The Devil’s Cage

The sudden news made Lagren frown.

It seemed like he had not expected this situation.

“What happened? What made Wilberst kill Hardy Lynne? Was he under someone’s control? Or…”

Lagren, speculating endlessly, then looked at Kieran.

Unlike the surprise that overtook Lagren, Kieran didn’t change his expression at all. He was sitting there with his cold, calm face as though he had seen it all.

“You expected this?” Lagren asked.

“Humans’ hearts are a bottomless abyss filled with greed, like monsters about to devour their victims, dooming for eternity. So it isn’t that strange for Wilberst to do something out of his character,” Kieran said, not answering the question.

Likewise, just like Lagren, he also concealed some vital information.

Lagren obviously hid some vital pieces of information from Kieran, like the emphasis on Hardy Lynne.

If Hardy Lynne were really clean and absent of any suspicious movements, he would not have gotten such a spotlight.

“I think we need to have an honest talk,” Lagren said.

“Sure, but before that, I need your help in removing my name from the wanted list. I want to go have a look at the scene of Hardy Lynne’s death,” Kieran nodded and voiced his conditions.

“You people really think I am almighty?” Lagren pouted again.

But he still picked up the phone and dialed it.

The phone call was short but the results were great.

“You are off the wanted list. Now you can rove freely.”

After Lagren told Kieran the good news, he became extremely upset.

“Each time I see you people, I always suffer a great loss! Do you know how much it costs to maintain the information network of an area? Bribing each department requires a lot of funds, and relying on the funds from headquarters is definitely not enough!

“Do you know why people like us easily suffers losses of hair, have oily faces and die of heart attacks? Stress! All stress, you know? Stress! So you must reflect to headquarters to increase my funds!”

“I know, yes and no,” Kieran replied straightforwardly.

Kieran’s straightforward answer was like an arrow firing into Lagren’s heart. The hotel owner covered his heart and staggered backwards as if he were about to fall at any moment. His ranting didn’t stop: “With your despicable attitude, you still tell me that you are not a Monster Hunter? From top to bottom, even your answers are exactly the same as those bastards’!”

“There is always similar food in the world… I mean, matters. The world houses all kinds of strange things and always surprises people with astonishing matters. Those astonishing matters are often created by men,” Kieran said calmly.

“This is the reason for your rejection? You did say food just now, right? Not matters!” Lagren rolled a white eye at Kieran angrily.

“You got it wrong, that isn’t the reason for my rejection. I am telling you since Wilberst is involved—no matter how differently he acted from his original character, he would be going after the biggest gain in the end.”

Kieran denied the allegations without changing his expression, then shifted the topic subtly.

And it seemed to be effective.

Lagren’s attention was attracted right away.

“How can you be so sure that someone isn’t controlling him? Or are you hiding something?” Lagren looked at Kieran with furrowed brows.

Kieran didn’t answer, instead, he looked back at Lagren. Lagren was stunned for a while before he reacted and said slowly, “That ‘thing’ was lost from Hardy Lynne’s hand, and based on my investigation, it should have been an inside job! However, the only thing Hardy Lynne hadn’t expected was how unreliable the men he hired would be. How could they allow a ‘snitch’ to steal it from them?”

After that, Lagren looked at Kieran again.

This time, Kieran didn’t let him down.

“I’ve seen people who have fallen under control and also people who haven’t. Last night when I met Wilberst, he was the latter.”

It was a very subjective answer, but Lagren wasn’t unsatisfied and even nodded.

Because of his mistaken identity, Lagren believed Kieran fully.

Kieran also hadn’t lied to Lagren.

Rank IV Spirit attribute allowed Kieran to deduce some reliable speculations.

“I see,” Lagren muttered to himself before saying to Kieran in a serious tone, “Don’t ask me what that ‘thing’ is though.”

Don’t ask?

Kieran squinted his eyes.

Lagren’s words easily sparked further thoughts in Kieran’s mind.

‘Don’t ask.’ Lagren obviously knew something but couldn’t answer him.

Would the answer attract trouble for him?

Kieran speculated this in his heart but didn’t ask out loud.

The way Lagren spoke allowed Kieran to wisely avoid the questions related to that ‘thing’, but in his heart, he was very concerned.

Kieran thought of Wu, who was still missing.

He even thought of ‘call the god’s name to be heard’.

A minute later, Kieran filed away his thoughts.

“When I come back, I want information on the four of them,” Kieran said before going out.

“Be careful. This incident might not be as simple as it seems,” Lagren reminded Kieran.

Kieran didn’t reply, only waving his right hand before swiftly going off.

Lagren saw Kieran off before becoming busy again. He habitually ranted as well.

“Always treating me like a nanny, and still don’t want to admit your identity.”

“Your personality should be from the direct lineage of those few bastards.”

“Is it because of what I said back then that this happened?”

“What a bunch of proud bastards.”

The arrogant loner nature of Monster Hunters was very well-known, and even among them was a bunch of extremely eccentric guys.

Compared to the already unique Monster Hunters, these guys were much more solitary and harder to get along, just like Kieran was before his eyes.

He was a Monster Hunter, but he kept denying it.

It made Lagren think of those few guys while searching for information.

Each of the people he thought of could cause him a headache and render him helpless.

“Which one will it be?”

Lagren went through the files eagerly.

He was looking forward to the astonishment on Kieran’s face when he exposed him of his identity.

After the commotion that happened that morning, Lagren had already collected pieces of information regarding the four targets and read through them thoroughly. He then threw the files under his bed.

Why hadn’t he given these to Kieran earlier?

Since Kieran said he needed the information when came back, Lagren would not hand it to him prematurely.

Dok Dok Dok.

Just as Lagren was narrowing down the possibilities of his investigation on Kieran’s identity, some knocks on the door resounded. He opened the door and saw Smith standing in front quietly. Lagren instantly got a headache.

He was all too familiar with Smith’s expression.

A lot of young men in the headquarters who failed to become a Monster Hunter shared a similar look.

“Come in.”

Lagren stepped aside and thought about how he would reject Smith.

While Lagren was thinking about how to subtly reject Smith, Kieran was shaking his head at Mier in another place.

“No,” he said.