The Great Demon Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 85: Like a Demon

Even after more than two centuries of demonic invasion, humanity remains the master of this world.

Interestingly, however, humans aren't particularly expensive.

A strong, young man might fetch less than 100 pounds, while older men or those with health problems are even cheaper.

Legend has it that a mysterious channel exists where disassembling a person and selling their internal organs separately fetches far more than selling them alive.

However, few have access to this channel, and even fewer understand the reasoning behind it. They've only heard that the Academy of Life Sciences developed a technology over a decade ago that allows one person's organs to be sewn into another's body.

Of course, rumors are just rumors.

In the current 'human trafficking' circle, young boys and girls remain the most valuable.

The prettier the girl, the more expensive; the younger the boy, the more expensive.

Some specially customized listings include a photograph; the closer the resemblance to the person in the photograph, the more expensive.

In short, it's all quite bizarre.

No human traffickers would inquire where these orders came from, nor would any transport ships want to know where the goods would be sent after unloading.

They simply knew that once some people accumulated a certain level of power and wealth, they would no longer crave normal ways of enjoying life.

As mentioned before, keeping pets is popular among the lower and middle classes, so keeping people… might also be popular among some of the upper or more privileged classes. Of course, there might be all sorts of strange uses for people—playing with them, cannibalism, procreation, etc.—but that's not important.

The underground of Crawford's Cash Management Company was a fairly successful human trafficking hub, and it sold high-end goods.

It was the kind of place where they might not make a sale for six months, but when they did, they'd make enough to last them six months.

Therefore, it was extremely rare for a dozen or so goods to be shipped out at once, like today.

"Why are the supplies so large these days?" A burly, rough-looking man laboriously stuffed a slender man into a wooden crate, then padded it with thick straw and cotton, before covering it with a partition and laying down a row of expensive glassware.

Throughout this process, the thin man didn't open his eyes; his heavy breathing indicated he was in a deep sleep, and probably wouldn't wake up for at least three to five days.

Another man was loading wooden crates onto a conveyor belt that would discreetly transport goods to a warehouse about 100 meters away. Hearing his colleague's question, he glanced around to make sure everyone was focused on their work and hadn't noticed, before whispering, "I heard something big might happen in London soon, so we need to get the goods out quickly. The boss is probably leaving the city in a few days to enjoy himself somewhere else."

"Oh, just going to hide for a while, huh?" Another man picked up a young girl. "But where did they get so much stock? And... what day is it? I haven't heard anything about it." "?"

"Heh, finding goods isn't hard. Those three floors upstairs are all loan sharks. Who has relatives, who has influence, who's some unfortunate orphan—it's all written on the loan slips. Just grab a few, that's all. Losing face is common these days.

As for that big day you mentioned…we're just doing the work, don't pry." The other man thought it made sense, nodded, and placed the girl in the wooden crate…

And so, the basement fell silent again. Due to the soundproofing, the space felt stuffy, with only the occasional hissing of steam from the conveyor belt.

However…it was precisely because of the soundproofing that those inside couldn't hear anything outside.

So, no one knew what was happening outside at that moment.

…"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Gunshots rang out continuously, blinding flashes of light erupting from the darkness!

The entire corridor was dark. About five minutes earlier, all the lights in the building had suddenly gone out; the gas lighting pipes must have been sabotaged.

Someone had broken into Crawford Debt Corporation.

They didn't know who the intruder was, how many people they had, or even if they were human. All they knew was a sudden phone call, a voice screaming in terror, "Help! Help me!" followed by a busy signal.

Something was lurking in the darkness, hidden in the unseen shadows. Fewer and fewer people were around them, but they didn't know how.

Originally, there were nearly 20 people, each armed. Anything that showed itself would be instantly riddled with bullets.

However, without them noticing, the number dwindled to 15, then 13… Panic began. They started retreating, little by little, until they all hid in a room at the far end of the corridor.

The number of people... became ten... Half of them vanished, silently, without screams, without cries for help, nothing at all. Sometimes they were talking to each other one second, but the next there was no response. Turning around, there was only emptiness behind them; the person seemed to have been silently swallowed by the darkness.

The ignorant used roars to mask their fear, so the remaining people began to shout loudly, began to fire recklessly forward, began to use the muzzle flashes of their guns to gain a fleeting sense of security.

Then... the roars stopped. Five people, three people, until finally... only one person remained.

He held an empty pistol, huddled in the corner of the room. The smell of blood gradually appeared in the smoke, the wall behind him became sticky, as if blood was flowing down from the ceiling, dripping, dripping, warm liquid splashed onto his face, but he dared not wipe it away, just trembling, waiting for the unknown terror to descend.

Finally... the terror came.

Footsteps appeared, slowly, approaching.

The terrified man shoved himself into a corner, his eyes wide with horror, staring intently at the direction of the footsteps, feeling the soft thud grow closer until it was almost touching him… Finally, he saw a person, or perhaps some terrifying creature with a human-like silhouette, enter the room. Each step on the floor seemed to whip up thick, sticky blood.

He held his breath, terrified of being discovered.

However, he was discovered. The demon slowly turned its head, its blood-red eyes glancing down at him with a soft, condescending look in the darkness.

In that instant, he felt every muscle in his body convulse, almost screaming and rushing out the door!

Thankfully, his weak legs prevented him from doing so.

As for the demon… it clearly didn't want to pay him any more attention, simply taking a few more steps forward until it reached the bookshelf on the other side of the room.

And in its hands, it seemed to be dragging something heavy…

“Is this it?” the demon asked.

Then, a hoarse voice answered with difficulty but utter panic, “Yes…yes, please pull it up…” The man in the corner felt a chill run down his spine. He then realized that the demon had been dragging a person—a living person—in its hands!

…