The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 1006: Chaotic Dream

"Mr. Lu Li?"

Panic rising in her, Anna glanced around and saw Lu Li backing away toward the shore.

"The tide is coming in," Lu Li stated.

Anna looked down just as the white-crested waves washed over her ankles.

"Wait for me!"

Anna remembered to snatch the fallen seashell from the sand before hurrying back to Lu Li's side.

The vast bay opened up before Anna... but it was a disappointment. She couldn't feel the salty breeze on her skin or sense the true essence of the ocean.

"Let's go back."

Lu Li could sense Anna's disappointment.

As they walked along the beach, heading back toward the street, Lu Li spoke, his voice calm:"You can possess a body."

"No, I really shouldn't..."

Anna wavered for a moment before quickly shaking her head. It wasn't just about being kind; she couldn't stomach the thought of the strangeness and revulsion that came with inhabiting someone else's body.

"Use my body."

"Oh? But... but I've heard that being possessed by a ghost can make you sick."

Anna hesitated, a memory from her dream surfacing.

"It's fine."

Because none of this was real. It was only a dream.

Lu Li paused at the bottom of the steps leading up to the street. Anna stood beside him, her form shimmering with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

No one would disturb them here, no one would notice. The closest pedestrians were hundreds of meters away, back along the shoreline.

"Then... I'll enter?"

"Mhm."

"It might be painful... if you feel unwell, please tell me, alright?"

"Okay."

"Um... no, from the front... I'd feel too embarrassed... Is it okay if I go from the back?"

"Mhm."

A chill washed over him, spreading slowly from his spine. Sensation faded from every part of his body it touched.

Lu Li remained perfectly still, forcing his consciousness to stay within the dream.

The icy cold permeated his entire body, and Lu Li's awareness of it vanished completely.

"I can smell the sea!"

Then he heard his own voice, brimming with excitement. In his peripheral vision, he watched his hands clench and unclench.

Caught up in the novelty of the moment, Anna couldn't resist asking:

"Lu Li, are you okay?"

There was, of course, no reply.

Getting no response, a flustered Anna tried to drift away from the body. Forgetting she was still in control, she sent Lu Li's body lurching forward, and the cracked edges of the stone steps rushed up to fill his vision—

The darkness was fleeting. Lu Li awoke from the Emerald Dream Potion.

No matter how long the dream seemed to last, only an instant—the space of a single blink—passed in the outside world.

"Any progress?" Silver Cross Elephant asked. His dark eyes narrowed, sensing that Lu Li had returned.

"...Very little."

There were no changes to "Beacon," and "Dreamwalker"—the only title that could be used within the Emerald Dream—had barely advanced.

Lu Li cautiously touched his forehead. There was no wound, yet a phantom pain seemed to have carried over from the dream into reality.

Now they faced a new problem: they were out of the Emerald Dream Potion.

Lu Li summoned The Merchant to purchase more of the potion.

"Wait," Mildred Humphrey interjected. She pulled a cord from around her neck and handed a severed claw to The Merchant.

"Go to the Alchemists' Association in the Old Sewer first. Show them this claw; it should be enough to trade for two bottles of the Emerald Dream Potion."

The transaction would have taken time, but the claw Mildred Humphrey provided saved a great deal of it. Before long, The Merchant returned with two bottles of Emerald Dream Potion from the Alchemists' Association.

"Don't thank me. Nothing is more precious than life. If you truly want to show your gratitude, become a Lord."

Even though the dream state only lasted an instant in the real world, they still retreated to the swamp hut for safety.

Lu Li drank the potion and, for the third time, found himself in the psychologist's office in Belfast.

"You are—"

The psychologist's astonished and bewildered cry echoed down the empty corridor.

Lu Li returned to the street, walked to a familiar corner, and climbed into a hired carriage.

Da Vinci Street, number 23.

Madam An Lei's Art Gallery, with only half an hour until closing, received its last—and perhaps its first—visitor of the day.

"You've come just in time, the gallery still has... er... sir... sir?"

Benjamin trotted after Lu Li as he walked deeper into the gallery, stopping before an oil painting titled "Madam An Lei's Daughter."

A handful of shillings was pressed into Benjamin's hands. While he was still stunned, the black-haired man stepped over the rope barrier and lifted the oil painting from the wall.

"The paintings here aren't for sale... uh, just this once."

Benjamin spotted several 100-shilling notes among the coins and hastily changed his tune.

Lu Li said nothing. He left as quickly as he had arrived, and Benjamin, watching him go with a complicated expression, saw him climb into the hired carriage and drive away.

Clip-clop-clop—

A little over ten minutes later, the crisp clatter of hooves stopped in front of Gades's detective agency.

The oil painting was temporarily left in the carriage. To the clear chime of wind bells, Lu Li entered the agency.

"I'm an exorcist. I need one Spirit Gun and ten silver bullets."

"Of course, my friend. Gades's Detective Agency is the best support a fellow exorcist could ask for."

Gades spread his arms, stretching his lips into a wide smile that revealed a gold tooth glinting in the dim light.

"A friendly price, how about 500 shillings? And I'll throw in an eleventh silver bullet."

"The Merchant only charges 300," Lu Li retorted, exposing Gades's so-called "friendly price."

"In honor of our long-standing friendship."

Gades accepted Lu Li's counteroffer, pulling a holstered Spirit Gun from under the counter and pouring out a handful of silver bullets that gleamed with a cold light.

Lu Li placed the hundred-odd shillings he had left on the counter and reached for the Spirit Gun.

"147 shillings? You're short by more than half."

Gades glanced at the pile of coins and slammed his hand down on the Spirit Gun, his narrow eyes glittering with a dangerous light.

"This isn't enough, friend. You know what a Spirit Gun is worth."

"It's all I have," Lu Li said calmly.

"300 shillings. Not a shilling less."

The hand resting on the Spirit Gun slowly withdrew as Gades maintained his last shred of courtesy toward a client.

...

Click—

A few minutes later, Lu Li loaded a silver bullet, closed the cylinder, and slid the holstered pistol onto his belt.

Without a glance at Gades, Lu Li turned in silence and left the detective agency.

From behind him came the desperate shouts of Gades, who was now tied to a post.

"You bastard! Nobody takes advantage of Gades! Nobody!!!"

Slam—jingle-jingle—

The closing wooden door cut off Gades's cries.

Returning to the carriage and confirming that Anna's oil painting was still inside, Lu Li took the reins and headed back toward the Sailor Street district.

The Bizarre Detective Agency.

Outside the window, the approaching night shrouded the sky in an eerie fog.

A dim oil lamp dispelled the gloom in the living room. As time passed, Lu Li waited for Anna to awaken, immersing himself in the power of Dreamwalker and sensing the misty clumps of light.

Sudden, hurried footsteps shattered the peace of the longhouse, echoing from the corridor.

At that moment, an elegant and beautiful girl emerged from the oil painting, asking curiously:

"Did you buy—"

Knock-knock-knock—

Someone was pounding roughly on the detective agency's door.

The neighbors were alarmed. Questions could be heard from behind the wooden door:

"Officer, what's happened?"

"We're arresting a robber."

"...I was stolen?.."

Anna blinked.

"No."

Lu Li looked away from the wooden door.

The dream was becoming chaotic.

It was impossible to tell if this was a result of his own actions or from entering the Emerald Dream too many times.