Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 974 Murder in the Ward (Second Update)

"I can confirm that one of the spirits awakened him. Haven't you read the paper 'The Influence of Extradimensional Energy Entities on the Brain's Endocrine System'? In intelligence work, nothing is certain; anything is possible. I'm not trying to verify that the spirit that appeared was Lucy Bower. I'm not foolish enough to verify intelligence I've already concluded. I'm just suggesting a possibility. The most likely spirit to have awakened him was his wife, right?"

Constantine ignored Nick Fury's rambling and carefully adjusted the dosage to prevent the Guard-only drug from rupturing Joseph Bauer's heart. A similar dose was also stored in his powered armor's life support system, alongside painkillers and stimulants, ready for direct injection if needed.

The medical record hanging above the bed clearly stated the dosage and type of drug Joseph Bauer had previously been injected with, and the intelligence support agents would provide the minimum dosage required to awaken the patient. This data was based on extensive human trials and drug development experiments conducted by the medical and pharmaceutical departments, so Constantine was very confident in the effectiveness of this drug—the Immortal City, which had been arresting warlords in Africa and capturing gangsters in Eastern Europe for years, had no shortage of human subjects for experiments. The Immortal City did not have the death penalty; no matter what crimes a person committed in their lifetime, they would not face the death penalty because the Immortal City still had a manpower shortage to meet. However, after filling the demand for mechanically modified servants, the remaining subjects could only be sent to the laboratory for human experiments—sure enough, shortly after a small amount of the drug was injected into Joseph Bauer's veins, the patient's heart rate increased, and a few seconds later he woke up groaning.

"Where's Lucy Bauer?" Constantine placed his hand on Joseph Bauer's chest, subtly applying pressure to compress his lungs and control his breathing, preventing Joseph from calling for medical personnel. Although the letters on the medical record were difficult to decipher, Constantine could still make out the description of Joseph's symptoms: panic, hallucinations, and self-harm tendencies. These symptoms were identical to Melinda May's, indicating that Joseph was suffering from demonic possession. Constantine desperately wanted to solve this problem for him so that Joseph would tell him everything, but he currently lacked the suitable drugs to replicate Dr. Radcliffe's methods—that is, to reboot the brain through a brief period of artificial brain death.

Surprisingly, upon waking, Joseph Bauer did not immediately begin screaming, struggling, or babbling as he had expected. Instead, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at the grid-like ceiling of the ward. The guards did not rush to demand an answer from Joseph Bauer but instead leaned down to look at him, observing his expression through blood-red goggles and electronic eyes.

"You're not a demon." Joseph opened his eyes and then closed them again. He let out a long breath, thankful that he hadn't seen that horrific sight again. The giant before him was enveloped in a golden glow. It was this light that dispelled the terror in the shadows and restored peace to his mind. Even so, the patient, who had only recently awakened, was still very weak; his tendons were atrophied, his spine was numb, and he was in excruciating pain.

"You're not human either. Who are you?"

"Where is Lucy Ball?" Constantine repeated the question. "Where is the book?"

Even though the hand encased in golden armor was placed on his chest, ready to crush his ribcage at any moment, Joseph Bauer calmly said, "You have to answer my question first."

"You can choose not to answer, and I'll take your brain out and find the answer inside." Constantine had no interest in answering him at all. "Right here, right now."

"Am I going to die?"

Constantine did not answer.

"Lucy's dead, isn't she? Everyone's dead, all these years..." Joseph Bauer seemed to be entering a trance. Constantine had to repeatedly confirm the dosage with intelligence support personnel; he suspected he had injected too little, failing to completely neutralize the sedative's effects. "That book... find that book," Joseph said, his voice as soft as a dying man's dream, "Lucy's looking for that book."

"Where?"

"She was there where I found it; she wanted the book..."

"Yes, ma'am." Agent Coulson nodded. "We need access to Joseph Bauer, so please cooperate with us."

"No problem, but Joseph Bauer's condition is unstable, you'll only be staying for a while." A medical staff member in a simple blue nurse's uniform led Mike and Coulson to the ward. Joseph Bauer's medical expenses were all covered by insurance, with a trust fund making regular payments. However, as time went on, the money dwindled, and Joseph Bauer was moved from a spacious VIP ward to a regular ward at the end of the corridor. Few people visited patients in those wards; Mike and Coulson could even hear their own footsteps and smell the pungent disinfectant.

"He needs quiet," the nurse said, pushing open the door and turning to Coulson. "And he might not even be awake; he's ahh ...

Mike rushed in after hearing the screams, but the scene before him made him stumble back two steps, his face filled with shock. Even a seasoned agent who had weathered many storms lost his composure for a moment. He instinctively reached for his weapon, but all he had on his waist was a non-lethal freeze gun.

"Madam, please calm down." Coulson calmly took the nurse's hand. "I need you to wait outside the room, okay? This is a crime scene, and I don't want anyone coming in or out. Mike, calm this lady down and then go find the hospital administration; I need to retrieve the surveillance footage."

"Coulson, we're late." Mike frowned, hesitating to speak.

"I know." Agent Coulson shook his head, indicating they couldn't discuss classified information here. "Go on, then come back quickly. I need your help. We need to figure this out before the police arrive. Come on, ma'am, don't open your eyes, hold my hand."

Mike anxiously took the nurse's hand, then glanced into the ward again. Coulson closed the door, isolating the ward from the outside world to prevent anyone who heard the screams from seeing the horrific scene inside—Joseph Bauer's body lay on the bed, a clean, straight line separating his neck from the bed. The entire wall was splattered with foul-smelling blood, which continued to drip, almost submerging the ward's white tiled floor in a crimson lake. Joseph Bauer's head was tilted askew, his pale, haggard face gaping, his wide eyes staring intently at the doorway. Even the nurse, accustomed to blood and human remains, was horrified by the sight.

Agent Coulson pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket, put them on, and carefully walked around the sticky pool of blood on the floor to the hospital bed to examine Joseph Bauer's body closely. "Scorch marks. Just like Mike said, cutting open the bed isn't easy; it'll require high-tech equipment." His fingers traced the bed and Joseph's severed neck. "What information do you want others not to know, Salomon?"

"Constantine, I wish you had told me before you acted!" Wanda said angrily. Through the car window, she saw several police cars parked outside the hospital, and forensic investigators in protective suits constantly unloading things from the vehicles. Robbie Reyes nervously pounded on the steering wheel. "What did Joseph Bauer say?! How could you just kill him like that?! We have so many questions we want answered!"

“If I were you, Wanda, I would return to Southridge Prison instead of asking why I should grant a poor soul a release,” Constantine said calmly, seemingly out of nowhere. “Lucy Ball is still at large, and Elias Morrow is her only enemy.”

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(End of this chapter)