The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 274: Captain Plis

"The port... was that you investigating the Rod case back then?" Lu Li asked.

He remembered the moment vividly—it had been his first real brush with the secrets of this world.

Besides, he already had a connection to this squad. When he had run into Joel at the Sentry Post, the man had even wanted to invite him to join.

However, Joel wasn't among the four Night's Watch members now—Lu Li couldn't see him.

Captain Plis paused for a moment, then his expression cleared with recognition. "I remember now. You were in the crowd. I could tell right away you weren't an ordinary man."

But back then, Lu Li had been just an ordinary man.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Lu Li looked through the rain at the coffee shop across the street. "That's the building where the anomaly occurred."

Captain Plis nodded and turned back to his people.

"The Contamination Detector isn't showing any activity," Metty said, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. She raised her wrist, displaying the device.

All eyes turned to another member of the group, who was holding a rough, gray stone."There's a malevolent aura clinging to the building..." he said cautiously, then his gaze snapped to Lu Li. "And to him, as well."

"He's a friend of mine," Lu Li answered calmly.

The squad member hesitated, giving Lu Li a strange look, but said nothing more.

"There's a presence, but no Mind Level drop. It might be a simple anomaly," Plis concluded with a nod. He turned to Lu Li. "Investigator, give us the details."

The term "anomaly" was used to describe all manner of supernatural entities, including ghosts, spirits of defilement, evil gods, and other manifestations.

Lu Li nodded and recounted how he had discovered the strange occurrences at the coffee shop and led the terrified owner away from it.

"The coffee shop's consciousness awakened after we left. It felt familiar, very similar to the man-eating house at 33 Elm Street," Lu Li added.

"Two identical anomalies..." Plis murmured. He had never encountered anything like it, never even heard of it, and a knot of unease tightened in his chest. For a fleeting moment, he felt an indescribable weight pressing down on his back.

The Night's Watch was more focused on eliminating threats than investigating them. The Investigators and the Night's Watch worked like mind and body: one analyzed, the other acted.

With an investigator present, Plis skipped the step of filing an investigation request and asked Lu Li for help directly.

"I'll help, but I want to know all the details about the man-eating house," Lu Li replied. He had come out in the rain precisely to deal with anomalies.

Besides, a version of this case had already made the papers once. If he solved it, he would likely find himself in the news again.

Plis smiled. "I'll request authorization to provide you with the information. For now, let's find a place to get warm."

If he stayed out in the rain, the investigator would surely fall ill.

Taking the coffee shop owner, who was beginning to grasp the situation, with them, Plis temporarily requisitioned a small shop with a storefront just twenty meters from the coffee shop.

In the storeroom, Lu Li wrung out his clothes, then wrapped himself in a blanket and walked out to the storefront.

A table and chairs had been set up in front of the window. Plis was already waiting, gesturing for Lu Li to sit across from him, while the shop owner was asked to prepare hot drinks.

Lu Li glanced out the window. Three members of Plis's team were working in the downpour, stretching out tape to cordon off the coffee shop and keep onlookers away.

It was the same method they had used for the house at 33 Elm Street.

It was this kind of systematic work that allowed humanity to stand against the tide of anomalies without being utterly consumed.

"When will the documents arrive?" Lu Li asked, pulling his gaze away from the window.

"Soon. My people are bringing them."

A few minutes later, the three squad members, having finished setting up the perimeter, returned to the shop, removed their raincoats, and gathered around the fireplace.

It was bone-chillingly cold. The icy rain seemed to sap the heat from every living thing.

Steam rose from the cup of coffee in front of Lu Li. He picked it up, and this time, he heard no strange sounds.

They didn't have to wait long. Another steam-powered car, draped in a rain cover, pulled up to the shop. Four figures got out and entered.

They were Plis's men, but once again, Lu Li didn't see Joel among them.

"Did you bring it?" Plis asked.

"Yes. The head of the Belfast Investigators, Michael Tesla, has instructed us to cooperate fully with Investigator Lu Li," one of the newcomers replied, taking off his raincoat and handing a wooden box to Plis.

"Looks like we have nothing to worry about this time," Plis said, placing the box in front of Lu Li.

"I don't see Joel," Lu Li remarked, opening the box, which was marked with inscrutable numbers.

A stack of papers lay at the bottom.

The atmosphere in the room shifted. Those who had been moving about, rubbing their hands or shrugging off raincoats, suddenly froze.

"You knew Joel?" Plis asked.

"We spoke at the Sentry Post. He helped me."

"He's dead."

"How?"

The question came out sharp, but Lu Li wasn't in the habit of mincing words.

After a brief pause, Plis replied, "During an operation at the Sentry Post. He was accidentally contaminated."

Lu Li's mind involuntarily flashed back to the cellar of the Sentry Post police station.

He said nothing, simply began to look through the documents in the box.

The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated. Two squad members, wrapped in blankets, kept watch on the coffee shop, while the others warmed themselves by the fire, speaking in low voices.

It was a report containing all the information on the man-eating house: when it was first noticed, when it began to attack people, and what measures had been taken.

The first person to notice something strange was an elderly woman named Petra, the owner of the house at 33 Elm Street. She was a retired university professor. One morning, she heard whispers in her home. Assuming it was burglars, she locked her door and picked up the telephone to call the police. But before she could even dial, the phone began to speak on its own.

As a person of high social standing, Petra was aware of things inaccessible to the general public, including some of the world's deeper secrets. Forcing down her fear, she called the police and reported the incident, then threw on her coat and tried to flee.

She didn't make it. The house consumed her, leaving nothing but her clothes behind.

The second victim was her former student, a woman named Shelly. She lived on Elm Street and brought Petra breakfast every morning.