The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 211: The Corpse Incinerator

The conveyor belt ended at a red-hot furnace that radiated a searing heat. Its color was a deep, ominous red.

Lu Li was delivered to the kitchen like a piece of meat.

And soon, he would be turned to mincemeat at the other end of the line, destined to become someone's meal.

The conveyor belt moved inexorably forward, and the first of the fallen fish carcasses were scattered along its length.

Lu Li was among them.

Waiting for his strength to return was no longer an option. Straining with all his might, Lu Li began to move, using the only parts of his body he could control—his head and neck—to slowly shift toward the edge.

The sounds of chopping meat reached him distinctly. Lu Li didn't look at the dark figures, but from the frequency of the cleaver strikes, he could guess that all the fish carcasses were being reduced to pulp.

He was about fifteen meters from the sinister sounds when he finally reached the edge. He braced his shoulder against the metal side of the conveyor and, using it as a leverage point, slid in a half-circle, pressing himself against the rim.

With a loud, wet slap, a pile of fish carcasses tumbled off the conveyor belt.

Lu Li followed them with a dull thud. Some of the black substance covering him splattered away. He noticed that the ability to move was beginning to return.The moment he realized the black substance was the cause of his paralysis, the chaotic chopping sounds nearby ceased. They resumed shortly after, but not all of them.

One of the dark figures, cleaver in hand, started in his direction.

Struggling to move his shoulders, Lu Li began to slide off the pile of fish, pulling himself along with his chin and shoulders. The heavy footsteps behind him drew closer.

If he was discovered, the best-case scenario was being thrown back onto the conveyor.

Gathering his last reserves of strength, Lu Li rolled over the fish carcasses and into the shadows beneath the conveyor belt.

Just then, the massive figure approached the edge of the conveyor, and Lu Li saw its thick, deformed, inhuman legs.

Lu Li held his breath, watching.

The figure let out a strange, indistinct mumble and, scooping up the fish carcasses that had fallen to the floor, tossed them back onto the conveyor.

The creature's hand looked strange. The being itself was deformed, enormous, and inhuman, but its palm, though unnaturally large, had the distinct shape of a human hand with five fingers. There were no claws, no thick growths.

This made the figure even more grotesque, as if it had been pieced together from different parts.

Hiding beneath the conveyor, Lu Li watched as this enormous human hand, capable of easily crushing a human skull, gathered the scattered fish carcasses. Several times it passed dangerously close to Lu Li's feet, and he could even feel the faint stir of air from its movements.

From above, on the conveyor, came another indistinct mumble. The hand disappeared, and then he heard the heavy footsteps retreating.

For the moment, Lu Li had escaped the fate of becoming mincemeat.

Lu Li let out a long sigh. After a few quick gasps, his breathing steadied, blending with the drone of the conveyor and the rhythm of the chopping.

Several minutes passed, but his body did not recover. Lu Li concluded that his paralysis was linked to the black substance covering him.

His coat, life jacket, and boots were gone, along with his flashlight and some of his ammunition. But it seemed both Spirit Guns were still with him.

This gave Lu Li at least some means of self-defense.

If he could move.

And if the Spirit Guns still worked.

Taking advantage of the temporary reprieve, Lu Li began to scrape the black substance off himself. But he soon realized that it covered not only him, but everything around him.

The black substance was everywhere.

The only difference was that the layer on him was thicker and more viscous.

His fingertips twitched. With great effort, he raised a hand and clumsily unbuttoned his shirt, which was caked in a layer of the black mass.

With a squelching sound, the shirt fell to the floor, revealing a body still coated in the black substance.

Lu Li tensed, and his hand slowly clenched into a fist. There wasn't much strength, but it was enough.

Shifting his position, Lu Li leaned against one of the conveyor's supports. The piercing cold cleared his mind. He began to scrape the black substance from his body, flinging it away from the conveyor belt.

Lu Li couldn't get rid of the black substance completely, but he could at least reduce the amount.

After cleaning his left arm, he started on his right, then his legs and torso. Both Spirit Guns were also covered in the black mass. Lu Li took them from their holsters and wiped them down.

As the sticky black substance came off, strength returned to Lu Li's limbs, though he still felt weak.

This was partly due to the aftereffects of losing consciousness.

Once he had cleaned himself as best he could, Lu Li picked up his now-black shirt and began to wring it out like a wet rag.

The viscous black liquid oozed from the twisted fabric with a squelching sound.

The wet clothes would be unpleasant, but it was cold in here, and wearing them was better than nothing.

To his surprise, after putting on the half-dry shirt, Lu Li found that his movements were no longer restricted—only the black substance remaining on his skin slowed him down.

This discovery prompted Lu Li to take off his trousers and wring them out as well.

Once dressed, Lu Li, still hiding in the shadows beneath the conveyor, began to survey the "kitchen".

The room was long and narrow, with the moving conveyor belt occupying most of the space. Eight massive figures stood beside it, not far from the furnace.

A light gray door was visible on the dark gray wall.

It was the way out of the kitchen, but to reach it, Lu Li would have to pass four of the figures, in plain sight of the other four.

But it seemed there was no better option.

Lu Li didn't want to take any unnecessary risks. He carefully emerged from the shadows beneath the conveyor and made his way to the spot where he had fallen.

The clumsy "cooks" didn't notice his movements. They continued to tirelessly chop the fish carcasses sliding down the conveyor, sending the mincemeat into the furnace for some unknown purpose.

A thick layer of the viscous black substance had pooled where he fell. It was as slick as rotting mud, especially where crushed fish carcasses were hidden beneath it.

Because of this substance, Lu Li moved with difficulty, as if wading through a swamp.

He pressed himself against the wall, trying to stay away from the center of the room and the conveyor, to avoid being hit by any carcasses that might suddenly fall from the fishing net above. They probably wouldn't kill him, but they would certainly knock him into the black mass, from which he wouldn't be able to escape before ending up with the cooks.

Lu Li looked up. The passage he had come through was about four meters high. The metal walls were smooth, with no ledges or handholds to climb.

The door behind the cooks was the only way out.