Trafford's Trading Club

777: Chapter 21: The Illusion of Life 777: Chapter 21: The Illusion of Life How should I put it?

I guess you could say it was an utterly unremarkable, textbook ordinary first thirty-five years of life, right?

Ordinary middle school, ordinary high school, ordinary vocational college, and then an ordinary corporate life.

I’ve run sales, sold insurance, worked a few months as a community security guard, and even done odd jobs on construction sites.

Eventually, I became a street vendor selling fish balls.

My old man passed away a few years back.

There’s still an elderly mother at home, now living with my sister.

I usually only see her during Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year.

I don’t own any property.

The place I’ve been living in for the past few years has had its rent doubled since I moved in.

Fish Ball Qiang would love to have the guts to say to the chubby landlady, “Screw this dump, I’m not renting it anymore,” but rent is even pricier elsewhere.

No girlfriend, so I just mix around the red-light districts to take care of my biological needs.

Every day, I guard my fish ball stall, scooping a few bowls of fish balls for customers, or cooking some spicy noodles.

When no one’s around, I sit down to read newspapers, novels, or watch TV.

My favorite drink is Budweiser, and my favorite is the instant noodle with spam and eggs from the apartment downstairs.

I often visit a foot massage center not far from the apartment.

No girlfriend, living alone.

I thought about raising a cat or dog but gave up considering the hassle of cleaning up after them.

As a child, I loved reading the manga “Fist of the North Star,” and I still like it now, though I’m embarrassed to be seen holding a comic book in public.

Am I really just a loser?

While thinking this, Fish Ball Qiang wasn’t as excited as one might imagine about addressing the cute little girl in swimwear before him… even if he felt excited inside, he didn’t dare to show it.

This was a flying little girl… in a place that was weird and clearly not a friendly land.

Who knows what terrifying methods she might have?

At this time, the girl’s gaze fell upon the card in Fish Ball Qiang’s hand, her mouth opening slightly in surprise, “Token of Eternal Night?

How do you have this thing?”

Token of Eternal Night?

Fish Ball Qiang instinctively looked at the strange card he picked up… this swimming girl seemed to recognize it?

Fish Ball Qiang shivered a bit and asked, “Little sister, do you recognize this thing?

I picked it up, and then it brought me to this place… since you recognize it, can you send me back?

I promise I won’t say anything about this place!”

Though a loser, Fish Ball Qiang clearly knew he had accidentally stumbled into a terrifying whirlpool.

He just wanted to escape… a loser’s life is better than losing his life. “The Token of Eternal Night could be found by chance?

Do you think I’m an idiot?” The swimming girl’s tone immediately turned hostile.

Her gaze suddenly became sharp, like a sword’s edge, sending shivers down Fish Ball Qiang’s spine.

This little one is frightening, he thought. “I honestly just found it!” Fish Ball Qiang hurriedly recounted how he came here. “A really fat guy?

Smashed down and puffed back up?

Brother Xiaosheng?

Chains…” The swimming girl furrowed her brows, “I understand who you’re referring to as the really fat guy.

And to be honest, this Token of Eternal Night in your hand belongs to that fatty.

But I’m puzzled about how you, a normal person, managed to activate it and enter this crack?

As for the chain you mentioned…”

With each question that the swimming girl asked, Fish Ball Qiang’s face grew paler and harder, clearly wanting to say something but not knowing what to say, looking quite miserable.

He truly was just the most ordinary, good-for-nothing middle-aged man.

If there was anything redeeming, perhaps it would be being a True Soul human. “I get it.” The swimming girl relaxed her brows.

Fish Ball Qiang couldn’t even care about being afraid at this point and instinctively asked curiously, “What do you understand?” “That Dong Zhuo might have encountered some trouble and planned to activate the Token of Eternal Night to return, but ultimately failed, and it was picked up by this Brother Xiaosheng you mentioned, causing the Token of Eternal Night to fall, and you coincidentally picked it up.”

Fish Ball Qiang’s mouth gaped open, “But I don’t know how to use this thing!

Could it be… could it be I have some legendary special constitution that triggered this thing to activate on its own?” “Illusions of grandeur, thinking oneself the protagonist.” The swimming girl stated calmly, “Once the Token of Eternal Night is activated, it won’t stop.

Although Dong Zhuo was taken away, it kept activating, and you happened to pick it up, tagging you along through its transport.

Don’t overthink it.

Inside and out, you have neither talent nor backbone; you’re wholly a loser.”

Really… truly, I’m so sorry! “Alright then, I’m just a bum, worthless… could you perhaps send me back?

I swear I won’t spill a word about anything.” Fish Ball Qiang patted his chest, saying, “There’s nothing else I’m good at, but I’m very capable of keeping secrets!”

The swimming girl said expressionlessly, “Better than dead people?”

Instantly, Fish Ball Qiang felt like he had fallen into a freezer, the chill traveling from the soles of his feet straight up to his head, causing him to collapse on the ground, his legs shaking slightly.

But just then, a sharp, terrifying cry suddenly sounded behind Fish Ball Qiang, causing his ears to ache.

Instinctively, he turned his head and froze in horror.

In the endless chaotic void ahead of this platform, countless terrifying creatures were flying in flocks.

Humanoid, but like monsters molded from muddy clay, with wings behind them so tattered they were nearly decomposed, akin to those of bats.

Their faces lacked any discernible features; eyes and mouths were mere hollow voids. “Wh-what are these things!!!!!!” Fish Ball Qiang scrambled up, shivering all over.

Too terrifying!

It’s like the apocalypse!

These monsters, hundreds or thousands, impossible to count, raced towards this place, reminding Fish Ball Qiang of a plague of locusts! “Void Primordial Demons, a form of life unique to the cracks on both sides, commonly seen here.” The swimming girl said calmly, “But such a scale is rare these days.” “Are these…” Fish Ball Qiang suddenly recalled the immortal fatty, hastily correcting himself, “your enemies?

Have they come for you?”

The swimming girl lowered her gaze onto Fish Ball Qiang, “Void Primordial Demons are here for you.

As a True Soul, you equate to the most delicious delicacy to the Void Primordial Demons.

The moment you appeared, all Void Primordial Demons nearby would have sensed your presence.”

Fish Ball Qiang instinctively stepped back several paces, drawing closer toward the swimming girl, but heard her suddenly snort coldly, which made him halt with fear.

He could only plead, “Save me…”

But the swimming girl remained silent, her eyes filled with indifference.

Fish Ball Qiang’s heart pounded in fear, thinking these horrific monsters were coming because of him, while he was on another’s turf.

Thinking about it, does this giant palace atop the platform often fight these creatures… since I brought their enemy here, they surely aren’t pleased…

Will I die?

Fish Ball Qiang suddenly felt weak and dropped to his knees, eyes filled with despair as he faced the nearing terrifying monsters, even imagining the grotesque scene of them devouring him.

Truly just a loser…

At that moment, within the swarm of Void Primordial Demons, a more fearsome shriek arose!

The horde parted like scared fish at the presence of an imminent predator.

This colossal creature, itself ten times larger than the demons surrounding it, rushed in madly from the rear! “Oh?

Even the Void Primordial Master has come?” The swimming girl lifted her gaze. “It seems you beasts have been starving for too long that even an ordinary True Soul draws you all near?”

This monstrous being, dwarfed by none, resembled a decayed Western Giant Dragon.

The Void Primordial Master now roared frenziedly at the swimming girl, its wings unfurled abruptly, and its massive jaws gaped open to unleash a gray orb of light.

The swimming girl stood motionless, facing the gigantic gray orb, and softly chanted, “GanJiang, Mo Ye.”

At this moment, two simple and elegant longswords appeared on either side of the girl in a swimsuit.

With a twist of the blades, they flew forward, heading straight for the gray sphere of light!

Fish Ball Qiang didn’t know whether this gray light sphere was formidable, but he knew that this Void Primordial Master must be extremely terrifying.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made numerous Void Primordial Demons give way…

Even a single one of these Void Primordial Demons, if released into the outside world, would probably scare people to death!

The two simple and elegant longswords unexpectedly pierced the sphere of light and, without losing momentum, continued to thrust toward the head of the Void Primordial Master!

The Void Primordial Master seemed unable to dodge in time.

Its pair of tattered wings was slashed off halfway by the two swords.

It let out a shrill scream, and the numerous Void Primordial Demons around them went berserk, rushing toward the girl in the swimsuit in succession!

The girl in the swimsuit snorted coldly again, and the two simple and elegant longswords immediately turned back in the chaotic void!

One divided into two, two turned into four…

At this moment, the two simple and elegant longswords split into hundreds of sword lights!

The sword lights grouped in fours, forming rotating floral patterns, swiftly spreading above the massive platform!

Countless Void Primordial Demons were frantically cut down by these sword light floral patterns!

A large number of Void Primordial Demons were cut down, and facing the unending cries of agony, Fish Ball Qiang had already turned pale.

In the end, he even forgot to be afraid, staring blankly at the invincible figure of the girl in the swimsuit.

With a scream, the colossal figure of the Void Primordial Master had already distanced itself from this place, seemingly fleeing for its life…

As for the Void Primordial Demons attracted here, they had all been slain under the girl’s sword.

When all the sword lights faded, transforming back into two simple and elegant longswords that returned to the girl’s side, she looked far away at the receding figure of the Void Primordial Master, frowned, and murmured, “Now the ten greatest famed swords in the world, nine are in my hands.

If I could obtain Zhan Lu, this sword wheel dance would be flawless.

At that time, even the Ancestral Spirit above the Master…” “You…

Who exactly are you?” Fish Ball Qiang looked at her, full of awe. “I am Zang Jian, the thirty-seventh descendant of Ouyezi from the State of Yue…” …

Fish Ball Qiang couldn’t care less about whose descendant this girl was; he was just afraid those terrifying monsters would return.

If the girl didn’t intervene then, he would certainly face certain death! “Will… will they come back?” Fish Ball Qiang asked, almost in tears. “The Master has been injured by me and won’t dare to return for a while,” the girl in the swimsuit…

Zang Jian, said calmly, “But Void Primordial Demons only act on instinct.

They are infinite in this gap, and even if you are in a faraway place, they can still find you.

As long as you stay here, it’s only a matter of time before they come for you.”

Then take me away!!!!!

Or would this girl choose to kill him outright for the sake of convenience?

Fish Ball Qiang began to worry again.

Unexpectedly, Zang Jian suddenly looked up and down at Fish Ball Qiang, and said coldly, “Your True Soul might have some origin, otherwise the Void Primordial Master wouldn’t have been attracted.

It can sense a threat, knowing this Palace of Eternal Night isn’t easy to touch.

Yet it still came…” “What… what do you intend to do?” Fish Ball Qiang’s heart immediately felt uneasy. “Using you as bait, to slay the Elemental Demon and replenish the Palace of Eternal Night!”

Fish Ball Qiang opened his mouth in shock, watching the monster corpses on the platform melt little by little, finally being absorbed into this massive jade platform… as if the platform had devoured them!

What the hell!

Fish Ball Qiang felt like he was tied to the wilderness by a Hunter to attract prey like a piece of old cured meat…

I want to go home!!!

Where’s the promised adventure cheat?? … …

Since he came to this country in South America to discover the origins of his bloodline, Boss Luo naturally wouldn’t stay entirely in the club.

The clock was ten minutes to seven-thirty in the evening, and Luo Qiu, already dressed in a tailcoat, stood in the hall.

At this time, the maid in an evening dress was slowly descending the stairs, smiling.

Luo Qiu also smiled, saying, “Speaking of which, this is our first time attending a concert.”

Saying this, a small booklet appeared in the boss’s hand.

It was the concert’s program booklet, featuring the background of the performer and the program for the concert.

The maid wrapped her hand gently around the boss’s arm, and the two of them left the house this way.

Wearing a formal dress was naturally inconvenient for traveling, but for Boss Luo, who had already established his residence here, he could move freely within the city.

No need for an invitation.

Just like an ordinary walk, the couple with linked arms found themselves walking down the corridors of the municipal theater.

The amber light illuminated the surroundings, and the air conditioning was just the right temperature.

Otherwise, for the gentlemen, wearing suits in this heat would leave them looking disheveled even before the start. “The performance starts at eight,” You Ye whispered softly beside the boss after glancing around.

Luo Qiu nodded but glanced to the side.

In a dimly lit corner, Song Haoran was checking the time on his arm.

Today, he was as charming as ever…

His charming smile inevitably reminded Luo Qiu of his father.

That visage, now only seen in photographs. “Shall we go over and say hello?” the maid softly asked.

Invisible to others, who could perceive their presence?

But Luo Qiu shook his head, “My cousin seems to have something to attend to, and we shouldn’t interrupt others during their work.

Let’s maintain basic courtesy.”

Saying this, the boss led his female companion into the concert hall.

Song Haoran hid his arm with his sleeve and then, frowning, glanced at the entrance of the hallway ahead, finding nothing.

Then he heard a crisp sound of heels clicking on the floor—this sound was familiar to Song Haoran; it was the sound of high heels walking.

Lluvia, dressed in a fiery red halter gown, her hair in an updo, moved with a proud demeanor that drew many glances as she walked.

However, she was walking very slowly, holding on to the wall.

Song Haoran watched her and greeted her with a smile.

Lluvia seemed to want to pick up her pace but suddenly lost her balance and fell toward Song Haoran.

At a distance, she seemed like a woman unaccustomed to wearing high heels and struggling to maintain balance.

But as she fell into Song Haoran’s arms, Lluvia whispered, “Strategist, Oni has successfully infiltrated, next…”

However, before Lluvia could finish, Song Haoran placed a finger on her lips, “Let’s enjoy the delights of the first half.

This is a genuine Master Level performance, a rare treat.”