Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1168 Common Sense Questions

The welcoming ceremony for Sherlock Holmes was a brief interlude in the long meeting.

Emperor Latvian, having briefly left the meeting, traversed thousands of kilometers in the blink of an eye, arriving at the royal castle with his guards. Because many missions place immense demands on the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, personnel transport, and ground support of attack and transport helicopters, but helicopters are ill-suited for frequent, long-range missions, the Mars Foundry and the Immortal City's research department designed a versatile atmospheric vehicle, comparable to the Quinjet, capable of performing almost all land-based aviation tasks.

Like the Quinjet, this aircraft is generally used to deploy rapid reaction forces. However, due to its far superior firepower and armor protection compared to the Quinjet, this aircraft can also be used as an anti-tank, anti-armor, and anti-infantry ground support attack aircraft while simultaneously deploying rapid reaction forces. Even variants without a crew compartment can carry light vehicles instead of infantry.

With the intelligence gathering capabilities of modern warfare, regular troops can be commanded to fight guerrillas in the field and complete the mission in a very short time. On the battlefields of suppressing religious resistance forces in Albania and Bohemia, the roar of the engines of these aircraft became the last sound that many rebels heard before their deaths. Several aircraft also continued to fly steadily after being attacked by Stinger missiles and RPG-7s during the war, until they completed their missions.

The First Secret Service used this type of aircraft, rather than the Quinjet, to transport Sherlock Holmes from London to Latvia, because it was more reliable and safer. Twenty minutes earlier, the aircraft had landed on the tarmac, and the untrained crew seemed to have become extremely uncomfortable, perhaps due to the pilot's overconfidence in its maneuverability. Even after the engineering loader had unloaded all the cargo, the criminal consultant from London still couldn't bring himself to step off the aircraft with his trembling legs. Even after the accompanying First Secret Service soldiers supported him by the arms, dragged Sherlock Holmes off the ramp, and shoved him into an armored transport vehicle bound for the troop camp near the royal castle, the criminal consultant remained pale and looked as if he might collapse to the ground and vomit again at any moment.

"Where are we going? I know we're going to Latvia, but where is Latvia? Where in this world?" The crime consultant, reeking of vomit, wiped his fingers with a handkerchief and turned to the First Class Regiment soldiers beside him. "You refused to communicate with me the whole way, and now that we've arrived at our destination, you still won't speak. Are you robots?"

Sherlock Holmes lacks common sense about the normal world unless that knowledge helps him solve mysteries.

Before this, Latvinia was just an obscure little country. After its wars of expansion, Latvinia occupied most of the Balkan Peninsula. Sherlock Holmes, whose knowledge base was still rudimentary, was completely unaware of the location of the royal city, which had already been made public. Escorted by soldiers of the First Secret Service, Sherlock Holmes finally arrived at the rebuilt royal city. Thanks to Wakanda's advanced engineering machinery, all traces of the war had been erased from the city's land. A powerful transportation network was taking shape, and factories and bio-farms scattered throughout the mountains provided everything this future-oriented, ever-expanding megacity, which was eventually swallowing up the entire province of Latvinia, needed.

What he saw was a city brimming with artistic atmosphere, a magnificent metropolis built by the Latvians, artisans of the Lost City, and machines working together. The once low stone houses had been replaced by skyscrapers with bas-reliefs carved into their facades. Occasionally, hovercars could be seen speeding along wide streets large enough to accommodate war engines, and a giant space elevator under construction soared into the sky. Everywhere there were newspapers with the emperor's picture and huge news screens broadcasting news of the opening of a car factory invested in by Wakanda's industrial sector and the regent's trip to the Romanian province to resettle the "sewer children."

The plans that were once just on paper are now gradually being realized. Even though the emperor once led his army to attack the capital, Latvinia is the province with the highest loyalty. For the first time, the rigid, closed-off, yet romantic Latvinians are experiencing a future that they can look forward to.

Hammurabi, a golden-armored guard wielding a halberd, stood beside the white marble statue of Isaac Newton at the side gate of the castle, greeting the First Secret Regiment's armored personnel carriers. Sherlock Holmes, still reeling from the sights he had witnessed along the way, had never seen war engines tens of meters tall, nor soldiers clad in powered armor, and now he was startled by the three-meter-tall guards. Clearly, Latvinia's level of advancement had exceeded his expectations; his lack of common sense made it impossible for him to comprehend the reality beyond the British Isles, let alone understand why the world had changed so rapidly.

"I want to see you." Hammurabi removed his helmet. "Don't be nervous, this is just a conversation."

"You always say that," Sherlock Holmes shook his head, feigning nonchalance. "Take me to him."

"My time is limited, so I'll keep it brief." In the spacious office filled with electronic devices, he met the Emperor of Latvia again, but before he could speak, he was interrupted. "Here's your cake, bacon rolls, and champagne. You can stay here and enjoy the food, but you must listen to me."

"I'm listening. Could I have a cup of tea?" Sherlock Holmes sat casually on the sofa in the drawing room, surveying the office's furnishings. However, he found that aside from recognizing the decor, he didn't recognize any of the electronic devices. "I haven't had a drop of tea since your men killed that smuggler. I'm dying of thirst, and champagne is clearly not a good choice."

"Of course, the staff of the capital can meet all your needs." The Emperor of Latvia magically produced a steaming cup of black tea and sugar from a drawer, though Sherlock Holmes was quite certain the drawer wasn't as shallow as it appeared. "I put them in the drawer; I'll take them out when necessary so it won't interfere with my work." Seemingly noticing his gaze, the Emperor made a witty remark, but this didn't elicit a smile from Sherlock Holmes. "In any case, you will inevitably be exposed to a much larger world, and I believe your sense of justice and intelligence will certainly be sufficient for this position. You are a kind person, Holmes, and we greatly need this kind of humanity."

"I don't understand." Sherlock Holmes took the teacup and added a generous amount of sugar. After tapping the rim with the teaspoon, he sipped his tea with satisfaction. "I thought you wanted me to be some kind of supernatural crime consultant, but if that's the case, you wouldn't have needed to take me from London. Am I still in Europe?"

The emperor did not answer the foolish question, but instead turned to look at the empty chair beside him.

Sherlock Holmes blinked, surprised to find a man in an ochre robe sitting there, a sight he hadn't noticed before. Though the man appeared young, his single eye betrayed the weariness and pain of age. In an instant, Holmes felt a headache coming on, for his subconscious couldn't comprehend the intense contradiction within the man before him. It was like having a knotted nerve constantly being pulled apart; the pain of that nerve dissolving itself was indescribable.

"Master, this man is even more stubborn than Stephen Strange. Should we stick to the original plan or take him directly to headquarters for a re-education?" The Emperor of Latvia wore a sly smile, seemingly oblivious to Holmes's anguish. Ultimately, the Sorcerer Supreme used the same technique as the Emperor to deliberately diminish his presence, reducing the burden on Holmes's mind. "My suggestion is the former. It's the only way forward, isn't it?"

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(End of this chapter)