Operation Red Book

The bright moonlight illuminated the quiet and peaceful streets, sprinkling the dark tiles with gleaming white sugar.

The night enveloped the entire Florence Orphanage, and August Street fell into a deep sleep.

In places where the moonlight could not reach, an unknown tense atmosphere was undercurrently surging, as if it was in the grass surrounding the welfare home, or in the dark passage in the prayer room.

At some point, all the lights in the welfare home lit up, emitting warm light in the silent darkness.

Looking carefully inside from the window, you can see busy figures in the flickering light, some big, some small, some slow, some fast.

Inspector Lestrade led the police officers into the Florence Orphanage. Without time to investigate further, they opened the half-closed wooden doors one by one with guns in hand.

Going back to an hour ago, after Henry and Emily said goodbye to Holmes in the storage room, they both decided to go out and look for the Scotland Yard police officers.

They groped for the exit in the dark and successfully escaped through the low wall at the back door.

"Uncle with a gun! Uncle with a gun!"

Henry and Emily groped in the grass, calling out softly all the time.

Finally, after tripping over a boot hidden in the grass, they finally found the man covered in grass and holding a spear.

Henry and Emily explained their purpose. The man didn't say anything, but just pointed to Joshua and Inspector Lestrade across the street.

When Joshua spotted two children stumbling over, he was considering whether to climb in with the police to provide support.

Holmes and Ivy have been inside for three hours, and still no signal has been received.

Henry and Emily's clothes were torn in several places, their faces and hands were dirty, and there were many small scratches on their skin.

"Uncle Sherlock said, let's wake up all the children in the orphanage, but, but they are sleeping so deeply that we can't wake them up at all!"

Henry anxiously described the situation inside, took the water handed to him by Joshua and drank it in big gulps.

"Don't worry, don't worry, just take a rest first."

Joshua patted both Henry and Emily on the back.

Upon hearing this, Inspector Lestrade's face changed drastically, and he immediately gave orders to the police around him:

"Open the door of the orphanage and rescue all the children. Wake up those who can be woken up, and carry out those who cannot be woken up, hug them, or lift them out. Anything is fine!"

"If you encounter any strangers, order them to squat down. If they don't cooperate, shoot them immediately!"

Inspector Lestrade did not dare to delay for a moment. He assembled several teams, pried open the lock of the gate and rushed in.

"Have you met Mr. Holmes and Miss Ivy?" Joshua asked calmly.

"We followed Uncle Sherlock. He injured Dean Morris in the storeroom. Dean Morris ran away and Uncle Sherlock chased after him."

"And Miss Ivy, she and Haley met Miss Grace, and they went to the prayer room together."

Joshua took the two children and cleaned their wounds, then sent them to the medical vehicle brought by Scotland Yard.

When Joshua saw the wound on Emily's neck, his heart suddenly felt inexplicably gripped.

The cramps almost made him unable to lift his hands. He took several deep breaths before the pain was relieved a little.

"You guys stay here, I'll go in and take a look at the situation, okay?" Joshua said to the two of them while squatting.

"Mr. Watson!" Henry hurriedly grabbed Joshua's hand.

He and Emily looked at each other, and both raised their heads towards Joshua, their eyes shining: "We want to go too."

"You should have a good rest and recover from your injuries."

Joshua lowered his voice, patted the two men's heads gently, and pointed to the children who were carried out by the police.

The children opened their eyes drowsily, smacked their lips twice, and went back to sleep.

"There are mighty police officers inside. Don't worry about the safety of your companions."

"No! Mr. Watson, one more person means more strength. I also want to help you."

Emily spoke crisply, her voice soft but powerful.

"This is what Uncle Sherlock told us. We don't have parents, and our companions in the orphanage are more like family to us."

Henry also begged, "Please, Mr. Watson, we can still run and jump, and we can tell you the exact location!"

The two children pouted and looked at Joshua with tears in their eyes, just like two aggrieved little puppies.

Joshua couldn't stand their pleading, so he had to agree and took Henry and Emily into the orphanage, one hand each.

The policemen's movements were not loud, but they were still noticed by the residents nearby, and several curtains were drawn open.

Two or three pairs of eyes looked over from the gap in the curtains, reflecting a gleam of light under the moonlight.

"This is the prayer room. Miss Ivy and Haley seem to be missing."

Henry pointed to the prayer room, but the room was empty, just like usual.

"That wooden door is the storage room. Uncle Sherlock doesn't seem to be back yet." Henry pointed to the wooden door hidden in the dark corner.

The policemen were busy carrying the children up and down.

Henry and Emily said goodbye to Joshua and took some of the police to a bedroom on the second floor.

Joshua looked at the prayer room on the left and then at the wooden door on the right.

His feet were fixed in place, not knowing where to go.

The children have strong policemen to help them, and it would be troublesome if I went there myself.

The prayer room seemed no different, as calm as a pool of autumn water.

The goods inside the wooden door were in a mess and there was no place to step.

Joshua found residual bloodstains in some places, which extended deep into the ground and were blocked by collapsed cargo.

Joshua looked around but found nothing except a pistol in the corner.

He picked up the pistol and slowly moved to the empty restaurant.

The moonlight shone into Florence's dining room, casting a cold color on the gray room.

Joshua stood in the moonlight, and the dust visible to the naked eye moved slowly in the light, like microorganisms floating in a fish tank.

He paused, the sudden confusion made him feel a little helpless.

He was well aware of the secrets and dangers of this orphanage, and knew that his companions were in trouble, but he had no idea where to start, and even the most basic task of saving people was hopeless.

A huge emptiness and powerlessness crept into his soul, awakening a great desire deep in Joshua's heart.

At this moment, instinctive emotions overwhelmed his reason and rampaged through Joshua's heart.

Joshua took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He looked around the restaurant, paused, and walked towards Morris's office.