PS1: Thanks to reader "Reader160602191852717" for the reward. It was also the first reward this book has received. =.=
PS2: I'm also asking for more favorites. Although this is only the second chapter... Still, please support this little seedling—and me, the newcomer watering it... Haha~
￥￥￥￥The Main Text Begins￥￥￥￥￥￥
"Trafford Buyers Club transaction procedure, rule three: Buyers may only be guided. Forced sales are not permitted..."
Upon reading this, Luo Qiu set down the 'Owner's Handbook' he had been holding and wondered with interest: If that's really the case, then am I, the person reading this handbook, a victim of an illegal operation?
"Master, your lunch."
A bowl of borscht filled with an enticing aroma was set before him. You Ye even thoughtfully arranged the utensils Luo Qiu needed before standing at the side and waiting for his orders.
You Ye was the Maid of this club.
Luo Qiu had been mistaken about one thing: her age was not close to his at all. She was incredibly ancient.
Moreover, You Ye was not human. She was a doll created through alchemy from special materials.
The reason she looked almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person, aside from the alchemist's superb skill, was most importantly that a living soul was sealed inside her body.
This was no joke. Luo Qiu had personally seen You Ye remove her own head and left arm, then naturally reattach them in front of him.
According to You Ye, she had been created by an alchemist to pay the transaction price for some item. She had then become a Maid and had served at the club for more than three hundred years.
When he came to his senses, the previous owner had already vanished. However, he had carefully left behind a letter explaining some matters Luo Qiu ought to know.
As the person who had completed the transaction, Luo Qiu would henceforth possess the power to rule the Trafford Buyers Club. At the same time, however, he would be imprisoned here forever.
There was only one way to escape this place: someone had to be willing to trade eternal freedom.
The letter then instructed him to consult the handbook if there was anything else he did not understand.
Luo Qiu himself was fairly calm. After reading the letter, he immediately tried opening the club's door and walking outside. Without encountering the slightest obstruction, he rushed right out of the club...
The so-called imprisonment did not refer to physical confinement, but to shackles on the soul.
"So, in order to keep me from dying, I have to offer a sacrifice to the 'club' at regular intervals?"
Luo Qiu humbly asked about several issues in the handbook.
Although You Ye was also the club's property and now belonged to Luo Qiu, for some reason, he always felt unnatural when facing this doll.
"Yes." You Ye nodded, dutifully fulfilling her responsibilities as a Maid. "The length of time you can enjoy will be determined by the quality of the sacrifice you offer, Master."
"Looks like I'm healthy and pain-free, so this life of mine really will be long." Luo Qiu joked at his own expense.
Upon hearing this, You Ye suddenly left. Not long afterward, she returned carrying an hourglass.
She placed the hourglass before Luo Qiu. "This is the time remaining to you, Master. When all the sand in the hourglass has fallen, your life will end."
No matter how cold-blooded a person was, seeing this would cause some panic—but panic would do no good. Luo Qiu quickly calmed himself. "How much time is left before all the sand falls?"
"Thirty days."
"..."
Luo Qiu felt that things were not as wonderful as he had imagined. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and said, "In other words, if I can't bring in any customers, I'll end up dead?"
"Those who need something will come in on their own; there is no need to recruit them. The fact that you were able to come here is already the best proof." You Ye spoke softly. "In addition, the previous owner of the club used some methods to distribute some vouchers outside. Those holding vouchers can naturally come here as well."
"So all I have to do is patiently wait for people to come knocking, right?"
"Yes. You generally won't die."
You generally won't die...
All right...
Just as the previous owner had said in his letter, Luo Qiu would be eternally "imprisoned" here. But in exchange, he had also obtained everything belonging to the club.
I'm going on a spontaneous trip with my classmates. Don't worry.
"All right, the text message has been sent... Thank goodness the phone still works." Luo Qiu muttered to himself. "It's not enough to keep you from worrying, but at least it shouldn't scare you into calling the police... With an excuse like this, I'd better turn off my phone, right? For now, this will do..."
Luo Qiu made up his mind to stay away from home for the next couple of days and first figure out his actual situation.
As for university... Missing class for a day or two probably wouldn't matter.
Once he had a plan for the time being, Luo Qiu perked up.
Since the previous owner could have him replace him, then, putting it simply, he should also be able to use the same method to have someone else replace him... Or perhaps there was a method not yet discovered that would let him escape the club's restrictions without trading away ownership?
Thinking this, Luo Qiu felt that he could probably be considered greedy.
But on closer consideration, after experiencing something so bizarre, it would be unreasonable if he had no ulterior thoughts at all.
Then he would patiently wait for the first transaction to arrive.
When it came to patience, Luo Qiu still had some confidence in himself.
Perhaps because he naturally preferred solitude, he could even sit in a park and stare blankly for an entire afternoon. Unlike ordinary people, he would not play with his phone or hold a translated book in his hands.
Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it.
There were not many pages in the handbook that needed reading, and Luo Qiu quickly finished it.
He then began carefully observing the club.
In fact, the club's interior was far more spacious than it appeared from outside, with three floors aboveground and three belowground. But from outside, one could only see the club's storefront.
Moreover, according to You Ye, only certain people could see it. Those who could not would merely see this place as it originally appeared—as the shop that had stood here before.
This was probably another one of the club's marvels. Luo Qiu did not find it strange at all... After all, he had personally witnessed the horrifying scene of You Ye removing her head and arm before putting them back together.
...The club's three upper floors consisted of the storefront on the first floor, the living room and bedrooms on the second and third floors, and facilities such as a kitchen and bathroom.
The three lower floors were as follows: the first basement level was a storeroom for ordinary trade goods; the second basement level was also a storeroom, but for precious trade goods; and the third basement level was used for sacrifices... a bizarre altar.
Luo Qiu circled the altar on the third basement level, then felt a chill run down his spine. Without thinking further, he returned to the storefront on the first floor.
The altar on the third basement level was simply too strange. The moment he approached it, he felt an aversion as though he were being watched from every direction, with no blind spots.
After leaving the third basement level, Luo Qiu calmed himself and began recalling what had happened at the time.
Under normal circumstances, the possibility of him saying those words was practically zero.
"As expected, I got screwed."
He was not quite sighing, nor was he angry. Habit was a terrifying thing.
"Master, did you just say something?" You Ye, who was sweeping the storefront, suddenly turned around and asked in puzzlement.
"Nothing." Luo Qiu smiled and let the Maid continue her work.
He himself began to reassess You Ye.
He did not know whom the alchemist who created her had used as a model. You Ye gave the impression of being a tall and graceful mixed-race woman of Eastern and Western heritage.
Of course, Luo Qiu had never considered denying that she had a great figure... But she was a doll, really a doll, a doll.
Yet a living soul had been sealed inside her... So who exactly was that soul? Why had it been sealed inside You Ye's body?
The interesting questions seemed to be multiplying. As he thought, Luo Qiu began to space out habitually again.
Jingle—!
It was the sound of the bell hanging at the entrance. Whenever someone entered, the bell would ring.
The bell startled Luo Qiu awake. He looked toward the entrance and saw a middle-aged man with a haggard face.
"Excuse me... Is this the Trafford Buyers Club? Can you really buy anything you want here?" The middle-aged man spoke with hopeful yet doubtful anticipation.
Luo Qiu also saw a black card in the middle-aged man's hand.
This was probably the so-called voucher You Ye had mentioned, the kind that had been distributed outside.
Before you continue