[Mysteries On Marvel] Chapter 88/89

At that moment...

The first grenade Eren had thrown landed directly above Sloan's head, its round shape catching his eye immediately.

Again?

The instant he saw the high-explosive grenade, Sloan's face twitched involuntarily.

At this point, Sloan utterly loathed these infernal grenades.

However...

Faced with the threat to his life, Sloan had no choice but to force his body upright, scrambling and rolling towards the other side of the cover with all his might.

Yet, as Sloan continued rolling away...

One grenade after another kept appearing in his line of sight as if summoned out of nowhere.

Seeing the grenades seemingly about to drown him, Sloan's eyes filled with despair.

"No..."

As fiery explosions erupted one after another, thick smoke from the grenades engulfed Sloan's figure.

And with the final, deafening explosion, Sloan's body was obliterated, torn into countless bloody fragments that rained across the area.

"Ha! I was about to leave, but you just had to insist on keeping me here. Now look what happened—lost your life for it!"

Behind the clown mask, Eren grinned maliciously as he watched the last traces of Sloan's presence disappear from his spiritual vision.

Next...

Eren deliberately took another round through the textile factory.

Using his Threads of Malice, he devoured anyone still clinging to life, ensuring that there were no survivors left in the blood-soaked factory.

Only after confirming the place was devoid of any life did Eren leave the factory, now echoing with the faint wail of approaching sirens. A glass container in hand, he quickly disappeared into the night.

Outside the Textile Factory

After realizing Eren had vanished, Gwen was consumed by anxiety and worry.

Under the weight of those emotions, she even managed to break through Eren's implanted mental suggestion, cautiously approaching the factory entrance.

Just as she was about to step through the main gate...

A slender yet surprisingly strong arm suddenly grabbed Gwen, pulling her away at a full sprint.

Startled, Gwen almost screamed, but Eren quickly covered her mouth with his other hand.

Nearly dragging Gwen for dozens of meters, Eren pulled her back to their previous hiding spot before releasing her and whispering harshly, "Are you out of your mind? Why were you heading in there? Didn't I tell you to stay put and not come out?"

Seeing it was Eren who had grabbed her, Gwen, who had nearly been scared to death, snapped back irritably, "I was worried about you! You vanished out of nowhere. If I weren't worried, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near that place!"

Eren rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, I guess."

Having barely escaped through the partially collapsed underground tunnel—which he had sealed with pre-planted explosives—Eren had returned to find Gwen creeping toward the factory entrance, breaking through the mental suggestion he had left on her earlier.

Did she think the horrors inside the textile factory were something she could handle?

Setting down the container he carried, Eren wasted no time rushing forward to grab Gwen and haul her back.

"Don't change the subject! Where did you go? I almost thought you—" Gwen began to question him, but Eren cut her off, pointing to the glass container on the ground.

"When you were on the phone earlier, I noticed someone running out of the factory carrying several containers like this. He looked terrified, probably spooked by the gunfire. One of the containers fell, but he didn't even stop to pick it up—just bolted."

"I went back to grab it," Eren said nonchalantly.

Gwen frowned at the grimy container. "You're crazy! What if it's dangerous?"

Eren shrugged.

"I don't know if it's dangerous. What I do know is that you'd regret it if I didn't take it. My intuition told me that whatever's in this container is exactly what Helen needs."

"What? Are you saying this is—" Gwen stared at the filthy container in disbelief.

"Of course! Why else would I bring it back? Oh, and one more thing—you cannot tell your dad about this. If you do, they'll definitely confiscate it. And if they do, Helen's scars will..."

Before Eren could finish, Gwen caught his meaning and nodded firmly.

...

At the Textile Factory

Unsurprisingly, the first officers to arrive were from the 13th Precinct, led by George himself, who had rushed over immediately after getting his daughter's call.

Seeing Gwen and Eren unharmed brought visible relief to George.

But after calming down, George scolded his daughter harshly before assigning a female officer to escort both Gwen and Eren away from the scene.

The deafening explosions earlier had even shocked George as he drove over, and he had no intention of letting his daughter be anywhere near such a dangerous place.

...

Outside the Textile Factory

The officers who arrived stared at the battered textile factory, which looked like it had been through a small war.

Drawing their weapons in unison, they remained on high alert.

"George, the SWAT team's here," said Vinny, clad in a bulletproof vest and helmet, as an NYPD armored vehicle pulled up.

George nodded and addressed the officers around him. "The criminals we're dealing with here are extremely dangerous. Proceed with utmost caution."

"Yes, sir!"

Under the SWAT team's lead, a dozen officers advanced toward the factory, shields raised.

But despite their tense approach, no attacks came.

Instead, the scene that greeted them inside was far worse than expected.

Corpses lay scattered everywhere—human and rodent alike—blood pooling so heavily it formed streams across the floor.

The overwhelming stench of blood hit them like a wave, leaving even the most seasoned officers nauseated.

(End of Chapter)

Several inexperienced officers couldn't help but gag as they saw the blood pooling on the ground, almost forming a small stream.

The scene inside the textile factory had everyone's nerves stretched taut.

It only took a single glance.

They immediately realized the kind of ruthless criminals they were dealing with this time.

Taking a deep breath, George, who was commanding the operation, spoke in a steady voice.

"Special Ops, take point!"

"Understood!"

"Vinny, take your team to the left; I'll take mine to the right!"

"Got it."

After signaling with hand gestures, George cautiously advanced to the right.

The Special Ops team leader and Vinny, another detective from the 13th Precinct, each led their teams in their respective directions.

However, whether it was George, Vinny, or the Special Ops team brought in from the NYPD headquarters, all they encountered were corpses—no other sign of life.

The textile factory was eerily quiet.

A short while later...

The three teams regrouped in the largest workshop of the factory.

"Any survivors?" George asked.

"None," replied both Vinny and the Special Ops team leader.

Hearing the same answer from both, George's expression grew grave.

The three shared a glance before ordering their teams to reform their initial formation and advance toward the last unexplored section of the factory.

Ten minutes later...

Apart from the countless corpses and the wreckage of various textile machines, the officers found no survivors or immediate threats.

Soon after, more officers flooded the scene.

"Not a single survivor..."

Even someone as experienced as George fell silent as he looked at the carnage within the factory.

It was clear.

They were too late.

The group of criminals who had turned the factory into a battlefield had likely fled before the police arrived.

The thought made George's face darken.

Dozens of dead bodies and no suspects in custody—how was the police department supposed to explain this to the public?

If the media caught wind of this failure, George could already imagine the firestorm of criticism awaiting the NYPD.

At that moment...

Vinny suddenly ran over, clutching a black plastic bag.

"George, I think you need to see this..."

This operation at the textile factory had been one of the most thoroughly prepared actions Eren had undertaken since arriving in this world.

Although he couldn't understand why Sloan had suddenly gained such formidable abilities, the factory massacre had already been foreseen in Eren's divination.

No one knew how many times a diviner would repeat their readings to ensure safety—or rather, to guarantee success—when given ample time.

Naturally, Eren had more than one plan in place.

He had even thought about how to make George's cleanup of the aftermath easier.

The contents of the bag Vinny brought over were the result of this planning—a list of assassinations conducted by "Mr. X" over the years, targeting political and corporate elites, along with irrefutable evidence of their crimes.

Besides the evidence Eren had prepared in advance, he also added documents he found while cleaning up the battlefield—evidence of crimes tied to the textile factory and Sloan's collusion with certain New York city council members.

These items...

Regardless of whether Eren ended up confronting Sloan or the Cross, were always meant to end up in George's hands through some means.

Consider it a reward of sorts.

After all, if Eren successfully escaped with the Fate Loom and the unique wax formula, someone still needed to clean up the chaos in the factory, and George was the best candidate.

Without such "rewards," George might end up as a scapegoat sacrificed by the NYPD.

Besides...

Eren had no use for the criminal evidence.

Rather than keep such incriminating items, it was better to hand them to George, ensuring he wouldn't be ousted from the department.

"What's this?"

George took the bag from Vinny and asked casually.

"You'll understand once you look inside," Vinny replied with a wry smile.

"So mysterious?" George shot Vinny a look before opening the bag. The first thing that caught his eye was a playing card—the Joker.

After staring at the card for a second, George shifted his attention to the stack of booklets inside the bag.

He pulled out what looked like a ledger and flipped it open.

Well, damn.

George's expression changed the moment he read the first page.

Ten minutes later...

George walked back to where Gwen and Eren were waiting.

"Dad!"

Seeing George approaching from afar, Gwen's worries visibly eased, and she rushed to embrace him.

When she had seen George leading his team into the dangerous textile factory earlier, her heart had nearly leapt out of her chest.

Now, she finally understood why Helen always got so upset whenever George took on missions despite his promotion.

Of course.

When George became deputy precinct chief, Helen had thought he wouldn't be on the front lines anymore. But clearly, George hadn't changed his ways and still insisted on risking himself.

How could Helen not worry or be angry?

"I'm fine, Gwen."

After hugging his daughter briefly, George released her and addressed both Gwen and Eren.

"There might be people coming to take your statements soon. They'll need you to describe what you saw at the scene."

Eren nodded. "Of course."

George acknowledged him with a nod, then turned to Gwen, his expression growing stern.

"Gwen, I expect you to give me a satisfactory explanation tonight about why you were in such a dangerous place."

Gwen stuck out her tongue mischievously.

There was no way she could tell George the real reason—how she and Eren had come to the factory searching for a way to remove Helen's scars.

If she did, George would definitely report everything to Helen, and Gwen would undoubtedly face an unprecedented grounding.

After a few more instructions, George turned and left.

While the textile factory incident was over for Eren, for George, the headache-inducing troubles were just beginning.

(End of Chapter)

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