Chapter 108
Foxes are always good at deceiving people.
At this moment, history is being changed by oneself.
Eivass clearly felt the pulse of “history.” The brilliance called “possibility” was held tightly in his hand, beating powerfully.
He remembered clearly—in the original plot, Sherlock had never been attacked so violently. Until Sherlock completely disappeared years later, there was still no correct answer to the incident where his father, Arthur Hermes, was framed. Even the person named “York Hermes” had never appeared in the main storyline.
Although Eivass barely watched the plot, he had such confidence. While he skipped all the plot CGs when he played himself, he still read player community posts and watched story interpretation videos to catch up on the plot.
Given Sherlock’s popularity among players, as Sherlock’s uncle… if York Hermes had ever officially appeared, he would definitely have been discussed. Especially after Sherlock’s disappearance, it was impossible for no one to mention this name.
Not to mention, York was the legal advisor hired by the Lloyd Society, Avalon’s largest gang organization, and a high-ranking member of the Lloyd Society. At the same time, he was entangled with the Noble Red Society and the Alchemical Bomb case. The secrets hidden within him were definitely not few. In the timeline where he did not attempt to assassinate Sherlock, Mr. York was likely not a passerby.
He was at least connected to the Lloyd Society, the Noble Red Society, and the Trade Minister by three threads. He was likely also related to the royal family’s curse, and possibly even entangled with the Eagle Eye organization.
In other words, all the events in the entire version 0 were closely intertwined with “Lawyer York”!
Eivass was more inclined to believe that he was silenced or killed by another group before attempting to assassinate Sherlock. That was why he didn’t appear from the “players'” perspective at all and did not participate in any main plot.
This person was undoubtedly a crucial turning point, perhaps even the weakest link in the entire conspiracy chain.
Since Sherlock has now slightly come into contact with the Lloyd Society, he must silence Sherlock. This means his current situation should be quite delicate. The reason he has to act immediately and kill Sherlock is also very simple. From Eivass’s perspective, things were very clear.
The biggest change here from the plot was the “Sweater Brotherhood” that Eivass mentioned in his dream.
“Sherlock, calm down and listen to me first. We don’t need to investigate your uncle, York Hermes. Let’s exchange our perspectives first.”
Mr. Sherlock Hermes, the most famous detective on Glass Island, chief consultant of the Inspection Bureau, and a high-ranking member of the Lloyd Society, personally led Inspector Edward of Glass Island to raid a hidden abandoned Chemical Plant in the Lloyd District without any evidence or report.
At this time, the Sweater Brotherhood had not yet begun to steal corpses from Hanging Square. They were no different from the large and small Strangler Gangs controlled by the Lloyd Society, with nothing distinguishing them.
Coincidentally, a large number of Alchemical Bombs smuggled from the Star Antimony Kingdom were stored in the abandoned Chemical Plant. And these Alchemical Bombs were ordered by the Trade Minister who had dealings with the Noble Red Society.
“…If I were a high-ranking member of the Lloyd Society, what would I think now?”
Eivass clasped his fingers, placed the teacup in his palms, and spoke in a calm, steady tone, “Then I can only assume that ‘York Hermes’ accidentally leaked the secret when he was trying to recruit you. And your direct reporting to the Inspection Department inadvertently proved another thing—you knew that the Lloyd Society had planted informants in the Inspection Bureau.”
“…So that’s how it is.”
When Eivass said this, Sherlock immediately understood, “I went to Edward at that time because I wasn’t sure if the information you gave me was true, and I took him to check the situation. At first, neither of us knew what shocking results we would get. Because Edward and I have a good relationship, it’s okay even if I trick him occasionally… he’ll just mock me a couple of times…”
As he spoke, he stood up and began to pace back and forth in the room. He spoke at an extremely fast pace as he paced, “In my eyes, Edward is a trusted friend; but in the eyes of those in the Lloyd Society, Edward’s most prominent label is ‘Inspector of Glass Island.’ As a consultant for the Inspection Bureau, I skipped the Inspection Bureau entirely and went to the Inspector—without even notifying the Inspection Department. This means I already knew that the Lloyd Society had stationed many of their own people in high government positions.”
Sherlock stopped and looked back at Eivass, who was sitting in a wheelchair, “I obtained these two pieces of information simultaneously, which can only mean… York Hermes leaked the secret.”
Eivass nodded, “So, if he can’t recruit you, he has to kill you himself. To prove that he hasn’t betrayed anyone.”
“…So that’s why he made the move himself.”
Sherlock stood still and pondered for a moment, then walked over and lowered his voice, “I’m going to slightly adjust my plan, Eivass.”
“Why don’t you tell me your previous plan first?”
“It’s very simple. First, find a way to test if he is the murderer… although that should not be needed now,” Sherlock replied, “I heard from Bishop that your Holy Sword cannot be used yet, which means you have no combat power. Therefore, I don’t plan to have you handle the most dangerous part… which is the arrest. My funeral will be held tomorrow morning. Uncle York will definitely come to attend my funeral then. My brother Mycroft is the only one in my family who knows I’m not dead. He is also very intelligent and trustworthy. To make my parents’ acting more natural, my parents don’t know about this. I originally intended to use this atmosphere to make him let down his guard.”
“And then what, after he lets his guard down?” Eivass asked. “Lure him out and kill him?”
“Something like that.” Sherlock nodded, “I still have a backup information storage point in a place I frequent… I really prepared a safe house like that, and it wasn’t prepared temporarily. It really contains my investigation results of the Lloyd Society, and everything is true.”
Eivass quickly understood Sherlock’s plan, “You want him to make a move again.”
“Yes,” Sherlock said in a deep voice, “He is too cautious. Whenever he appears in public, he is always accompanied by one or two arbitrator friends. My uncle’s favorite thing is to hunt talented young people. When their status and abilities are lower than his, he sincerely makes friends with them. After they blossom in their talents, he lets them protect him in return. His hunting range is not limited to ‘young people,’ but also includes those who suddenly encounter trouble… As a lawyer, he easily encounters such people. For example, Inspector Gordon, who was reported in the newspaper with you that day. When Gordon first retired, his family was involved in a troublesome lawsuit. York helped him solve this problem and also arranged work for him everywhere. He even started as the deputy director of the Inspection Bureau… Although without him, Gordon would likely have obtained a good position in the end, Uncle York’s actions always left a very good impression.”
So, he’s an angel investor. Eivass suddenly realized.
No wonder Sherlock felt troubled at this moment, and no wonder Gordon, this seemingly very rigid old knight, took the initiative to shake his hand back then. This was a true socialite of high society. He was like a lesser Professor Moriarty.
He had no leverage and no flaws. As long as he didn’t make a move, he was invincible. Even if he left evidence, with his connections, he might not be convicted in the end.
In that case, after obtaining information from him, he couldn’t let him go easily… otherwise, it would only cause trouble for himself.
Eivass narrowed his eyes. Just in time, he had obtained two good poisons from that assassin lady. One of them could cause natural death.
So he thought for a moment and said in a low voice, “Your plan is not good.”
Sherlock didn’t question it immediately but frowned and thought for a moment, “Are you worried that he will have his subordinates or friends get it?”
“Your thinking is too rigid, Sherlock. You are too influenced by the Path of Authority and have overlooked the fact that thugs are unreasonable,” Eivass said slowly, “If I were your uncle, what would I do? Would I risk getting my own evidence, or would I let my subordinates or friends have the opportunity to discover my true nature?”
“He could also silence the person who took the evidence,” Sherlock added.
“Indeed, but that’s not safe. The other party might completely investigate it privately, keep some of it, or even threaten him in return. Their relationship seems good, but it’s just that. At most, it’s just connections, with no loyalty.”
Eivass closed one eye slightly and said softly, “If I were him, I wouldn’t let these people have any chance to get involved in deep secrets. Silencing them would at most be a ‘remedy.’ From this perspective, the safest method would be to have the people from the Noble Red Society directly detonate your safe house and physically destroy the evidence. Therefore, your previous plan was unreliable and might have put Edward and you in danger. We need something new.”
As Eivass spoke, Sherlock seemed to have an illusion—this young man holding a teacup, leisurely drinking milk tea, sitting in a wheelchair with a gentle smile, now exuded an extremely dangerous aura. It was a different kind of danger from his brother Edward’s ice-cold and silent demeanor. Even though he was smiling, behaved courteously, and had a gentle attitude and personality, for some reason, it sent shivers down his spine. There was also an inexplicable sense of familiarity…
Suddenly, Sherlock realized. At this moment, Eivass was like his foster father, Professor Moriarty.
He froze for a moment before realizing it and coughed lightly, clumsily concealing his surprise.
“…So my new plan is, tomorrow you will use the identity of ‘Sherlock’s friend’ to slowly gain his favor… you can even pretend to join the Lloyd Society. Whatever you do, the ultimate goal is to isolate him. And notify Edward to successfully capture him. It’s best to finish it quickly and don’t make too much of a fuss. The longer I have been ‘dead,’ the harder it will be to come back… By the next advancement, my being alive will probably not be able to be hidden. I am ashamed to say it, but I am not good at acting. Especially in places like the Dream Realm where one’s instincts and habits are revealed. That is to say, we have at most three weeks, and it’s best to finish within two weeks.”
Sherlock patted Eivass’s shoulder, “I believe you can do it, ‘Foxes’ are always good at deceiving people.” He emphasized the word “Fox” particularly heavily.
…Didn’t you not care when you were drunk earlier? Why are you still dwelling on it now that you’re sober?
Eivass, sitting steadily in his wheelchair, grumbled internally. However, he was indeed good at this—wasn’t it just about quickly increasing the opponent’s trust level? Don’t worry, I’m an expert at it.
