Trafford Buyers Club

Chapter 4044 I want to bring my own investment to the production team!

Fireworks exploded in the night sky, creating an extremely grand spectacle.

The entire city of Rogue was filled with the sounds of joyous whirlwinds, and people quickly forgot the tragedy that had occurred on the Purple Moon a few days earlier, throwing themselves wholeheartedly into this debauched celebration.

For ordinary people living under pirate rule, this was practically a festival.

……

"Pretty grand, huh?"

The carriage slowly drove into the official residence of the Alliance headquarters.

Today, Xi Ruo is wearing a light blue Rococo-style dress that perfectly highlights her advantages—clearly a carefully selected choice by the maid.

Clearly, the maid didn't hold Long Xiruo back on this matter of not wanting her master to lose face—it was just that Xiruo had put in a lot of effort to put it on, mainly because it was too complicated.

As she spoke, Ah Xiruo secretly glanced at Boss Luo. These past few days, she had been running around almost constantly, and sometimes she even stayed overnight at Li Huamei's place... That scoundrel of a man didn't seem to care much at all, and didn't even ask about it.

Shenzhou Zhenlong suddenly realized—How foolish!

If I stay out all night like this, isn't it practically the same as me giving in and letting that heartless woman and that deadbeat have their own private time?
Feeling that he had lost tens of billions, Shenzhou Zhenlong's face immediately darkened.

"Miss Long, don't you like this atmosphere?" Luo Qiu asked softly.

"...It's so tight." Ah Xi Ruo subconsciously tugged at the collar of her neckline. "How on earth was this thing designed?"

Unlike Ah Xiruo's light blue, the maid was dressed in all black tonight. She said calmly, "I'm sorry, since Miss Long doesn't like it, I'll prepare some looser clothes next time... those ancient Chinese styles should fit your figure very well."

A vein in his temple twitched involuntarily. The true dragon of Shenzhou felt insulted and let out a cold snort. He opened the carriage window and leaned out for some fresh air.

"You're here, Xi Ruo!"

Then a figure was seen walking quickly toward the carriage.

【Xiang Fei Hu】.

Surprisingly, Li Huamei was dressed in men's attire tonight. Her already graceful figure was further enhanced by this outfit, making her even more dashing... As Xiang Feihu, who has consistently ranked among the top female pirate goddesses in the Void Pirates, she naturally attracted countless eyes tonight.

"It really does resemble a rough diamond," Boss Luo chuckled.

Ah Xi Ruo was taken aback for a moment, and then a sense of worry began to creep into her heart—in the past few days, she had been subtly probing, and it seemed that Zhang Bolu had not yet revealed the contents of the exchange to [Xiang Fei Hu]... Could it be that Old Deng had changed his mind?
get off.

"[Luo], come with me." Li Huamei stepped forward with a smile. "I'll show you to your seats. Tonight you will be attending the highest-level banquet in headquarters, alongside the other [Pirate Kings]!"

"That old bastard Zhang Bolu is actually quite sensible?" Ah Xiruo couldn't help but frown.

Li Huamei smiled slightly and said, "Now that Luo is the captain of the Black Pearl, he is qualified to be regarded as one of the Pirate Kings."

"Why is that?" Ah Xi Ruo asked curiously.

Li Huamei said solemnly, "We only recognize the ship, not the people."

Ah Xi Ruo asked in surprise, "Is there some special story behind this ship?"

As Xiang Feihu led the group into the official residence, he explained, "Actually, the ships currently commanded by the Nine Pirate Kings weren't originally captained by them. In fact, these nine pirate ships have existed for a long time, dating back to the last divine era. Legend has it that these nine pirate ships are connected to a secret that can open the 'End of the World' route. However, over the years, no one has been able to unlock this secret."

"The end of the world...?"

Li Huamei said solemnly, "This is a legendary, undiscovered secret realm within the third node, [Glorious Ruins]. Legend has it that it contains the beacon to open the fourth node."

Ah Xi Ruo glanced at Luo Qiu subconsciously... but the dead ghost just remained calm.

She pondered for a moment and said, "Not even a single clue?"

[Xiang Feihu] nodded: "Actually, the gathering of the [Nine Pirate Kings] has happened more than once or twice over the years. Every time they gather, they always do some research, and some even suggested dismantling all nine ships, but it simply cannot be approved... No one has the ability to control all nine pirate ships at the same time, so it has been a stalemate, and no one has gained any advantage."

"So, is the purpose of this conference you've convened...?"

“It’s something else.” [Xiang Feihu] smiled mysteriously. “You’ll find out soon enough… but before you take your seats, you’ll need to sign a confidentiality agreement.”

Then Li Huamei handed over two documents, looking at Captain Luo with an apologetic expression.

Upon seeing these documents, Boss Luo's expression turned strange. "What are these documents?"

"【Holy Contract】!" 【Xiang Feihu】 said solemnly, "This is a contract we obtained from the treasury of an immortal god. It's an extremely powerful contract from the Old God Era. Originally, there should have been a whole book, but when we obtained it, less than a third of it remained. Over the years, the alliance has used some of it, and now there aren't many left. This conference is very important, and the information absolutely cannot be leaked. That's why our leader used up all the remaining ones at once."

"Blank?" Ah Xiruo couldn't help but frown.

Li Huamei smiled slightly, reached out and swept her hand across the document, revealing the text.

...Yes, Xi Ruo didn't recognize the characters, but to her surprise, although she didn't recognize each individual character, she could understand the meaning of the words when they were put together, and in great detail and clarity!

—This is… the aura of a shop?!
The dragon's eyes widened immediately.

Li Huamei said, "The Holy Covenant itself is blank, but the contents written on it must be obeyed... Currently, no one has been able to violate the constraints of the Holy Covenant, of course, the premise is that both parties must sign it."

The maid whispered in Boss Lu's ear, "Master, this looks like the contract paper from the shop..."

Boss Luo gave a nonchalant "hmm," took one of the documents, read it briefly, and then printed the character "Luo" directly on it.

Seeing that the master had signed, the maid also signed casually, and then it was little Bai Zhi's turn—she even misspelled a word because she was nervous, and then scribbled it over and over again.

Ah Xiruo raised her hand and waved it, directly imprinting a dragon pattern on it.

This is a confidentiality agreement. Attendees are not allowed to disclose any content of the meeting, or they will be killed or something similar. However, the confidentiality period has a time limit, after which it can be disclosed at will.

Therefore, it seems that even if she signed it, it wouldn't be a problem; it would just be kept secret for a period of time—Ah Xi Ruo felt that it was completely unnecessary.

However, considering that these people who need to be kept secret are all [Void Pirates], it seems there is nothing that can be done?

There are also some detailed rules.

For example, once you commit to participating in any actions related to the conference, you must follow the alliance's arrangements in all matters and must not act on your own...

These measures are clearly intended to restrain the lawless Void Pirates.

The document was in duplicate, with each party keeping a copy... Boss Luo casually handed it to the maid.

"Let's go inside."

Seeing that the group signed the agreement so smoothly, [Xiang Feihu] seemed much more relaxed at this point—probably because getting her friends to sign these agreements was quite stressful for her.

Just at this time.

"Brother! Brother!!"

Upon hearing the voice, Ah Xi Ruo knew who this guy was.

……

Leaning on his crutches, Shaq walked over in a few quick steps—his injuries were noticeably better than when he was rescued, but he still looked quite disheveled.

"What a coincidence, Brother Shaq, you're here too." Captain [Lo] smiled politely: "Your injuries seem to have healed quite a bit."

—What a load of nonsense! I've been waiting here specifically for you!
"You're so kind, brother! I've been through much worse injuries!" Shaq pounded his chest. "This body of steel won't fall so easily!"

Ah Xiruo immediately sneered, and with her mind, the wisp of [Heaven-Slaying] sword energy remaining in Shaq's body instantly exploded.

Then, the wounds on [Gold] Shaq's body, which had already closed, burst open instantly, and his whole body was covered in blood.

"Hey! Brother Shak, are you alright?" Zhenlong hurriedly asked with feigned concern, "Don't push yourself if you're not feeling well. You've almost bled to death, haven't you? Why don't you lie down somewhere cool?"

"I... ugh... a man of steel... ugh..." Shaq vomited blood uncontrollably. "It's alright!"

"Shaq, since you're injured, don't run around." Li Huamei frowned. "Go and rest."

"Wait, Lord [Xiang Feihu], wait a minute!" [Golden] Shak said, then quickly turned to [Luo]'s side, rubbed his hands together, and asked expectantly, "Brother, what do you think of your older brother?"

"Which aspect are you referring to, Brother Shak?" Boss Luo blinked.

Ah Xi Ruo felt that the dead ghost had a somewhat wicked sense of humor... It felt like he was teasing a dog named Shaq.

[Gold] Shak pulled [Lo] away a little and whispered, "Brother, you know I'm the most promising [Great Pirate] to be promoted to [Legendary Pirate]... I just need to meet the condition of defeating a [Legendary Pirate].

Captain Luo smiled slightly and said, "Brother Shak, please speak frankly about what's on your mind."

“Then I’ll get straight to the point.” [Gold] Shaq said seriously, “Brother, could you take me in? I also want to experience the atmosphere of the [Legendary Pirate] Conference… consider it a preview. Actually, in principle, I’m qualified to step in, but they just won’t let me in! Isn’t that bullying?”

“I see…” Captain Luo pondered, as if weighing the options.

[Gold] Shaq decided to drop the pretense. "Brother, if you find it difficult, we can do this... I can temporarily join the [Black Pearl] and become your crew. That way, no one can say anything! After I've experienced it all, you can kick me off the [Black Pearl]... Tonight, is that alright?"

"So what's in it for us?" Shenzhou's True Dragon suddenly interjected, "Brother Shak, there's no such thing as a free lunch, you should understand that principle, right? You can't just take advantage of me just because my... my partner is easy to talk to, can you?"

"How could that be?" [Gold] Shaq immediately said, "How could it be taking advantage of me? Sister-in-law, whatever you say, I'm really heartbroken... I didn't finish my sentence!"

"Oh, then you can continue." Ah Xiruo shrugged.

[Gold] Shaq gritted his teeth and said seriously, "Brother, help me out! I'm willing to join the team with my own money! This is my savings from the past few years, just to buy a crew position on your [Black Pearl]. Once this is over, I won't make things difficult for you, and you can get out of here!"

Shaq then resolutely handed over a crystal card.

The maid glanced at it casually—[Void Bank], Silver-level user.

Captain Luo suddenly glanced at Xiang Feihu and asked, "Hua Mei, is this in accordance with the rules?"

[Xiang Feihu] frowned and said, "It's not forbidden among pirates, and recruiting other pirates is commonplace... But [Luo], are you really going to take in [Golden] Shak? Should we reconsider?"

“Why not?” Captain [Lo] chuckled. “After all, Brother Shak also paid real money for his ticket to board the ship, so I didn’t lose out.”

"Brother, you really are my half-brother!" [Gold] Shaq was overjoyed. "No, Captain! From now on, you are my captain!"

Captain Luo smiled without saying a word.

[Xiang Feihu] said calmly, "In that case, Shaq, come here and swear to this statue with your soul that you will never reveal any details of the tournament."

She took out a wooden statue directly.

[Gold] Shak gasped, "Could this be the Oath Puppet made by the [Cursed King]?!"

"You do have some sense," Li Huamei said calmly, tossing the statue directly to him. "Swear an oath quickly, or you'll stay outside."

[Gold] Shaq was quite decisive, and without saying a word, he solemnly made a vow to himself... and the vow was quite vicious.

Ah Xiruo pulled [Xiang Feihu] aside and asked in surprise, "Why didn't you let him sign those kinds of documents too?"

[Xiang Feihu] shook his head and said, "The stock of [Holy Contract] is not much, so let's save it where we can... The Oath Puppet of [King of Curses] is enough to restrict him."

Ah Xiruo nodded, understanding—Shaq wasn't qualified to let the Alliance headquarters use the [Holy Contract].

……

As the saying goes, if you want to make a fortune, you have to start by creating a breeding ground!
Using his savings from all these years to buy a crew position on the Black Pearl, Golden Shaq has been thinking this through carefully these past few days!

He had a premonition that participating in this conference would be very rewarding... and perhaps even the opportunity for him to advance to become a [Legendary Pirate]!

At the same time, he will then have a legitimate reason to stay by [Brother Xian]'s side and have plenty of opportunities to continue to extract [Brother Xian]'s gold coins!

"Make way! Make way! If you're just a rising star, don't block the way!"

A shout rang out.

Not far away, a group of men dressed in black were seen quickly clearing the area, driving away pirates on the perimeter... perhaps like Brother Shaq, who were looking for an opportunity.

After the group of people dressed in black led the way, a man dressed in dark black clothing, with a mustache and a serious expression, strode in with a sword at his waist, exuding a powerful aura.

"Who is this? He's got quite the air about him." Ah Xiruo clicked her tongue in amazement.

[Xiang Feihu] said, "[Armand], one of the [Nine Great Pirate Kings]...and also the pirate crew with the most subordinates among the current [Void Pirates]. This guy replied earlier that he would attend this conference, but he was late. I didn't expect him to come at this time."

[Gold] Shaq added, "[Brother], you must be careful of [Armand]. Unlike ordinary [Void Pirates], this guy runs his pirate crew like an army, relying on sheer numbers..."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Shak," Captain [Lo] said with a smile.

"Not at all, my dear brother is my captain now!" Brother Shaq said, offering a fawning remark. "As your older brother, it's my duty to remind you of what you should be careful about!"

Just then, one of the "Nine Pirate Kings" walked straight towards them.

Or rather, he walked directly toward [Xiang Feihu].