Chapter 21: CHAPTER 21
"What the hell is this?"
Yuri turned invisible and entered the room, watching as the Pied Piper was handcuffed and roughly taken away by the FBI.
Throughout the entire process, the Pied Piper did not put up any resistance whatsoever and behaved obediently like a pet dog, with a face full of remorse.
An hour ago, the Pied Piper's parents, the Rathaways, were found dead in their home, the cause of death being gunshot wounds.
The Keystone City Police Department immediately launched an investigation, and ultimately, surveillance footage revealed that only one person entered the Rathaway mansion all day—none other than the Pied Piper. And he was carrying a gun, matching the caliber of the bullets that killed the Rathaways.
Furthermore, the time he left coincided with the time of the Rathaways' death, making him the prime suspect.
Realizing that the killer was likely the Pied Piper, the Keystone City Police Department wasted no time and urgently contacted James Jesse, the FBI supervisor.
Subsequently, the FBI stormed in, and the Pied Piper was apprehended without resistance.
If nothing unexpected happens, this case is essentially closed because the Pied Piper has already confessed and accepted the consequences. Moreover, he spends his days either in his apartment or out fighting crime, and even the neighbors in the apartment building have no knowledge of his whereabouts.
However, the unexpected did happen because Yuri had been closely watching the Pied Piper these past few days.
He could confidently vouch that during the time of the crime, the Pied Piper was in his apartment and never left. It was impossible for him to have been at the Rathaway mansion.
It was evident that the network was behind this case, framing the Pied Piper by killing his parents.
"But why doesn't he defend himself?"
The one thing Yuri couldn't understand was why the Pied Piper, who was clearly innocent, would confess and wear a genuinely remorseful expression on his face.
It seems that the Pied Piper truly believes he killed his parents.
Strange, too strange.
Yuri, deep in thought, flew to the side of the Pied Piper and reached out his hand towards his head.
His ghostly hand passed directly through the scalp and delved into the depths of his brain.
"As expected, something has influenced the Pied Piper's memory and consciousness."
Using his Ectonurite's telepathic abilities, Yuri quickly discovered traces of hypnotic influence in the Pied Piper's brain. The question was, who hypnotized him?
This form of hypnosis makes the Pied Piper subjectively believe he killed his parents, even if he doesn't have any detailed memories of it. Therefore, Yuri couldn't break the hypnotic spell without the Pied Piper's cooperation.
"I remember when the FBI stormed in, the Pied Piper was sitting in front of the mirror, crying. Could it be... the mirror is the issue?"
Almost instantly, Yuri realized who the real culprit was.
"Mirror Master!"
No one but him could hide within mirrors, let alone use them to hypnotize others.
With this realization, Yuri immediately floated back to the room where the Pied Piper was captured and pressed his hand against the mirror, maximizing his perception ability.
Sure enough, Yuri sensed a faint consciousness hidden within the mirror.
This faint consciousness quickly disappeared, but it didn't leave. It transferred to the glass of the window.
Mirror Master could project his consciousness onto any mirror, making him one of the most elusive individuals in the world.
His true form could also traverse from one mirror to another, but he needed to find the correct path within the mirror realm. He couldn't simply go wherever he wanted using this ability.
Of course, Mirror Master didn't transfer his consciousness to the window because he detected Yuri's presence. It was to ensure that the Pied Piper was taken away by the FBI without any resistance.
Yuri stood behind the window, watching the lost and desolate Pied Piper being escorted into the prison car.
—-—
In the pale mirror world, Mirror Master admired his own handiwork through the looking glass.
As the prison car gradually moved away, he needed to report back to the Smith.
"I know you're here, Mirror Master. I have something the Network needs."
Just then, a sinister and distorted voice entered McCulloch's ears, sending shivers down his spine just by listening to it.
He shifted his gaze in the direction of the voice, but there was nothing there.
"Trying to play tricks with me?"
McCullock let out a cold and confident laugh, as he then began to continously shift between the mirrors in the room—mirrors, glass, water surfaces...
He explored every mirror but failed to detect anyone's presence inside the house.
"No need to try to find me. I'm right in front of you; you just can't see me."
Yuri spoke from the balcony in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, which was the largest mirror in the room.
Gradually, a person appeared on the floor-to-ceiling window, lifelike and clear, as if it were a video call, except the screen was replaced by the window.
McCulloch was about the same age as the Pied Piper, dressed in an orange tight-fitting suit with a dark green half-face mask that covered his mouth and chin, who knows where he learned that from.
His wrist guards and belt were also the same deep green, and he held a mirrored gun in his hand, which was the reason he could freely move through the mirror world.
Yuri tentatively phased into the floor-to-ceiling window, wanting to see if Ghostfreak's intangibility could enter Mirror Master's mirror world.
However, Yuri couldn't enter. He simply phased through the floor-to-ceiling window and went outside the building.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" McCulloch asked calmly on the surface but filled with infinite suspicion inside.
Was this person a superhuman who could turn invisible? Or just an ordinary person wearing an invisibility suit? How did he know about the Network?
"I am called Ghost, and I need to discuss a business deal with the Network," Yuri said softly. Ghostfreak's voice was eerie and horrifying, enough to make good money dubbing for horror movies...
McCulloch really wanted to ask if this person had some kind of throat disease. Because in speaking like that, a normal person would eventually lose their voice.
"As long as you don't have any malicious intent towards the Network, anyone is welcome to do business. However, I'm not in charge of that area. You've got the wrong person," Mirron Master said expressionlessly.
"Is that so? What if I have this?" Yuri took out the information he carried with him and made it intangible, allowing McCulloch to see the contents. (A/N: I forgot if it was mentioned before, but Ghostfreak can also make the objects and people he touches intangible.)
When McCulloch saw the word "Network" on the document, his pupils contracted.
He knew how much Blacksmith, valued this information. Axel nearly got killed by her for losing it.
"What do you want?" Mirror Master asked again, this time with much more seriousness.
"You don't represent the Network, so you don't have the qualifications to negotiate with me." Yuri said bluntly.
"Tell Smith that if she doesn't want her plans exposed, she should come alone to the location I designate tomorrow at noon. Otherwise..."
Yuri sneered and continued, "I'll leave this information in the operational office of the Super-Investigation Department. Of course, you can try to bet if I can do it, but the condition is that you can afford to gamble."
As soon as he heard the name Super-Investigation Department, McCulloch became wary.
The reason why the Network had not been targeted by the Super-Investigation Department all these years was because Smith never extended her reach beyond Central City and never made any conspicuous moves.
But if Smith's current plan was exposed, the Super-Investigation Department wouldn't let the Network off the hook.
"Where is the location you're specifying?" Mcculloch asked.
A gleam flashed in Yuri's eyes.
"The Flash Museum."
*****
A/N: Stones, peeps. Give it to me!
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