The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 196: Rank

This unusually large crow was one Lu Li might have mistaken for a hawk when he first saw it. However, after learning about the connection between Investigators and crows, he knew it was no hawk.

Just as Tesla had done before, Lu Li took out his one-eyed Black Crow badge and tossed it into the crow's beak.

A strange mechanical sound clicked, and a few seconds later, the badge dropped from the portrait's face.

The portrait on the wall slowly slid apart. Lu Li retrieved his badge, slipped it into his pocket, and stepped into the elevator hidden behind the painting.

The grated door clanged shut. The elevator shuddered slightly and began to descend, eventually arriving in a tunnel.

Stepping out of the tunnel, Lu Li found himself in the main hall of the base. It was as cold and empty as ever. After a quick scan of the room, he walked toward the Alliance employee wiping glasses behind the counter in the lounge area.

"Hey, Lu Li."

The voice came from behind. A door to one of the rooms on the left side of the hall opened, and Tristan gave him a wave.

He was wearing only a white tank top, revealing a powerful, muscular build.

"Tristan," Lu Li nodded in reply.Tristan closed the door and walked over to Lu Li. His face, composed of sharp, muscular lines, spread into a welcoming smile. "I like seeing new members keep their enthusiasm. Most of the Investigators these days are too lazy; many of them don't show up at the base for an entire year."

After complaining about how boring his shift at the base was, the supervisor looked at Lu Li. "So, what brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to Tesla," Lu Li replied.

He hadn't scheduled a meeting, and by the looks of it, Tesla wasn't here.

Tristan flexed his muscles, radiating a raw masculine energy that might have intimidated most women. "It's my week on duty—Tristan the Giant. If it's personal, you can visit him at his house. He thinks highly of you, so I'm sure he'd be glad to see you."

"It isn't a personal matter. I want to learn about the process of becoming a full-fledged Investigator, and about the library."

Tristan's lips spread into a grin. "No problem. I'll walk you to the library and tell you all about becoming a full Investigator on the way."

"Hold on a moment," Lu Li said as Tristan started to turn away. He walked over to the counter to order a glass of milk.

"You like milk?" Tristan asked, walking over to Lu Li. His imposing figure nearly blocked the narrow window to the left, eclipsing the natural light.

He raised an index finger as thick as a baby's arm and ordered a glass of milk for himself, then turned to Lu Li. "I love it too. Makes you healthier and stronger, and it reminds me of my mother... Do you work out regularly?"

Lu Li's first impression of Tristan had been one of strength and a certain aloofness. In reality, he was quite good-natured and talkative. And once you got to know him... he became a real chatterbox.

Perhaps this wasn't his true nature, just that the boredom of being stuck at the base made him eager to chat with a new face.

And that wasn't a bad thing.

"I maintain a minimal level of physical activity to prevent a decline in my body's functionality," Lu Li replied.

"Functionality... of what?" Tristan didn't quite catch Lu Li's meaning. He wasn't yet accustomed to his formal way of speaking, but he grasped the general idea.

Tristan rested his arm on the counter. It was as thick as a grown man's thigh, making Lu Li suspect he could probably fight a bloodsucker with his bare hands. "Strength makes you more powerful, helps you run faster..."

"Please don't lean on the counter," the Alliance employee said, placing two glasses of milk before them with a disgruntled look on his face.

"It's sturdy," Tristan insisted, giving his arm a shake. The counter groaned pitifully.

The employee's face darkened. "But it gets fragile whenever you're around."

"Ha-ha-ha, come now..." Tristan laughed nervously, grabbing his milk and finally leaving the poor counter alone.

"Try telling that to the last fourteen counters you broke," the Alliance employee grumbled.

Lu Li sipped his milk in silence, observing their lighthearted bickering.

SLAM!!!

As Lu Li took his final sip, Tristan drained his glass in a single gulp and slammed it down on the counter.

Lu Li gently set his own glass down, and together with Tristan, headed for the corridor that led to the library.

"So, what did you want to know?" Tristan asked as they walked.

"The details about a trainee Investigator becoming a full member, and about the salary."

A trainee Investigator earned 350 shillings a week, the same as a retired Investigator, but that was only temporary.

Newcomers didn't stay in the trainee position for long. The qualification trial usually took place within the first or second week. A trainee, outfitted with standard-issue Investigator equipment, would be sent on an assignment provided by headquarters.

To ensure the trainee's safety, an experienced Investigator would shadow them from a distance, ready to intervene in the event of mortal danger.

However, if the senior Investigator was forced to step in, it meant the trainee had failed the trial. Fifty years ago, a single failure resulted in dismissal.

But as the world grew more dangerous and the need for new recruits increased, the Investigators relaxed their standards, allowing trainees more room for error.

Now, a trainee got a second chance after one failure.

A trainee who successfully passed the trial would be promoted to the rank of a full Investigator, with a weekly salary of 700 shillings.

This was the minimum salary an Investigator received, even without taking on any missions or accepting commissions. It could be considered a kind of stipend.

The qualification mission was usually straightforward, roughly three-quarters the difficulty of a simple assignment—unless unforeseen circumstances arose, of course. For instance, headquarters might misjudge the danger level of a location, making the mission far more difficult. In such cases, the trainee was typically promoted on the spot.

If he survived.

Mission difficulty was divided into four levels: simple, normal, difficult, and nightmare.

Investigator ranks were also divided into four levels: Investigator, Senior Investigator, Agent, and Legendary Agent.

This was visually represented by the changing eye color on the three-eyed crow badge. A Senior Investigator's badge had silver eyes, an Agent's had golden eyes, and a Legendary Agent's had obsidian eyes.

The promotion system for Investigators was more transparent than that of the Exorcist Association. In the Association, promotions were based on internal decisions, whereas Investigators only needed to complete three missions of a certain difficulty.

A regular Investigator typically handled simple missions. Completing three of them earned a promotion to Senior Investigator. A Senior Investigator took on simple and normal missions. Completing three normal missions would make them an Agent. An Agent could handle simple, normal, and difficult missions, but this path didn't lead to the rank of Legendary Agent.

Only by surviving and completing at least one nightmare-level mission could an Investigator achieve the rank of Legendary Agent.

Tristan's voice faltered.

It seemed he was reluctant to elaborate on the subject, as if even he was intimidated by the thought of nightmare-level missions.