Operation Red Book

Chapter 221: One Part of Good News

"I supervised the exam for three hours in the morning, but only graded it for half an hour. The back of half of the test papers was blank."

"From the moment I started answering the questions, I spent five hours worrying about the men who would be running Britain."

The drooping hair made his voice sound more haggard. Moriarty sat upright on the other side of the bed, looking very exhausted.

"Excuse me, Mr. Moriarty, I'll get you some tea."

Joshua blinked, scratched the back of his head, took three steps, and looked back at Ivy three times.

"Isn't this short distance enough for you to feel at ease? I've already poured the tea. It's South African Rooibos."

Moriarty smiled politely and pointed to the exquisite tea set on the cabinet.

"Feel sorry……"

Joshua couldn't remember how many times he had apologized, and he never remembered. After all, the apologies he had made in the past decade or so were nothing compared to the sneezes Mrs. Hudson had sneezed in over fifty years.

"Miss Bell said you were in a bad state."

Moriarty stood up and brought tea, placing a short teacup in Joshua's hand.

A slice of dark green lemon rose and fell in the off-white porcelain cup, creating ripples in the reddish-brown tea soup.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Joshua's voice floated in the air.

"Don't get into any trouble. If you pass out, I will freeze you and Miss Ivy in a Russian laboratory and wake you up with boiling water 200 years later."

"200 years from now... 2081, by the end of the 21st century, Ivy and I will be almost dead of old age."

"It's better to die in your own time than in the past, don't you think?"

"Then I hope Mr. Moriarty can live to be over 200 years old. I hope that I can see you, Ivy, Mr. Holmes, Mrs. Hudson, Ms. Bell, Mr. Victor, etc. before I die..."

Joshua counted slowly on his fingers. The tea resting on his left leg stopped rippling, and the lemon no longer rose and fell in the water, but instead floated in circles on the water.

Moriarty blew on the tea, and his frown relaxed as he drank the tea.

"You've been staring at the red book all day. Have you gained anything new?" Moriarty asked, looking up.

Joshua looked at the red book at his feet, pouted and shook his head.

Since Ivy fainted, there has been no new content in the Red Book.

"Is there no other way except the Red Book?"

"Ms. Bell...she said she was going to find a very powerful black magician who might be able to save Ivy."

Joshua replied calmly that in fact, he had contacted many people before, and he was the only one who knew about this matter.

Raphael, the omnipotent god of death, was the first person he thought of. Unfortunately, Joshua had no idea how to summon him to his presence, and now he couldn't even see a strand of purple hair.

Grace, the Grim Reaper who had once been an angel, was the second person he thought of, but Mr. Holmes could not see him anywhere, and Joshua did not even enter the gate of Scotland Yard.

Dorian, the demon who inexplicably signed a contract with Ivy, was the criminal who caused Ivy to be in a coma for two weeks. Joshua got angry when he thought of him.

Joshua secretly made up his mind at that moment that he would never say thank you or apologize to this treacherous devil from then on.

Dorian had come here many times, and each time he came on the moon.

The devil comes and goes without a trace; he comes unexpectedly and leaves in a triumphant manner.

Sometimes he suddenly appeared at the end of the bed, sometimes he suddenly appeared behind her, sometimes he suddenly appeared outside the window, and sometimes he suddenly appeared on Ivy's bed.

When he first appeared, Joshua asked about the cause of Ivy's fainting and how to treat her.

He said, "Who am I?"

Joshua replied, "Dorian."

He said, “What is my identity?”

Joshua replied: "The young master of the Emerson family... the devil from hell... the one who signed a contract with Ivy... the one who had a crush on Ivy... the one who hurt Ivy... Ah! Please get out!"

He said: "I am a demon that makes people sick, not one of those white flies that can revive people with a breath of air."

Joshua replied: "Sorry, no, I mean... so you don't know why Ivy is unconscious."

“I’ll ask other people,” he said.

In the following time, Dorian found many things that were not human.

Sometimes he dragged a talking skull, sometimes he pinched a mummy's neck, sometimes he pulled a strand of Ivy's hair, and sometimes he gave Ivy a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Every time, he turned Joshua beside the bed into air, and without giving Joshua a chance to speak, he disappeared in the green flames.

Joshua secretly made up his mind that he would never say "please" to this disrespectful demon again.

Also knocking on the door of 221-B Baker Street and expressing their willingness to help were Count Vincent Waite, who came with Moriarty, and Miss Goodwin, who was alone.

The treatment at the Royal London Hospital was provided by Lord Vincent Waite, a polite gentleman.

Mrs. Hudson praised Count Vincent Waite because of one detail:

When the Count entered Ivy's room, he would bow slowly at the door and then say softly, "Excuse me."

Joshua was indifferent to him because he had seen the arrogance in the earl's eyes.

He didn't stay in front of Ivy's bed for long. He just glanced at Ivy's neck and then looked at the palm of her hand.

Only once, and after that time, he never appeared again.

Miss Goodwin would visit for two hours, every evening at six o'clock.

She would read the day's newspaper to Ivy and tell her the boring stories that the nobles discussed every day.

When Miss Goodwin knocked on the door of 221-B Baker Street for the first time, she was wearing a dark cloak and looked nervous and excited, like a castle princess coming for her first tryst.

She said she was Ivy's good friend, but Joshua didn't believe it because they had only known each other for two or three days.

It was more like he didn't want to believe it, because he had tried for three years to make Ivy remember the name "Joshua".

"Dear little guy, have some butter cookies I made myself."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson, your cookies are the best in the world."

"Ivy once said the same thing... If you don't mind, please take some more with you when you leave."

"Can I? I am so grateful! Oh, my God! I really envy Ivy for living in such a warm family. You must have given her countless family love and friendship!"

From then on, Joshua had to admit that Miss Goodwin was gentle, kind, beautiful and generous, and was completely unlike those arrogant upper-class aristocrats.

Just like the black cloak she came in, when she left, she disappeared into the darkness like a shadow.

After spending a few days together, Joshua and Mrs. Hudson were both looking forward to meeting her.

Although Joshua still didn't want to admit that Ivy and he had become close friends just two hours after knowing each other.

But after they parted one day, Miss Goodwin never came to 221-B Baker Street again.

Mrs. Hudson joked that she had fled England with a large quantity of butter cookies.

Joshua was a little worried. It was an impossible joke for a noble lady to travel alone at night in Victoria. He even suspected that Miss Goodwin was also a ghost walking at night.

As he was thinking, Joshua's thoughts returned to the present, and he finally saw the thick stack of newspapers in Moriarty's hand.

"You are holding a newspaper in your hand. There is new news outside... Please tell me if there is even one percent good news in it."

Moriarty shook the newspaper gently, and the "crackling" sound filled the entire ward, like a rumbling thunder.

"One percent of good news is that President James Garfield was shot at a train station."

"Another one percent of good news is that... America is in chaos, and the Americans who are causing trouble at the Chinese docks can be put aside for now."

Moriarty smiled politely and gently placed the top stack of newspapers on the floor.

Joshua let out a long sigh. The Madison incident was the most troublesome.

This person is cunning and insidious, and is good at using the media to incite public opinion. Ivy has been impeached by all major media.

This is one percent of good news, and with it come millions of troubles.

Madison was just a fuse. As we all know, the iceberg on the sea level is far from being as small and beautiful as it seems.