Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 802: Bucky’s Chance

TL: BoredTranslation - https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1335386/traffords-trading-club/

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"Master, your hand is bleeding, let me clean it up for you."

And so, the moist tongue began to wrap around the fingertip, gently turning.

At times, it sucked like a baby, and at other times, it seemed to be savoring a sweet popsicle.

If it were paired with the gaze of those rippling deep blue eyes, the effect would be even better.

—Of course, such a scene would never happen.

After the little bit of blood was wiped clean, the small wound on the fingertip had completely healed—as long as he was within the club, the boss was immortal.

He remembered being shot in the forehead by the first customer and still being able to stand up alive. Now, this was just a much smaller wound than a cut. If the maid hadn't cared, the boss wouldn't have bothered: as someone who often went into the kitchen, occasional cuts were too common.

"Ah—help—don't come over—!!!"Bucky suddenly fell off the sofa onto the ground and struggled frantically, his fists even waving wildly in the air.

But Bucky quickly realized that he no longer seemed to be in that terrible place, and there were no countless poisonous snakes crawling around. Here, it was clearly the same place he had walked into at the beginning.

In front of him, the terrifying three-headed giant monster and the bloody corpse maid no longer existed. The young couple had returned to their original appearance.

Bucky steadied himself... Lucifer wasn't here?

He remembered that when the surrounding environment began to change for the first time, when the huge three-headed monster and the corpse maid appeared, and the ground below was made of terrifying lava, he had called out to Lucifer very urgently.

He didn't want to die, he really didn't want to die like this—even if it meant using his second wish.

But... Lucifer didn't come.

Could it be that his call failed?

But it shouldn't be...

When Bucky looked at the young couple again, his eyes were full of doubt and uncertainty.

His mind raced, frantically calculating his current situation: the information about this place seemed to have been imprinted in his original cognition from the moment he walked in—a very strange thing.

But as Lucifer's contractor, as someone who had offered his soul to the King of Hell, Bucky was only surprised, not afraid, of such unconventional means. He could accept it quite well.

He began to organize the information about this club that had been poured into his cognition: this is a place where you can buy anything, and what is used for trading is everything except wealth.

At first glance, this operation has many similarities to Lucifer's contract. Except that Lucifer specifically uses his own soul as an offering to obtain three wishes from her.

It is said that when ordinary demons walk on earth, they will use wishes as bait to tempt humans to sell their souls.

But low-level demons can usually only satisfy one wish, and that is a wish with limitations. More advanced demon seems capable of granting two wishes.

Lucifer, on the other hand, grants three, with very few limitations—of course, wishes like "I want the same power as you" or "give me N more wishes" are not included.

Bucky didn't know exactly how Lucifer measured those three wishes.

Sometimes, he even wondered if Lucifer would feel like he'd been cheated after taking his soul in exchange for granting those three wishes.

Of course, he couldn't fully understand the thought process of Lucifer, the witch—but this club made Bucky more accepting of the past.

Anything could be bought, as long as you had enough money—meaning, the value of what you offered determined what you could get in return.

Naturally, it wasn't about strictly fair exchanges; there's no merchant in the world that follows an equal-value exchange principle.

But even so, Bucky had a thought that felt incredible: this place might actually be safer than Lucifer’s domain!

This was a business transaction, mutually agreed upon, with less deceit than Lucifer's realm… As long as he clearly weighed the balance between what he needed and what he offered...

At this moment, Bucky's mind became incredibly clear… For some reason, ever since encountering the supernatural through Lucifer, his imagination had become so wild that even he found it frightening.

Back when he was with the "Imperial Capital Command," he and DoFlamingo were among the few who dealt with business matters—specifically handling business deals. Although he often killed and burned, he always considered himself on the smarter side, believing that if he hadn't gone astray in his youth, he would have become a very successful businessman.

He enjoyed the feeling of accumulating capital, especially watching wealth grow—that made his heart race, even more than any intense pleasure he’d experienced.

Yes… that's right, the key is in the accumulation of capital!

The owner of this club is a businessman—he was dealing with a businessman... A magical businessman, in a place where anything could be bought...

Primitive capital accumulation...

Continual cooperation...

Maximizing profits...

Countless crazy thoughts formed in Bucky's mind, and eventually, one wild idea made him suddenly raise his head. His eyes were burning, filled with a primal sin called greed.

Boss Luo quietly observed the change in Bucky, a faint smile playing on his lips… This soul was far more interesting than he'd imagined.

In the boss's sight, Bucky’s soul light was like a spectrum, jumping between different colors as time passed.

Boss Luo could easily sense the greed in Bucky’s gaze, far beyond that of ordinary people… This greed, like a regulator, continually stimulated changes in his soul light.

“Would you like a drink, sir?” the boss smiled slightly.

The broken glass and debris had already been cleaned up by You Ye, and Mr. Luo prepared a fresh drink: a Bloody Mary.

"Oh... alright." Bucky steadied himself.

He believed that as long as he didn’t do anything reckless, the generosity of this boss would reshape his understanding of things—he felt like a regular customer visiting his usual bar, sitting at the counter.

Bucky downed the Bloody Mary in one gulp, feeling the burning sensation in his throat. He licked his lips and suddenly asked, "May I ask a question?"

"Go ahead," Boss Luo smiled slightly. "We’re happy to answer customers' questions… Of course, some consultations come with a fee."

Bucky nodded, glancing at the young, mysterious boss and then at the stunning maid next to him. For a brief moment, he was captivated, but he quickly snapped out of it.

First, his encounters with Lucifer and Charlotte, the two close friends, had made him highly resistant to beauty, far more than most people.

Second, he knew exactly what kind of woman he could handle and what kind he couldn’t!

Third: What pleasure could be better than making money?

He took a deep breath and nervously asked, "Between you and Lucifer, who is stronger?"

Mr. Luo pondered, trying to find the most accurate words to describe the difference between them… but the maid smoothly took over the conversation.

She looked at Bucky, smiling, and asked, "Have you heard of manta rays?"

Bucky nodded. "I know, manta rays are devilfish."

The maid calmly continued, "Do you know blue whales?"

Bucky nodded again.

Lastly, You Ye said, "That’s the difference between us."

Bucky froze for a moment, then his expression turned a bit strange... Would it hurt to be a little more humble?

However, that calm confidence was infectious. While he didn’t fully believe the gap between them was that vast, it seemed they were at least a bit stronger than Lucifer—after all, his attempt to summon Lucifer had already failed.

That arrogant, mysterious, and powerful dark queen seemed to have suffered a small setback… Bucky could vaguely sense it—based on the contract he had with Lucifer.

Bucky remained silent for a long time before shaking his head. "I think I understand your method of transactions... The most valuable thing I have is my soul, right?"

"That’s correct," the boss nodded.

Bucky sighed helplessly. "But my soul has long been marked by a certain demon. It seems, under your rules, it’s no longer my private property?"

Boss Luo replied calmly, "Well… theoretically, as long as all three of your wishes haven’t been granted, it’s still yours..."

With that, Boss Luo made a grabbing motion in the air, and a yellowed page appeared in his hand out of thin air.

"Take a look. Is this the contract you signed with her?" Boss Luo slid the page over to Bucky.

Bucky incredulously raised his hands, his eyes quickly scanning every line of the document. He exclaimed in shock, "This… how do you have this contract in your hands?!"

“Tearing it apart won’t work, sir,” Mr. Luo replied calmly. “This is not the original contract, just a copy I replicated. I’m merely asking you to confirm the contents. Look at clause 30 of section 5: ‘Only when all the wishes of the contributor have been granted, must the contributor surrender their soul.’”

What the hell… how did you manage that?!

At the same time, Bucky had a bizarre sense of déjà vu: he felt like someone entangled in a legal case, sitting with his lawyer, searching for loopholes in the contract.

—Hmm, we could approach it this way... If we start from this point… blah blah blah...

“Can I… can I buy this contract from you?” Bucky’s breathing became rapid.

If the original contract were destroyed, his agreement with Lucifer would be void—though the wishes already granted would remain!

This! He had gathered this valuable intel after sacrificing twenty schoolgirls and twenty young men, obtained from an "employee" of the 'Scarlet Lips' bar!

“In theory, it is purchasable, as long as you can afford it.”

Back to the issue of his "funds"—as expected, the key was in how much original capital he could amass.

“I understand.” Bucky took a deep breath. “I want to buy a method to collect souls! It doesn’t have to be advanced, just the simplest, even the crudest method will do… Since it’s still my soul, I can use it, right?”

The boss replied, “That’s correct. However, even though your soul is still yours, because you’ve already signed a contract with someone else… considering the obstacles we may encounter when delivering the goods, the value of your soul might be slightly lower.”

Bucky didn’t mind the negotiation tactic—what merchant doesn’t try to lower the price? That’s the most normal thing in business.

As for using his soul… who cares? Even though Bucky had heard plenty of stories from those drunken idiot demons at the 'Scarlet Lips' bar about what happens to souls after death, he didn’t care about handing over his own soul.

It was like needing money for a business deal and getting a loan from the bank… with a loan, you always have to offer some collateral.

Collateralizing real estate? No problem, you can earn it back later! You can redeem it later!

That was the typical mindset of a businessman: how to liquidate more capital!

And what he wanted to liquidate was the method to collect souls! Once he gathered enough souls, he could buy even more things… and he would form a long-term cooperative relationship with this club.

Like a relationship between a distributor and a supplier, maybe he’d even get some future discounts.

“A method to collect souls, is it?” Boss Luo nodded. “We do indeed have a method that’s suitable for you and is quite simple to operate, even for an ordinary person.”

“What is it?” Bucky’s breathing quickened again.

Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me!

His gaze seemed to be filled with those two words... At that moment, in Boss Luo's vision, Bucky's soul suddenly flared up like a burning magnesium strip, emitting a blinding light.

"Faith," Boss Luo softly uttered the word.

...

...

Many people felt today was an especially unlucky day. The peaceful harbor city was struck by a violent storm, and the observatory hadn't broadcasted any warnings beforehand.

This caused significant losses for many—especially for the private yachts docked at the marina. The yacht owners were practically in tears.

Of course, the damage didn’t stop there—during the storm, the entire city's communication systems were severely affected.

Whether it was mobile phones, landlines, or even computers, many electronic devices were damaged at the same time.

Arnold frowned as he looked at his phone, now completely blacked out. It wasn't just him; everyone around him was experiencing the same issue. Even the televisions displayed in the electronics stores had turned to static.

"I heard that if solar flares are particularly intense, they can cause a strong impact on us, making electronic components malfunction," said a man nearby, explaining to his companion, as if he knew a lot.

Arnold shook his head, not interested in joining such street discussions. He looked at the chaotic scene on the street, with debris scattered by the strong wind, and tightened his grip on his backpack—his clothes were soaked by the rain, and he needed to find a place to change.

Luckily, the strange storm had come and gone quickly.

But it was already nearing dusk, and now that the storm was subsiding, the sky had grown completely dark. Arnold glanced around and quickly headed toward a nearby public restroom.

What he didn’t notice was that a figure had silently begun to follow him...