Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 820: Showcase

In the basement converted into a small bar, several men were simultaneously surrounding one of the men.

This guy's body was thin, yet under the entanglement of several strong men, he actually displayed a strength that did not belong to just a few people. He seemed to be in very good condition, and even his reactions became unusually swift. The various bosses watching were amazed—this contest had already lasted for more than ten minutes. “This guy is simply a beast!” one of the strong men returned to his boss's side, touching his shoulder—a place that had been bitten and wounded. The blonde woman in sunglasses stood up at this moment, saying, “Everyone, how do you feel about its effects?” It was still the bald man biting a cigar who frowned and said in a low voice, “What’s wrong with this guy now?” He pointed at the man who was lying on the ground. The blonde woman in sunglasses replied indifferently, “His consciousness is still intact.” “Why should I believe what you say?” The blonde woman in sunglasses remained unbothered, saying, “I will give everyone some samples of the product here. You can see for yourselves how effective it is when you go back and test it on someone. Of course, you can also choose to cooperate with me directly and become our partners. Time is money, and money is king.” There was silence in the room; no one became the first to step forward. Suddenly, a voice from the corner spoke up with doubt, “Recently, there has been a ‘zombie bath salt’ appearing in São Paulo… Could it be this stuff? They say that after using it, people go crazy and bite others, and several have died after using it.” The blonde woman in sunglasses smiled, saying, “Let me ask, among all the drugs currently available on the market, which one is completely safe when taken in excess?” This was indeed a harsh truth; throughout history, no drug has been free from blood debts. “Sorry, I only run a casino and have no interest in this kind of business.” A woman in her thirties suddenly stood up. “I’m not interested in such a deal; here’s your fifty thousand back.” She had her men take out stacks of cash and place them on the table before leading her group out. The blonde woman in sunglasses seemed unfazed. As the woman left with her three men, suddenly, a few screams rang out from outside. The expressions of the crowd changed; someone rushed to the door to check, and found that the woman and her men had collapsed outside… dead. In that instant, it enraged the dangerous individuals present. They all drew their guns, and the narrow bar became tense in an instant. “Miss, your actions are too overbearing, aren’t they? Or do you really think that just because you have a few people, we will fear you?” came a cold laugh. The blonde woman in sunglasses suddenly sat back down, crossed her legs, and had her subordinate pour her a glass of wine. She smiled, saying, “I’m just giving everyone time to consider, but I haven’t given you the right to refuse. Besides, perhaps your bullets are enough to kill me, but unfortunately, I’m just an agent. After I die, many others like me will appear. But conversely, you might not have that same guarantee.” “Are you threatening us?” another voice sneered. “I was raised to be unafraid!” Bang! He had just finished speaking when he suddenly fell to the ground, a blood hole appearing directly on his forehead. Neither the blonde woman with sunglasses nor her four subordinates moved. "By the way, I forgot to tell you all, I've arranged for five sniper rifles outside," the woman said, taking a sip of her drink. "You killed my brother? I'll kill you! You bitch!" That was the brother of the man who had just been shot, and he pulled out his gun and shouted in anger. But his gun was instantly shot down, and a bullet hit his forehead in an instant. "Green Scorpion," the blonde woman put down her glass and said softly, "one of our gunmen." Green Scorpion—hearing this name made everyone's face change dramatically. Boss Boston, who was hoping to ride the wave, was now extremely nervous. He looked terrified at Ranch beside him and quickly asked, "Who is Green Scorpion?" "He's the number one hitman in the South American underground assassination world, said to be a terrifying guy who can use a sniper rifle like a handgun..." Boston instinctively touched the gun hidden under his clothes and felt a wave of despair. This blonde woman likely had an unimaginably powerful force behind her… a force capable of wiping out everyone present in an instant. In this gray world, she was like a great white shark, while they were merely slightly larger fish. "How much for these goods?" "Two hundred fifty dollars per gram," the blonde woman replied nonchalantly. "That's four times the price of the highest purity heroin!" came an angry voice. The woman looked at him. "Sir, what did you just say? I didn't hear. Could you repeat that?" "Hahaha, that's a good price!" Another big shot beside him laughed and stepped forward. He walked to the box, picked up one of the packages, and said, "High purchase price, high selling price… I'll take three kilograms." "Start with two kilograms for me." "One and a half kilograms is fine; I only received a batch last month and don't have that much cash on hand." Seeing each boss transferring money to the blonde woman and taking the corresponding amounts, Boston couldn't help but stare in shock. Boston's hesitation eventually caught the blonde woman's attention. She looked at him and said nonchalantly, "It seems this gentleman is still considering?" Boston glanced around and saw everyone's eyes on him. He swallowed hard and nervously said, "C-can I just get two hundred grams…?" "Two hundred grams?" The blonde woman was taken aback. Boston scratched his head awkwardly. "It's not that I don't want to buy more; I just really don't have that much money..." "He's just a small-time thug, just getting into the game, with no territory of his own," Ranch suddenly interjected, seemingly trying to help. "He was actually brought here by me to see the world, so he probably wasn't on your invitation list from the beginning." Boston immediately cast a grateful glance. "Do you have your own sales channels?" the blonde woman with sunglasses suddenly asked. Boston quickly replied, "We are currently mobile, and our main customers are students at school. We have sales channels through the schools. Additionally, there are also people who like to visit nightclubs..." "I see..." The blonde woman nodded, "Here, take this one kilogram back. You can settle what you owe me the next time you come for goods—don't think you can run away; we can find you." "Y-yes..." Boston nervously took the quantity he had borrowed, smiling in a way that looked worse than crying. "Pleasant cooperation." The blonde woman raised her glass to everyone. --- After twelve o'clock, only the blonde woman and a few of her subordinates remained in the small bar. "Get rid of this guy," she waved her hand, instructing someone to take away the addict who was used for testing, while she stayed alone here. The woman took off her sunglasses, let down her pinned-up hair, and made a phone call. "Father, it’s me, Cossini... The first step has been completed." "Thank you for your hard work. Go back, take a good shower, rest a bit; there will be more work to do next." In a high-end apartment far from the small bar, Saint Francis walked to the floor-to-ceiling window naked and casually tossed the recently ended phone onto the big bed. On the bed, two alluring young women were getting intimate. Suddenly, both women climbed down at the same time, like tamed cats, coming to Saint Francis's feet and starting to rub their bodies against him. They seemed to be seeking something, as if falling into some strange state. At this moment, Saint Francis smirked, took a couple of steps, and picked up a bottle from the table. Inside was some white powder. He sprinkled the powder on the ground, and the two young women immediately pounced on the floor, starting to lick it up. Saint Francis looked coldly at the two women who had completely lost their sense of self, then examined the bottle in his hand. He didn’t remember how he got the formula for this substance in the first place... actually, there was no need to remember. There was no need to recall the angry expression on the face of the former head of the 'Imperial Capital Command' when he learned of his betrayal. After all, he ended up dying at the hands of his own son—Roger's betrayal, becoming a shield for his son's successful escape. There was also no need to remember how mad he had been when the formula was taken from him, because this formula now belonged only to him. Moreover, there was no need to remember those years in prison—because it caused him to fade from many people's sight and gave him ample time to plan some things. "Although I came out earlier than expected, well..." Saint Francis squinted his eyes, "...life still has to have some unknown elements to make it interesting." Suddenly, Saint Francis raised the bottle in his hand high, aiming it at the moon in the night sky. "What a beautiful sight... Who exactly created you? I spent several years in prison trying to alter this formula, but I didn’t succeed; instead, I ended up producing several by-products..." ___ In the dim alley, Caroline hurried along with her head down... it seemed that no police officers had followed her. She crouched near the back door of a restaurant, exhausted and in need of a place to rest. Suddenly, it seemed like there were footsteps. Caroline quickly hid and realized it was just the restaurant staff taking out the trash. Caroline hadn’t eaten anything all day, and a thought suddenly crossed her mind—when the restaurant staff weren’t paying attention, she quietly sneaked into the restaurant through the back door. The restaurant was in the final stages of closing. After turning off the lights, the remaining staff began to lock up. Soon after, Caroline turned on the restaurant lights in the darkness. There were still a lot of leftover scraps in the kitchen, and there was some soup base left in the pot... and bread. Caroline was starving. She quickly shoved the bread into her mouth, then turned on the gas stove, intending to reheat the cold soup. She devoured the food hastily. She sat alone in the kitchen, nervously looking around... Maybe she could sleep safely here, and when the restaurant opened in the morning, she could find a chance to leave? As Caroline thought about it, she became so tired that her eyelids drooped uncontrollably. Eventually, she leaned against the cupboard and fell asleep. She seemed to have another dream. In the dream, she saw many things... A man was gripping her neck with his hand. Caroline struggled painfully, trying to make out his face... but under the light, she couldn’t clearly see what he looked like—except for a distinctive tattoo on his chest. She continued to struggle madly, but her hands and feet were firmly held by something... hands, several men’s arms. Suddenly, another man approached, holding something in his hand. He took something out and sneered... they seemed to be talking about something. But Caroline could only see these things—she couldn’t hear any sound. The man who came later exchanged a few words with the one gripping her neck, then bent down—he put something into his mouth. Caroline finally saw the man's face clearly... it was Boss Boston! She would never forget this face. It was because of this gangster's appearance that her already terrible life became even worse... A nightmare. "Ah—!!!!" Caroline suddenly opened her eyes. A cockroach crawled across the cold kitchen floor. Caroline instinctively stood up and swiftly stomped on the cockroach. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she felt completely drained after such a horrible nightmare. Supporting herself against the wall, Caroline walked into the restaurant’s bathroom. She washed her face, and it seemed to make her feel a little better. She looked at herself in the mirror. The bruise on her neck, left by 'Second Cousin,' was very clear. She also saw her eyes—bloodshot all around the whites, making her look like a terrifying ghost. Caroline frowned and leaned closer to the mirror, using her fingers to pull apart her eyelids, inspecting her eyeballs. She was worried something might be wrong with her eyes. Suddenly, she saw a terrifying flame erupting like a volcano, blasting the bathroom door open. The flames consumed her entirely, and she could see herself burning to a crisp in the fire... her eyes still blood-red. Caroline shivered violently... but she was still in the bathroom. The faucet was still running, and the sound of water echoed through the room. Caroline opened her mouth... suddenly remembering something. Without a second thought, she bolted out of the bathroom and rushed back to the kitchen! At that moment, the sight in the kitchen shocked her—she had forgotten to turn off the gas stove. The broth in the pot had boiled over, extinguishing the flame but allowing the gas to leak out... the entire kitchen was filled with the smell of natural gas. Caroline hurriedly shut off the gas valve, then turned on the exhaust fan. Only after the gas had dispersed did she breathe a sigh of relief. She muttered to herself how close it had been... if a spark had appeared, she might have been... It was truly a close call. Shaking her head, Caroline felt dizzy and utterly exhausted. She slowly walked out of the kitchen, collapsed onto a sofa in the dining area, and soon drifted off to sleep again. Silence. Utter silence. The only sound was the ticking of the clock hanging in the restaurant. Suddenly, a mosquito buzzed by, sucking Caroline’s blood before wobbling away. It flew towards the kitchen, drawn by something. It was the bug zapper. The mosquito slammed into it... *zap*, and the electric grid instantly burned the mosquito to a crisp, sending down a few sparks. Nothing else happened.