Chapter 93: One more Piece

Chapter 93: One More Piece

Murphy stared at the officer with his piercing gaze fixed into his eyes. The police officer stumbled back, a card slipping from his pocket. He yelled out loudly. "I don’t know anything; I was only told to change by them."

"Who are they?" Murphy’s serious voice reached his ears, making him tremble on his spot.

The police officer gulped slightly and pointed toward the card that had a circle with a star crafted inside it. "I don’t know what they are called, but they told me if I don’t do my work... I’ll die."

Mo Fei, as Murphy Law, examined his expression, lowering his revolver slightly. "You have never seen any of their faces?"

"Yes..."

BAM!

The bullet hit the floor near the officer’s feet as the man closed his eyes and then said, "I have seen one, not clearly, but he was wearing a mask."

Murphy put the revolver back in his belt, then scanned his whole face, and slowly sat down again in the chair. "Biggest condolences; you won’t be leaving the place soon."

He slowly leaned against the chair again, then skim-read through a few reports. From behind them, the other members of the cops entered. Looking at the investigator sitting on the chair, they looked at the officer who was deeply scared, their eyes finding the bullet mark in the floor.

The lead cop called out. "Mr. Murphy Law. Would you like to get an apartment to rest?"

Murphy threw the burnt cigarette into the trash bin nearby, then twisted in the chair and looked at them with a silent expression, darting his eyes around, and then he looked at the fake officer and said in a low, calm tone; his momentarily lunatic expression turned normal again. "I would like to get an apartment near this police officer." He pointed toward the man, with a dangerous small grin begun to cross over his face.

The man took two steps back and hiccuped a laugh. "Heheh, isn’t that too specific."

One of them questioned. "What is going to happen to Officer Hayes?"

"I have some matters to fix, so please be careful about it. Besides that..." He looked at Hayes "I’m sure you’ll be the next target. Before that happens, tell me the location of the doctor you visited."

Officer Hayes looked at the wound in his shoulder then whispered. "It was a charity place funded by higher-ups like mayors and royals."

Murphy pulled out the brass watch and the locket with a circular shape. "These are the clues I have. The people who were at the age of 25 or close to it were targeted; the fact that even some of these people were children too."

The other officers looked at Hayes, then back to Mo Fei, and nodded. "We will give you the nearest apartment, though could you confirm your identity again?"

Murphy pulled out an identity card; his nationality was of an another country as he quickly hid the birthdate behind his thumb, then he said with a small groan. "I shifted to this country a few days ago; let’s say, as I said, I have been walking by the road."

The lead nodded again and walked out to arrange a place. However, the other cop began their work. Murphy stared at Hayes, then turned back to his work.

My mind is going insane for answers for some reason. Damn it, I can’t truly focus on anything else besides trying to find answers.

The Serpent’s voice echoed in his mind. "Great Master, don’t let the identity take over, or else you may lose your true one."

Mo Fei grunted and leaned against the chair. Argh, do I really have to keep my act? He thought, before looking back at Hayes who was staring at him silently. "What do you want?"

"Uh... so will I die?"

"Yes." Murphy spoke without hesitation.

​Hayes swallowed hard, staring at the detective leaning against the windowsill, flipping a coin in between his fingers. ​"Why aren’t you putting me in chains?" Hayes choked out.

​Murphy didn’t look up from his little game. "It’s simple. Chains invite struggle. Struggle creates noise. Noise cancels focus." He murmured, his grey eyes catching the streetlight outside. "Let’s see what way you’ll get murdered."

"Please, at least be reassuring."

One of the officers returned. "You should rest, Detective Law; we have arranged the room."

Mo Fei nodded and moved. Soon, he entered the narrow building and found his apartment.

A small room without any extraordinary decorations. He sat in the bed and scanned the place first. Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

Kiyori’s voice vibrated through his brain. "Mo Fei, are you there?"

He sighed, his face changing half to normal, and he muttered. "I can hear you."

"I have just been trying to find the village; now I think I’m stuck in a forest, wahhh. I can’t find the way anymore."

"I really doubt that you are lost; you just wanted to talk."

"No! I’m lost, the place is kind of weird, and I need to find a way out.

​Mo Fei sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his temples as the chaotic thoughts of Murphy Law tried to push past to the surface of his mind. He forcefully suppressed the mad thoughts, keeping his voice grounded as he responded to Kiyori.

​"If you’re surrounded by weirdly shaped trees and fog, then just stop moving first." Mo Fei advised, his voice dropping to its original calm tone. "Mark a tree, sit down, and let the Serpent guide your steps. It can sense spirit threads, so trust its directions."

"I did mark a tree!" Kiyori’s voice whined softly in his mind. "With an arrow! But when I turned around, the arrow was pointing up at the sky..."

​A faint smile broke through Mo Fei’s rigid expression, anchor-pinning his true identity before the cold obsession of Murphy began to take over again. "Then ask the Serpent to clear a path. And Kiyori?"

"Hmm?"

"Get out of there first, and don’t talk to me for a while; I’m a bit busy, so you can annoy the Serpent."

​"Got it! Be careful too." She murmured with a gentle warmth lingering in her tone before her voice faded from his mind, leaving only the quiet hiss of the Serpent guarding her.

​Mo Fei exhaled slowly. As the connection snapped shut, his eyes greyed once more. The warmth again drained from his face, replaced by a cold, sharp expression.

​Murphy Law stood up, pulling his fedora down over his eyes. "Time to go to work."

He looked at the watch; it was almost midnight, but then suddenly a scream tore through the silence. It was Hayes, he quickly fixed his coat and rushed outside his room, then burst through the door.

Just as he did that, someone jumped out of the window. The last thing he saw was a man wearing a golden-streaked mask with a beak. Hayes stood near a wall, his pupils dilated in fear as he looked at Murphy, who watched this happen silently, watching the cut in Hayes’ neck, and spoke. "Tell me the location of the clinic; I’m leaving right now."

"It is in the eastern border of Clockwork near the forest department." Hayes rasped, his hand reaching for the wide half arc. "I’ll come. What if they come for me again?"

"Stay with the police; I’ll do it myself."

Just then, officers burst in upon hearing the scream. Murphy turned on his heel, his heavy leather boots clicking against the wooden floorboards as he walked toward the precinct exit. The Chief of Police stepped into his path with his jaw tight. "Detective Law! You can’t just walk into Sector 20 without backup. The East End is practically ruled by the factory guilds and royals—"

Murphy stopped, tilting his hat just enough for his piercing grey eyes to catch the dim gaslight overhead. "Chief, when a city’s laws fail, mine take effect. Tell your boys to prepare body bags for Boiler Alley. And don’t bother hurrying."

He pushed open the heavy double doors and stepped back out into the rainy, smoke-filled night.

In an hour he reached the clinic with the help of the public. He stood in front of the door and looked at the map in his hand. His gaze scanned the place, then the guard walked toward him.

An old man who held a stick stopped near him. "Mister, how can I help?"

"Is this clinic closed?"

"Yes, the time of closing is 11:00 at night."

Murphy walked forward, but the guard stopped him.

"You can’t go in."

Murphy glanced at him once, then walked again without stopping, his one hand resting on the revolver as the old man stepped back and the man’s expression wavered.

He stepped inside while the door closed behind him as he observed the place with a cold expression. A typical clinic without anything wrong, as he walked deeper and saw a board where a perfect circle was drawn; he exhaled a long breath before walking inside the room.

There wasn’t much to observe yet; on the ground, a purple chemical was spotted by him.

He turned and walked toward the main room of the clinic and opened the door, but as soon as he entered, a musty pungent scent hit him, but there was nothing suspicious, almost as if the scent was there yet wasn’t. Even when he followed it, the scent stopped near a wall where a face was drawn. He turned toward a wardrobe where a ring rested, a golden ring with an expensive diamond that a normal person could never buy.

He took the ring and then knocked on the wall; it echoed like hollow wood, and he slowly pulled away and stared at the wall longer. "So, the doctor is also nothing more than just someone who is being used as a collector and surgeon."

He tilted his fedora slightly, and a short chuckle echoed. "Intresting, really really interesting. All of these are making me excited; the whole case is even more complicated."

He looked at the ring. ’Someone royal is behind this all.’

Thud-clatter!

Suddenly, something fell with its echo resonating through the silence. He turned toward the sound and saw a different mask that resembled an owl fall with a clatter. "I see now."