

Little Bao shook his head. “Nothing at all. Same as before. We know Wu Rong was killed by a single stab wound, but Wang Liang’s cause of death is still unclear.”

Since discovering Wu Rong’s body, the police had confirmed she was killed by a stab to the chest.

As for Wang Liang—his body had been so badly mutilated that even the fragments left in the freezer couldn’t be pieced back together.

“What was missing from Wang Liang’s remains again?” Zhou Yusheng asked.

Little Bao pulled up the file on his computer and read aloud: “Left arm missing, upper part of right thigh missing, left ribs missing, liver missing, head missing—that’s about it. Based on what we have, there’s no identifiable fatal wound. The fatal injury was likely in one of the missing parts.”

Toxicology had shown no trace of poison, ruling out poisoning.

“Could he have been drugged first, then dismembered, dying from blood loss?”

“No trace of anesthetics in the system,” Little Bao said, shaking his head.

“What about suffocation?” Zhou Yusheng suddenly recalled the reenactment he’d done with Chen Mingming at the crime scene.

“That’s hard to say… The body’s too fragmented, and after being frozen for months, any external signs are gone.”

Little Bao thought for a while, then added, “Actually, it’s almost like the dismemberment was meant to hide the real cause of death. The cutting technique—or rather, the way the body was processed—was very clean. The killer left us almost no usable evidence. I’ve done a lot of autopsies, but this kind of case? First time seeing it.”

“You’re saying the killer understood human anatomy?”

“Mm… not a professional, but definitely skilled—like a trained amateur.”

Zhou Yusheng nodded, then casually picked up one of the reports on Little Bao’s desk: Wang Liang’s drug test. He read carefully.

“Isobutylphenylpropionic acid… Little Bao, what is this? Says here they found undissolved residue in the stomach?”

“Oh, that’s ibuprofen—painkiller,” Little Bao said. “For headaches, toothaches, lacrimal gland pain, whatever. You can buy it at any pharmacy. Very common.”

“So Wang Liang took painkillers before he died?” Zhou Yusheng frowned. “Why would he need painkillers…”

“Maybe he just had a toothache?” Little Bao said helplessly. “Besides, a few painkillers wouldn’t kill anyone.”

Zhou Yusheng shook his head. Looks like this trip didn’t yield much either. “Thanks for your work. I’ll head back now.”

“Take care, Captain Zhou!”

Little Bao didn’t see him out. The moment Zhou Yusheng stepped out the door, he quickly opened his game interface. “Knew it… wiped the whole team again…”

Watching the team chat fill with angry messages, Little Bao sighed and chose to ignore it. One of the avatars even turned gray.

“Don’t tell me he rage-quit… come on, it’s not that serious.”

He shook his head, left the team, and started advertising in the world chat: High-tier Holy Light Priest here! Professional Milk God! Overflowing heals! Guaranteed to keep you alive! Looking for party!!!

…

Just as the elevator doors opened, Auntie Ren spotted Nan Xiaonan crouching by her front door. Her hair was slightly damp, and sweat covered her forehead—it looked like she’d just climbed more than ten floors.

The moment they met, Auntie Ren blurted out, “Huh? What are you doing squatting here?”

At the same moment, Nan Xiaonan asked in disbelief, “How did you get up here by elevator? Wasn’t it…”

But seeing that the elevator was now working again, she looked at it resentfully—was the world really this biased?

“What about the elevator?”

“N-Nothing…” Nan Xiaonan sighed in frustration. “I just went downstairs to buy something, but… I forgot my keys.”

Of course, even without keys, getting in wouldn’t have been difficult for her—but she didn’t dare use any illegal means to open the door.

Who knew what kind of traps her “son” might have left behind? Breaking in might literally mean death.

“Oh dear, I totally forgot about that. I’ll get you a spare key next time,” Ren Ziling said, patting her forehead. “Why didn’t you call me? Oh, right—we didn’t even exchange numbers! My memory is terrible!”

Nan Xiaonan gave two dry laughs. As long as you realize that…

“By the way, have you eaten?” Auntie Ren asked as she walked in. “I brought back some takeout, just in case you hadn’t.”

“No, I’ve eaten already.” Nan Xiaonan politely declined, but noticing that Luo Qiu hadn’t come home with her, she asked curiously, “By the way, where’s… Mr. Luo Qiu? Didn’t he come back with you?”

“Oh, him? He’s walking his girlfriend home,” Ren Ziling said with a grin. “Honestly, it’d be best if he didn’t come back tonight.”

Girlfriend…

What kind of woman could capture the interest of someone like him—and have him acknowledge her as such?

Nan Xiaonan couldn’t help thinking strategically, as always. Judging by how Luo Qiu treated women, a woman capable of winning his affection was at least on par with Ren Ziling—someone favored by the world’s will itself.

Hmm… should I just toss away my pride and offer myself instead…?

But this current body of hers, Nan Xiaonan’s form, wasn’t exactly breathtaking. Her real body, though…

The thought made her chuckle at herself. She must have gone too long without feeling weak—her mentality was slipping.

Taking a deep breath, she brushed away the ridiculous idea. A being of his level wouldn’t be interested in a woman who approached him with ulterior motives. For that matter—was he even interested in women at all?

I, Orucia Wiltalis, have never relied on any man. I’ve never bowed my head to one either!

Drawing another deep breath, Nan Xiaonan walked into her room and started thinking about what to do next.

She had brought back the “compressor” Star Spirit creature; by this time tomorrow, it would return to being a normal machine. The culprit had already been found.

“Hmm… looks like I’ll need to keep up this forensic identity for a while longer,” she muttered, popping chocolate beans into her mouth.

They replenished her energy when she accelerated her mental processes.

“The bad part about soul fusion is that residual obsessions from the host linger. If I can’t remove them, they’ll keep affecting me. But what exactly is Nan Xiaonan’s obsession? Maybe I can find out by looking into her work.”

“The criminal who used the freezer has been identified. Now I just need to shift the police’s attention back to Zhao Le. That’s easy enough—I can plant a few clues pointing to him. Helping solve the case will earn me credit and make it easier to move around later. People always respect the capable. I’ll go to work tomorrow morning.”

“As for being hunted… that won’t continue until I leave this place. And I’ll only leave once I’ve finished writing the Star Creation ritual. Still, I shouldn’t take too long—if I displease that being, it could end badly. I should finish as soon as possible. Before my full power returns, I must leave him with a good impression. Who knows when I might need his help again…”

Acting on her thoughts, Nan Xiaonan quickly opened her laptop and began drafting the Star Creation ritual she knew. Her mind raced at full speed, and before long, several hours had passed.

She completed the main outline and the first major chapter.

Taking a deep breath, she was about to continue when her stomach twisted, her head spun, and her body went weak.

“Not good… overclocked my mind too much, ran out of energy…” She swallowed dryly, realizing she’d eaten all the chocolate beans already.

“So hungry…”

She reluctantly opened her door. The house was silent, the lights off—only Ren Ziling’s snores could be heard.

“This woman…” Nan Xiaonan muttered, shaking her head. The fridge probably had some of Ren Ziling’s leftovers. She was starving and didn’t care if it was cold anymore.

Back when she was a slave, she’d eaten far worse.

She opened a food container, grabbed a dessert, and stuffed it into her mouth, moving quietly so as not to wake Ren Ziling. Who knew what might happen if she did?

“Turn on the lights—it’s fine.”

As the living room lights came on, Luo Qiu’s calm voice sounded right beside her.

Nan Xiaonan nearly jumped out of her skin. The dessert lodged in her throat, and she started coughing, pounding her chest but not daring to make a sound.

“Water.”

With a flip of his hand, Luo Qiu produced a glass of warm water and held it out to her. She grabbed it and drank several gulps, finally swallowing the food and relaxing.

“Sorry, I startled you,” Luo Qiu said apologetically. “I’m used to coming back quietly. Usually at this hour, no one’s up.”

“N-no, it’s my fault,” Nan Xiaonan said awkwardly.

Living in someone else’s house and getting caught raiding the kitchen—how humiliating for a self-proclaimed King Immortal.

“Why didn’t you heat that up?” Luo Qiu asked, glancing at the food container in her hand.

“Uh… it’s fine. I’m not picky about food.” She shook her head, then looked toward Ren Ziling’s room. “Besides, if I used the stove, I might wake Miss Ren.”

Luo Qiu smiled faintly. “She’s a heavy sleeper. Not easy to wake. Next time you’re hungry, you don’t have to sneak around.”

“Mm… got it,” Nan Xiaonan nodded. He’s surprisingly easy to talk to for someone so powerful…

“Hmm…” Luo Qiu thought for a moment, then said, “Those leftovers have been in the fridge too long. They won’t taste good anymore. Stop eating that—I’ll make you something.”

“Ah, no, there’s no need! I wouldn’t dare trouble you!” Nan Xiaonan exclaimed in panic.

“No need to be so formal,” Luo Qiu said casually, waving his hand. He took the food container from her and walked into the kitchen, turning on the light and the stove.

Nan Xiaonan felt caught in an awkward situation and could only let him be. This great being really has some strange habits… she thought.

“By the way,” Luo Qiu asked as he prepared the food, “you said you came from the 0124 sub-world, right?”

“Yes!”

“Do you still remember where your hometown was?”

“Kingdom of Roanyus, Evernight Province, City of Pazias, Full Moon Village,” Nan Xiaonan answered instinctively, a faint trace of nostalgia rising in her heart.

Home… ever since she began exploring the currents of time and space, that name had become nothing more than a distant memory—an unreachable place.

Even if she could go back, after the battle with the sub-world’s will, that world had been destroyed. Full Moon Village no longer existed.

Nan Xiaonan—Orucia Wiltalis—fell into the haze of her memories.

Time seemed to slow.

Then, a familiar aroma wafted through the air—one that carried a taste she thought she would never experience again. Orucia Wiltalis froze, eyes wide.

“This… this is…” she stammered, her voice trembling.

“I gave it a try,” Luo Qiu said calmly. “See if it tastes the same.”

“Thank you…”

Her throat tightened—not from hunger, but from the lump of emotion that made her vision blur.

“When you’re done, just leave it in the sink. I’ll wash it tomorrow,” Luo Qiu said with a faint smile before heading back to his room.

She sat at the table, slowly sipping the dish that tasted exactly like her memories. As she thought of her endless journey through time and space, tears began to fall without her realizing it.

It was the taste of home.

(End of Chapter)

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