The Devil's Cage

Kieran and the doctor heard the noisy commotion inside the ward, there was no way that the two officers on guard couldn’t.

"Hoskin, you watch that fellow inside!"

The senior officer said before running down the floors.

The young officer Hoskin who showed extreme enthusiasm in helping Kieran before then came into the ward looking helpless.

"Officer, I need to leave now, hope that someone still needs my help."

The middle-aged doctor left swiftly after saying that.

Kieran couldn’t help but raised a brow over the doctor’s action.

There must be something fishy about the doctor!

Kieran was utterly sure but he couldn’t directly prevent the doctor’s leave. His righteous words had sounded glorified plus his suitable identity made his leave reasonable.

Once again, Kieran experienced the importance of an "identity".

In previous dungeons, Kieran could easily take down the doctor or directly use [Mesly Ring] on him, but now?

Kieran looked down at the handcuffs.

The lights shed realization over the shaking cuffs, reminding him of the hardship that he had to go through in that particular moment.

Of course, it wasn’t Kieran’s style to give up when facing hardship, let alone when there was a possibility of a sub-mission!

When Kieran heard the doctor was relieved like a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders, a sub-mission appeared.

[Discover sub-mission: Accident]

[Accident: You have come across an accident inside the hospital and noticed something fishy behind it but you need solid proof...]

Although in this dungeon world, clearing a sub-mission would not increase the final dungeon rating, it will prolong and increase the time for Kieran to search for the main mission which was also equally important.

Kieran would never let an opportunity slip, so after the doctor left, he spoke to the young officer.

"Thank you for saving me, Officer Hoskin! Can I call you Hoskin? I heard the other officer called you that," Kieran said with a smile.

"Of course!" The young officer nodded straightforwardly.

"Although I wanted to introduce myself, forgive me for forgetting my name."

Kieran changed his smile into a bitter version as he went along with the flow.

"It’s fine! Everything will turn out fine in the end."

Hoskin tried to comfort Kieran but it seemed hard for the young officer. All he could say was some typical reply but it was exactly what Kieran wanted.

"To be honest... When I heard the bang from the jumping, I had some visions in my head and it might be related to my memories. I know it’s overly demanding but if it is possible, can you bring me to the scene?"

Kieran said as his expression turned into a desperate begging face.

It wasn’t hard to put on his acting because during his time at the welfare orphanage, most of the time he had to ensure the poor begging expression was hanging over his face, for more food, more time to rest, and the opportunity to leave.

So it was an easy job for Kieran since he had previous experience to back him up.

However, the young Hoskin seemed hesitant against Kieran’s request.

Different from the other officers who were trained by experience and had matured, Hoskin’s age had determined him to be more sympathetic to others in such incidents.

If it was the other senior officer, he might not even budge a muscle despite Kieran shouting his lungs out.

Hoskin, however, opened his mouth for an explanation.

"You see, my duty is to watch you and to bring you away from here is..."

"So you do not wish others to be impressed with you?" Kieran suddenly interrupted Hoskin’s words.

"What?" The young officer was stunned.

"If it was a homicide case just now and you are the one fastest to solve the case, what will you get?" Kieran emphasized.

"I’ll..."

The young officer opened his mouth instinctively to reply but nothing came out from his mouth but his face seemed to be looking forward to the outcome.

Sympathy would surely affect Hoskin’s judgment, and those who were eager to prove themselves were even more likely to be affected.

Kieran apologized to his native friend Schmidt in his heart quietly. It was because of all the chit-chat with Schmidt during their "winter break", Schmidt would always talk about the embarrassing things that happened during his youth or the friends around him who had just graduated from the academy. Otherwise, Kieran wouldn’t have gotten the idea to cut into Hoskin’s thinking.

"Opportunities come and go, I’m afraid that murderer is eliminating the last bit of proof while you are wasting time with me but does your heart of justice allow you to do that? Allow a murder to roam free without being brought to justice?"

Kieran hastened his tone. Although it was just words to rush Hoskin, part of it was the truth.

"But you..."

"You’re worrying that I might escape? I am injured, I won’t run! Besides, you can cuff me together with you! Or are you worrying that it might just a suicide instead of homicide? Is that important to you? You are a police officer, a person that serves justice! What else could you want if you waste some time and energy for the innocent victims?"

Kieran interrupted Hoskin once more and this time around he didn’t even give Hoskin the time to think but rushed him with the pride and honor of his occupation.

It was a lethal weakness for a young officer like him.

Kak!

The handcuff that cuffed Kieran on the bed was opened up after a clear noise.

"I’m not persuaded by your words, I’m just thinking about the innocent victim!"

Hoskin then cuffed Kieran’s hand with his after he said in an emphasizing tone.

"That’s right, you are doing the victim justice!"

Kieran nodded and eagerly went over to the door.

The young officer staggered as Kieran dragged him over and only recovered his pace after moving up two more steps.

Hoskin was shocked how powerful Kieran was but quickly reminded Kieran who was heading upstairs.

"The victim is on the lower floor!"

"It’s already being attended by many others, we don’t need to be there to mess around!"

Kieran said and hastened his steps.

He leaped up three flight of stairs with one step and went up from the fifth floor to the seventh floor in less than ten seconds.

If there wasn’t a "burden" behind Kieran, he would be faster.

After opening the door to the roof, Kieran spotted a pair of shoes near the guardrail.

The flat sole leather shoes which seemed to be well kept and a will were left under the shoe.

"Seems like it’s a suicide..."

Hoskin took up the shoes while breathing heavily and said in disappointment after checking.

Kieran kept quiet as he took the shoes and after he saw the sole’s pattern, he activated [Tracking] and checked the floor around the area.

St. Reid Hospital’s roof was opened to the public.

The rooftop was surrounded by a 3-meter tall iron fence and guard rails that was higher than a grown man’s hip plus a big area of plants with a lovely aroma.

The plethora of plants made the rooftop into a sky garden, many people liked to relax and rest there.

However, despite the many sets of footprints on the ground, there wasn’t one set that fit the shoes in Kieran’s hand.

Kieran handed the shoes to Hoskin and scanned the area once more.

Then, a sudden realization hit him, causing him to turn around right away and head downstairs.

After Hoskin placed the shoes back, he felt he was dragged away by Kieran’s ridiculous strength once more.

This time around, Kieran literally "dragged" Hoskin downstairs.

"Wait! Hold on a second! You discovered something?"

The young officer cried loudly.

"You will know soon!"

Kieran then ran even faster.