Detective Agency of the Bizarre

Chapter 1554 - 12: The Lu Li Syndrome

The faint wall lamp dispelled the gloom of the ward.

The contours of the bedding on the hospital bed arched up, as if someone was sleeping soundly.

A flowing stain slipped into the ward through the crack under the door.

Squeak——creak——

The elongated faint sound echoed slowly as the door was gently opened.

At the edge of the wall lamp’s faint light, a blurry remnant shadow slid towards the arched bed.

And from the depths of the shadows it traversed, a silhouette quietly emerged, an arm silently wrapping around the neck of the bed’s shadow, suddenly tightening.

Just like pressing down on a curtain blown by the wind, Lu Li’s attack penetrated the shadow, like a bundle of clothes withdrawing from shackles, slipping out of the ward along the wet floor.

The stains made Lu Li slip as he chased out, staggering as he grabbed the door frame and rushed out of the ward, but silence and darkness had already engulfed the outside.

Before being swallowed by the deep gloom, Lu Li retreated back into the ward.

Why does it not fear the darkness?

The unfathomable question emerged in his mind as Lu Li returned to the disguised bed. "The lingering regret of a drowned one" was unlikely to attack again, but Lu Li decided to continue the night watch.

If daytime would pass more swiftly when "idle," night should be the same.

Lu Li wasn’t wrong, only about a few dozen minutes had passed in his perception, and the ward lit by the wall lamp’s dim light was already mixed with a new vague glow.

Very soon, Lu Li experienced his first sunrise in the hospital—though hidden behind layers of mist.

The light of the wall lamp dimmed at this moment, and Lu Li stood up and walked towards the door.

A janitor was backing away while mopping the floor in the quiet corridor with his back to the ward.

The junction of night and dawn isn’t a proper time to explore the hospital, either.

"There’s water on the ward floor."

Lu Li spoke up as the janitor passed by the ward door.

The hooded cleaner paused, wrung out the mop, and passed Lu Li to enter the hospital.

While Lu Li was still pondering whether "the janitor was within the range of those who ’needed help,’" the cleaner had already dried the tiles and was lowering his head out of the ward.

Watching the cleaner carry the cart and mop farther away, Lu Li came out after the moist tiles had dried, returning once more to Ward 208.

"Why is it you again..."

The resentful Gatekeeper drove Lu Li away: "Please leave, or I’ll call the nurse."

"I’m just here to visit the Pig King."

The Pig King cooperatively let out a pig-like grunt as Lu Li responded.

"Grunt—grunt—"

The Gatekeeper glared at Lu Li with a cold, unhappy expression.

"Still not willing to open your heart?"

On the surface, Lu Li was speaking with the Pig King, but actually he was asking the Gatekeeper. Because his attitude wasn’t entirely unchanged—it was somewhat better than yesterday.

"I’ve helped many patients. A roommate named Little Linna, she craved sweets, so I found her lots of milk candies," Lu Li recounted, embellishing the story appropriately. "And another roommate named Evildoers. He longed for the melody of the lullaby he heard in childhood. I found the complete lullaby for him..."

"Dog Meat too, you were bullying him, but I helped him escape misfortune."

The mention of this name made the Gatekeeper even gloomier, and he suddenly said, "Do you really want to help me?"

"I’ll do my best."

Lu Li’s answer wasn’t convincing, yet it was comforting.

"From midnight to 6 AM tomorrow, guard the activity area for me." The Gatekeeper took a bunch of keys from under his cloak and tossed them to Lu Li.

Got the activity area key just like that?

Lu Li quickly prepared himself upon catching the keys: "How do I guard the activity area?"

"Stop unqualified patients wanting to enter."

"That’s it?"

"Unqualified patients might attack you if they want to enter." The Gatekeeper’s cold tone carried a touch of ridicule: "You like to help others, don’t you? Then you surely have a way to appease them."

"Or you could accept your own failure."

"I agree."

Lu Li put the keys into his pocket.

He took the assignment, even before asking about details after agreeing: "How do I distinguish unqualified patients?"

"Observe."

The Gatekeeper’s mocking face sent a shiver down the spine, "If you let unqualified patients enter... you’ll face terrifying punishment!"

"What punishment?"

The Gatekeeper didn’t answer, just waiting coldly for Lu Li’s misstep—and it was something Lu Li completely brought upon himself.

Lu Li was contemplating something entirely different. And when he was preparing to leave the ward, the Gatekeeper’s voice resonated: "You’re dumb enough to leave like this?"

"Did I miss something?" Lu Li halted and turned back.

The Gatekeeper tossed a security uniform to Lu Li.

Lu Li thus realized this was his key to not violating hospital rules.

He first returned the security uniform to the ward, hiding it in the bedside drawer, and continued seeking patients in need of help. He hoped Ward 213, which he hadn’t visited yet, might serve as a breakthrough, but the door never opened.

On his way back, Lu Li found dusk had arrived sooner than he expected.

Because he hadn’t slept all night?

Lu Li had no choice but to accept this. Half a day left was better than disappearing for a day. He escorted the girl in a wheelchair back to the ward and went to the Nameless Lady’s ward.

"Do you want to divine tonight’s fate?"

The Nameless Lady joyfully welcomed a guest, setting aside the faded, tattered Tarot Cards, allowing Lu Li to pick one.

Lu Li casually drew a Tarot Card, revealing a crescent moon card with a human face upon flipping it over.

The Nameless Lady trembled instantly, then murmured softly, "Tonight you shall be spared, and also meet misfortune, depending on your choice..."

"Thank you. May you pass the night in either dreams or wakefulness."

Dusk remained a lingering resonance; this time the night fell without allowing Lu Li to hide.

He returned to Ward 204 during the final dusk, donned the security uniform, and hung the bunch of keys on his belt. When night descended, the wall lamp glowed faintly, and he opened the door, stepping into the corridor with echoing footsteps.

The security uniform allowed Lu Li to walk during the night. He didn’t head straight to guard the activity area but after observing the curtains hanging in the nurses’ station, he wandered down the dim, silent corridor towards the other side.

206...207...208...

With gentle footsteps, Lu Li pulled each door’s handle as he passed each ward. Every door was locked without exception, until he turned the handle of Ward 208—

Click.

The door handle was pressed down.

Lu Li didn’t push the door but gently knocked on it.

He still had to guard the activity area; "dying" here would mean shirking his duty.

Knock knock knock—

After knocking once more, Lu Li opened a crack.

The gradually clear sound of scratching and rustling transmitted to the corridor, where worm-like clusters from arm-sized to adult-sized scattered across the ward.

Lu Li stayed in the hallway, not entering the room, nor shocked by the sight: "Do you need help?"

A worm accustomed to soil on the bed turned towards Lu Li; at this moment, Lu Li suddenly understood its expression—a yearning for earth.

Lu Li thought of pots of soil, but even the smallest worm couldn’t fit itself in them.

He temporarily accepted the task, closed the door, and after failing to open the remaining few doors, headed towards the activity area.