The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 191: The End of the Trial

The trial was officially over. Several pairs of eyes, filled with a strange gleam, fixed upon Lu Li.

"You... What have you done?!" exclaimed Owen, his cheek twitching nervously.

"Maybe Lu Li just made a mistake... Right? Go on, explain yourself, Lu Li!" Frank kept winking at Lu Li, trying to nudge him toward some kind of excuse.

"I made no mistake," Lu Li replied calmly, looking at the assembled group.

"What?" Frank was stunned.

"I made no mistake," Lu Li repeated.

"No mistake... What does that mean?" Frank looked at the others, completely lost.

"It means he chose the girl, you fool," Doma smirked.

"But... But why would you do that?" Frank grew even more bewildered.

Lu Li lowered his gaze. "That girl was dangerous.""What?"

"There was no fear on her face. And none of the four monsters were trying to get her," Lu Li briefly recounted what he had told Tesla earlier.

"But that’s all just your guesswork! If you were wrong, you condemned an innocent girl to death!" Owen retorted, still unable to grasp Lu Li's decision.

Lu Li’s expression remained unchanged. He looked at Owen, who stood very close, glaring up at him. "It's just a portrait."

"...But because of you, we're going to fail the trial!"

"No."

The single word, spoken with such calm confidence, sounded like an indisputable fact.

Owen, already prone to self-doubt, was now even more uncertain, wondering if his accusations were justified.

"You shouldn't doubt Lu Li," a soft voice interjected.

Tesla, wearing his top hat, emerged from one of the wooden doors. Leaning on his cane, he approached the group with Rachel at his side.

"This young man has just provided a solution to an open-ended problem."

"So attacking the girl was the right thing to do?" Owen felt his worldview crumbling.

"More or less. In a situation with no information, where you have to rely solely on your own judgment, it's a perfectly reasonable decision." Tesla, who had observed the entire process, had thought Lu Li might change his mind for the sake of the "team," but the young man he admired had remained unwavering. "Moreover, his actions align with the conduct of an Investigator."

"What do you mean, 'align with the conduct of an Investigator'?" Frank immediately asked.

Tesla pointed to his monocle and said with a smile, "To see the essence beyond the surface."

Until that moment, the problem had no correct answer.

Or rather, any answer was correct. The purpose of the trial was to test observation skills.

But Lu Li had given the problem a deeper meaning. Now, when new participants faced this question, they would hardly satisfy the examiners by simply choosing the monsters.

"I have a question," Rachel said suddenly. It was why she had come out with Michael.

"I'm interested in your opinion of the other four monsters. Why did you decide the girl was more dangerous than they were? Let's start with the one that looks like a clump of grass."

Lu Li looked at the portrait on the wall. The silhouette of the black bush was dotted with numerous blood-red eyes. "It's just a bush with a warren of rabbits hiding inside," he answered without hesitation.

The bright red lips beneath her black veil curved into an intrigued smile. "And what about the creature that resembles a bat?"

Lu Li glanced at the second image—a three-meter-tall monster with short legs and powerful arms. "I've encountered similar creatures. One of them was quite friendly."

He was referring to Jimmy from the "Investigator initiation trial."

"And the distorted vengeful spirit?"

"It's just the soul of a dead person."

"And finally, the creature that looks like a fish and a frog."

Lu Li averted his gaze. "Perhaps it's just a monster returning home after a fishing trip."

"Monsters don't fish..." Owen muttered.

Lu Li nodded. "The question is highly subjective. What you see in it is what it is."

"Subjective... I like that word." Rachel considered Lu Li's words, smiled, and, without adding anything else, turned and walked back through one of the doors.

Tesla tapped his cane on the floor, drawing everyone's attention. "Well done, everyone. You may go and await news. The Investigators' Council will decide within a few days whether you are suitable for service."

Frank, Owen, and Daniel exchanged glances.

"We were brought together by a stroke of luck," Frank began, "and it seems we got along pretty well, right?"

Owen frowned. "What are you getting at?"

Frank smiled sheepishly. "It would be a shame to just part ways like this. We could form an official team, help each other out, spend time together. What do you say?"

"Doesn't sound great... But if the others agree... I don't care."

"As long as there's a chance to fight."

"..."

Frank looked at Lu Li. "What about you, Lu Li?"

"My card. Don't contact me unless it's for business," Lu Li said, handing him a business card.

"So, if something comes up, I can call? Got it." Frank winked, then took Owen and Daniel by the arms and addressed Tesla politely. "Mr. Tesla, we'll be on our way then."

"Good luck to you," Tesla said, waving them off. He watched as an Alliance employee escorted them toward the exit.

Tesla smiled as he watched them disappear around a corner. "Who do you think will join us?"

"I don't know."

"Why not take a guess?"

"I don't want to."

Lu Li was, as ever, unsentimental.

Tesla smiled breezily and gestured with his cane. "Let's go to the lounge area."

Alliance staff began taking the portraits down from the wall. Tesla walked on, leaning on his cane, the rhythmic tap of his polished black shoes echoing on the floor. "I'm curious, why did you decide that monsters can fish?"

The idea seemed strange to Tesla, but Lu Li saw nothing unusual about it. "We're not in the business of fighting mindless beasts."

"You're right... Some of them possess reason, are capable of thought, and even surpass us in that regard. Unfortunately, many people have yet to realize this, yet to realize just how terrifying that is..."

"What do you think will help us, humanity, win this struggle for survival?"