The Devil’s Cage

Mr. Big came back to the room after a full five hours. Despite the time, Kieran was still in awe of Mr. Big’s efficiency. According to Kieran’s calculations, if Mr. Big had managed to get the information by the next morning, it would have already been a cause for celebration.

Kieran knew how hard it would be to find a vehicle on a busy road, and even though he had narrowed down the list, without Mr. Big’s speciality, it would have taken him at least a week to locate the car, if he even managed to locate it at all.

”As expected, the advantages of big numbers are always incredible!” Kieran thought in awe as he looked at Mr. Big.

”We found at least thirty vehicles that appeared around the area during the beast attacks and match the tire tracks that you gave us... However, after some selective investigation…”

Mr. Big’s manner became strange as he spoke. Without elaborating any further, he passed Kieran the file.

As Kieran flipped open the thick file Mr. Big had handed him, he quickly understood why Mr. Big looked perplexed about his findings. It was a picture taken from a surveillance camera. It was a little blurry and it had been taken during the night, which made the person even harder to recognize. Despite all these factors though, Kieran could still make out the person in the picture.

It was Paul, both arms intact, driving a black sealed cargo van.

Kieran went through the file and found four more similar pictures. Because of the camera angle, the full face of the subject had not been captured, but based on the features of his face, Kieran was sure that it was Paul in all the pictures.

The tamer was Paul? The answer shocked Kieran, but this new discovery solidified his speculations. However, Kieran could not connect these findings with what he had at the moment. He still needed more information to confirm his theory.

”Is there anyone close to Paul that’s related to Sphendix?” he asked, anticipating Mr. Big’s answer.

Before this new discovery, Mr. Big had been dead sure that Paul and Sphendix had not been related, but Paul’s reappearance had proved him wrong.

Either there was something Mr. Big had not discovered, or he had been looking in the wrong place.

This new discovery was a big slap in his face, but considering Mr. Big’s character, he must have already ordered another in-depth search on Paul. As Kieran had expected, Mr. Big’s answer was very informative.

”Paul is definitely not related to Sphendix, but the director of the orphanage he grew up in is! He has received financial aid from Sphendix more than once, and it was always some kind of secret deal. If I had not ordered my men to perform a thorough search, nothing would have come up! And I’ve gotten something extra too!”

Mr. Big had emphasized the term ”secret deal”, implying that it was not something good.

What could an orphanage director possibly deal in?

Kieran frowned. He had a bad feeling about this, but he did not interrupt Mr. Big’s revelation. He just waited patiently for him to arrange his words. After a while, Mr. Big continued, ”That respectable orphanage director should have died three years ago from some kind of illness, but his coffin was empty. I sent my men to the orphanage and discovered a couple of secret rooms. Even though the secret rooms were cleaned up, there were definitely some tracks left behind. Everyone in the city is saying how scary I am, but compared to those glamourous-looking, rotten, evil people, I am nothing!”

Mr. Big’s face was filled with mockery, but Kieran could understand what he meant.

His bad feeling had gotten even stronger. As an orphan himself, Kieran was no stranger to such things. Wherever the light could not reach, there was always darkness lurking. Darkness could twist a man with fear and make him ignore both morals and laws. Fortunately, he had not come across anything like that.

However, the rumours he had heard from his orphanage playmates had scarred Kieran as a kid.

He took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts, quickly continuing to read through the files before him. In the last part of the files, he saw the orphanage Mr. Big had mentioned.

There were clear pictures of the orphanage, and what Kieran saw was countless dried up blood stains on the floor and sharp cutting marks on the walls.

He even spotted a small tooth near a corner that seemed like it had belonged to a five or six year-old kid.

If the tooth had appeared at some other place, one might have thought that a child had been changing its teeth, but this was in an orphanage.

Kieran’s killer intent rose up as he squinted in rage. Still, he did not let his killer intent take over his mind and do something reckless. Quite the opposite, he became even calmer than before. He knew the exact distance between him and Sphendix Corporation.

Fortunately, he was not alone in this, so he looked at Mr. Big.

”I think I have the big picture, and it’s also clear who I need to find! What are you going to do?” he asked.

”What else? Go to war, of course! I don’t want to have to face a healthy Sphendix in the future! He is better dead! I am really looking forward to his restless face when he realizes his foolproof plan fail!”Mr. Big smiled, his face turning from friendly to ferocious as his killer intent took over.

Mr. Big would not show any mercy to his arch nemesis, although some of those enemies were not his to handle. He quickly controlled his smile and told Kieran seriously, ”I’ll leave his sorcerer to you then!”

A notification popped up in Kieran’s vision as Mr. Big said that.

[Sub Mission Unlocked: Final Fight]

[Final Fight: Mr. Big has decided to declare war on Sphendix, but considering that Sphendix has a sorcerer on his side, he has to watch his back. He has asked you to take care of the sorcerer!]

”Yes, of course. It’s what we agreed.” Kieran nodded without a second thought, but he made a request after his agreement. ”I’ll need some heavy weapons for the fight. Not too many, approximately the amount five or six men would carry would be enough!” Kieran requested as he roughly estimated his own Strength.

”Is it for Sphendix?” Mr. Big asked out of instinct.

”Of course not. It’s for my personal collection,” Kieran said with a laugh.

”Very well!” Although Mr. Big did not understand Kieran’s intention, he still agreed to his request.

As Mr. Big quickly left the room, Kieran laid back in his chair and took a more comfortable sitting position. He was looking forward to the arsenal Mr. Big would bring him. It would be his biggest reward from the dungeon after all.