The Devil’s Cage

The scream altered Senile’s face for the worse.

He and Kieran exchanged a look before they hastened up into the coffee shop.

The coffee shop was already in chaos.

Mugs rolling on the thick carpet, coffee spilling everywhere, chairs toppling over along the corridor (which wasn’t that wide), waiters and customers cowering and screaming in fear and even running out of the coffee shop.

“Stop! Everybody stop! I am Teacher Senile! From this moment onwards, no one shall leave this place without my permission!” Senile stood at the entrance and shouted at the panicked crowd.

The panicked crowd was forced to a stop.

The title of Teacher in Theorate still had its uses, and at the very least, it would provide comfort in this kind of chaotic situation.

“Who is the owner here?” Senile asked.

A middle-aged man walked out upon asking, and Senile continued, “Please help me to maintain the order here.”

and then used his communicator to call Professor Tyrese.

“Noted, I’ll be right there.” Senile heaved a breath of relief after hearing the reassuring answer from Professor Tyrese. Senile unconsciously turned around, trying to talk to Kieran, but he noticed Kieran had already entered the coffee shop without his knowing. He was standing in front of the dead body with a knife in its chest.

“Professor Tyrese will be right here,” he informed Kieran.

“What is it? You got something?” Senile asked.

His question came out almost instinctively, and he did not expect Kieran could answer him.

Therefore, as Kieran kept quiet, Senile began to size up the surroundings. He had ought to collect more information before the professor arrived, but…

Amid the messy coffee shop, there wasn’t a bit of valuable information, especially when the victim, Professor Derton had died in a blind spot, and Senile couldn’t help but frown.

“So this is Derton?” Kieran suddenly asked.

“Yes, he is Professor Derton,” Senile nodded without a second thought, his face looking a little sad. He grieved like a common man facing a dead body. Although their stances were different, Senile still showed well-deserved respect to the passing of a professor.

Kieran went silent again when he got Senile’s confirmation. He squinted his eyes at the body.

Professor Derton died on the chair, his clothes were clean, his back was straight, and if it weren’t for the knife in his chest, he could have been a live model for proper sitting postures in etiquette books.

It seemed that before he died, Professor Derton paid a lot of attention to his attire and manners. Although his hair was white, he did not allow himself to look any poorer with his manners. Therefore, such a person must have had specific standards for his environment or surroundings. In theory, the professor wouldn’t have been sitting that close to a trash can.

Kieran glanced over the trash can in the corner.

As it was near the end of the day, the trash can was filled with garbage; one could easily pick up the pungent smell if he were close enough.

Even a common man’s sense of smell would be challenged by the smell in this distance and make him feel uncomfortable, let alone an immaculate individual such as the professor.

“To cover up something?” Kieran looked up at the surveillance camera in the coffee shop. He was confused.

The meeting with the professor required a cover-up?

No, it wasn’t necessary!

The public knew of the incident at Derton Lab, there was no need to cover up this meeting, so it was an unnecessary move.

Unless Professor Derton had wanted to tell Kieran something more secretive, hence attracting death?

Perhaps… it was the Index of Eat!

It was the only ‘secretive’ thing that Kieran could think of between him and the professor.

Kieran shifted his gaze to the murder weapon: a knife that had been plunged deep into the professor’s heart.

The knife was extremely sharp without a doubt, but what concerned Kieran more was the user. A user who could kill a professor with a single blow was not just some John Doe.

For the sake of insurance, Kieran asked again, “How good was Professor Derton with his skills?”

“Those who bear the title of Professor in Theorate represented extreme power; maybe some of them had flaws in their character, but their strength is undoubted,” Senile answered in an affirmative tone.

“Then, do you have a candidate in your mind?” Kieran asked. Compared to him, Senile was no doubt more familiar with the school.

“No! Among the people I know, there are a lot of powerful ones, but none that could possibly kill Professor Derton with a single knife blow.”

“Maybe Professor Tyrese knows something.” Senile shook his head.

Kieran kept quiet again. He continued to observe the body as his mind pondered over the topic; he felt like he had missed out on something.

Ding Ding!

The bell at the entrance of the coffee shop rang, and Professor Tyrese walked in with a heavy look on his face. Behind him were uniformed guards.

Professor Tyrese nodded at Kieran and Senile before he went to the body.

He couldn’t hold back his sigh when he saw Professor Derton was completely cold and stiff.

He knew at that moment that things had gone out of his control and expectations.

Professor Tyrese clapped his hands together and respectfully bowed to his dead colleague.

Although both of them had had their previous conflicts, Professor Derton was dead, and Professor Tyrese had to let it go.

What would he achieve if he wanted to hold a dead person responsible for the conflict?

He was still alive while his rival was dead.

Furthermore, it was not just Professor Tyrese. Senile and the guards behind him shared the same thoughts.

Three seconds later, Professor Tyrese put down his hands and donned a pair of gloves to check on the body. Kieran, who was in deep thoughts, suddenly shouted,

“HOLD ON! Everybody leave at once! Hurry!”

Kieran sounded rushed, and the crowd around him looked at each other in confusion.

“2567, this…”

“A trap! This is a trap!” Kieran pointed at Senile before being the first one to stride out of the coffee shop.

Professor Tyrese was initially stunned, but his thoughts caught up and changed his confusion into shock.

“Hurry! Leave now!” Professor Tyrese repeated what Kieran said and ushered everyone out of the coffee shop.

When the last one of the guards stepped out, Professor Derton’s body rose in temperature and started to burn in unimaginable heat.

Two to three seconds later—KABOOM!

The body exploded, and the powerful shockwave wrecked the coffee shop. The remaining shockwaves flew out in all directions. Blazing flames were rumbling and tearing the place apart.

A breath’s time later, everything in a 50-meter radius around the coffee shop had fallen into a sea of fire.

What had happened? What was going on?

Things happened one after another. It stunned everyone who had run out of the coffee shop, and waiters who had fallen didn’t even care about the pain.

All of them looked at the blazing scene blankly, including Senile.

However, unlike the others, Senile had reacted to the situation already. Because of that, Senile’s face turned pale even under the blazing life.

He had been used! And so had Professor Derton!

The killer perfectly used Professor Derton’s excuse and Senile’s dissatisfaction to create the infernal scene before his eyes.

Speaking from another aspect, Professor Derton had died because of him!

The killer wanted to use Derton’s death to lure Professor Tyrese out!

Think about it: if he and Kieran returned to the coffee shop and saw Professor Derton’s body, what would he do?

Senile would surely contact Professor Tyrese right away, and if it wasn’t for Kieran’s quick reaction… Senile couldn’t hold back his shivers as he watched the blazing sea.

Senile turned to look at Kieran, who stood calmly, and showed an ugly smile. “T-Thank you.”

After giving his thanks, Senile went up to Professor Tyrese like a child who had made a mistake, “I’m sorry, professor.”

“It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault, you just…” Professor Tyrese comforted Senile and unconsciously turned to Kieran. Likewise, Kieran was looking at the professor.

“I think we need to talk,” Professor Tyrese said.

“Sure, I think the same,” Kieran nodded.

They did not leave the fiery scene, though. They both walked towards an alley nearby, and Senile followed behind them under Tyrese’s orders.

“Thank you for that reminder just now. I owe you one.”

After making sure the alley was safe, Professor Tyrese expressed his gratitude to Kieran, and a little pause later, the professor continued, “What do you think of Derton’s death?”

“Index of Eat,” Kieran replied firmly.

Although Derton’s death had turned into a trap, Kieran didn’t change his initial thoughts.

Professor Derton had died because of the Index of Eat.

As for Tyrese?

Kieran was almost sure of the fact that Tyrese was also investigating the Index of Eat and may have even grasped a critical point. Otherwise, the murderer who had killed Derton wouldn’t have gone to such an extent to set up the trap.

Of course, the killer may have also had immense hatred for Tyrese.

“Do you have any enemies?” Kieran asked.

“I have and not in the lesser, but none of could go to this extent. Whoever it was should be coming after the Index of Eat.” Tyrese smiled bitterly and chose to be honest, up to a certain extent.

He did not need to hide anymore when Kieran asked the question, Tyrese knew the First Seat must have known something. Tyrese always had a deep impression about this freshman First Seat.

Whether was it his powers that far surpassed any freshmen or the ability to remain calm in all sorts of situations, Tyrese knew that this First Seat would surely etch his name in Theorate’s history. Tyrese realized that up until now, he had still been underestimating this First Seat.

This freshman would not just etch his name in Theorate’s history book, but he would become a legend.

Maybe this freshman was still in his cradle, but as time passed, he would grow stronger and surely turn eyes.

Therefore, Tyrese would not allow anything to happen to him.

“I don’t know how much you know about the Index of Eat, but I want you to leave it at once. I’ll write a letter to transfer you to A Block for studies, and when everything here is settled, I’ll bring you back,” Tyrese said sincerely.

“Do you think I still have the option of leaving all this?” Kieran asked.

“Go to A Block. Everything is possible once you are there. Senile will go with you, and someone will take care of you once you are there,” Tyrese said with a smile. He already started arranging the matters for Kieran’s move to A Block.

From Tyrese’s point of view, under a life and death situation, Kieran had no reason to reject, so when he saw Kieran shook his head, Tyrese was astonished.

“Why? Are you worried about the people behind Darwend and Garcia? Don’t worry, they…”

“Thank you for your kind words, but I have my reasons to stay,” Kieran interrupted the professor.

Although some unexpected accidents had happened, it did not affect Kieran’s plan, and from how he viewed it, the situation was actually benefiting him because he could faintly see the actual location of the Index of Eat amidst all this mess.

Given the circumstances, why would Kieran leave?

Tyrese looked at Kieran in confusion, but in the end, he sighed.

“I don’t know why you want to stay, but please be careful at all times.”

“If you run into some trouble, please contact me right away—I’ll tell the crafters to hasten your communicator. You will receive it before dawn at your dorm,” Tyrese said.

“Thank you. Is Eiderburgh with you?” Kieran simply asked after showing his gratitude.

Tyrese was stunned, and he looked at Kieran. He had no idea how Kieran had discovered the secret, but he chose to admit it with a nod. “Yes. Did you go to the cafeteria just to prove your theory? Not even Eiderburgh escaped your eyes?” Tyrese couldn’t hold back the bitter smile on his face.

“I think you should pay more attention to Eiderburgh. Since you are under enemies’ crosshairs, I don’t think Eiderburgh can sleep soundly either.”

Kieran spoke his mind and waved at Tyrese before he walked out the alley.

He didn’t ask about the Index of Eat because Tyrese would not tell him, despite him owing him a great debt of gratitude.

Likewise, Kieran would not tell Tyrese the reason he entered the cafeteria. It was a matter of principals.

Seeing Kieran off, Professor Tyrese took out his communicator and contacted Eiderburgh.

Do Do Do…

The line was busy, and no one answered the call.

Professor Tyrese’s face turned ugly.