The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 320: Evil Spirit Watcher

A distorted, grating noise suddenly erupted from the radio, as if a chaotic, alien sound had forced its way into the normal broadcast.

[You must not look... *hiss*... On the eastern Allen Peninsula, tomorrow’s forecast is cloudy with light rain, temperatures ranging from 8 to 13 degrees Celsius. Residents are advised to dress warmly... *hiss*... *static*... Under no circumstances... *hiss*... Do not look... *hiss*... at it... *hiss*... And now, we have a song for you... [background music begins to play]...]

The radio's strange behavior wasn't a hallucination, as Anna had noticed it too.

The calm music, filtering through the cheap speaker, devolved into a piercing shriek of static. The strange interference vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

Lu Li tore his gaze away from the radio and spoke to Daisy, whose voice was still on the line. "What did you say?"

"Um... I was asking if I could call you later? I'll report it to the police first, of course."

"Yes, of course."

"Alright. In that case, good night, Mr. Lu Li. Please tell Anna I said hello."

Lu Li was about to hang up when Anna stopped him, murmuring that she wasn't finished with her call.

Lu Li handed the receiver to Anna and walked over to the radio, fiddling with the dial.The Mind Level counter on his wrist remained silent, and neither he nor Anna sensed anything unusual, but the message hidden within the chaotic noise had made him wary.

However, no matter how much Lu Li twisted the knob, scanning the frequencies above and below the "Daily News" broadcast, the strange interference did not return.

"Good night," Anna said into the receiver before hanging up. She looked over at Lu Li. "Maybe we shouldn't use the radio for a while?"

Lu Li remained silent, lost in thought.

Ever since he had become an investigator and learned the truth of the world, Lu Li had been constantly faced with contradictory choices.

To find his way back, and to protect himself from potential dangers, Lu Li needed knowledge—knowledge that, in itself, posed an enormous risk.

It was just like Thomas, who had read the ancient book that led to his demise, all for the knowledge it contained. He had been so certain the book wouldn't harm him.

In the end, he was torn to pieces in an instant, and the cleanup crew had to work hard just to gather his remains.

Often, it was impossible to determine whether a piece of information was forbidden and corrupting, or if it was harmless.

Professor Daisy, for example, had been captivated by the centuries-old notes he found. But before he started reading them, no one could have known if they were ordinary records or if they were filled with distorted knowledge.

Intuition and the Mind Level counter were merely safeguards. In other words, they could only detect what they were capable of detecting.

It was like a warrior standing before a locked treasure chest that contained an incredibly sharp sword. To get the sword, the warrior needed to open the chest.

But to open the chest, he needed the sword.

It was clear that Lu Li would have to grapple with this dilemma for a long time to come: acquire knowledge and risk mental corruption, going mad in the best-case scenario or turning into a monster in the worst. Or, he could refuse the knowledge, avoid all the trouble, and eventually perish from his own ignorance.

Lu Li had to walk a fine line between these two extremes, neither diving headfirst into the pursuit of knowledge nor rejecting it completely. It was a long and arduous path—one that required him to make the right decision in every single situation.

Anna couldn't choose for him. She was immune to influences on her Mind Level, but in every other respect, she was no different from most ordinary people.

A ghostly white hand waved in front of his eyes.

Lu Li broke from his thoughts and looked at Anna, who was waving at him.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked, tilting her head.

"Just thinking. Use the radio as you normally would," Lu Li replied calmly.

Anna wasn't about to let him off that easily. "Are you worried about the Door and the tentacles?" she guessed. "I think everything will be fine. They haven’t shown up in a long time, right?"

The "Door" had last appeared in the shelter on the Isle of Gaze, and the Bloody Tentacles, after burrowing into Lu Li's mind, had gone silent, just like Richard—but they were still inside him.

Anna’s words reminded Lu Li that he still hadn't received a response from headquarters regarding the information on the "Door" and the "Bloody Tentacles." It was as if...

"Haha, not a bad theory." Tesla laughed on the other end of the line, not at all offended by Lu Li's suggestion. "Don't worry, headquarters is a special place; it's practically indestructible. I can't give you the details now, but you'll learn about it when you become a Senior Investigator. As for your question... I'll hurry them along. They're swamped with work right now."

The next morning, while Anna was in the kitchen preparing food, Lu Li called Tesla.

Tesla sighed. "I think you know what we're up against."

Lu Li, of course, had a good idea of the problems they were facing.

Before hanging up, Lu Li remembered the previous night's incident and told Tesla about the strange sounds from the radio.

To his surprise, Tesla answered with a barely suppressed smile. "That wasn't the work of some evil spirit... Sorry, I should have told you about this sooner. It's the Alliance radio station, broadcasting on a hidden frequency accessible only to the three organizations and some exorcists. It airs every evening from six to seven. They usually discuss safe knowledge, but sometimes they have a program called 'Evil Spirit Watcher.'"

"As you might have guessed, 'Evil Spirit Watcher' tells listeners about known vengeful spirits, their appearances, and their rituals."

"What was it yesterday?" Lu Li asked.

"The Datis Swarm, or the Unseen Swarm. It's a pretty nasty but easily neutralized vengeful spirit. It looks like a vertical shadow. Your vision gets distorted just before it appears, but if you close your eyes or simply don't look at it, you'll be fine."

Lu Li committed this to memory and asked, "How do I tune in to this station?"

"I can have someone from the Alliance help you with the setup."

"I'm heading out soon."

"Then I'll send you a number. Call it when you have time."

"Alright."

Having cleared up the mystery of the radio, Lu Li hung up, but soon dialed another number.

"Prosperity at your service, your friend Marcus speaking!" A cheerful, lively voice came through the receiver, like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.