The Devil's Cage

“A photo?”

Mier saw the broken photo frame after trailing Kieran’s gaze.

The glass on the frame was shattered by their previous rough break in. Kieran carefully shook the shattered glasses off and picked the photo up.

It was a photo of Smith, the firefighter on duty during the night of the fire.

He was wearing a firefighter uniform, standing under the sun with his colleagues.

Unlike the picture Kieran had seen in the files about him, Smith’s face wasn’t emotionless, he was showing a little smile.

One would need to look hard to spot the subtle smile though.

Likewise, if Kieran hadn’t picked up the photo and checked it thoroughly, he wouldn’t have noticed that there was a hidden layer underneath the photo.

More precisely, a piece of paper the size of the photo was stuck behind it, perfectly camouflaging.

Kieran carefully peeled the piece of paper off the photo. Mier beside him couldn’t hold back her question.

“How did you notice it?”

Mier had searched the entire room. In fact, when she realized that Kieran was gone, Mier had straightaway went up to check the attacker she killed and searched the room, but she couldn’t find anything.

She’d even scanned across the photo frame on the floor several times but still didn’t find anything.

If she had picked up the photo frame, Mier was confident that she would have been able to find something, but it wasn’t the time to find excuses for herself right now.

She was weaker than Kieran, it was a cold hard fact.

But she didn’t feel depressed at the fact, instead, she was quite happy.

After all, Kieran fitted the image of the Monster Hunter in her mind perfectly.

“You are thinking about it the wrong way. It’s obvious that Smith had known that he was involved in some matters that were out of his league, it was only a matter of time before something happened to him. Smith didn’t want to sit back and get caught, so he left a clue of ‘double insurance’ behind: he led the people who abducted him to this place and allowed them to complete his setup,” Kieran said as he continued peeling the piece of paper away from the photo.

“He led them here?”

Mier squinted her almond-shaped eyes, more thoughts coming afloat in her gaze.

“Mm. I don’t know what was stolen but I do know that it couldn’t have been big or too eye-catching since it was carried around without anyone noticing it. Wallets, watches, rings, all sorts of accessories are within our search range. So, if Smith really wanted to complete his setup, he had to limit the clues he left behind within the range, such as something hidden in the drawer beside the bed.

“Obviously, the Blood Kin didn’t find anything. Disappointment incites rage, so there is a high chance that the dead Blood Kin here broke the drawer, including the photo frame. And if you guys noticed his disappearance, you would surely come visit here and search the place in detail, especially those things that don’t fit well in the room.” Kieran nodded.

He then peeled the last part of the sticking paper off with even more caution.

Pak!

When the paper and the photo split, a clear noise sounded. Kieran glanced at the hidden words inside but when Mier tried to look at the paper, Kieran swiftly stuffed it in his pocket.

Mier was stunned by Kieran’s action.

Kieran didn’t even care about Mier’s reaction, he turned his attention towards the corridor outside the room.

“I think we can trade in some vital information,” Kieran said.

“Sure.”

The reply came from outside the room. Wier in his windcoat with his walking staff walked in politely.

“Wier?” Mier quickly reacted to her grandfather’s arrival.

What Kieran had explained just now wasn’t for Mier, but for Wier, the grandfather of the young lady.

The difference in treatment made her angered out of embarrassment.

She threw an unpleasant gaze at Kieran first. Then when she noticed Kieran didn’t even care about her, she glared at her grandfather.

Unfortunately, similar to Kieran, Wier did not bat an eye at his granddaughter either.

The veteran consultant of the police concentrated all his attention on Kieran.

A dangerous man!

Wier commented on Kieran in his heart again.

When he first saw Kieran freeze Odecard last night, Wier commented as such, but since Odecard was a bastard to the bone, Wier didn’t care much.

But it was different when it came to his granddaughter.

When Wier came to know that his granddaughter had had lunch with the dangerous man, he sprinted out like an arrow let loose.

He carefully approached the scene, hoping to scoop out more information about Kieran from the flank, but his ‘carefulness’ was not useful.

Wier vividly felt that when he stepped into the apartment, a faint pressure came from the rooftop and when he stepped into the corridor, the pressure became clearer. It followed him like his shadow.

Wier knew he had been exposed and what Kieran said next made him understand what Kieran wanted to do.

Exchange intel!

What Kieran said just now was intended for Mier?

Wier did not believe a man that rejected his request to converse would look differently at his granddaughter, even if his granddaughter was pretty.

That kind of man would not be allured by beauty.

Under Mier’s glare, Kieran and Wier walked towards each other and stood in the middle of the room.

“What do you want to know?” Wier asked.

“Everything that you know,” Kieran replied.

“Impossible. How can an unknown intel exchange for all?”

Wier rejected Kieran’s demand for the exorbitant price by shaking his head.

“If this ‘unknown’ news can bring you that ‘thing’, it will of course be worth all that you know,” Kieran emphasized.

“But based on my guess, it’s at most a rescue signal. Smith, too, wished to live,” Wier said.

“I know. Smith wished to live, so he would have given more ‘payment’, correct?”

Kieran nodded and showed a smile.

Payment!

Wier was astonished, his face slowly changing.

He was considering the possibilities in Kieran’s claims.

Then, he realized things really were as Kieran claimed: if Smith really wanted to live, he must have sent out an extremely alluring reward, payment or leverage.

Otherwise, no one would risk their lives for him. Even for Wier… he would have thought twice.

Wier wasn’t alone anymore. After a glance at Mier, he clenched his teeth.

He nodded.

“I can tell you everything but you also need to tell me everything you know. You must help me in solving this special case. I’ll give you a satisfying compensation in return,” Wier said.

Following Wier’s words, system notifications popped up in Kieran’s vision.

[Triggered sub-mission: Wier’s request]

[Wier’s request: As the veteran consultant of the police, Wier has dealt with many, many things that normal people would hardly be able to touch. He was already a veteran in this but the incidents that happened in Eiders recently made him anxious and restless. He needs a reliable helper and you coincidentally appeared in his sight.]

“Sure.”

Kieran would never reject a sub-mission and necessary information. Even if he wouldn’t get corresponding ratings in the end, more time staying in the dungeon was good enough for him.

Especially when Wu was completely lost from contact.

“The anomaly happened about two weeks ago…”