Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 979: Chapter 23: Abyss of Despair

“Paul, what do you want to eat tonight?” his mother asked.

But the child being asked had already walked over to the shop window on the street, pressing his entire body against the glass, completely captivated by the items inside.

It was a rather exquisite box.

His mother looked up at the shop’s name; it turned out to be a boutique, and the box in the window was indeed made with meticulous craftsmanship. She couldn’t help but take another look.

“Pa…Pa…Do…” the child was trying to read the name engraved on the pedestal at the base of the box—this decorative box’s name.

“Pandora.” At this, his mother bent down, resting against her child’s back, and smiled, “Pandora—Pandora’s box, Paul.”

“Pandora’s box?” The boy named Paul curiously tilted his head back, just happening to see his mother’s chin.

His mother, in a solemn tone, said, “Pandora’s box is a very dangerous box, filled with countless disasters and misfortunes. Once opened, not only will you be hurt, but others too!”

The child slightly opened his mouth, then lowered his head again for another look at the box in the window, no longer as interested as he initially was—and soon, his curiosity was drawn elsewhere.

Across the street, a street performer was attracting attention.

“Mom! Look at that!” The child pointed at the performer who was floating in the air with just a cane in his hand, his eyes lighting up, and he quickly ran over.

“Be careful! Paul, don’t run across the street!” his mother helplessly shook her head—but of course, the reason she didn’t immediately run over was that she checked both directions of the street and saw that no vehicles were coming; they were mostly parked, “I’ve told you so many times to use the crosswalk, you troublesome child!”

Nevertheless, the child had already safely reached the performer demonstrating the ‘levitation’, joining the crowd of onlookers.

The mother smiled, truly a curious child.

She planned to go over too but glanced back at the box in the shop window after she moved away, “Pandora’s box… so expensive, thank goodness.”

She eyed the price below the box and was glad the child hadn’t insisted on wanting it.

However, just as she turned back to look at her child, she was stunned on the spot.

A loud crash came from the front, and the child who had crossed the street safely was now being crushed under a giant billboard—not just him, but also the performing street artist and several spectators.

She slightly opened her mouth, and the shopping basket she held fell to the ground.

She then ran frantically across the street, tears not yet escaping her eyes, but at this moment, a car sped by on the small road.

The mother was brutally hit and sent flying.

Her final gaze rested on that box in the shop window, unable to feel the sadness and pain, she just instinctively thought: What an ominous box.

The hurriedly disembarking driver rushed over, but by the time he reached the spot where the woman he hit was supposed to be, she had strangely disappeared.

…

…

Her body had completely tipped over the edge of the steel platform, facing the abyss under it, the so-called dimensional rift—Qiao An in the hoodie.

Ultimately causing all this, there stood the disoriented Qiao An in white, who had clung to Paul.

The Qiao An in red was still desperately clinging to the edge of the steel platform—though her fingers were already severely injured, she was still barely holding on.

Qiao An in the hoodie couldn’t change the outcome of being pushed from the steel platform; she could only look back hurriedly… seeing the white-clad Qiao An who attacked her from behind.

The white-clad Qiao An’s face was full of panic, even both hands were trembling—but with this push, she gained an absolute advantage.

“No one can separate me from Paul, no one can separate me from Paul, no one… no one!!”

“Indeed, you are just like me.”

Qiao An in the hoodie sneered coldly, her look towards Qiao An in white contained a strange recognition.

Finally, the body of Qiao An in the hoodie plummeted downwards.

Perhaps, with this, one was formally eliminated… but Qiao An in red was also in a perilous situation, and Qiao An in white had basically secured her victory.

But in that instant, Qiao An in red only felt her body suddenly become extremely heavy, as if her fingers gripping the edge of the steel platform were about to break!

Qiao An in red cried out in pain, looking down in horror—only to find Qiao An in the hoodie!

She hadn’t completely fallen into the abyss below but had grabbed onto Qiao An in red’s ankle… her body was dangling in midair, and every swing burdened Qiao An in red greatly.

“Let go of me! Let go!!”

What horrified Qiao An in red even more was that Qiao An in the hoodie seemed like a Devil climbing out of Hell, fiercely pulling herself up once she grabbed the legs!

Qiao An in the hoodie climbed up with her hands gripping tightly onto Qiao An in red’s legs, inching upwards!

“Let go!! Let go!!”

In panic, Qiao An in red frantically kicked at Qiao An in the hoodie’s head!

But no matter how hard she kicked, no matter how much damage she inflicted on Qiao An in the hoodie’s face, the grip on Qiao An in red’s legs did not slacken at all!

She kicked out a few of her teeth, her expression terrified as she opened her mouth. She bent her nose, but Qiao An in the hoodie continued to stare intently, her persistence terrifying.

“I must be the last one standing! Everything belongs to me!!” Qiao An in the hoodie roared angrily, clutching Qiao An in red’s clothes tightly.

“Please, let me go…” Qiao An in red had no choice but to plead.

But at this moment, Qiao An in the hoodie’s face shifted—a subtle change that made Qiao An in red instinctively look up.

Before them stood a figure, unmistakably the white-clad Qiao An who had fallen with them off the steel platform—it was impossible to forget the presence of the white-clad Qiao An as it was she who had just pushed Qiao An in the hoodie down.

Now, both the red and hoodie Qiao An were at an absolute disadvantage… at this moment, if the white-clad Qiao An were to pry open Qiao An in red’s hand from the edge, both the red and hoodie Qiao An would plunge into the abyss.

But the white one… she would become the victor of this survival struggle!

“I… I just want to be happy with Paul…” The white-clad Qiao An’s eyes narrowed, her voice trembling, but her demeanor was cold.

Compared to the insane Qiao An in the hoodie, the calm of the white-clad Qiao An frightened Qiao An in red even more!

“No… don’t!” Qiao An in red hurriedly said, “You’re not like them… you’re not! You’re not like this, right?”

The white-clad Qiao An seemed not to hear, slowly lifting her leg!

This moment, both Qiao An in the hoodie and Qiao An in red widened their eyes—for the white-clad Qiao An’s lifted leg suddenly stomped downwards!

Bang—!!

The shoe struck heavily at the edge of the steel platform!

At that moment, Hoodie Qiao An grabbed Red-dressed Qiao An’s hands tightly but felt like she couldn’t grasp anything. Her body suddenly lost all support as Red-dressed Qiao An disappeared, then reappeared in an instant. However, due to this instant, Hoodie Qiao An was already falling into the abyss below!

In the rapid fall, Hoodie Qiao An stared upwards desperately… at this moment, her gaze collided with Red-dressed Qiao An’s!

She saw that a cold smile suddenly appeared on Red-dressed Qiao An’s face.

“So you are also…” Hoodie Qiao An suddenly burst into laughter, “You too! You too!! So you are also! Hahaha!!! You are too!! Hahaha!!!”

Her hysterical laughter, at this moment accompanied her descent, gradually fading away — ultimately, the dark abyss completely devoured her.

Three… left with two.

…

…

“Just now, did the one in the red dress disappear and then reappear in an instant?”

Song Haoran didn’t know when he was able to speak again — maybe because neither he nor Song Ying mentioned or asked Luo Qiu and A Lai Ye about their origins, granting them some kind of pardon.

“Just now… really?” Song Ying looked puzzled.

“It did happen.” Luo Qiu looked over, calmly said: “She indeed disappeared and reappeared for an instant. It should be similar to what you encountered with Hoodie Qiao An earlier; through switching back and forth between reality and Mirror World, achieving a seeming teleportation effect.”

Song Haoran paused, frowned, “No, she’s not the original… I see now!”

“You understand what?” Song Ying suddenly raised her head.

Song Haoran looked towards the steel platform, slowly said: “Everyone outside who knows Qiao An probably has been replaced already, right? Otherwise, it can’t explain how the original world’s Qiao An knows the skill to switch back and forth between reality and imagery.”

“Could it be, when we saw Qiao An in the security room, she was already…” Song Ying opened her mouth in shock. “But… but if she switched back and forth, then when she switches to reality, she should be at her original position. Her body should be falling down, right? How did she manage… to stay in the same place after switching back to the Mirror World?”

Song Haoran calmly said: “This might be an illusion. When she was ready to switch, she forcibly bent her arms, elevating her body. When she switched to the real world, her hands were freed and could extend simultaneously. This way, her arms could reach much further…”

Saying so, Song Haoran pointed at the steel platform, “Look closely, the one in red not only grabbed the edge of the platform, but also held the ankle of White-dressed Qiao An… this might be the best proof.”

“You can even do that…” Song Ying stared in disbelief, subconsciously looking at Luo Qiu… deep down, she always felt Luo Qiu could provide an answer.

“It’s sort of like that.” Luo Qiu nodded.

At this moment, A Lai Ye’s eyes also settled on Song Haoran, suddenly said: [Excellent individual.]

“Thank you for the compliment.” Song Haoran looked at A Lai Ye, resisted his heart’s frantic beating, maintaining composure.

And A Lai Ye, after this, didn’t continue observing Song Haoran, instead slowly said: [Calculation: Remaining time is one hundred and five seconds.]

“Enough!!”

As if to demonstrate to A Lai Ye, Red-dressed Qiao An suddenly tugged at White-dressed Qiao An’s ankle, pulling her down from the platform!

White-dressed Qiao An apparently didn’t have Hoodie Qiao An’s madness and adaptability — she fell directly into the abyss below the steel platform.

“Paul——!!!”

As she fell, she loudly called out something, her fingers frantically grasping in the air — the dimensional gap also devoured her.

Three… left with one.

Finally, after Hoodie Qiao An and White-dressed Qiao An fell into the abyss, Red-dressed Qiao An struggled to climb back onto the steel platform.

She just lay her whole body on the platform, panting heavily… Then, Red-dressed Qiao An slowly stood up, looking down — at A Lai Ye.

She smiled, then shouted, “I won!”

“So… so you knew everything from the start, but pretended to be innocent.” Song Ying took a deep breath, “In the security room, did you already know?”

Red-dressed Qiao An conveniently smiled, then shook her head: “No, at that time I was unaware. Not until you brought the child did I realize what happened… In this time-space, another guy jumped over. I thought that way back then, but never expected not just one jumped over, but two.”

“You fooled all of us…” Song Ying chuckled helplessly.

“In the time-space I was originally in, I was an actress.” Red-dressed Qiao An sneered: “And a more outstanding actress than the Qiao An in this time-space. Is my acting that good? Or are you all too gullible?”

“Damn… what an annoying face.” Song Ying gritted her teeth.

At this point, Luo Qiu looked at Red-dressed Qiao An, suddenly asked: “Can you tell me something? When I found you, you should’ve been without the ring, how did you manage to freely switch?”

“Ring?” Red-dressed Qiao An smiled, then ripped open her shirt buttons, revealed half of her chest, “Such precious items, is it really okay to wear them casually? I sewed it inside here long ago.”

She pressed her finger against the soft spot on her chest.

“I see.” Luo Qiu nodded… if it was a woman’s private area like that, he wouldn’t actively check it.

“But really, thank you so much.”

Red-dressed Qiao An faintly smiled: “It was really close, I thought I’d be eliminated at the start by that crazy guy. I truly thought I was going to die… So grateful you saved me and restored me so well, otherwise, I wouldn’t have lasted till now! You look good too, when I return, be my boyfriend, will you? I’m really good at taking care of people!”

“Disgusting!” Song Ying couldn’t help mumbling, quickly looked at Luo Qiu, afraid he’d agree.

But Luo Qiu suddenly frowned, pondering something.

“I’ve won already! Isn’t it time to let me down?” Red-dressed Qiao An shouted again: “I’ve joined other survival challenges, in other time-spaces! I know the rules, quickly let me down, away from this hellhole! You emotionless entity!”

[Rejection: The survival challenge hasn’t ended, unstable factors still exist. Reminder: Sixty seconds remaining.]

A Lai Ye’s voice, still emotionless as ever.

“What a joke! They’ve both fallen! Only I am left here…” Suddenly, Red-dressed Qiao An seemed to recall something, immediately looked towards a place on the platform!

There, Paul stood pale and bewildered, unsure what to do. Seeing Red-dressed Qiao An looking at him, he even subconsciously retreated slightly.

“Him?” Red-dressed Qiao An widened her eyes instantly, her expression changed greatly: “Could it be…”

“There’s something you might have misunderstood, unknown time-space’s Miss Joanne.”

Luo Qiu calmly said: “I saved you not because I felt you needed to survive, but simply to give the little life coming into the world within you a chance.”

“What do you mean?” Song Ying was stunned.

Luo Qiu sighed, “She’s already pregnant.”

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PS: Continuing to write… No waiting for the next chapter, you can read it tomorrow.