Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 848: One who bestows dreams and the future (8)

Although the video was quite shaky, the high pixel quality allowed viewers to clearly see what was happening after getting used to the unsteady camera work.

“He’s standing up! This man is really standing up! Oh my God, was he actually shot? What am I seeing? He’s flying! He’s flying!! Oh God!!”

Of course, there was also the voice of the person filming the video.

Mr. Alfie frowned throughout the viewing. Decades of worldview told him that the content of this video was fake, and he was searching for flaws in it—until, in the end, the masked “messenger of God” shot up into the sky and vanished.

At that moment, Mr. Alfie pressed the stop button—if he had initially been considering finding inconsistencies in the video, the final scene of the “messenger of God” taking off confirmed his suspicion that it was some sort of prank.

It was very likely that special effects had been used, along with clever editing. Given how advanced current film technology was, creating such a video would not be particularly difficult.

Seeing that his superior had lost interest in watching, the secretary awkwardly retrieved his phone.

However, Mr. Alfie suddenly asked, “Have you traced the origin of this video?”

Originally, something sensational like this shouldn’t have required Mr. Alfie’s concern… the national security department would not usually bother with such minor matters.

But at this moment, Mr. Alfie urgently needed something to divert his attention, so he directly inquired.“Oh, it’s the son of a processing factory owner, and he was one of the hostages taken during the theater kidnapping that day,” the secretary replied seriously. “Didn’t the director ask us to thoroughly investigate everyone present that day? This video footage was also discovered during the investigation… Additionally, the man who was shot in the video is identified as a wealthy businessman named Besong.”

Mr. Alfie frowned; he sensed something was off, something quite strange, but he couldn’t organize his thoughts at the moment, so he asked directly, “What do you think?”

The secretary gathered his thoughts and replied, “Getting up from the dead and flying into the sky are typically elements found in science fiction. This guy probably filmed such a video to hype it up online… However, if it was just for money, given Mr.Besong’s wealth, he wouldn’t need to resort to such antics. He’s not lacking in fame or fortune.”

“Mm, that’s where it gets odd.” Mr. Alfie nodded, as this was exactly the part that felt unreasonable to him. He suddenly looked at his secretary, “This matter isn’t that simple, is it?”

The secretary nodded. “According to the information from the investigators we sent out, since that day, Mr. Besong has gathered quite a few people in his private villa to hold some mysterious ceremonies. In recent days, the number of people involved has gradually increased, and they are all wealthy businessmen and celebrities.”

As he spoke, the secretary showed Mr. Alfie another set of photos from his phone. “Sir, these were taken covertly by our personnel.”

In the photos, nearly everyone was dressed in strange black robes, seemingly participating in some sort of ritual, and among them was a man wearing a carnival mask, looking out of place.

“Is this… the ‘messenger of God’ from the video?” Mr. Alfie frowned.

The secretary nodded. “Based on the figure, it should be the same person.”

Mr. Alfie remained silent for a while before saying, “What’s your take on this?”

The secretary replied, “Based on the leads we currently have, I suspect this might be some emerging religious organization… Of course, as of now, this organization hasn’t engaged in any illegal activities.”

Mr. Alfie said solemnly, “Since they are all wealthy businessmen, this religious organization probably has suspicions of illegal profit-making… Well, you should notify the local police department and let them follow up.”

If this religious organization was merely a scam for money, it wouldn’t warrant the national security department’s involvement—this was just something that the security department inadvertently uncovered while investigating the hostage case, which could easily be handed over to a more familiar law enforcement agency.

As they talked, the experts in the conference room started to file out one by one.

Seeing the dejected expressions of these medical authorities, Mr. Alfie had the worst suspicions in his mind, and his expression was understandably grim.

“Mr. Alfie, I’m sorry, but we probably won’t be able to come up with a viable treatment plan in the short term,” the lead doctor said helplessly. “This is the first time we’ve encountered such a case, and we can’t find any reference materials…”

Mr. Alfie, however, waved his hand and said sternly, “I don’t want to hear that. Just tell me what you plan to do now.”

The experts exchanged glances, and finally, the lead doctor, mustering his courage, said, “I think we can do our best to sustain the patient's life for now. Once the test results come in, we might find some clues. Additionally, there are many excellent neurosurgeons abroad, and we will also try to contact them… Please rest assured, we will do our utmost to treat the patient.”

“Alright.” Mr. Alfie nodded, “At least I didn’t hear the worst news… You all go back to work.”

After dismissing the experts, Mr. Alfie fell silent, frowning as if making a difficult decision. In the end, he gritted his teeth and looked at his secretary, saying, “Prepare a leave of absence request and send it to the presidential office. I want to take an extended leave.”

After making this decision, for some reason, Mr. Alfie suddenly felt as if he had come to a stop—like halting in a long, never-ending marathon.

Following this, Mr. Alfie planned to stay at the hospital, but unexpectedly, a few guests arrived from the research institute that evening.

The leader was the director of the research institute, whom he was familiar with, while the others were several long-standing national talents from the existing research institutes.

“Alfie, how is Dr. Franky?” the director inquired with concern.

“Not very optimistic,” Mr. Alfie replied honestly.

“This…” The director hesitated, glancing at the old scholars accompanying him, appearing as if he wanted to say something but held back.

Mr. Alfie frowned, “Why did you come here? Is there something else?”

The director gritted his teeth and said seriously, “What I’m about to say might upset you. But… we really need Franky. I don’t know what has happened to him, but one thing is certain! The things he has written can lead to unprecedented breakthroughs in our aerospace technology… Even, it makes me see the possibility of surpassing major powers!”

“Exactly! It’s simply incredible!” an accompanying old scientist exclaimed excitedly. “Franky has accomplished what would likely take an entire generation to overcome! He is our country’s greatest genius!”

“So, what do you mean by this?” Mr. Alfie felt a wave of disgust wash over him; it was precisely because of this dedication to science that he had suffered the agony of losing his family. “Are you planning to drag my father back? To take a patient lying in a hospital bed, who can’t guarantee he’ll survive, to that kind of high-pressure work environment? All for what you call a major breakthrough?”

“That’s not what we mean!”

The director hurriedly tried to calm Mr. Alfie's slightly agitated emotions, but he said earnestly, “We are equally concerned about Franky's health; we’re not taking it lightly either. Alfie, please understand, we really need him… So, when Franky recovers, I hope you won’t stop him from coming back. We need him!”

As he spoke, the director and the elderly men beside him pleaded with Mr. Alfie.

“Don’t bother me!”

Mr. Alfie shooed the director and the others away and slammed the door to the patient’s room shut.

Soon after, the sound of footsteps came from outside; it was the sound of the director and the others leaving.

Mr. Alfie let out a deep sigh and walked to the glass window, looking at Dr. Franky in the intensive care unit, his body covered with various medical equipment.

He reached out, touching the glass window as if trying to reach his father, and forced a bitter smile, saying, “I know they need you; that’s no lie. That kind of shining gaze… you and Maggie have both had it; I know…”

Mr. Alfie closed his eyes, murmuring, “I know.”

……

……

“Time to eat, Hailey.”

Boston knocked on the door and slid a meal box through a small window at the bottom of the door—this room was specially designed, typically used to confine disobedient individuals. Of course, at certain times, it would also be used to imprison ‘hostages.’

Since encountering Boss Arnold, however, Boston’s group hadn’t engaged in the time-consuming and low-profit activity of kidnapping and extortion for quite some time.

“When can I go out? Didn’t you say I’d be switched back today?” Hailey’s anxious voice came from inside the room.

Boston only let out a couple of sarcastic laughs, not even bothering to reply, and closed the small window at the bottom of the door. Just as he turned around, he heard something being thrown inside. Boston sneered and ignored it.

“You keep watch; I’m going out for a bit.”

Boston approached a guy who was busy getting high, kicked him lightly, and frowned, “Cut back on that!”

The younger brother gave an OK sign but continued to sway his head. Boston frowned again, deciding to ignore him. He left the area but locked the door behind him—he even hung a chain on the door.

When Boss Arnold was around, the management was very strict, requiring everyone to be cautious and careful. However, sometimes Boston felt that it was overly timid—of course, being timid aside, ever since he joined Boss Arnold, his gang had indeed been getting wealthier day by day.

So the question arose: with more and more money being earned, yet unable to spend it or enjoy life, what was the difference between him and a useless fish out of water?

Thus, after leaving the person behind, Boston naturally planned to go out and have some fun.

“Hey? Is this Boss Arnold? Oh… nothing much, just reporting about Hailey… It’s nothing, just that he’s in a bad mood… Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on him; he definitely won’t escape. Rest assured!”

While making the call to Boss Arnold, Boston quietly walked down the stairs.

In the darkness, a shadow emerged after noticing Boston’s departure. It then slowly climbed the stairs following the path he took, eventually arriving at the gated house that was locked with a chain.

The figure sneaking up to the door wore a deep brown hood, which he lifted to reveal a head wrapped in bandages. His eyes were filled with horrific bloodshot veins; he was… 403.

403 pressed his ear against the door and listened for a while before pulling out a set of lock-picking tools. His skills were not very refined, and after some time, he finally managed to unlock the chain and the lock.

He gently opened the door and heard music coming from inside the room—a drugged-up guy was lying on the sofa, displaying a strange smile, resembling a drunken person in a daze.

403 quietly approached him, glanced at the half-eaten pills on the table, then picked one up and shoved it into the guy's mouth.

The drugged individual became even more high, completely lost in his surroundings and trapped in a hallucinatory state.

403 turned off the chaotic music in the room and walked over to the door where Hailey was confined, lightly tapping on it a few times.

After that, 403 slid an envelope through the small window at the bottom of the door into the room.

At that moment, Hailey, who was sitting in the corner of the room surrounded by scattered debris, heard the noise and immediately jumped up—he had noticed the abruptly stopped music.

“Who?” Hailey sensed something was happening outside.

When he saw the envelope that had been pushed under the door, he quickly asked, “Who? Who’s out there?”

But he received no response. Frowning, Hailey picked up the envelope from the floor, revealing several photographs inside.

One photo showed a woman and a man eating together in a restaurant; the woman was even using a fork to feed a strawberry to the man, and they both appeared to be laughing and enjoying themselves.

Another photo captured the woman and man walking slowly through a tree-lined area.

The last photo showed the man holding two ice creams as he approached the woman.

The woman was Caroline.

But the man… was not Hailey.

“Who! Who’s out there! What does this mean!!! Who!! Who’s out there!!” Hailey suddenly seemed to have struck a nerve.

He quickly leaned down to look through the small window at the bottom of the door, but he only managed to see a pair of feet walking away—closing the door behind them.

“Who are you—!!!!”