Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 814: A Friday Without The Master(1)

The café where Caroline met with Lawyer Carlo was still the same one from their last meeting.

Caroline noticed that Lawyer Carlo was dressed exactly the same as last time-his slightly wrinkled and worn suit, and even the shirt underneath were unchanged.

With a sincere smile, Lawyer Carlo's demeanor was much more enthusiastic than before. He was now assessing the two men next to Caroline.

"I'm not sure who these two gentlemen are?" Lawyer Carlo asked, puzzled.

Caroline glanced to her left and right, just about to introduce them when one of the Boston associates said coolly, "We're her cousins. I'm the eldest cousin, and he's the second cousin. We're here to accompany her for this discussion."

"Oh... hello, cousin." Lawyer Carlo nodded, smiling at Caroline, "Miss Caroline, you're quite cautious."

Caroline awkwardly nodded in agreement, saying, "It's good to be cautious."

She realized that Lawyer Carlo seemed to have misunderstood something-perhaps he thought she had brought two men along to guard against any deceit in the real estate transaction involving Nia.

"Lawyer Carlo, since we've introduced ourselves, let's get down to business," the other man-'Second Cousin'-interjected coldly.

"Sure." Lawyer Carlo lit a cigarette, "I've prepared all the necessary documents. Nia has already signed the authorization papers. All that's left is for you, Miss Caroline, to sign this authorization in front of Nia."Lawyer Carlo pulled out a thick stack of documents. 'Eldest Cousin' and 'Second Cousin' frowned, overwhelmed by the lengthy contracts and opted not to look at them.

However, they certainly had their own ways of handling things.

'Eldest Cousin' suddenly spoke in a deep voice, "You're Lawyer Carlo, right?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Lawyer Carlo asked curiously.

'Eldest Cousin' then directly took Lawyer Carlo's cigarette pack, saying, "Just sign the documents here. We're only concerned about whether our cousin will receive the promised money. You know, we don't play any legal word games, but we do play other games... very exciting games."

With that, 'Eldest Cousin' crushed the cigarette pack in his hand, his arm muscles bulging.

'Second Cousin' jumped in first: "This place isn't too big or too small, but I think it's pretty easy to find someone to play our game."

Lawyer Carlo maintained a calm smile, but his expression slightly changed when he saw 'Second Cousin' suddenly lift the corner of his shirt, revealing a black handgun tucked into his waistband.

Lawyer Carlo quickly assured, "No problem, I guarantee it's all fine. I actually have some leads on the buyer... He's a councilman who recently started dating a girlfriend and intends to buy a house for her to live in."

However, 'Second Cousin' pretended not to hear, calmly looking out the window.

Desperate men... naturally, fear nothing.

People like Lawyer Carlo, who always mention who they know, are far too common in their experience-most of them intend to leverage connections but are actually weaklings with no real capability.

"What's the salary of a councilman?" 'Eldest Cousin' sneered disdainfully, "Is he really spending that much money to buy a house? Isn't it likely that the money is of dubious origin?"

Lawyer Carlo chuckled awkwardly, "Since we've all reached a consensus, how about... we go to the hospital now and have Miss Caroline sign this authorization?"

'Eldest Cousin' checked the time and nodded, saying, "Let's hurry."

---

"Quickly, quickly!"

Wearing a dark green olive crown, Bucky assumed a solemn posture, closed his eyes, and calmly raised both hands.

Having practiced in hiding for the past couple of days, Bucky surprisingly made rapid progress. This was likely due to his previous contract with Lucifer, which granted him stronger mental power than most, though he had never developed it before.

Therefore, after practicing the meditation technique he received from the maid, he had managed to cultivate a sliver of mental energy in just two days-enough to activate the inherent magic within the blessing ring-or even become a divine spell.

The power of blessing.

The green crown could amplify his efforts simultaneously, making Bucky feel incredibly confident!

In the first three or four decades of his life, he had danced on the edge of death, never expecting that in mid-life, he would encounter the extraordinary-while he himself was beginning to release extraordinary power.

"Quickly, quickly! Quickly, quickly!"

Despite the fact that the target of his spell was merely a stray dog-a nearly starved and limping stray dog!

At that moment, Bucky's palm emitted a faint white light. He took a deep breath and pressed his hand against the dog's forehead.

A soft glow spread from his palm to the entire body of the stray dog. Soon after, the nearly lifeless dog sprang to its feet as if it had been injected with adrenaline.

Its body was still emaciated, but it suddenly appeared invigorated.

The stray dog seemed to regain its vitality and bit Bucky's palm. Infuriated, Bucky lifted his leg to kick it away. The dog was startled and ran off in a panic.

Bucky didn't chase after it; instead, he stared dumbfounded at his palm, joy flashing in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Oh! My God! Miss You Ye, did you see that? My power! It's amazing! I actually brought it back to life!"

"That's merely exploiting its remaining potential. It won't last long before it dies again."

The maid's words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing Bucky's enthusiasm and leaving him feeling desolate as if a cold wind had ripped through Siberia's plains.

He looked mournfully at the maid, who was quietly sitting on a stool, flipping through a cookbook-this was the seventh cookbook he had seen her go through.

How many does she need to look at?

"If that's the case, can this even be considered divine magic? It's just like using steroids, isn't it?" Bucky said, feeling a bit deflated as he squatted down.

The maid calmly replied, "The stray dog's life was nearly at an end. You have awakened its remaining vitality, but it will naturally die afterward. Humans are different. If it's just minor ailments, even if you stimulate their life force, it won't have a significant impact. Especially for the wealthy, they can gain enough life-nourishing nutrients by consuming high-quality food, and any small consumption can be quickly replenished."

Bucky perked up at this-Lucifer and those demons from the 'Crimson Lips' bar would never selflessly teach him such knowledge.

"Moreover..." the maid turned a page without raising her head, "if it's a terminally ill person or someone diagnosed as beyond saving, you can awaken their final potential and extend their life a bit longer. Wouldn't they be grateful, even dependent on you? Once your mental power is strong enough, you could even use your own energy to maintain their life. They will become increasingly reliant on you, even viewing you as a divine being. Over time, they will become devout... and devotion is the foundation of faith. The crown on your head can evolve into a paradise once your mental strength is sufficient..."

Suddenly, the maid furrowed her brows and looked up.

She noticed that Bucky, while squatting, was dozing off, likely not paying much attention to her previous words. Though he had successfully used the blessing spell for the first time, which must have consumed a lot of mental energy, leaving him weary.

However...

The maid snapped her fingers, and a spark of black flame fell directly onto Bucky. In an instant, he screamed awake and rolled on the ground, frantically trying to extinguish the flames on his body.

"It hurts, it hurts... I'm dying... Help-!!!"

But the black fire came quickly and dissipated just as fast. Bucky stood up in a disheveled state, and the maid coldly remarked, "Next time I speak, don't let me catch you dozing off."

"Yes!!"

Bucky stood up straight, promising himself this was the most upright he had ever been! The maid suddenly closed her cookbook and stood up. Bucky hurriedly asked, "Miss You Ye, is it time for lunch?"

The maid merely glanced at him indifferently, "You should dress up. I'll take you somewhere tonight."

"Where are we going?" Bucky asked instinctively.

You Ye didn't answer, only giving him a kind look.

Bucky quickly shut his mouth and watched the maid leave.

After she departed, Bucky suddenly seemed to remember something and called out into the air, "What should I dress up as? Something trendy or more formal?"

---

Mr. Alfie slept much longer than he had anticipated.

When he woke up, it was clear that lunchtime had already passed. He rubbed his forehead in frustration and hurriedly got up to get dressed.

When he went downstairs, the maid, Barbara, was inspecting the cleanliness of the house. "Mr. Alfie, you're awake! I didn't dare disturb you, but lunch is ready. Should I heat it up for you?"

"No need, I'm in a hurry to get back," Mr. Alfie shook his head and walked straight to the door. Just before exiting, he seemed to remember something and turned back to ask, "Did you bring Louis back yesterday?"

Barbara had no choice but to reply, "Sir, there was a power outage yesterday, and school was canceled. I already told you that; did you forget?"

"Oh... yes, you mentioned it." Mr. Alfie nodded. "I'll go check on Louis before heading out. Is he in his room?"

Barbara replied, "Dr. Franky took Louis out this morning. He said he would keep him company today so you can work without worry."

Mr. Alfie paused for a moment in surprise, then nodded, "Did he mention where they were going?"

Barbara said, "I heard it's the science museum. Louis was very excited about it, so I think it should be fine."

"I'm leaving now." Mr. Alfie pushed the door open and walked out without looking back.

He quickly made his way to the garage and drove away from his house.

His first call was to his secretary. Before the other party had a chance to greet him, he said, "Sorry, I overslept. I'll be back right away. Is there anything urgent to handle?"

"Today is Friday, and according to the schedule, you have a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at three o'clock this afternoon. Also, there's a delivery of new surveillance equipment samples at four-thirty-the batch you specifically requested. The vendors hope you can be on-site for the testing. Additionally, General Germont would like you to attend his birthday party at seven tonight."

"Postpone the birthday party for me; keep everything else as scheduled." Mr. Alfie made a quick decision.

"Understood. Also, regarding the theater hostage case, we've found new leads."

"Send me the information; I'll look at it in the car, and you can tell me about it." With that, Mr. Alfie turned off the car's navigation and started receiving the documents from his secretary.

Soon, a photo of a man appeared on the screen-he was wearing the uniform of a white-clad waiter and looked quite handsome.

The secretary's voice came through, "Sir, this person is named O'Neil, and he's a professional gunman. We found records of him appearing in the theater's surveillance footage."

"Tell me about this gunman," Mr. Alfie frowned.

"According to our records, O'Neil hails from a small village in southern Peru. He didn't finish high school and left to make a living. In his youth, he worked various jobs such as security guard, valet, mechanic, waiter at a shooting club, and even spent a year as a male escort. Later, he disappeared for two whole years and then resurfaced as a gunman, operating in various South American countries with a record of twenty-nine successful crimes."

Mr. Alfie's frown deepened, "One of the top five gunmen in the Latin American underworld... the senator's assassination..."

"Additionally, according to reliable intelligence sources, O'Neil is currently part of a faction called 'Iris'," the secretary added.

The sedan suddenly braked hard, startling the vehicles behind it into sudden stops. If it weren't for the government plates on the suddenly halted car, the driver might have gotten out to yell.

Mr. Alfie had to pull over, his furrowed brows almost twisting together.

He seemed to be talking to himself, "It's actually 'Iris'... What do they want? Is this a provocation against our country? No..."

"Sir?"

"'Iris' is a mercenary group; they operate for money." Mr. Alfie seemed to sense something. "They wouldn't randomly assassinate a high-ranking official in a country... What exactly is the hidden hand behind this?"

Suddenly, Mr. Alfie felt as if he had fallen into an unfathomable whirlpool-a whirlpool that might cause turmoil throughout the entire country.

"Sir, should we issue a wanted notice?"

"Who else knows about this besides you?" Mr. Alfie asked urgently.

"Only the investigation team; no one else."

Mr. Alfie said seriously, "Keep this matter confidential. I don't want to hear any whispers about it outside."

"Understood," the secretary quickly replied, then added, "By the way, sir, there's one more thing regarding the hostage case. Some of the attendees died, and some guests have organized a memorial service for this evening. They have reported it to the police, who will arrange personnel to maintain order."

"Got it. You handle the minor details." Mr. Alfie nodded, "I'm running out of time, so I won't go to headquarters; I'll head straight to the press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from here. Wait for me there."

"Understood."