236. Moriarty's Scheme
Inside the candy factory, Watson narrowly rescued two children. Just then, the police inspector arrived at the scene.
"They may have eaten candy laced with mercury. They must be taken to the hospital immediately."
Watson had just examined the wrappers on the ground and discovered mercury inside.
They would either starve to death or eat the candy.
Fortunately, judging from the amount of wrappers on the ground, things hadn't gotten out of control yet. Thankfully, they arrived in time.
"Thank you, Miss Watson. Where is Mr. Holmes?" Inspector Lestrade inquired.
"Wasn't he waiting for me outside? Wait... didn't you see the carriage parked outside when you arrived?!" Watson panicked immediately, her face visibly tense.
She realized she had fallen for a trap—Moriarty's diversionary tactic!
"No, didn't he come in with you?"
Inspector Lestrade looked bewildered, but seeing Watson's anxious expression, he realized something must have happened.
But Watson couldn't worry about that now. She vanished in an instant and immediately started tracking the carriage's trail.
However, Moriarty wouldn't let her succeed so easily.
Moriarty had already arranged for countless carriages to travel through the streets of London, cutting off all leads.
"Damn it!" Watson slammed her fist into the ground, creating a deep crater.
She regretted not bringing him with her; otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"No, since Moriarty wants to defeat her, he must have left clues…Baker Street!"
Watson immediately ran home, and sure enough, a huge package lay quietly in front of her door.
She eagerly tore open the package, and sure enough, it contained a clue left by Moriarty.
It was a painting, a very famous one, but it should be in a museum now!
"Another trap..." Watson gritted her teeth as she heard the alarm bells behind her.
The painting depicted Reichenbach Falls. Although it was quite far, it was currently the only clue.
After memorizing all the details of the painting and confirming there were no other clues, Watson immediately rushed towards Reichenbach Falls.
Meanwhile, the police station was in chaos. A criminal gang had just taken away a large number of criminals, their target suspected to be the Reichenbach Falls.
Other police stations immediately dispatched officers to the scene.
When Sherlock awoke, he found himself locked in a cage, suspended above a waterfall, with a bottomless abyss below.
He immediately regained his composure and analyzed his situation.
He looked into the distance; there was another cage similar to his, containing dozens of people.
A game testing humanity? He guessed Moriarty's thoughts almost instantly.
His hand unconsciously brushed against his chest; the gun was still there...
But he couldn't act rashly; the other man had other hostages.
"Mr. Sherlock, you're finally awake." Moriarty gave him an elegant bow.
"Moriarty, if you want to kill me, you can just come at me directly. There's no need to harm innocent civilians."
"Oh? You, who can so easily order the deaths of bad guys, are now considering their lives?" Moriarty retorted.
He paused, then immediately looked towards the cages. Sure enough, he spotted several familiar faces—those he had personally sent there!
"Let me tell you, these are all prisoners held in jail. If you were in their shoes, what choice would you make?" Moriarty inquired.
He remained silent because he knew that not all criminals needed to pay for their sins with death.
His guiding principle was this: when the law fails to bring justice, private revenge becomes justified, even noble, from that moment on.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—that was what he championed.
But clearly, these crimes didn't warrant death, and he was a good man, a superstar detective, a recognized nemesis of evil...
What magnificent words!
But God is fair, because... he only had one life.
"Hahahaha..."
Seeing his hesitation, Moriarty let out a piercing laugh.
"You don't need to overthink it, because the choice isn't yours, but our protagonist, Miss Fu Hua."
After teasing him, Moriarty regained his composure, considerately reassuring him that the choice wasn't in his hands.
"Fu Hua?" The name was somewhat unfamiliar, but he quickly realized it was Watson's name in Shenzhou.
A figure flashed like lightning across the bumpy mountain road; Fu Hua arrived before Moriarty, confronting him.
"Our protagonist has arrived. Nice to meet you, Miss Fu Hua. I am Moriarty, the one you've been searching for." Moriarty greeted her with a flippant air.
"What do you want?" Fu Hua struggled to control her inner turmoil, trying to calm her thoughts.
"Isn't it obvious? I want Miss Fu Hua to make a choice." Moriarty showed her two cages behind him.
One held dozens of prisoners, while the other held Sherlock Holmes.
"The cage on the left holds the criminals, and the one on the right holds your best partner. You can choose to rescue one, but the other will naturally fall. If you're lucky, you should be able to find the body downstream."
"Of course, don't even think about stopping the two cages from falling by subduing me. These are connected to my Soulium data. With just a thought from me, they will both fall."
"Choose, Great Detective. You can only choose one."
Moriarty expected to see conflict, panic, and anger on Fu Hua's face, but she remained unusually calm.
"If you want to kill me, just come at me," Fu Hua said, looking at Moriarty.
"That's too boring, isn't it? Besides, I'm not confident I can kill you, you immortal being from Shenzhou." Moriarty scoffed, clearly not falling for it.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, I activated the falling program a minute ago. There are about twenty seconds left. If you don't make a choice, both cages will fall."
Finally, in Moriarty's expectant gaze, he saw panic on Fu Hua's face.
And Moriarty's smile grew wider.
"10...9...8…"
With only ten seconds left, Moriarty considerately counted down for her.
At this moment, Fu Hua was panting heavily, the double torment of mental and physical exhaustion causing sweat to stream down her temples.
"Bang!" A gunshot shattered Fu Hua's thoughts.
"Watson, choose them! This is my choice!"
He picked up his gun again, aiming at the grappling hook.
His precise marksmanship ensured he wouldn't make a single mistake!
Another gunshot rang out, and flames erupted around Fu Hua, with a pair of fiery wings faintly appearing on his back.
Moriarty looked incredulous... You thought this would be the case?
"It really is... exactly as I thought, Mr. Sherlock!"
Moriarty didn't go back on his word; instead, he considerately escorted the criminals back to the cliff edge.
Then, he playfully pressed a button.
With a deafening roar, a thunderous explosion erupted, the immense impact sending Fu Hua, who was trying to rush forward, flying backward.
Countless boulders crashed down, and the explosions seemed to trigger a chain reaction, continuing unabated.
"Hehehe, congratulations, Miss Fu Hua. You killed your partner. If you had chosen sooner, perhaps you could have... uh..."
Fu Hua's hand gripped Moriarty's neck tightly, the immense force causing his steel body to creak.
"Miss Watson, calm down!"
Behind Watson, rows of police officers had completely surrounded her.
"Kill...me..." Moriarty's face revealed a bright smile.
He was forcing Fu Hua to kill him in front of so many people.
Then all his goals would be achieved.
Mentally crush his opponent, kill her in reputation!
Watson would become a murderer!
Kill him in front of all the police inspectors!
...