Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 837: Chapter 81: The Fool

After ‘Big Cousin’ left the teaching building, a man hiding under a tree to smoke quickly approached.

‘Big Cousin’ casually said, “The goods have been delivered, let’s go back, don’t make the boss wait too long.”

Soon after, an ordinary yellow TAC car drove out of the university perimeter, and it wasn’t long before it entered a bustling downtown area.

It stopped in front of an old building.

‘Big Cousin’ appeared very cautious. After observing the surroundings, he and his companion went upstairs to a mid-level apartment.

The door was opened by a bearded guy. ‘Big Cousin’ tossed something to him casually, “Antibiotics, bought on the way, give it to Will.”

The bearded guy nodded, glancing back. At this time, a man was lying weakly on a worn-out sofa.

His shoulder was wrapped in a lot of bandages, stained with blood — if there were police around, they would recognize the injured man as the fugitive from the theater memorial chaos who had managed to escape.

“Where’s the boss?” ‘Big Cousin’ asked again.

The bearded man replied casually, “The boss and Big Brother Boston are in the room, you can go in.”

‘Big Cousin’ nodded and quickly entered the room that the bearded man pointed out. When he opened the door, Boston was counting stacks of cash.

Seeing ‘Big Cousin’ enter, Boston, after summoning him, directly threw a roll of cash (US dollars) over, “Hard work, a reward from the boss.”

‘Big Cousin’ smiled, accepting the roll of cash cheerfully, then nodded at the young man reading a book in front of Boston, “Thank you, Boss Arno.”

Arno, the boss.

He was lowering his head, holding a pen, and writing down formulas in a book, with a stack of thick reference books beside him.

“You work for me, getting paid is only right,” Arno adjusted his glasses and said indifferently, “And what you gain will only increase.”

Boston shrugged at this time and said, “Boss, I don’t get it, we’re doing pretty well right now, making money fast, going after any girl we want, why are you still going to school?”

“Boston, once you’re done counting the money, you leave too.” Arno still didn’t lift his head, “Then keep an eye on that Lawyer Carlo. Caroline gave us so much money, we have no reason not to take it.”

“I like this job!” Boston laughed, picking up a stack of bills and giving it a kiss!

“And keep looking for Caroline, don’t let her get away.” Arno instructed again.

Boston stuffed a wad of cash into his pocket and then pushed the door open to leave. ‘Big Cousin’ was about to follow when Arno called him back.

“Was everything okay with the delivery?” Arno asked.

‘Big Cousin’ replied, “No issues, it went smoothly. It’s just… just that Harry is being uncooperative. He said he doesn’t want to continue.”

“I don’t support useless people,” Arno said indifferently, “If he doesn’t want to work, let him rot in jail.”

‘Big Cousin’ said, “That’s what I told him, and he eventually didn’t respond… By the way, boss, are we always going to sell these ‘bath salts’ for that mysterious woman?”

Arno raised his head, “Why not sell them? This woman has managed to unify so many small gangs in the nearby streets, which implies the backing is terrifyingly large. Anyway, we’re just messing around; to grow bigger, we need more funds. Helping her distribute goods is a good source of income.”

‘Big Cousin’ nodded, “These things are best left for smart people to figure out. I just know that ever since following you, I’ve never been poor.”

Arno waved his hand, “Apart from the market outside the university, make sure others don’t clash with other bosses’ businesses.”

“But if we do that, won’t we have a lot of unsold goods?”

Arno said, “Then we’ll just hoard them for now. Every boss has a lot of stock; their clientele is mostly fixed, and they’re all waging price wars. Those people can bear it; I can’t. Besides, the goods weren’t bought in large quantities, Boston bought them on advance, so naturally, we should sell them at the best price.”

“Got it,” ‘Big Cousin’ nodded.

After he left, Arno took off his glasses and rubbed his brows, looking somewhat tired.

But he profoundly understood that if you’re born lacking a privileged background, the only way to catch up is through multiple times more hard work.

After resting for a while, Arno pulled himself together again.

He suddenly opened the drawer and took out a bank card from inside — the card had a password written on it. He already checked the numbers on this card at the ATM.

“Where did this come from… just an ordinary prostitute.” Arno raised his eyebrows abruptly, “There must be some secret… Was that show last time for nothing?”

Arno couldn’t help but sink into thought.

…

…

“Is Arno really the boss?”

Caroline looked incredulously at the disfigured man before her, listening to his words filled with deep-seated hate, and said in amazement, “But Arno, isn’t he a top student?”

“Being a student is just one layer of his facade,” the man sat down, “But in reality, he’s the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, including Boston’s Black Hand.”

“Impossible, I personally saw Arno being hung up by Boston and constantly beaten!”

The man replied calmly, “Did you see it with your own eyes? Or did you see Arno being beaten by Boston’s people with your own eyes?”

“But the injuries on his body at the time…”

“I ask you, did you see it with your own eyes? How long was he beaten, and where was he hit?” The man sneered, “Miss, don’t you know that there’s such a thing as makeup in this world?”

“But why… why would he put on this act?” Caroline frowned.

The man shook his head, “That’s what I’m puzzled about too. Arno used this method to deceive you, probably wanting to get something from you… I know his character too well. He thinks he’s smarter than everyone else, thinks he can manipulate everyone. Humph… always has been. Haven’t you heard? These two brothers grew up in the slums, the older brother was Harry, a fool all his life, while the younger brother Arno seemed to have stolen his brother’s intelligence from birth… Over the years, no matter how much trouble Arno has caused, he’s always done it using Harry’s identity.”

The man sneered even more, “At school, he’s an excellent student. Outside of school, he’s the troublemaker, causing problems as Harry. From a young age, Arno has always forced Harry to play this identity-switching game with him.”

“Then… no… how…” Caroline felt quite confused, leaning against the wall, “Now… now at school, is it Harry or Arno?”

“Of course, it’s Harry now.” The man coldly replied, “Arno never puts himself in danger. Except for exams and other situations he must attend personally, to prevent Harry from being exposed, it’s always Harry pretending to be Student Arno during the remaining time.”

Caroline was silent for a long time, suddenly finding it amusing… She had always been caught in this identity game between Arno and Harry.

“How… how do you know so much?” After a moment of self-deprecation, Caroline grew even more curious about this disfigured man’s background.

He said he lived in dorm room 403, transformed into his current appearance due to the two brothers, clearly with intense hatred… he wants revenge?

The man sneered, “Of course I know, ever since surviving the accident, after my wounds healed, I’ve been secretly following these two brothers.”

“Following all the time…” Caroline paused, suddenly reminded of something, quite agitatedly, “Do you… do you know how Livia died? Who the murderer is?”

The man said indifferently, “Naturally Harry. Let me tell you this, Harry is deeply insecure because he’s always lived under Arno’s shadow. Part of his personality conceals a violent side, although it doesn’t easily manifest. Due to prolonged internal conflict, he’s developed a peculiar fetish. He likes to brutally kill prostitutes; Livia was not the first. Arno managed to cover up nearly all the former incidents. ”

He sat down again, “Why Harry suddenly acted that night, I’m not sure because I wasn’t up there. But I think he might have been provoked. Afterward, Harry made a panicked phone call, shortly thereafter Arno arrived, that’s when they switched identities again. Arno probably came to handle the scene… By morning, as instructed by Arno, Harry left school normally and returned to the rental place. That’s when they switched identities again, Arno put on his clothes making it look as if he just got back from school.”

Caroline incredulously asked, “So at that time… Harry, Harry was still there?”

The man nodded, “He was, just hiding. He only quietly left after seeing you climb down the drainpipe.”

Caroline suddenly rushed forward, angrily glaring at him, “Since you know all this, why haven’t you stood up, why haven’t you testified against Harry and Arno… didn’t you say your current state is all because of them!”

The man said indifferently, “First of all, I have no reason to help you. Then… simply proving Harry as the culprit is not what I want.”

The eyes beneath the bandages filled with vivid red blood vessels… eyes of an avenger.

Suddenly, Caroline had a thought… this man wants to retaliate against the Arno brothers — using his own methods.

Those eyes made Caroline feel exceptionally cold, a chill in her heart, reminding her of the scene she ‘saw.’

Didn’t know whether it was ‘Arno’ or ‘Harry,’ in the woods, stabbed in the chest furiously by a mysterious man with a knife.

Could it be that this person is the terrifying man before her…

“Caroline, I need your help.” The man suddenly turned off the projector in the screening room, the film slowing to a stop, making Caroline feel as if time had suddenly frozen, “When I’ve completed what I want to achieve, I can prove your innocence.”

“I…”

“I’ve investigated you. Like Livia, while it may not be a glorious profession, at least you can walk the streets openly.” The man sneered, “Instead of hiding like now, a suspect, even Boston’s people are looking for you… Listen, all this mess in your life is caused by the two brothers. I can’t figure out why you would refuse me.”

Seeing Caroline hesitate to respond, the man frowned, “Or, are you thinking it doesn’t matter if you’ve been wronged?”

Unexpectedly, Caroline suddenly stretched out her hand, grabbed the other’s arm strongly. Caroline stared intently at him.

“What do you want to do?” The man looked confusedly at Caroline’s behavior.

“What’s your name?” suddenly asked Caroline, “Since we are going to cooperate next, you should at least let me know what to call you.”

The man suspiciously glanced at Caroline, then casually flicked away Caroline’s grip, casually saying, “The part of me that lived before is dead, just call me 403 then.”

“What should I do now?” Caroline asked.

403 replied, “Do nothing, go back to dorm room 403 first.”

Caroline grimaced, “I’ve just left, going back now, won’t Arno… no, wouldn’t Harry suspect me?”

403 said, “Don’t worry about that, he hasn’t returned yet, currently Harry is venting his displeasure. He hired a prostitute; he should be at a nearby hotel, you’re just in time.”

With that, 403 handed Caroline something.

“This is…”

“A stun baton, be careful yourself.” After speaking, 403 put a leather mask over his face, “I will contact you. And you, if you discover anything, just write it on a note and throw it in the trash bag. By the way… this is the key to dorm room 403, when leaving or returning, pay attention to whether there’s something placed across the door frame.”

…

Caroline cautiously opened the door to dorm room 403, finding it just as 403 said, Harry wasn’t there, relieved slightly.

Alone in the room, she paced, thinking about the night’s events.

If the scene she ‘saw’ in which one of the Arno brothers dies violently, is facilitated by 403, does this mean she will be a facilitating factor in this event?

Also… the scene she ‘saw’ of her own death… does this mean if she helps 403, that will be her fate?

Caroline nervously bit her nails, restless, unusually terrified — suddenly feeling that being able to ‘see’ the future isn’t something to be happy about, especially when you witness the moment of your death.

“No, it can be changed!!”

Caroline suddenly opened her eyes, remembering when she stopped a woman pushing a baby stroller.

Because she intervened, the woman and child didn’t perish in the accident.

It can… be changed!