Operation Red Book

Jacob shouted, and the dial on his palm emitted a dazzling golden light for a moment. Joshua felt that the whole world had become quiet.

Endless yellow sand floated in the air, filling the entire room like the freckles of an adolescent girl.

Joshua finally opened his red and swollen eyes. Alexander opposite him had been wrapped in a square wooden box with wooden strips pasted up layer by layer, like a deformed onion.

"No, I don't want anyone to disturb me while I'm enjoying my appetizers."

Beatrice raised one corner of her mouth and glanced at Jacob.

She spread her fingers gracefully, her arms lengthening rapidly as she stretched them out.

"Strange...why doesn't it work?"

Jacob clenched his back teeth tightly. The witch's arm seemed to be out of control of time and continued to move forward at the original speed.

"Click!"

Without the slightest surprise, Beatrice stretched out her big hand, and her long nails easily cut the metal chain of the watch, snatching away the dial that was suspended in Jacob's palm.

"You can slow down time, that's great! Then...how many positions can you change in one minute? I'll experiment with you!"

Beatrice said teasingly, sliding her finger along Jacob's chin.

"What should I do! I can't move!"

Jacob's frown deepened, and his left hand remained in the same position, as if petrified.

“There’s a dial on the wall!”

Thomas hid behind Joshua and shouted a warning to Jacob in the distance.

"Oh! Oh! Let me guess what you want to do next... If you guess correctly, Mr. Priest will send me to heaven!"

Jacob's arms were stiff and his forehead was covered with sweat, but even in this embarrassing state, he still suited the witch's taste.

Before he could stretch out his right hand, Beatrice quickly pulled it upwards, and her long arm, like a rubber snake, quickly flew onto the clock hanging on the wall with the small dial.

"Bang--crash--crash--"

The clock was smashed to pieces, and the gears and screws, sandwiched with broken glass, fell down along with the stopped hands.

The strong wind blew the broken clock and Beatrice's wanton laughter into the gap on the floor.

Joshua waited for a long time but did not hear the sound of the wreckage falling to the ground.

"So..."

Beatrice's arms twitched up and down like a flying snake, and soon returned to normal.

She slowly adjusted her curly hair, and her cunning eyes slowly swept over the remaining two men.

"Who's next?"

Joshua froze in place, his flaxen curls soaked with sweat.

Poor kid, he didn't even dare to breathe.

Thomas hid behind Joshua again. He tried his best to hide himself, and his little hands clasped around Joshua's waist trembled slightly.

As for the most rational man, Beatrice had a hint of doubt in her eyes - he was leisurely drinking hot tea.

"Mr. Moriarty." Joshua swallowed hard. "Even though it's tea time now, it's a bit inappropriate at this moment..."

"What's out of place?"

Moriarty lowered his eyes lazily, refusing to even glance at the other people in the room.

"That just proves that my deduction was correct, doesn't it?"

His voice was calm, even with a hint of excitement.

"I can't wait for Mr. Holmes to fulfill his promise..."

"Oh, you are full of Hamlet's yellow rock candy and can't get an erection, do you think your inferences are all correct?"

Beatrice had never been so humiliated before; her eyes widened and anger comparable to that of an Argentinian chili pepper burst out of her beautiful eyes.

Joshua lowered his head, and his already flushed face turned even redder.

"I have only one request, can you please stop describing me as rock candy... I will never scold those students who gave me nicknames again. Compared to rock candy, those nicknames are much more pleasant to the ear..."

"No, Rock Candy Man! If I say you are a Yellow Rock Candy Man, then you are a Yellow Rock Candy Conservative Man!"

"Humph! I don't know how Edinburgh's soul was harvested. Edinburgh does not fall under...that lord's jurisdiction...Don't laugh at me! I was just transferred back to London from Texas this month!"

Joshua and Jacob were confused, but Moriarty raised his eyebrows, sighed, and simply closed his eyes.

"The reason why I went to so much trouble to come here is because, because... I want to see Bell Cruz, to see if she is doing well, and to see what kind of work she is doing now..."

Joshua's brows gradually relaxed. He slowly raised his head and inexplicably met the witch's amber-clear eyes.

Different from the cunning and charm just now, Beatrice's eyes were filled with the emotions that Joshua was most familiar with. In the quiet air, her eyes were as clear as Antarctic icebergs.

"See what kind of people are around her, see if her asthma is still as frequent as before, see if she smiles every day, see if she has realized her dreams..."

Beatrice's eyes were filled with tears and her voice became increasingly hoarse, just like Joshua who was moved by her words.

"You two are very good friends, right?" Joshua wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his fingers.

"You want to know about Ms. Bell's life, want to know Ms. Bell's emotions, want to do everything for Ms. Bell, want to be Ms. Bell's best friend... I understand this feeling very well."

"Of course... of course..."

Beatrice's shoulders slowly began to twitch, she lowered her head, and her voice became more choked.

"Is this a friend? Is this a stalker? You two perverts, I will report your crimes to God..."

Jacob remained in a rigid position, rolling his eyes to the side as he grumbled.

When everyone was immersed in the emotional atmosphere, Beatrice changed the subject and her voice suddenly became deep and powerful.

"Of course... that's not the case! Idiotas!"

"Of course I hope she lives as badly as possible!"

Beatrice bit her back teeth hard, and her beautiful facial features were squeezed together.

"I hope she has an asthma attack every day, I hope she has a sullen face every day, and I hope all her magic potions become useless!"

"Bell Cruz is the worst wizard in the world! I hate her a thousand times more than the stinkiest herring in the Mariana Trench!"

"Ahhhh! You disgusting yellow rock candy impotent man, you made me so excited! You will have a dozen wrinkles tomorrow! Damn rock candy! I will kill you!"

Beatrice's black curly hair stood up, looking like seaweed floating freely in the cracks of the rocks on the seabed.

Two deep black misty rays of light shot out from her eyes, her white teeth slowly grew longer and sharper, and the beautiful Siren finally revealed her evil face.

Moriarty raised his eyelids, glanced at the scary witch with the corner of his eye, and then quickly turned his head away.

"Woo, woo, woo!" Thomas let out a long whimper behind Joshua.

The witch stretched out her wrinkled fingers and extended her long arm toward Moriarty. Her fingers gradually turned into sharp points and finally turned into a toffee-colored sword.

"No! No! Mr. Moriarty didn't mean it!"

"She did it on purpose because I concluded she was the one who did the suicide at London Bridge."

"Uuuuuuuuuu——"

"Damn it! Damn it! Why can't I move my hands? Who still has a watch... You poor bastards, can't you afford a watch?"

"Uuuuuuuuuu——"

"Let her kill me. I don't want to see that math test paper again. It's a big stain on my teaching career."

"You are a man of ice candy who is more arrogant than Lucifer!"

"enough!"

Joshua shouted loudly, and the turmoil in Johns' newspaper office stopped.

"At least remove the barrier you set up first! Mr. Moriarty can't die in a world full of loopholes!"

The spike stopped in mid-air, and below it was the bottomless chasm. A few pieces of rubble fell to the side, but there was still no echo.

I don't know when the sunlight retreated from the river surface, and the blue sky suddenly turned into a world of dark clouds.

The air was filled with a damp smell, and the influx of water molecules made Joshua's breathing heavier.

The eyes of the others were all cast towards Joshua who was standing in front of them. Some looked puzzled, some looked shocked, and some looked full of praise and pride.