Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 812: The Farmer and the Snake

To Luo Qiu's surprise, it was Lluvia driving instead of O'Neil.

In the rearview mirror, he could see Lluvia frequently glancing at him in the back seat—the car had already left the station.

What happened to the drugged man later was unknown for now.

“Mr. Luo, you weren’t scared, were you?”

“With you two here, I think I wasn’t,” Luo Qiu shook his head.

O'Neil turned around and said with a casual smile, “Things like what just happened are quite common here; we’ve become quite accustomed to it.”

Luo Qiu nodded in understanding and then asked curiously, “Mr. O'Neil mentioned… ‘zombie bath salts,’ right?”

“What? You’re not actually interested in such things, are you?” O'Neil blinked playfully.

Lluvia glanced at Luo Qiu's face in the rearview mirror, observing his expression.

Luo Qiu thought for a moment, “I’m just curious… Generally speaking, addictive substances are harmful; that’s common knowledge, and people seeking thrills often disregard everything as a norm… But something like ‘zombie bath salts’—isn’t that a bit extreme?”O'Neil leaned back, resting his head on his hands, and looked up at the blue sky through the sunroof. “No matter how extreme thrill-seekers are, in my view, they don’t compare to those who create such substances. Originally, these addictive drugs were meant for medical use; you could consider them a medical boon, right? But who could have imagined that, hundreds of years later, they would become lethal substances threatening the entire world? It’s like the weapons we have.”

Suddenly, O'Neil whistled, “Primitive people started making weapons just to defend their homes. But hasn’t the development of weapons also become more advanced, with increasing power? Now, they’re even at a level where they can destroy humanity itself?”

“That’s a valid point,” Luo Qiu smiled slightly.

O'Neil shrugged and turned to look out the window. —Whether it was coincidence or something else, a woman suddenly went wild on the street next to them, crashing into nearby pedestrians, looking almost identical to the crazed man at the station.

“However… have these kinds of things become more common?” Lluvia frowned, seemingly talking to herself.

At this moment, O'Neil suddenly rubbed his chin, as if recalling something, “Lluvia, speaking of which, isn’t São Paulo originally the territory of Bucky?”

Lluvia shot O'Neil a cold glance.

O'Neil quickly realized that they had a guest, Song Haoran, sitting in the back—he had no idea whether this guest was from the same world as them, so it was better to say less about the underground world.

O'Neil stretched lazily, “I’ll take a nap; wake me up when we arrive.”

Lluvia glanced back at the rearview mirror and saw that Luo Qiu seemed to be engrossed in the street scenery, occasionally smiling as if he hadn’t heard anything.

He really was a quiet big boy… quite different from the strategist.

But Lluvia found herself suddenly distracted—Song Haoran’s profile looked remarkably similar to Luo Qiu’s… perhaps it was just an illusion?

……

On a bustling street in the same city, Song Haoran sat in a corner of an outdoor tea house, playing with his phone while sipping a drink, looking very relaxed.

At that moment, a very stylishly dressed woman walked over and sat down, calling out to Song Haoran, “Young Master.”

“Oh, Gan Hong, you’re here.” Song Haoran didn’t look up and continued playing with his phone. “You haven’t eaten anything yet, have you?”

“No,” the woman quickly shook her head.

Song Haoran suddenly smirked, “Actually, you could take a break; after all, you just lost your virginity, and it’s normal to feel a bit uncomfortable~”

“Young Master, I said I don’t know how I fell asleep; I didn’t sleep with him!” This woman, Gan Hong, was very embarrassed. “That gentleman didn’t do anything to me.”

“Is that so?” Song Haoran narrowed his eyes. “Well, next time you should put in more effort, since it’s an order from my father.”

Gan Hong gritted her teeth, “I understand.”

Song Haoran continued, “If you can get pregnant, your status will change entirely… Then, perhaps the matters back in your hometown will be resolved…”

Under the table, Gan Hong’s fingers clenched tightly together.

Song Haoran casually tossed his phone onto the table and sighed, “I’ve really run into a bunch of useless teammates… This farming is making my stomach ache! Forget it, let’s get to work. Gan Hong, from now on, you’ll command this operation, and I will observe your team throughout, using my evaluation as the final score for your team’s assessment. Remember, only the victors can remain.”

Gan Hong nodded heavily, “Understood, strategist.”

“The cattle are ready to leave the pasture, so…” Song Haoran put on his headphones and said indifferently, “Get ready for slaughter.”

Gan Hong immediately stood up and left.

……

Many times, Luo Qiu acted on impulse.

Perhaps influenced by nearly a year as a club owner, he had gradually drifted away from his original hobbies regarding things he was interested in.

Lluvia didn’t notice that the person she had been watching in the rearview mirror was already no longer in the car.

Long before O'Neil spotted the crazed woman on the street, Luo Qiu had already exited the vehicle. Now, he had reduced his presence to the minimum, observing the woman who had lost control due to drug use.

Someone quickly called the police, and the officers arrived at the scene swiftly—the police car nearby had received instructions from the control center and rushed over.

It took two officers quite a bit of effort to subdue the crazed woman and disperse the crowd of onlookers. They didn’t leave immediately but waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Not long after the woman was restrained, she began to foam at the mouth and fell unconscious.

Luo Qiu approached the woman and looked at her arm—there were numerous small wounds, likely the result of long-term syringe use.

Her skin was dull and lifeless, her features sunken in; even in her calm state, she appeared emaciated, resembling a fresh corpse that had just crawled out of a grave.

Two police officers were chatting.

“What’s going on? We’ve been catching these crazy guys for the past few days.”

“I heard this stuff just started selling recently… it’s being sold by the ‘LK Brotherhood.’”

“‘LK Brotherhood’? Don’t they usually stay away from drugs?”

“Used to be, but who knows now… I’ve heard that there’s been a power shuffle within the ‘LK Brotherhood’ for a while now. Especially with the sudden outbreak these past few days… the new boss has overturned the rules set by the previous one and has been very active lately.”

“These thugs… I thought that after the previous boss, Bucky, got arrested, these people would quiet down.”

“They’re only getting worse. Look, they’ve rolled out this ‘zombie bath salts.’”

“Yeah… the ambulance is here, let’s get her loaded up. Where should we go eat later…”

The two quickly helped the medical personnel who had come down from the ambulance lift the unconscious woman inside. Shortly after, they drove off in their police car.

Luo Qiu remained at the scene, his gaze shifting toward a small alley across the street.

A man dressed in a black hoodie was putting on his hood and turning to walk into the alley.

“Hm…” Luo Qiu took a glance and followed him.

He only needed to return when he met Song Haoran at the airport.

A few hours of free time seemed fine. After all, Lluvia and O'Neil wouldn’t notice; the ‘Luo Qiu’ in the car was merely an illusion.

……

……

In a forest in Rio.

“Lucy, Lucy!”

“Can you hear me? Kid?”

Uncle Am and Chalty were searching in the woods together. The sky was getting darker, and the path was becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.

Since they weren’t sure what the child’s name was, only knowing that she had once said her name was ‘Lucy,’ they could only call out that name for now.

“What should we do? We still can’t find her…” Chalty appeared very anxious—nighttime is extremely dangerous for a lost child in a forest inhabited by wild beasts.

“At least we haven’t heard any sounds; that’s a good sign. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

Uncle Am pulled a small knife from his boot and handed it to Sharlty. “Let’s split up and search. It’ll be quicker. Keep this for protection, and if you run into danger, shout for me. I won’t go far.”

That’s all they could do.

Sharlty thought to herself while taking the knife from Uncle Am’s hand. The two quickly went their separate ways.

But as she listened to Uncle Am’s footsteps fading away, Chalty looked around at the completely darkening forest, a sense of unease flashed through her mind.

Suddenly, a flurry of bird wings flapping echoed through the forest, seemingly surrounding Chalty. She instantly felt her throat tighten, gripping the flashlight and the small knife tightly, mustering her courage to move forward.

On the other side, Uncle Am appeared much more relaxed—having frequently entered the forest for logging, he was as familiar with the woods as his own backyard.

As he passed a rotting tree trunk, Uncle Am suddenly stopped, shining his flashlight on the ground. He frowned—there were clearly animal tracks in the muddy soil.

It should be wild boar tracks—although wild boars are less dangerous than venomous snakes and fierce beasts, they can still pose a significant threat to a child under ten.

“Strange, there shouldn’t be any wild boars around here…” Uncle Am stood up, surveying his surroundings.

In his memory, animals like wild boars should roam deeper in the forest… He tightened his grip on the wooden handle of his axe, his gaze sharpening.

He was a lumberjack, but more importantly, an excellent hunter—when he was younger, Uncle Am had personally hunted quite a few wild animals.

Rather than letting this wild boar roam around the woods and potentially harm that child, it would be safer to draw it out now and take it down directly… Moreover, hunting a wild boar could be an unexpected gain to help with household expenses.

With that thought, Uncle Am quickly gathered materials from the surroundings. He first took a piece of jerky from his backpack, then used some nearby dry branches, stones, and weeds to make a simple trap. Finally, he hid behind the rotting tree trunk, turned off his flashlight, and carefully lay in wait.

The forest was filled with rustling sounds, and from experience, Uncle Am knew that prey was about to appear, and it sounded like a big one.

He tightened his grip on the axe, his focus sharpening.

Sure enough, after a while, a shadow charged toward the trap at high speed.

Uncle Am silently counted the time in his heart. After hearing the sound of the trap springing, he suddenly leaped out from behind the tree trunk, raising his axe high and swinging it forcefully toward the trap.

The sharp axe almost instantly severed all the dry branches that made up the trap, but Uncle Am suddenly jolted—he didn’t feel his axe strike anything living.

At the same time, Uncle Am felt a sudden weight on his shoulder, as if something had landed there.

He instinctively turned to look, and what he saw was a small creature… black and white!

A black-and-white tamarin!

Also known as a bicolored marmoset, or… two-color marmoset—omnivorous and social!

At that moment, the black-and-white tamarin on Uncle Am’s shoulder opened its mouth wide and lunged toward his cheek!

The tamarin’s long, sharp teeth bit into Uncle Am’s cheek, instantly causing blood to spurt. Furious, Uncle Arm reached up to grab the tamarin’s body, yanking it off his shoulder and forcefully throwing it to the ground.

However, at that moment, the surrounding area erupted with sounds.

Uncle Am nervously turned on the flashlight and shone it ahead, only to see a dense crowd of over a dozen black-and-white tamarins standing in front of him!

These creatures, baring their fangs, leaped at Uncle Am without a word!

Uncle Am shouted in anger, swinging his axe wildly as he struggled against the dozen or so black-and-white tamarins that surrounded him! However, these monkeys, typically not very aggressive and rarely attacking humans, now seemed as if they had rabies!

They bit into Uncle Am's body, their claws tearing at his skin.

One after another, from the initial ten or so, the number of black-and-white tamarins swelled to forty or fifty, completely overwhelming Uncle Am.

His screams began to echo as the frenzied monkeys bit away at his flesh—eventually, a vein in his neck was torn open!

Uncle Am painfully clutched his neck, but the blood continued to pour from between his fingers.

He didn’t last long before collapsing to the ground! At this moment, the surrounding black-and-white tamarins slowly dispersed. Uncle Am lay on the ground, feeling increasingly cold. His eyelids grew heavy, and he was struggling to stay conscious, only able to see a small black shadow approaching him.

It seemed to be saying something.

“I originally thought it was that little nun; I didn’t expect it to be you… Well, sacrifice your soul to me; perhaps it will allow me to regain a bit of strength.”

“Lu… Lucy…”

“It’s Lucifer.”

As she approached, he finally saw her clearly—it was the little girl he had once helped. Now, she looked down at him from a position of power, gazing at the barely alive Uncle Am.

“W-why…” Uncle Am couldn’t believe it, feeling an intense rage rising within him.

“Have you heard the story of the farmer and the snake?” Lucifer scoffed. “Of course, I’m not that snake, and I’m certainly not the farmer… I’m merely the one watching the despair of both the farmer and the snake.”

Uncle Am widened his eyes, ultimately failing to utter another word.

Lucifer, confirming that Uncle Am had breathed his last, quickly tore off his clothing, then bit her finger to draw blood, using it to write something on Uncle Am’s chest.

“Damn it… to end up like this, forcing me to bleed to write a spell; otherwise, I couldn’t even extract this human’s soul!”