Chapter 50. Case

Stumbling out of the elevator with a bottle...

Killgrave's reappearance made Jessica''s already messed up life even worse. She used alcohol to numb herself and tried to forget the bad memories.

"Ms Jones?"

Staggering to the door of her apartment slash office, Jessica dizzily pulled the key out of her pocket to open the door but couldn't get the key to align smoothly with the keyhole.

"Shit!"

Cursing loudly, Jessica was just about to use some other means when she heard a slightly puzzling question from behind her.

Turning around, she saw a haggard woman standing behind her.

"My name is Michelle. I need your help!"

Seeing Jessica turn around, the woman spoke up in a hurry.

"Do I look like I can help people right now?"

Facing the woman's request, Jessica bitterly smiled and then turned back, "Tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. No, you'd better stop looking for me. I don't even know when I'll wake up."

"But I'm running out of options." Jessica's refusal visibly dimmed the woman's already troubled expression a little more. She stood her ground and made a last-ditch effort, "My husband, John, is missing and hasn't been home for a week. It's not like him."

"Haven't you thought of calling the police?"

Although she had decided not to take the case, the woman's words made Jessica subconsciously stop herself and ask. "They're free."

"No, I know my husband. He's always had a regular routine. He goes to work at 8.30 am and leaves at 6.30 am every day. He never misses it."

Jessica: "Is he a bit mysterious and sometimes nervous? "

"Yes. Exactly." Hearing Jessica's speculation, the woman instantly nodded her head with excitement.

However, Jessica's following words suddenly disappointed her.

"That's because he cheated on you, Ma'am. I'm sorry to break it to you, but that could be the case."

"Ms Jones, you don't know my husband."

"But I know about this kind of thing. After all, I'm a professional when it comes to investigating affairs."

Shaking her head, the woman looked disappointed at Jessica's reply but managed to force a smile, "I'm sorry I've disturbed you, Ms Jones. Perhaps, you're not the one I'm looking for."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

As she looked at the woman's disappointed back, Jessica scratched her hair for some reason. Looking at the door in front of her, which she still couldn't open, she then pulled the entire handle out with a single tug.

"Shit! It's all shit!"

Walking into the office and casually tossing the handle in her hand onto the counter, Jessica angrily cursed. She wasn't even sure if she was talking about her life or the unpleasant conversation she had earlier.

Ringgggg -- Ringgg --

Just then, the phone in the office rang. Glancing at the phone on her desk, Jessica decided to ignore it.

'Whoever you are, you have the wrong number.'

After a couple of rings, the call was automatically transferred to voicemail.

"Jessica Jones. Do yourself a favour and put away your curiosity. Don't look for John or ..."

　　...

"Jessica, don't you have a normal job?"

In the antique shop, Ryan looked at Jessica, who had shown up drunk early in the morning. He couldn't help but frown and ask.

"I'm working now." After taking a sip of her drink, Jessica turned to look around the antique shop. Her eyes shifted to the new counter in front of her, causing her to raise a thin eyebrow, "You got a new one."

"Care to guess why? "

Hearing Jessica's words, Ryan replied in a somewhat unhappy tone.

The other party attracted Killgrave to his shop earlier and caused a lot of damage to the antique shop. Although none of the items was valuable, it still took Ryan a lot of effort to sort them out.

"I'm sorry. I haven't been able to control my temper." The words came out of her mouth, but Jessica's expression was not the least bit apologetic. Although she was young, she was unexpectedly grouchy.

"So, why are you here this time?"

With a reputation points dispenser like Jessica at his doorstep, Ryan wasn't going to refuse. However, when he thought of the Purple Man behind her, his expression turned a little unpleasant. As things stand, Purple Man's ability was still a threat to Ryan. After all, the ability to manipulate people at will was just a little too unsolvable.

Perhaps the power of the [Broken Cursed Seal] could stand up to Purple Man's ability.

Thinking about how he had felt when he had used the curse seal earlier, the cold, evil aura seemed similar to Purple Man's ability. It was something that controlled a person's consciousness, and Ryan had a slight suspicion.

"I was going to get cash, but I searched the flat and couldn't find anything of value." At this moment, Jessica's slightly hoarse voice interrupted Ryan's thought about Purple Man, "I recently took a case. No, I think it was a case I wasn't planning to take. But afterwards, a phone call came to my office. Someone was using a voice changer, warning me not to take the case for my own safety."

"So, you're gonna take it."

Sometimes Ryan couldn't understand the thinking of some villains. They had to warn people about plans that could be completed quietly or simply reveal themselves, causing problems for themselves. 'Don't they understand the point of 'scheming in secret'?'

'Maybe it's because they're too arrogant, with their powers, thinking nobody would stop them?'

'Or maybe they are just too bored of being an unknown figure and want an audience?'

While thinking about it, Ryan turned his head to look at the system data panel, where he got a small prompt of some point gains.

"Hey, are you listening to me?!"

Across the counter, Jessica made a disgruntled sound.

"Yeah, go on."

With a shrug, Ryan gestured to the other party.

Taking a sip of her drink, Jessica continued, "Yes, I took it. I didn't like the tone of the call, and following the clues given by the wife, I searched the internet and didn't find anything too useful. On the surface, it just seemed like an ordinary disappearance case, with nothing odd about it. Until, through some past informant's connections. I found a name."

"The Hand. Have you heard of it?"