Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 846: Chapter 90: The One Who Bestows Dreams and the Future (5)

Whether it was to meet Song Tianyou’s expectations or to ensure victory in the upcoming competition, Song Ying couldn’t take the task of inviting the ‘God of Gamblers’ back to the scene lightly — even though she needed to bring along a completely clueless tag-along for the task.

Song Ying moved quickly—after Elder Song gave his instructions in the morning, she personally went to the temporary residence of Luo Qiu after lunch.

This was the inner courtyard of the Han Residence, a heavily guarded place where only members of the Song Family were qualified to live—Young Master Qiu naturally need not worry about such things.

Thud!

Song Ying placed a thick stack of books in front of Luo Qiu, causing the table to shudder with vibration.

Luo Qiu curiously picked up the top book, flipped through a few pages, and then looked at Song Ying. “Are these books for me?”

This stack of books, accumulated together, was about forty centimeters thick, and, without exception, they were all about red wine—covering the origins, brewing techniques, culture, and various other aspects of red wine.

Of course, red wine is a vast academic subject, and although these books are thick, they barely scratch the surface of red wine culture.

“For you to read.” Song Ying said indifferently, “We are going to personally visit the God of Gamblers soon, and the knowledge in here should come in handy. Rest assured, I won’t inhumanely require you to memorize all the content, just don’t be bewildered when discussing red wine topics… Just finish them tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll give you some preliminary wine tasting training!”

Reading professional books forty centimeters thick in one night, a dozen or so books in all, isn’t considered inhumane?

“I’ll try to pick out what interests me to read.” Luo Qiu nodded, not angry.

The packaging of these books was not ordinary, giving Luo Qiu a heavy sense of history. With the wealth of the Song Family, there might be some rare materials mixed in there.

Luo Qiu has always held the attitude of ‘the more the better’ when it comes to acquiring knowledge, and now that someone is offering, he naturally doesn’t intend to refuse politely.

Having long understood Luo Qiu’s temper, which doesn’t really have a temper, Song Ying was too lazy to argue the perfunctory tone in Luo Qiu’s words and said directly, “The God of Gamblers doesn’t have many hobbies, but red wine is one of them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t retire and hide away, creating a vineyard of his own. I got news that the day after tomorrow, the God of Gamblers would host a new wine tasting in his vineyard. I’ll secure the invitation, and you’ll accompany me then, as a favor for my grandfather.”

Luo Qiu thought for a moment. In fact, he was used to an environment where little things were all arranged properly… Even though Song’s request was just a matter of going through the motions, doing nothing wouldn’t be good.

As the vacation time extended, some of his indifferent views were trending to reignite.

Luo Qiu didn’t know what extent this could be restored to but was holding onto the purpose of inquiry for now, so he was quite satisfied with Song Ying’s arrangements.

“Thank you for your trouble.” Luo Qiu nodded.

“It’s no trouble… You wish!”

Song Ying suddenly felt something off in the conversation’s context—why did she somehow become this guy’s assistant?

Luo Qiu simply chuckled, flipped through a few books, and then picked one that temporarily caught his eye to read. However, after reading just a few pages, he raised his head, “Are you planning to accompany me in reading?”

“No time!” Song Ying turned around, glanced at Gan Hong, who was silently watching, and quickly walked out.

“Was Song Ying always like this before?” Luo Qiu suddenly asked after glancing at the red wine book in his hands a few more times, “When you were following her.”

Gan Hong shook her head, somewhat admiringly, “Usually not like this. But there are only two people who can fluster Miss Ying, including Young Master Qiu, yourself.”

“Another one?” Luo Qiu asked with interest.

“It’s the eldest.” Gan Hong said softly.

Luo Qiu smiled knowingly and motioned to the opposite of him, “Don’t just stand there; read a bit too; it’s quite interesting.”

Gan Hong shook her head, “Learning these is of no use to me.”

“Learning more doesn’t hurt.” Luo Qiu said as he read, “Just whittle away time, or you’ll be very bored… Perhaps you can take a walk outside, clear your mind.”

“Then… I’d better read.” Gan Hong sat down, and Luo Qiu casually pulled out a book, holding it in front of Gan Hong.

She suddenly realized this Young Master Qiu’s method… He easily gave people two different choices, leading them to unwittingly pick the option he subtly wanted them to choose.

Reading or going out for a walk… As a bodyguard, Gan Hong couldn’t let her master drift out of her sight—of course, she could choose not to read and just stand there.

But with the ‘sit down’, ‘whittle away time’ and other suggestions layered onto it, her subjective consciousness shifted directly.

Gan Hong quietly looked up at Luo Qiu, who was engrossed in the book… Maybe she was overthinking?

What an incredible person.

Hmm… This book is indeed quite interesting.

Perhaps due to the tranquility, Gan Hong, who had always focused solely on guns, martial arts, and other knowledge related to her profession, could easily delve into the contents of this book.

It was simply picked randomly… Hadn’t she read such books before?

Because it was mixed amongst these professional books, its discordant style… it was actually a manga.

“Drops of God.”

Wait a minute, doesn’t this mean… I can only read comics????

…

…

Under the night sky, the city lights were dazzling.

Yet at a height beyond ordinary sight, space was rippling—as if emerging from water, now two figures appeared from the air’s shimmer.

First in view was the radiant gold Wolfgang, followed by Noah. Noah wore a grey-white robe, belted with a peculiar purple sash, with his hood obscuring his face down to the nose.

They descended onto the shoulder of the giant God Statue on Bread Mountain, overlooking the city together.

Wolfgang spoke: “Noah, speaking of which, how long has it been since you descended into the earthly realm?”

“It’s been a while.” Noah was silent for a moment, then gazed around this City of God, “No matter how many different times and spaces we cross, the dirty air hidden beneath the beauty here has never changed.”

“Hmm…” Wolfgang nodded, then looked somewhat amusedly at the giant head of God beside him. He reached out and casually patted it a few times, “Every time I see this thing, I remember the scene I witnessed on Earth 16… endless zombies climbing, like an army of ants, covering It, completely drowning It in despair.”

“Earth 16 has already been destroyed by the Michael Club, and now Michael is rebuilding a new civilization on the wastelands of Earth 16… of course, according to their philosophy.” Noah said indifferently: “I don’t know what moves the Michael Club will make in the main world.”

“Different timespaces have different directions. Compared to the Michael Club on Earth 16, the development of this one in the main world is much more lagging.” Wolfgang shook his head, “After all, it might not be the protagonist chosen by the main world to initiate the apocalypse, right?”

“There’s still no conclusion, let’s not judge prematurely…” Noah waved his hand, closed his eyes, and after a long while reopened them and said, “There are no traces of the Lost Lands appearing nearby. Wolfgang, the direction of your investigation regarding Lucifer’s disappearance might be wrong.”

“None?” Wolfgang was surprised, “But the notes in the wind couldn’t be found either… at least not within this country. Could it be that Lucifer has already left South America?”

Noah pondered for a moment and suddenly said, “I don’t know why, but being here, I have a feeling of unease, as if being watched by something… in this black night, there’s a faintly peculiar power.”

“Danger level?” Wolfgang’s face changed slightly, as anything that could make Noah use the word peculiar warranted caution.

“Indefinable.” Noah lifted his hood, revealing a frown, “It was fleeting and then vanished.”

Wolfgang calmly said, “Could it be the peeping of the main world’s will? Noah, is it because you haven’t been back for too long that you aren’t getting used to it all at once when facing the world’s will?”

“Perhaps.” Noah nodded, still with a grave expression, “We should be careful, according to what the newcomer brought back from Dong Zhuo, the club has been operating in the main world these days.”

Wolfgang nodded, “That’s true, but the club shouldn’t be here at the moment. According to the newcomer’s information, the club should still be within the borders of Hua Country, and they’ve even changed to a new owner.”

“I know.” Noah nodded, “I’ve heard it’s an interesting guy… if there’s a chance this time, let’s meet him, it’s about time to greet the new owner.”

Upon hearing this, Wolfgang also smiled wryly and shook his hands, moving his ten fingers.

The two of them were silent for a long time.

Noah then put on his hood again and looked at Wolfgang, “Take me to see Charlotte, maybe she’s still hiding something from us… with too few clues, it’s hard to judge.”

“Then let’s go.” Wolfgang waved his hand, pointing to a corner of the city under the night sky.

…

After the two quickly left, beside the shoulder of the God Statue, ripples appeared in the air once more, and You Ye walked out in her maid attire, her hands lightly clasped over her abdomen, “The Book of Void… Noah… Ark.”

No matter who comes… as long as they don’t disrupt the club’s business, they don’t matter.

The maid’s face suddenly manifested a smile, she extended her finger to gently tap the God Statue, then turned and left, disappearing in an instant.

…

…

During the deep of night, even in a bustling place like a hospital, it was almost quiet, with only the occasional nurse making rounds and doctors on duty walking around—of course, the emergency side remained brightly lit.

But on the inpatient side, it had already become a comfortable environment allowing patients to rest easily.

Bara had left, as she would return early the next morning to replace Mr. Ofi—originally, Bara had planned to persuade Mr. Ofi to go home and rest for a bit because he had important work to attend to the next day, but for some reason, Mr. Ofi insisted on staying this time.

With no other option, Bara could only return home to rest and come back to take over tomorrow.

In the private ward, Mr. Ofi lay asleep on the sofa, still holding a brown notebook in his hands, the contents of which he had already finished reading.

Suddenly, Dr. Ferenc on the hospital bed sat up, opened his eyes, and looked around in confusion. He didn’t know how he ended up in this place, it seemed to be a hospital.

He saw a man lying on the sofa, and Dr. Ferenc frowned, feeling a familiar sense about this man, yet he couldn’t recall the man’s name —he even subconsciously thought of this person as a stranger.

Dr. Ferenc hesitated for a moment and didn’t plan to wake up this stranger.

He quietly got out of bed, feeling very hungry and wanting to eat something, so he casually picked up an apple from the table and started munching on it while he pushed the ward door open and stepped out.

He walked along the hospital hallway, munching on the apple.

He wanted to find a doctor or nurse to ask why he was here… but this hospital seemed a bit different from the hospitals in his memory.

When did Rio have such clean and advanced hospitals… with so many instruments whose names he couldn’t even pronounce.

Suddenly, Dr. Ferenc saw a man in patient clothes, smoking secretly in a corner of the atrium, seemingly making a phone call.

Dr. Ferenc waited a while, and once the man finished his call, he walked over and patted the man’s shoulder.

This sudden appearance startled the patient who was secretly smoking, but upon seeing it was an old patient, he breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh… sir, please don’t scare people in the dead of night, okay? It’ll be troublesome if the nurse finds out.”

“Sorry, sorry, I meant no harm.” Dr. Ferenc apologized, “Could you let me use your phone to make a call home?”

The man was taken aback for a moment, but managed to lend him the phone, not afraid of what harm an old man could do… only when Dr. Ferenc took the phone, he hesitated for a long time, merely looking at the cellphone without dialing.

“Old man, hurry up and call, I need to get back to my room quickly, or I’ll be discovered sneaking out.” The man urged.

Dr. Ferenc hesitated for a while and felt his face getting a bit warm— as a university professor and highly educated person, he was really embarrassed to admit what he was about to say next.

But he had to speak up, “I… I seem to not know how to use your phone… is this a phone?”

“This is the latest Apple 9, how could it not be a phone! Old man, are you confused?” The man was stunned for a moment, then recalled something, “Oh… you’re one of those who only knows how to use old-fashioned devices, right? Alright, just tell me the number, and I’ll call it for you.”

“Alright.” Dr. Ferenc reluctantly handed the phone back, then quickly recited a number, “This is my home phone number.”

The man did dial it but soon frowned, “Old man, this number is inactive, it doesn’t exist anymore.”

“What?” Dr. Ferenc opened his mouth wide.