Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 843: One who bestows dreams and the future (3)

After a simple handshake, Mr. Alfie quickly followed the director into the research institute.

"Where is he?" Mr. Alfie was quite direct, perhaps due to his long-standing high position, which made him overlook the seniority between him and the director.

"He's in a meeting room. I've had someone calm down Franky," the director shook his head, "What happened to Franky?"

"In fact..." Mr. Alfie couldn’t help but briefly recount what had happened that morning, then said, "I later consulted several doctors, and they initially determined it was due to overstimulation, causing memory confusion... it will take time to resolve."

The director sighed; he certainly knew what Dr. Franky's emotional turmoil was... and was also aware of the issues between Alfie and Franky.

In front of the meeting room door, the director stopped, "You can go in by yourself."

Mr. Alfie was not a sentimental person; upon hearing this, he simply nodded. However, just as he was about to push the door open, it swung open first.

A man in a white lab coat, around thirty years old, walked out. Mr. Alfie guessed that this man was sent by the director to comfort his father, so he merely nodded and quickly said, "Thank you for your hard work."

The researcher, of course, recognized Mr. Alfie as a prominent figure, but at that moment, facing Alfie’s thanks, he hurriedly shook his head, his expression somewhat anxious. He spoke rapidly, "Director... perhaps you really should take a look at what Dr. Franky has written... I... I don’t know how to say it... but it's just incredible! Dr. Franky is a genius! A great genius!"

Seeing the excited expression of the researcher, Mr. Alfie and the director exchanged a moment of stunned glances before Alfie instinctively pushed the door open.He gently pushed it open, as if a child were pushing a heavy door—inside the meeting room, Dr. Franky stood at the edge of the wall. Just like what Mr. Alfie had seen in his home office, the wall was now covered with dense formulas written in water-based pen by Dr. Franky.

They slowly walked into the meeting room, treading lightly. At that moment, the director looked up at what Dr. Franky had written on the wall, subconsciously adjusting his glasses, his lips slightly parted, gradually becoming astonished—until finally, the director's expression changed dramatically.

"Paper! Pen!" the director simply said two words, and the researcher quickly fetched a stack of A4 paper from a cabinet in the corner of the meeting room, then took out the pen clipped to his clothing and handed it to the director.

The director immediately sat down, sometimes looking at what Dr. Franky had written on the wall and copying it down, and at other times, he focused on doodling something on the formulas he had copied, "My God... this is how it’s solved... this is a brand new algorithm! How is this possible? How did he do it..."

As the director frequently exclaimed in astonishment, like Columbus discovering a new continent, the researcher also got paper and a pen for himself, mimicking the director’s actions, copying down while conducting his own analysis and calculations. Excited, he said, "Look, if we use this kinetic energy to push, the initial power output can be estimated to increase by four point five percent!"

They passionately discussed and lost themselves in the moment... just like Dr. Franky, who was writing on the wall.

Mr. Alfie suddenly felt that he did not belong in this place—he quietly looked at Dr. Franky’s back, recalling things from many years ago... in his youth.

Whether at home or in the research institute, he always saw such a back, immersed in his own world.

Neglecting family, neglecting everything.

He opened his mouth, intending to wake everyone in the meeting room, but for some reason, as he was about to speak, he swallowed the words back.

Mr. Alfie had no difficulty determining that at this moment, his father was writing something that was incredibly important to the entire research institute—so much so that both the director and the researcher were acting so out of character.

Mr. Alfie silently stepped back two paces and sat down on a chair near the wall.

It was unclear how the news spread; perhaps a passing researcher had seen this scene, walked in out of curiosity, and then discovered the director watching Dr. Franky’s back like a student. Then, amazed by the knowledge on the wall, the researcher quietly took out some paper and sat down at the conference table.

Gradually, one, two, three... The empty conference table had somehow filled with people—young, middle-aged, and even those as old as the director.

Then beside the conference table, more and more people gradually appeared, and the meeting room unknowingly became crowded.

The sounds of discussion were plentiful, yet surprisingly maintained at a very low volume; they seemed to fear that speaking too loudly would disturb Dr. Franky and his pen, which was writing down a wealth of new knowledge.

The process of researchers absorbing knowledge was an immersive and frenzied experience.

They were even more devoted than the worshippers going to church... A bespectacled female researcher passed by Mr. Alfie, her head down, absorbed in her notebook.

Her shoes even stepped on Mr. Alfie’s foot, but she remained oblivious, then turned around to walk past him again... stepping on him once more.

Mr. Alfie felt a bit annoyed and cleared his throat, intending to get the female researcher to pay a little attention. However, she shot him a glare and made a shushing gesture instead.

With a helpless expression, Mr. Alfie stood up and squeezed his way out of the meeting room. It was at this point he noticed that the corridor was also packed with people, all pressed against the glass window of the meeting room, their eyes focused intently.

There were even quite a few people sitting on the floor. When someone squeezed out of the meeting room and spread out their notes on the floor, others immediately moved over to look.

Mr. Alfie shook his head; under these circumstances, it was unlikely he could take Dr. Franky away. Otherwise, even with the title of Minister of National Defense, he would probably face a barrage of objections from these researchers.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Mr. Alfie went to the break room, where he saw a security officer on duty.

The security officer, upon seeing Mr. Alfie, instantly stood up straight and saluted him with perfect formality.

Mr. Alfie shook his head with a hint of self-deprecation: "After work, I’m no different from you all, so relax. For instance, they can completely ignore me, can’t they?"

"They're all high-ranking scientists, it’s not the same," the security officer seemed to have imagined what Mr. Alfie had encountered... Even so, he still didn’t dare to be too 'comfortable' in front of Mr. Alfie, maintaining a sense of formality at all times. "Sir, the water heater is broken; it works intermittently, and now we can only get cold water."

Mr. Alfie was taken aback, "After all these years, the water heater is still broken? Hasn’t it been replaced?"

"It’s never been repaired, and other places can still get hot water," the security officer said, "I heard it was to save some funds. The director often complains that the government grants are getting smaller and smaller... You just said, after all these years?"

He looked at Mr. Alfie in surprise.

Mr. Alfie didn’t say a word; instead, he rolled up his sleeves and walked around to the back of the water heater. Under the astonished gaze of the security officer, he easily removed the back cover of the heater and began tinkering with it.

After a short while, the water heater surprisingly started working, which left the security officer in awe. "Oh... Sir, you’re amazing."

"My wife often says the same thing," Mr. Alfie shook his head, "though I only know how to fiddle with these things... I studied electromechanical engineering, so I can handle simple repairs."

The security officer was taken aback and suddenly remembered some gossip from within the research institute... This high-ranking officer's wife seemed to have worked here too, and she was quite a prominent researcher.

"Oh, right."

As if recalling something, Mr. Alfie looked at the security officer and said, "Call someone to bring some water to those guys in the meeting room; otherwise, they might die of thirst. With the way they look, I wonder if they'll drink anything indiscriminately."

Even if they were thirsty, they shouldn't be drinking things randomly... Nevertheless, the security officer nodded.

Mr. Alfie took a cup of water and walked out of the break room but suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked, "By the way, whose office is Room 118 on the fifth floor now?"

The security officer was taken aback for a moment and then quickly replied, "That office has been vacant for a while. I heard it was left empty at the request of Dr. Franky... Oh, I mean your father."

"Is that so..." Mr. Alfie said thoughtfully, turning to leave. "Just do your job; don’t mind me. I'm just wandering around."

It wasn't until Mr. Alfie was completely out of sight that the security officer let out a sigh of relief; when Mr. Alfie was around, he didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

...

In front of the door marked 118, Mr. Alfie had been quietly standing for several minutes. However, since many researchers were gathered in the conference room downstairs, it was very quiet here, and naturally, no one came to disturb him—even though he looked quite unusual at the moment.

Not only was he standing in front of the door, but he also had his phone to his ear without saying anything—faintly, a woman's voice could be heard from the phone.

It was a voicemail.

—Is that so? Next week is Louis's birthday? Oh, God, I’m such a failure as a mother.

—Beep.

—Alfie, once this experiment is successful, I’ll definitely ask the teacher for a leave, we haven’t traveled together in a long time, and you’ll have some free time, right?

—Beep.

—Alfie, is work tough?

—Beep.

—I’m sorry, I was too tired and fell asleep; I didn’t hear your call... You should be asleep by now, did you have a glass of milk before bed... Love you.

—Beep.

—Tough? Not tough at all, because this is my dream too...

—Beep.

Mr. Alfie finally hung up the phone and gently touched the door number in front of him, murmuring, "Maggie... I'm doing well, please don't worry."

"Mr. Alfie, you're here! Dr. Franky has fainted; you should go check on him!" A voice came from the distance, the security officer he met in the break room.

"I'll be right there..." Mr. Alfie quickly stepped out and said in a deep voice, "Has the ambulance been called?"

"It has."

...

...

It was already evening. ‘Arnold’ looked at the closed bathroom door of Room 403 and quickly took a bag from the drawer, stuffing it into his backpack.

After putting away his things, ‘Arnold’ walked to the bathroom door and knocked hard a few times. The sound of water inside stopped. "Is there something?"

‘Arnold’ replied, "I'm going to the library; I might be back a little late."

Caroline pulled back the curtain, frowned for a moment, and then quickly responded, "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back. Be careful."

‘Arnold’ smiled lightly, gently tapped the door, and said casually, "It’s fine, don’t worry."

He quickly opened the door and locked it but didn’t leave immediately... After hesitating for a moment, ‘Arnold’ finally took out a small thread and placed it in the door crack.

He left the boys' dorm with his backpack—of course, he wasn’t really going to the library to study.

As ‘Arnold’ passed by a convenience store not far downstairs, he suddenly stopped. He walked straight in and bought a condom at the counter before leaving.

But he had barely taken a few steps when someone patted him on the shoulder from behind, along with a voice calling his real name, "Hailey, where are you going?"

‘Arnold’... Hailey's eyes widened in shock; the hand on his shoulder was gentle yet made him feel weak all over.

It was... Boston’s voice.

Hailey quietly gulped and slowly turned around to see Boston looking casually at him. "I... I was just about to meet a few students to sell them some stuff."

"Oh, is that so? What a coincidence." Boston shrugged.

Hailey calmly said, "You... why did you suddenly come here? I’m not slacking off, don’t worry."

Boston shrugged again, disdainfully saying, "Do you dare? Don't think too much; I'm not here to watch you. I'm here to drop Arnold off."

"Arnold..." Hailey's expression changed slightly, "He... he came, why..."

"Don’t you remember? There’s an exam tomorrow."

Out of the shadows nearby, Arnold slowly walked out. He stood in front of Hailey, took a look, and then casually said, “It’s time to switch back. What’s with that strange expression?”

Hailey hurriedly replied, “I was just about to deliver something. If I switch back now... how about later?”

Arnold looked at Hailey with suspicion and frowned slightly, “No need. Let Boston accompany you to deliver it. After you finish, take Boston’s car to leave. I won’t come out after I get back to the dorm... Is there a problem?”

“N-no,” Hailey lowered his head.

At that moment, Boston walked over, put his hand on Hailey's shoulder, and said with a playful smile, “If there’s no problem, let’s go! Hurry up and finish the delivery, then we can have some fun! Hailey, don’t say I’m not looking out for you; there’s a new night spot that just opened, it’s really nice!”

“R-really?” Hailey felt his legs weaken a bit.

What to do—he had hidden the matter about Caroline from Arnold, and if Arnold returned to the dorm and saw Caroline...

What to do...

He was anxiously pondering this when Arnold suddenly called out to him, “Wait a second, don’t leave yet.”

Hailey’s pupils constricted sharply, but Boston obediently turned him back around by his shoulder, “Boss, is there anything else?”

Arnold calmly said, “Hailey, you forgot to give me the dorm key.”

“The key... oh, right, right.”

Hailey hurriedly put down his backpack and started rummaging through it, but after a while, he began searching his pockets, finally helplessly saying, “I seem to have forgotten to bring the key. I must have been too rushed when I left... You know how impatient these students can be; they have specific delivery requests.”

“What are you panicking for? I didn’t say anything,” Arnold shook his head, “If you forgot it, then forget it. I’ll just ask the admin. You guys go ahead.”

“Alright, Boss!” Boston replied immediately.

Hailey didn’t dare to say anything more and let Boston push him out as they left in big strides.

After watching Hailey leave with narrowed eyes, Arnold quietly hid in the shadows. He continued to walk along the shadows until he reached the front of the dormitory building. After waiting for a while, until no one was coming or going, he quickly walked inside.

He soon arrived at the admin’s office. The admin looked up as he entered and instinctively asked, “Is there something? Didn’t you just go out?”

“Have any strange people been here recently?” Arnold asked calmly.

The admin was taken aback, then stood up respectfully, “Boss.”

Saying that, the admin quickly ushered Arnold inside and closed the door, “There haven’t been any suspicious people. You can rest assured, Boss.”

Arnold nodded and took out a roll of cash, placing it on the table, “This month’s salary; count it yourself.”

“Hey, thanks, Boss.” The admin smiled and quickly licked his fingers to start counting the cash.

Arnold suddenly asked coldly, “Has Hailey been acting strange?”

The admin casually replied, “Nothing strange, just coming and going... Oh, right, he brought a woman back and she’s been staying for several days.”

“A woman? What kind of woman?” Arnold frowned.

The admin said, “A pretty unfamiliar face; I don’t think I’ve seen her before, but she’s quite beautiful... Boss, she should still be in the dorm. Maybe you could... heh heh.”

“Just do your job,” Arnold said calmly, “Give me the key.”

After leaving the admin's office, Arnold sent a text to Boston: Keep a close eye on Hailey.