The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 111: A Scarlet Tentacle in the Forehead

Dawn.

A sliver of morning sun broke through the clouds, illuminating the dilapidated, dark room. On the dust-caked dresser by the bed, an oil lamp burned with a dim, weary light.

The sunbeam vanished a few seconds later, swallowed once more by the heavy, dark clouds.

The room plunged back into twilight, but the brief intrusion of light had been enough to stir the sleeper.

The figure on the bed moved.

Lying on his side, the man stretched and opened his eyes. The haze in his gaze slowly cleared, sharpening with focus.

His eyes, dark as the depths of the sea, slowly scanned the web-draped ceiling.

He sat up. A black tie slid from his shoulder, landing on his stark white shirt.

His gaze swept across the decrepit bedroom, which looked as though it had been vacant for ages, and finally settled on the wardrobe door in the corner.

Through the open window drifted the distant horn of a fishing vessel leaving the port.Lu Li began to recall the events of the previous night.

He had forgotten nothing; every strange and unnerving detail was fresh in his mind. His missing coat was proof that it had been neither a hallucination nor a dream.

But what had happened inside the wardrobe was truly bizarre—inexplicable and surreal, even more so than a dream, especially the strange, optimistic mood he had felt at the very end.

The wardrobe door was shut tight. A faint whistle of wind seemed to emanate from the crack, as if blowing past Lu Li on the bed, yet not a single strand of his hair moved.

The clock on the dresser beside the lamp continued to tick. It was 5:53.

The time held no particular significance.

Of course, one could add the three digits to get thirteen, but that felt like a stretch.

The mad, strange, and repellent atmosphere inside the wardrobe made Lu Li think it might be related to what Gades called an "anomaly." The best course of action would be to ask him, but... Lu Li had no idea how he would even explain it.

"I found myself in some kind of strange space. There were hints on the walls about how to proceed. It said not to stay up too late, not to play too many games, to read more, and to eat right."

If he said that, Gades would probably have him committed to a psychiatric hospital himself—for a fee, of course.

Lu Li wanted to learn more about the space in the wardrobe, but he had no intention of taking such a risk again.

Lost in thought, he suddenly reached for his belt. The flintlock pistol was still there. Lu Li wrapped his hand around the cold grip and drew the weapon from its holster.

Then he glanced at the corner of the ceiling.

Releasing his grip, he let the Spirit Gun fall back into place. Lu Li rose from the bed, picked up the lamp, and walked out of the room.

He left Claire’s house and ascended a stone staircase, a rarity in Belfast.

Tap, tap, tap...

The sound of footsteps came from behind the unlocked door. After a short while, the footsteps returned.

Click.

Closing the door, Lu Li dragged a ghost behind him by the collar. He hauled it into the bedroom and finally let go.

"I'm a ghost!"

The figure in his grasp was a young man in simple clothes. If not for his translucent body, he would have been indistinguishable from any ordinary city dweller.

He shouted, trying to sound brave, but his voice trembled with fear.

"I know. That's why I brought you here," Lu Li replied calmly. His impassive expression terrified the young ghost.

Lu Li was no longer a novice in this field. Over the course of his work, he had learned to gauge the strength of ghosts and understood that they weren't as frightening as they seemed—at least, most of them weren't. Those who committed evil rarely lasted long.

Only upon reaching the level of a vengeful spirit did they undergo any significant change. For the most part, ghosts were simply dead people who had retained their consciousness.

"I have a job for you."

A dark bedroom, a bed, one man telling another: I have a job for you.

Even if the ghost had prepared for the worst, he never expected the truth to be so horrifying and shocking.

"I'm a ghost! I have a canker sore!"

The young ghost shrieked, hoping to change his fate.

Lu Li, ignoring him completely, continued, "There's a staircase in the wardrobe that leads down. I need you to scout the way."

"What? You didn't want to..." The young ghost trailed off mid-sentence.

"What?" Lu Li looked at him, his dark eyes brimming with suppressed negative emotions.

"Nothing... If it's just scouting," the ghost's eyes darted around, "I... I won't die in there... will I?"

"I don't know. But if you don't go, you'll definitely die," Lu Li said, his hand drifting to his holster.

A pistol?! The ghost's heart leaped. Despite being dead, he felt an instinctive surge of fear, but then he collected himself. Wait a minute, he was already dead, what was there to fear from a pistol? He straightened up, about to say something, but then he remembered how Lu Li had stormed into his apartment, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him away. He slumped again.

The ghost, whose mood had swung wildly several times in a matter of moments, lost all will to resist and nodded with a sour expression.

Lu Li, paying no mind to his emotions, walked over to the wardrobe and spoke without turning around. "I call the levels inside 'temporal floors.' Each floor corresponds to thirty minutes. Descending one floor moves you thirty minutes forward in time. Your starting floor is 12:00. The first floor is 12:30. There will be hints on the walls. If you run into any trouble, follow them. If the walls start showing messages like 'good night' or something similar, do what they say. And don't turn back unless the hints tell you to."

Gripping the wardrobe handles, Lu Li finished his explanation and glanced back at the ghost.

"Did you get all that?"

"I don't think I understood everything... but leave it to me!"

Dust rained down from the wardrobe door as Lu Li pulled it open.

In that same instant, a blood-red mass shot out from the wardrobe. It blurred into a hazy shadow and lunged straight for Lu Li’s face!

In a flash, Lu Li’s pupils constricted. He tried to defend himself, but it was already too late.

Lu Li only had time to focus his eyes and make out the true form of the blood-red shadow: it was a scarlet tentacle with a ragged, torn end.

The scarlet tentacle left a bloody trail in the dusty air and plunged into Lu Li's forehead.

In the next moment, Lu Li finally reacted. He snatched his Spirit Gun with lightning speed, but immediately spun it around and pressed the muzzle to his own forehead.

"Ssss..." the young ghost hissed, sucking in a sharp breath, stunned by the sight. Then he saw Lu Li turn his head slightly, his cold, indifferent gaze, filled with those hidden, negative emotions, falling upon him.

The ghost clapped a hand over his mouth in terror.

"I am Lu Li, from another world. My profession is exorcist. I'm in Belfast. Anna is my partner. We're investigating the 'door' incident. Right now, we're trying to find Richard."

With his finger on the trigger, Lu Li muttered the words in a rapid, steady cadence.

His thoughts remained untouched. No new memories, no change in his mood...

The less that happened, the worse it was.

The scarlet tentacle that had buried itself in his forehead had to have done something to him.