Operation Red Book

"Joshua, Joshua...are you okay?"

Moriarty's voice lingered in Joshua's mind, echoing. Moriarty's face was split into three parts, swaying in front of his eyes.

I have a splitting headache, stomach ache, and face pain.

"I want to vomit." Joshua thought so, and a feeling of nausea surged in his stomach.

But before the feeling of nausea could rise to his throat, Joshua's mouth was pried open and a small bottle of ice-cold jelly was poured into his mouth.

The moment the jelly was swallowed, the nausea was suppressed. The comfortable coolness flowed from the throat to the stomach, and then from the stomach to the internal organs and the veins of the whole body, and there was no pain wherever it went.

Especially to the heart, the coolness subdued the heat, and Joshua felt a lot calmer.

Finally, it was the end. Joshua had never felt so peaceful and smooth. His eyes were no longer dry and heavy, and his mind had never been so clear.

Joshua opened his eyes and saw a blurry world before him.

"Mr. Moriarty, do you still have my glasses?" Joshua asked dully.

"Here, it's been fixed for you."

Moriarty picked up the thick-framed black glasses on the bedside table and handed them to Joshua who was leaning against the head of the bed.

"Mr. Moriarty, what is going on?"

Joshua looked around at the people surrounding his bed. The most conspicuous one was Victor in white, and Johnson who was smiling faintly beside him.

"There are no kidnappers, no bombs, this is all fake."

Moriarty met Joshua's brown eyes with approval, and the expression in the back remained unchanged.

"So, Johns Newspaper is also fake?" Joshua asked calmly, with obvious disappointment.

"Of course... it's true. Johns Newspaper is my first asset in Stair Lane. Without being modest, the entire Stair Lane, including the Brown Manor in the back and Sicily Avenue in front, are all my assets."

Johnson, with his hands behind his back and his black coat making his figure look even taller, walked towards Joshua with an elegant gait.

"This newspaper is indeed under my name, but it serves Her Majesty the Queen exclusively." Johnson winked at Joshua playfully.

"The SCO organization is behind Johns Newspaper, and everyone who works here is a member of SCO."

"Mr. Joshua Williams, as the current leader of SCO, I formally invite you to become a member of our SCO."

Victor, standing at the end of the bed, stared at Joshua silently, his voice cold and full of unquestionable majesty.

"Mr. Williams, as the president of Johns Newspaper, I officially declare you a member of our newspaper. Your salary will be settled monthly, and your meals and accommodation will be reimbursed."

Johnson pulled out Joshua's left hand, took out an obsidian ring, and gently put it on Joshua's index finger. The size was just right.

"I haven't said whether I want to join or not."

Joshua lowered his head and looked at the obsidian ring shining brightly under the light.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze, and the air seemed to have dropped to freezing point.

"So, Joshua, are you willing?" Moriarty broke the silence first and asked seriously.

Joshua raised his head, looked at Moriarty with lifeless eyes, then looked at Johnson, and finally looked at Victor with a firm and bright gaze: "Pay this month's salary first and I will join."

"Of course!"

The door of the room was pushed open, and a freckled boy and a girl holding a doll ran out. As soon as they came in, they fell on Joshua's bed.

"I'm Thomas Franklin!"

The freckled boy has orange curly hair and an innocent and cute smile.

"I'm Luna Hester."

The girl had empty eyes and a hollow voice. She wore a blood-red bow headband on her flaxen curly hair. The doll in her hand was dressed exactly like her.

"Don't disturb Mr. Williams's rest, both of you!"

A lady with woolen curly pigtails and a white nurse's dress came in with a frown on her face, scolding Thomas and Luna.

"My recovery potion is healing your body. It will take at least one night to fully recover. During this time, take a good rest, little curly."

"This is Ms. Bell Cruz, SCO's healer. Her potions are amazing, as you should have felt," Moriarty explained.

"They were too harsh. It was just acting. There was no need to be so harsh."

Bell brought Joshua an ice towel and applied it to the swelling on his face.

"Today I asked God for advice, and God told me to keep fit. Today I saw a human sandbag, and I want to beat him into soft cheese, so as not to go against God's will."

A black-haired young man wearing monocular glasses and holding a thick Bible appeared behind Bell.

He was dressed like a clergyman and had no fewer than ten different kinds of rings on his fingers.

"Lost little lamb, I saved you, kneel down before me, I will accompany you to confess to God."