Trafford’s Trading Club

Chapter 1259: Chapter 100: The Dim Life Lamp

Late at night, just before dawn, inside a private medical facility under Auston Pharmaceuticals.

‘Tang Tianlin’ was sitting in a meticulously arranged office… Appearing as ‘Tang Tianlin’ allowed him many conveniences.

But ultimately, it was due to Mr. Haus delegating responsibilities to the real Tang Tianlin—Mr. Haus, being an old man with one foot in the grave, naturally didn’t have much energy to manage his assets.

Haus had no descendants and no trusted people around him. But he valued Tang Tianlin, because in a way, Tang Tianlin was a replica of Mr. Haus.

His feelings towards Tang Tianlin were naturally different from those towards outsiders—for someone who would eventually serve as a backup organ donor, he had no reason not to treat well.

Tang Tianlin even had the same authority as Haus himself over the group’s financial operations… One could say that without Haus’s direct objection, Tang Tianlin could fully utilize all resources within the group—of course, this did not include Haus’s personal assets.

Unfortunately, the real Tang Tianlin never knew about this—he was still basking in the beautiful dream of being a senior manager in Auston Pharmaceuticals’ commercial empire, holding great power.

Haus observed silently and allowed Tang Tianlin to grow—simply because Haus possessed the capability to directly control Tang Tianlin.

Just like he could awaken Tang Tianlin’s true memories through specific codes, Mr. Haus also controlled that set of codes—it’s just that until now, Mr. Haus never had the chance to use them.

And naturally, he would not give Haus this opportunity.

A few hours earlier, after contacting the real Tang Tianlin at the Auston Pharmaceuticals factory and awakening his primary personality with codes to obtain Mr. Haus’s intelligence, he rushed non-stop to the hospital and instructed his men to prepare certain things.

“Assistant Tang, everything has been prepared as per your instructions.”

At this moment, a young man of about the same age as Tang Tianlin walked in quickly—Tang Tianlin, being Mr. Haus’s personal assistant, was the only one, but he himself had four private assistants, which could be considered his loyal subordinates.

“Then let’s begin.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ nodded at this moment.

During the time he was pursued and went missing at sea, he almost entirely dedicated himself to mimicking and learning everything about Tang Tianlin—this was not difficult as whether it was Tang Tianlin’s physical characteristics or his personality, he was involved in creating it… Only the cosmetic surgery required a recovery period.

He had always been looking for an opportunity.

Last time at the private club, when Tang Tianlin appeared alone, it was an excellent opportunity.

“Is there anything else.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ looked at his assistant, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating, and looked on indifferently.

“Mr. Tang…” This assistant had been with Tang Tianlin for quite some time, and could more or less guess Tang Tianlin’s ambition for the entire Auston Pharmaceuticals. Now thinking about what ‘Tang Tianlin’ was planning to do, he was still a bit hesitant, “Mr. Haus, he…”

‘Tang Tianlin’ said, “You don’t need to worry about other things, just do as I say… Without Haus, do you think I can’t manage Auston Pharmaceuticals?”

The assistant sweated nervously, thinking: has this person finally decided to act—to swallow up Auston Pharmaceuticals.

But in the business world, such incidents were numerous. Moreover, Mr. Haus was someone without heirs. Was he truly supposed to wait until after his death, his assets would have no one to inherit them, in the end being seized by unknown parties?

When it’s time to plan, naturally, one has to plan…

In fact, Mr. Haus gave Mr. Tang too much power before… The assistant sighed inwardly, thinking Auston Pharmaceuticals might soon change hands.

…

On the hospital bed, only the sound of the instrument was heard… Haus slowly opened his eyes.

Weak and powerless, even just maintaining consciousness seemed to put extreme stress on the heart… Haus was extremely resentful—that person was not Jimmy, despite looking identical, he was not Jimmy!

Jimmy would not have such an expression… that was Qin Zheng’s gaze.

When did Qin Zheng replace Jimmy and lurk beside him… Did it start after going missing at sea a few months ago?

Ever since Mr. Haus was admitted to the hospital, he’s been in a dazed state, it’s been extremely difficult to maintain consciousness.

Every time he woke up, it didn’t even last ten minutes, he was sure it was orchestrated by Qin Zheng… He orchestrated the doctors to administer controlling drugs on him.

This was his revenge… Once conscious, Haus felt an increasing fear—but he did not want to sit and wait for death.

It should be almost dawn… in the isolation room, he’s alone. Outside in the observation room, there was only one nurse, but she fell asleep at the table.

He used to always have several doctors and nurses monitoring him, always attentive to his physical condition… Now, without a single trusted person by his side, trapped in this cold isolation room, a feeling of desolation welled up.

“I will not give up like this…”

The hope for life almost gave him the strength of a last burst… Mr. Haus strained to prop himself up, removed the needles from his body, and detached the oxygen cylinder.

He wanted to escape this place… Auston Pharmaceuticals was still his, even if Jimmy had as much authority, as long as he showed up, he could naturally regain control!

He moved very slowly, having to stop and rest almost every step, gasping for breath… Even the oxygen supplied by the cylinder wasn’t enough to support his current body.

Haus cautiously pushed the door open a crack… outside, a bodyguard was standing, and Haus dared not make a sound, for he didn’t know if this bodyguard had already betrayed them, stationed there to monitor—or even the whole hospital.

He couldn’t be sure how long Qin Zheng had been impersonating Jimmy, how many people have completely become his—to say it was a precarious situation was an understatement.

Mr. Haus observed nervously, fearing detection, also fearing the lazy sleeping nurse would suddenly wake up… this was his only chance.

It seemed, the goddess of fortune hadn’t completely screamed at him… the bodyguard outside the door suddenly took out his phone and then walked away!

Mr. Haus hesitated not even for a moment, I fled out into the hallway in a hospital gown and bare feet… But he didn’t make it too far, his body simply couldn’t handle it.

But he found a place to hide, a doctor’s office!

The phone!

Great!

He almost wanted to shout for joy!

Mr. Haus flung himself onto the desk, trembling hands picked up the landline phone… Auston Pharmaceuticals didn’t have any trustworthy person, even if there was, Mr. Haus wasn’t sure whether the person had defected.

Mid-level employees? Sorry, he truly didn’t know the contacts of these mid-level employees… the butler of the house… could they have also been bought by Qin Zheng?

Call the police!

Mr. Haus quickly dialed the number.

“Hello, this is XXX police station, how can I help you?”

“I… I am Mr. Haus… I, I am the chairman of Auston Group… I… I have been imprisoned, please… please come to save me… hurry…”

“You say you’re the chairman of the Auston Group? I’m the King of Heaven… I’m warning you, it’s very serious to mess with Sir!”

“Hello… hello, hello… I really am… SHIT!” Mr. Haus gritted his teeth, dialed again.

But to his unspeakable sorrow, no matter what he said, the other side didn’t believe him… It’s too abnormal! Even if it were a pig, with him calling repeatedly, wouldn’t they realize something was wrong?

But just at this moment, rapid footsteps seemed to be coming from the corridor outside, “He shouldn’t have gone far! Search, check each room thoroughly! Assistant Tang said, if we find him, there’s a million-dollar reward!”

Mr. Haus listened with anxiety; he didn’t know when the people outside would break into this room, maybe the next moment… He gritted his teeth, having made a resolute decision in his heart.

This might be his only chance…

He picked up the phone again, this time dialing an international long-distance number.

It felt like a long wait… Mr. Haus was already sweating profusely, but fortunately, the call did connect.

A low, magnetic voice belonging to a young man sounded, and Mr. Haus felt as though he was hearing a gospel.

“You better say a name I recognize in the next ten seconds and explain how you have my private number.”

“Oh… dear Wally, my old friend, you surely won’t forget me… I’m Haus!!”

“Haus? Which Haus?”

“Auston Pharmaceuticals… dear friend, you must not forget me!”

“Got it… Auston, my old friend, have you finally come around?”

Mr. Haus gritted his teeth and said: “Wally, my subordinates… betrayed me, they’ve placed me under house arrest… they want to take everything from me, you must help me! Help… help me!”

“Oh, old friend, your situation indeed doesn’t seem good. But my conditions from before remain unchanged… old friend, I hope you can earn my friendship.”

Mr. Haus hurriedly said: “Wally, I am willing to contribute all my wealth to your family, become your servant…”

“Hey buddy, our wealth is enough to last us into the next century, your wealth is truly dispensable to us. You’re in Hua Country now, right? That’s a forbidden zone for us; the risk isn’t worth your wealth… Of course, you can come out.”

“If I could get out, I wouldn’t even…” Mr. Haus originally wanted to curse but didn’t dare, “Wally, I’m clear on what you want… I can give it to you! But first, you must rescue me and… and cure me!”

“Good friend, you’ve really thought it through. I’ve waited a long time for you to say this… sixty years or seventy? Believe me, you will find your decision to be wise. Haus, haven’t you told me where you hid the stuff?”

“You must promise me… only after I recover will I give it to you!”

“That’s not difficult. Although we can’t personally enter Hua Country, we have far too many servants… In at most two days, you’ll experience free air again.”

When the call was disconnected, Mr. Haus collapsed to the ground as if relieved… Two days, just wait two more days!

Bam—!

The office door was suddenly kicked open, and two men entered, turning on the lights. Seeing Mr. Haus collapsed on the ground, they quickly relayed through the intercom, “Reporting, we found him!”

As they spoke, they approached Haus, roughly pulling him up.

“You… let me go… let me go… do you know who I am!! I am Haus… I am your boss… I am… let me go!! Let… go…”

These two didn’t listen at all, dragging Mr. Haus back to the monitoring room, pinning him onto a hospital bed, while a doctor walked over, syringe in hand.

“You… you’ll regret this… you…!!!”

Amidst his shouting, Mr. Haus’s eyelids slowly closed…

…

‘Tang Tianlin’ slowly removed the headphones.

Watching the surveillance screen, seeing Haus struggle on the hospital bed before gradually falling asleep, his gaze was indifferent.

He had no intention of interrogating Haus; the old man wouldn’t cooperate or yield, but he wouldn’t despair either — so giving him a little hope would suffice.

“Within two days.” ‘Tang Tianlin’ couldn’t help but ponder: “Who are they… it doesn’t seem like the same group that took my teacher back then…”

…

…

On the Chessboard.

The black queen captured the white pawn in front… After reaching this point, Luo Qiu conceded cheerfully.

Ever since he was allowed to freely close and open trade triggers, Boss Luo happily entered a ‘rest’ mode after his trip to South America.

Before leaving, he didn’t plan to attract any more customers… at least not before going abroad.

After all, with only a few days left, he might as well rest and recharge.

His life could become longer than long itself, and from the start, he never intended to become a machine that only completes transactions.

It’s like not opening your shop often but piling up sales for three years when it does open.

Playing Western chess was just a way to relax in his leisure time — mainly because You Ye was busy creating a new area for the ‘Main God’ game recently. Boss Luo thought combining work and rest was better than just working hard, so he pulled OL You Ye to accompany him in playing chess to spend an evening.

This was already the fifth game.

“It feels so frustrating, losing five games in a row.” Luo Qiu smiled.

He felt that since his life was taken care of so meticulously, he should move his brain a bit more, otherwise it might rust… but who cares.

Without cheating, Boss Luo was easily outsmarted by the maid’s intelligence.

“Master, I’ll remove the queen in this game.” The maid said softly as she reached to rearrange the chessboard.

But just then, a faint glow appeared on the floor beside them, and a large black cabinet — the club’s Covenant Chest — slowly emerged.

The door of the Covenant Chest swung open suddenly.

A light inside the chest flickered briefly.

Luo Qiu glanced over in surprise — there were only a few he recognized inside — because those were the lamps of the Black Souls he had transformed himself.

The rest were left by the previous owner, later unified under You Ye’s management.

This lamp was originally bright — representing an active, not on holiday or sleeping, Black Soul.

“This is… Master No.9’s lamp.” The maid frowned slightly.

The light, which should have been bright, was now very faint — dimness indicating the Black Soul was in a weakened, possibly ‘dying’ state.