Chapter 108 Foxes are always good at deceiving people

At this moment, history is being changed by ourselves.

Aiwass felt the thread of history very clearly.

The glow called "possibility" was being held in his hand, beating powerfully.

He remembered it clearly - in the original plot, Sherlock had never been attacked in such a violent way.

Until Sherlock completely disappeared a few years later, there was still no correct answer to the incident in which his father Arthur Hermes was framed.

Even the person named "York Hermes" does not appear in the main storyline at all.

Even though Aiwass barely reads the story, he's confident in it. Even though he skips all the story CGs when he plays, he still reads posts on the player community and reads videos by plot interpreters to get a feel for the story.

As for Sherlock's popularity among players, if York Hermes, Sherlock's uncle, had ever officially appeared, he would definitely have been a topic of discussion. Especially after Sherlock's disappearance, it's impossible for no one to mention this name.

Not to mention, York is the legal advisor hired by Lloyd's, Avalon's largest gang, and a high-ranking official at Lloyd's. He's also implicated in the Noble Red Circle and the Alchemical Bomb case, so he definitely has a lot of secrets. In the timeline before he attempted to assassinate Sherlock, Mr. York is likely no stranger.

He has at least three clues tied to him: Lloyd's of London, the Noble Red Knot, and the Minister of Trade. He is also likely related to the curse on the royal family, and may even be related to the Hawkeye Organization.

In other words, all the events in the entire 1.0 version are closely intertwined with "York Lawyer"!

Aiwass is more inclined to believe that he was silenced or killed by another group before he tried to assassinate Sherlock. That is why he did not appear in the "player's" perspective throughout the whole process and did not participate in any main plot.

This person is undoubtedly a very critical breaking point, and may even be the weakest link in the entire conspiracy chain.

——Now that Sherlock has had some contact with Lloyd's, he must kill Sherlock. This means that his current situation must be very delicate.

The reason why he had to kill Sherlock immediately was also very simple. From Aiwass's perspective, the matter was very clear.

The biggest change here from the plot is the "Sweater Brotherhood" mentioned by Aiwass in his dream.

"Sherlock, calm down and listen to me. We don't need to investigate your uncle, York Hermes.

"Let's exchange our thinking positions first."

——Mr. Sherlock Hermes, the most famous detective on Glass Island, the chief consultant of the Inspectorate, and the nephew of York Hermes, a senior executive of Lloyd's, without any evidence or report, brought Chief Inspector Edward of Glass Island without any warning, and the two of them personally raided the abandoned chemical plant base with a very hidden entrance that had never been discovered in the Lloyd's district.

At this time, the Sweater Brotherhood had not yet started stealing the bodies in Hanging Square. They were no different from the Big and Small Stranglers controlled by Lloyd's, and there was nothing special about them.

It just so happened that at this time, a large number of alchemical bombs smuggled from the Star Antimony Kingdom were piled up in the abandoned chemical plant. These alchemical bombs were ordered by the Minister of Trade, who had a business relationship with the Noble Red Society.

"…If I were a senior executive at Lloyd's, what would I be thinking right now?"

Aiwass interlaced his fingers, resting the teacup in his palms. His tone was calm and even. "Then I can only conclude that Sir York Hermes accidentally leaked the secret when he tried to recruit you. And your direct report to the Inspectorate inadvertently proves something else—that you knew Lloyd's had spies within the Inspectorate."

"……I see."

When Aiwass said this, Sherlock immediately understood: "I went to find Edward because I was not sure whether the information you gave me was true or false, so I took him with me to check the situation.

"At the beginning, we didn't know what kind of amazing results we would achieve. Because I have a good relationship with Edward, even if I play tricks on him occasionally, it's okay. At most, he would just laugh at me..."

As he spoke, he stood up and began to walk back and forth in the room.

He paced, speaking rapidly. "In my eyes, Edward and I are trustworthy friends. But in the eyes of those at Lloyd's, Edward's most prominent label is 'Inspector General of Glass Island.' As an advisor to the Inspectorate, I skipped the Inspectorate and went straight to the Inspector General—without even notifying the Inspectorate. This means I already knew that Lloyd's had planted a large number of its own people in the Kingdom's upper echelons."

Sherlock paused and looked back at Aiwass, who was sitting in a wheelchair. "Since I obtained both pieces of information at the same time, it can only mean...that York Hermes leaked the information."

Aiwass nodded. "So, if he can't recruit you, he must kill you himself. To prove that he hasn't betrayed you."

“…That’s why he did it himself.”

Sherlock stood there, thinking for a moment, then walked over and lowered his voice: "Then I intend to fine-tune my plan, Aiwass."

"Why don't you tell me about your previous plan first?"

"It's simple. First, find a way to test whether he is the murderer... Of course, it won't be necessary now."

Sherlock replied, "I heard from the Bishop that your holy sword is still unusable, which means you are actually incapable of fighting. Therefore, I do not intend to let you be responsible for the most dangerous part... that is, capturing him.

"My funeral will be held tomorrow morning, and Uncle York will definitely be there to attend it.

"My brother Mycroft is the only one in my family who knows that I'm not dead. He's also very smart and trustworthy. In order to make my parents' acting appear more natural, my parents didn't know about this. I originally planned to use this atmosphere to let him down."

"What happens after you let your guard down?"

Aiwass asked, "Lure him out and kill him?"

"That's roughly it."

Sherlock nodded. "I have a backup intelligence storage point somewhere I often go. I really prepared a safe house like this, and it's not a temporary one. It really contains my investigation results on Lloyd's. Everything is true."

Aiwass quickly understood Sherlock's plan: "You want him to strike again."

"Yes," Sherlock said solemnly, "He's too cautious. Whenever he appears in public, he's always accompanied by one or two arbitrator friends.

"My uncle's favorite thing to do is to hunt young people with great talents. When their status and abilities are lower than his own, he will sincerely interact with them. When their talents blossom, he will ask them to protect him in return.

"His hunting range is not even limited to 'young people', but also those who suddenly get into trouble... As a lawyer, he is likely to encounter such people. For example, Inspector Gordon who was in the newspaper with you that day.

"When Gordon first retired, his family was embroiled in a troublesome lawsuit. York helped him resolve the issue and even went out of his way to find him a job. He even started out as the deputy director of the Supervisory Bureau... Although Gordon would likely have achieved a decent position without him, Uncle York's behavior always leaves a good impression."

So that’s it, it’s an angel investor.

Aiwass suddenly realized.

No wonder Sherlock felt so awkward at the moment, and no wonder Gordon, the old knight who looked very old-fashioned, took the initiative to shake hands with him at that time.

This is a true socialite, like a low-brow Professor Moriarty.

He had no leverage or flaws; as long as he didn't take the initiative, he was invulnerable. Even if he left evidence, his connections wouldn't guarantee he would be convicted.

In this case, after obtaining information from him, we cannot let him go back easily... Otherwise, it will only bring trouble to ourselves.

Aiwass narrowed his eyes.

Coincidentally, he had previously obtained two very good poisons from the assassin lady.

——One of them can cause a person to die of natural causes.

So he thought about it and said in a low voice: "Your plan is not appropriate."

Sherlock didn't question it immediately, but frowned and thought for a moment: "Are you worried that he will ask his men or friends to take it?"

"Your thinking is too conventional, Sherlock. You've been so influenced by the path of authority that you've overlooked the fact that thugs are unreasonable."

Aiwass said darkly, "If I were your uncle, what would I do? Would I risk my life to get evidence of my crime, or would I allow my men or friends to discover my true identity?"

"He can also silence the person who has the evidence," Sherlock added.

"It's certainly possible, but it's not safe. The other party could easily inspect it privately, keep some of it, or even threaten him. Their relationship may seem good, but that's all it is. At best, it's just a connection, not loyalty."

Aiwass closed one eye slightly and said softly, "If I were him, I wouldn't let these people get into any deep secrets. Silencing them can only be considered 'compensation' at best."

"—From this perspective, the safest method is to have the Noble Red Society directly detonate your safe house and completely destroy the evidence physically.

"So your previous plan is unreliable and may put Edward and you in danger. It's time to come up with something new."

When Aiwass said this, Sherlock seemed to have an illusion - this young man who was holding a teacup and drinking milk tea slowly, sitting in a wheelchair with a gentle smile on his face, now had a very dangerous feeling.

It was a dangerous feeling completely different from the cold and silent demeanor of his brother Edward. Even though he was smiling, polite, gentle, and kind, he somehow gave people a chill.

There's also an indescribable sense of familiarity...

Suddenly, Sherlock reacted.

——At this moment, Aiwass is just like his adoptive father, Professor Moriarty.

He was stunned for a moment before reacting and coughing lightly, trying poorly to conceal his surprise.

"...So my new plan is, tomorrow, you're going to slowly befriend him under the guise of 'Sherlock's friend'... You can even pretend to join Lloyd's. Whatever you do, the ultimate goal is to leave him alone. And then notify Edward to successfully capture him. It's best to do it quickly, and don't make a big deal out of it. The longer I'm 'dead,' the harder it will be to come back... By the time I advance next time, I probably won't be able to hide the fact that I'm still alive.

"I'm ashamed to say this, but I'm actually not very good at acting. Especially in a place like the dream world that forces out a person's instincts and habits. In other words, we have three weeks at most, and it would be best if we could finish it within two weeks."

Sherlock patted Aiwass on the shoulder: "I believe you can do it. 'Foxes' are always good at deceiving people."

He placed extra emphasis on the word "fox".

...Weren't you oblivious to it when you were drunk earlier? Why are you obsessed with it now that you're sober?

Aiwass, sitting safely in his wheelchair, complained inwardly.

But he is indeed good at this - isn't it just about quickly increasing the opponent's trust value?

Don't worry, I can do it.

(End of this chapter)