The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 216: Sliding Down

Following the slowly moving group, Lu Li reached his destination a minute later: a large hall.

The "cooks," whom Lu Li had already met twice, separated from the others and stationed themselves behind a counter, in front of wooden barrels full of food.

The meal began.

The group formed a line in front of the counter, waiting for their portions.

The line moved slowly, only shuffling forward when another shadow, wooden bowl in hand, stepped aside.

Muttering, gurgling, hissing, grumbling—strange sounds echoed from all sides.

— Gurgle-gurgle? — A cold, slippery paw suddenly touched Lu Li’s shirt. He looked down. A short shadow stood beside him, barely reaching his waist. It was clutching a wrench that was enormous for its size and staring up at him.

What was it asking?

Lu Li guessed—it held a wrench, and he held a crowbar. They were colleagues.

But he couldn’t answer, so he just silently raised his crowbar.— Gurgle... — The shadow lowered its head, a note of disappointment in its muttering.

Perhaps it had asked why Lu Li was so tall.

The line in front of Lu Li gradually shortened. As he neared the counter, he could make out what the "cooks" were ladling into the bowls: a grayish-black, viscous sludge with three floating eyeballs in it.

Predictable.

At least they weren’t eating the black substance.

The question remained: if this was their meal, then where did the vast quantities of food constantly being prepared in the "kitchen" go?

Or was the fish and meat intended for the inhabitants of the upper decks, perhaps the very shadows on this deck?

While Lu Li was lost in thought, the massive shadow in front of him received its half-empty bowl, grumbled in dissatisfaction that there was not enough food, and moved away.

— Gurgle-gurgle... — the "cook" mumbled gutturally, recognizing Lu Li. It took a wooden bowl, scooped the viscous mass from the barrel with a ladle, and filled Lu Li’s bowl to the brim, so full that its contents threatened to spill over.

Plop.

The second "cook," standing by another barrel, added six frog's eyes to Lu Li’s bowl. They sank into the viscous mass, creating slow ripples on the surface.

Lu Li tucked the crowbar into his belt, silently took the bowl—which was the size of a human head—and headed for an empty spot.

The sounds of gurgling and wet chewing echoed all around him.

Lu Li didn’t touch the food. He certainly had no intention of eating it, but he needed to find a way to empty the bowl.

Who knew what punishment awaited those who didn't finish their meal.

While Lu Li considered his options, he scanned the room. Dozens of shadows sat at tables throughout the hall. The shadow with the bull's horns was not among them.

Only the shadows from the lower decks were present at this meal.

Lu Li shifted his gaze to a massive shadow at the next table. Its head resembled that of a shark. It was picking the eyeballs out of its bowl, ignoring the stringy trails they left behind, and tossing them into its enormous mouth, chewing loudly.

The fist-sized eyeballs seemed to be little more than a snack for it.

After observing for a moment, Lu Li looked away before the shadow could notice him.

Vertical, palm-sized pupils were visible on the walls and ceiling of the hall, just like the ones in his bowl.

So, they weren't just for observation, but also for food?

As Lu Li pondered this, a large shadow fell over him.

An enormous creature had approached Lu Li’s table. Its head nearly scraped the ceiling. It sat down on a stool that was tiny compared to its massive frame.

— Gurgle-gurgle, — the creature rumbled, and from its huge paw—a paw that could easily crush Lu Li flat—an object rolled onto the table.

It had given Lu Li an alarm clock.

A thick iron chain was attached to the alarm clock, forming a loop large enough to encircle a small barrel. A rather original setup—at least in Belfast, Lu Li had never seen anyone wear a pocket watch as a wristwatch.

The creature wore this alarm clock on its wrist.

It seemed to think Lu Li could fix it with his crowbar.

Lu Li shook his head. He understood what the shadow wanted, but he couldn't do it.

He wasn't a mechanic, and even if he were, he doubted he could repair an alarm clock.

Hmph.

Two clouds of steam shot from the creature's nostrils, strong enough to blow Lu Li's hair into his face and make the hem of his cloak flutter. A huge, clawed paw rose and reached for Lu Li...

Lu Li took the alarm clock.

He wound the spring, but the hands didn’t move. Pressing the clock to his ear, he heard the faint clicking of gears—the spring was working, so that wasn't the problem.

The creature's paw returned to the table.

If the gears were working, the problem lay elsewhere. Lu Li turned the clock to face him.

The glass face was covered in a web of fine scratches, making the hands difficult to see.

This glass was one of the few things here not coated in the black substance.

Lu Li raised his crowbar, showing the shadow that he was about to fix the clock. Of course, a crowbar was useless for the repair, but he wanted to avoid any aggression from the creature.

Even if his Spirit Gun still worked, it was unlikely to do any serious harm to this four-meter-tall behemoth.

Lu Li removed the ring from the alarm clock. The glass came away immediately, and Lu Li carefully set it aside.

He glanced up at the shadow. It didn't try to grab him again.

The hands were clearly visible now. Lu Li noticed that they were trembling slightly, trying to move but stuck at the thirty-seven-minute mark.

It was as if they lacked the energy, or perhaps they had come loose.

The first possibility could be ruled out—the spring was wound.

Lu Li touched the minute hand and tried to move it, but as soon as he removed his finger, the hand immediately fell back into place.

Lu Li's gaze fell to the center of the clock face. On the spindle, he noticed traces of the black substance.

It all became clear. The black substance had gotten onto the spindle, making it too slippery for the hands to catch and move.

Lu Li removed the hour, minute, second, and red alarm hands, wiped the black substance off the spindle, and put the hands back on.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The alarm clock was working again.

Lu Li replaced the glass, then the ring, and handed the clock back to the creature.

— Gurgle-gurgle... — the creature rumbled, a pleased note in its voice. With a dexterity surprising for its size, it took the clock with two claws while a third reached for the winding crown and set the time.

Lu Li saw that the time was set to 11:45.

Apparently, that was the current time.

Lu Li grew thoughtful. If he treated this situation like a locked-room puzzle, then he had just obtained... the exact time.

What could this time signify?

Perhaps, by waiting until morning, he could change something.