Obadiah's Layers Upon Layers of Schemes

Watching the so-called Adjudicator flee in disarray, Sherlock made no move to stop her. After all, having seen the movies, Sherlock knew that although this so-called Adjudicator appeared lofty and powerful, she was really nothing more than a puppet raised by the High Table.

Sherlock had no need to say so much to a puppet. Restoring that woman's face had merely been a warning to the High Table not to entertain any inappropriate thoughts about him.

This was especially true when it came to the people around him. Whether it was John Wick or Tony, Sherlock did not want them to suffer anything they should never have had to encounter because of him.

Sherlock might be a slacker, and he might like peace and quiet, but he did not want to be peaceful himself while helplessly watching his friends and family sink into the mire.

The last of those three proposals had also reminded Sherlock of something. He was a superhuman and possessed the power of alchemy, but not everyone around him possessed power.

Especially John Wick. Though he bore the title of Night Devil, he was, at his core, merely an ordinary person!

Sherlock did not want John Wick and Helen to encounter things they should never have had to face for no reason because of him!

After seeing off the so-called Adjudicator, the expression on Sherlock's face gradually relaxed. Rather than immediately opening the documents she had left on the coffee table, he first opened the invitation in his hand.

Though it was called an invitation, it was essentially just an electronic metal card. It was exquisitely made, roughly the size of a bank card, with intricate patterns etched across its surface.

This thing probably needed to be activated at the Continental Hotel—or perhaps the Adjudicator had been meant to activate it for him. But because of Sherlock's earlier threat, the matter had simply been forgotten.

Sherlock did not particularly care. After all, he probably would not have any dealings with the Continental Hotel from now on. Even if he did, he could simply have John Wick take him to the Continental Hotel in New York to activate the card.

While he was at it, he could check out the movie location and get to know that old fox Winston.

Sherlock casually slipped the metal VIP card into his wallet before opening the documents the Adjudicator had left behind.

The facts proved that sometimes, when people were speechless, they really did laugh. The documents described in painstaking detail how Obadiah had hired the Continental Hotel to assassinate his parents, who had accepted the contract, and precisely how the assassination had been carried out.

Most importantly, they were practically filled with Obadiah's absurd maneuvers, leaving Sherlock utterly speechless.

How should he put it? Tony's investigation had not been wrong. Obadiah truly had not contacted any suspicious individuals, because everyone Obadiah had contacted was his own subordinate!

It was merely a small cleaning company owned by Obadiah!

And according to Tony's files, the company had a simple purpose: cleaning Obadiah's estate.

Of course, that was only the surface story. In reality, the cleaning company was essentially a cleaner team affiliated with the Continental Hotel.

Though it also handled ordinary cleaning work, most of that business consisted of cleaning Obadiah's estate.

That was right. The people who had taken the contract were not assassins, but Obadiah's own cleaner team!

This cleaner team, which belonged solely to Obadiah, was not only responsible for its usual cleaning duties. Behind the scenes, it also helped Obadiah gather "evidence" that he could use to "threaten" high-ranking officials or shareholders.

As for why Obadiah's own people had needed to register with the Continental Hotel, and why Obadiah had specifically arranged to commission his own cleaner team by name through the Continental Hotel—

The answer was simple. Obadiah needed to use this method to build his cleaner team's reputation within the Continental Hotel, making it easier for them to gather intelligence for him! And, as it happened, the Continental Hotel had actually tacitly permitted this arrangement.

As for intelligence gathering, in the cleaners' line of work, anything left at the scene could essentially count as extra income—a tip, in other words. That was perfectly normal.

Gathering intelligence only meant that this cleaner company had poor ethics; it did not mean they were bad at their job. In fact, quite the opposite—their work was top-notch.

All that could be said was that Obadiah had calculated everything and truly maximized his benefits. The only thing he had not expected was for these matters to catch S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention, much less end up in the hands of Sherlock, the victim himself.

After reading the documents, Sherlock did not hesitate for even a moment. He immediately packed up and drove out.

Now that he knew exactly who his enemy was, there was no reason for Sherlock to let them continue living, was there?

He sped all the way there and soon arrived at the cleaning company the cleaner team used as a front. The moment he entered, Sherlock did not hesitate. He pulled out the black gun he had made at Tony's home and decisively fired several shots into the air.

With the gunshots ringing out, the ordinary employees who did not know the company's true nature screamed and fled. Sherlock never tried to stop them. Though some fish might slip through the net this way, he did not particularly care.

Once all the ordinary people had left, Sherlock did not hesitate. He took out his Spear of Longinus and began playing a game of "battle royale" inside the small cleaning company.

These people had little chance of hurting Sherlock, so anyone he discovered was basically skewered in one long string by Sherlock.

After stopping and moving along the way, Sherlock soon arrived outside a tightly shut room. When he opened the door, the sight before him quickly left him stunned.

It was a file room. After nearly every successful cleanup mission, they recorded the process and the reasoning behind it here.

On one hand, it served as an archive. On the other, it was a training room for newcomers.

And as it happened, Sherlock found the file on his parents inside. At last, he learned exactly how these people had murdered them.

It was laughably simple—so simple that it was almost absurd.

All they needed to do was mix another liquid into the aviation kerosene!

After ensuring that the plane took off normally, changes in the high-altitude environment would alter the liquid. It could then easily cause the plane to lose power and crash.

Once the plane crashed, the liquid would be almost impossible to identify amid the conditions at the scene, completing the assassination.

What enraged Sherlock was that these people had been so utterly heartless. Just to murder his parents, they had made everyone on an entire plane die with them!

And incidents like this were far from rare in this file room!

As the sirens outside grew more numerous and closer, Sherlock gave it some thought, casually packed up several files, then took the bundled documents along with his parents' file and opened the Anywhere Door, vanishing from the spot.