Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 608 The Blind Lawyer (First Update)

Just as humans learned to use tools, they also learned to domesticate animals in the distant past.

Since the advent of farming and herding, livestock such as cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs have become an indispensable part of human production and life. They replaced the meat obtained through hunting, providing humans with animal and plant proteins in a stable way, and even tools and war materials. However, there is one creature whose purpose is not so clear, and it has not even been fully domesticated. It cannot provide humans with sufficient protein, and it is keen to rampage around when humans are resting. Its only role is to kill some small rodents, although its enthusiasm for this sole task cannot be described as enthusiastic. But when this warm little creature lies snoring in a human's arms, anyone's anger will dissipate.

The round Cheshire cat rolled over, belly up, trying to distract its owner.

Hey, look at me! Don't look at that thing! Pfft!

Let me eat your hair!

"Excuse me, dear Dinah, could you please help me clean the Cheshire Cat's litter box, and also clean the mess around it?" Salomon asked the android maid, then glanced helplessly at the chubby gray shorthair cat rolling around in his arms. Their room was next to the Witch's Apartment, a house Salomon had bought for Dinah as her dormitory. Several other androids responsible for security lived with her, but they were all currently training (actually, attending evening prayers), so Salomon used this place as a temporary reception room for guests.

It was less of a reception and more of a meeting.

"I think we've met before." Matthew Murdoch tried to remain calm, but the scars on his face suggested that the invitation to meet hadn't gone so smoothly. If it weren't for the forceful intervention of the powered-armored androids, the blind lawyer would never have accepted this inexplicable invitation, as he had recently made many enemies, and many wanted him dead.

He was panting, his once-neat suit now ripped open, revealing a body covered in wounds. Some were nearly healed, others recent. This piqued Salomon's curiosity; what kept this man going to work every day?

His enemies do not include the person in front of him.

Even though he couldn't see, he could tell from the person's tone that there was no malice.

"I'm sorry to have invited you here this way. It's usually S.H.I.E.L.D. that says things like this; I never thought I'd be saying this myself. I hope you're not allergic to cat fur," Salomon chuckled. He stroked the chubby cat and then placed the warm little creature on the table. He noticed Matthew Murdoch's sunglasses-wearing head instinctively turn towards the Cheshire Cat. "Yes, we've met before, just a few years ago. Back then, you had just started your law firm with your friends, Attorney Murdoch."

Matthew Murdoch thought for a moment and finally remembered the boy he had seen in the alley before.

For him, everyone's heartbeat was completely different, and he remembered some rather distinctive sounds, such as the one from the person sitting in front of him. The person's heartbeat was so powerful and strong, just like the pulse of the reactor when he accidentally heard Iron Man passing overhead, which made Matthew Murdoch wonder what was so special about this person's body.

This happened a few years ago on Christmas Eve, a time when crime is rampant.

He had just graduated and, not long after, wanted to open a law firm with his friends. Before that, he had been wandering aimlessly through the alleys, trying to help innocent people who had fallen into the hands of gangsters. This young man was one of his targets that day. He originally intended to help, but to his surprise, the young man actually took down the armed thugs with his bare hands and even took away their valuables.

"Ha! It's you!" Murdoch's lawyer said. "Do you need legal aid?"

"I think I need your expertise more than legal aid."

"My professional competence?" Matthew Murdoch said with a smile. Perhaps it was the fact that Salomon hadn't killed the thug that day that gave him confidence in the negotiation, or perhaps it was the scent of books and expensive cologne on Salomon, or even the gentle sound of his fine suit rubbing together; whatever the reason, he seemed more relaxed. The two of them were like a bull and its matador circling in a bullring, both trying to seize the opportunity to pluck the red cloth, except he knew that behind that red cloth wasn't a sharp blade.

Matthew Murdoch is ready to explode.

"Are you Catholic, Murdoch?" Salomon changed the subject.

"Call me Matt. Yes, I'm Catholic."

"I was born in the parking lot of a Catholic church in New York, and maybe the church you frequent is where I was born. But that doesn't explain my Catholicism. My poor mother was an undocumented immigrant; she was Jewish, and she gave birth to me in poverty and illness. It's absurd, but some crazy monks would consider that a sign of the Messiah's birth, and more than once." Matthew Murdoch raised an eyebrow, waiting for Salomon to continue. "We all have responsibilities, whether they are innate or acquired. Do you agree?"

"Yes, I agree." The lawyer nodded. "I'm sorry to hear this."

“It’s no big deal. I know where her grave is, and I visit her when I have time.” Salomon took a deep breath. “Let’s get back to the original question, Matt. Do you feel responsible for events within your power to intervene?”

The lawyer froze for a moment. He instinctively reached for his white cane, which lay to the side, but quickly realized it was a trap. "I have a responsibility to help the poor people with my legal abilities, and the Nelson Murdoch law firm will reach out to all those in need in the Clinton area," he said. "I will do everything I can to help them protect their legal rights."

“You’re a competent lawyer, but not a competent vigilante,” Salomon said with a smile. He ignored the lawyer’s tense muscles, and Dina, who was shoveling cat litter behind him, didn’t react either. “I’ve heard about that recent news in Clinton, Hell’s Kitchen. The cop killer, who bombed a Russian mob,” he said. “I know you didn’t do those things, but that doesn’t stop the media from pinning them on you.”

Matthew Murdoch's hair stood on end. He tried to reach for his cane, but a sudden numbness paralyzed him.

Salomon beckoned, and the refrigerator door opened automatically, releasing two bottles of Abbey beer that flew out and landed in front of him and the lawyer. Due to the superiority of their alchemical bodies, androids are difficult to intoxicate, thus possessing a peculiar fondness for alcohol. To satisfy them, Salomon reached a long-term agreement with a well-connected craft beer supplier, purchasing a large quantity of Westvleteren 12 Abbey beer.

“I know something is hiding in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s a supernatural entity,” he said. “It’s something from the Shadowlands. In technical terms, it’s a creature from the Shadow Dimension. In fact, you were right to stop your master from killing that boy. If that boy had died, the shadow creature called ‘Black Sky’ would have moved on to another target. That thing is quite difficult to kill, and Black Sky had been quiet for the past thousand years until recently.”

"Who are you?!" the lawyer asked through gritted teeth. He didn't know how Salomon knew what had happened last night, nor did he know what this "hacker" Salomon was talking about was. But the intelligence capabilities and special abilities this person displayed were enough to make Matthew Murdoch wary.

"A professional mage, belonging to an organization that specializes in dealing with creatures like the 'Black Void'." Salomon opened the beer bottle for him, dispelling the spell at the same time. "Try it, this craft beer is much better than the industrial beer you used to drink."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)