The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 569: Source of Infection

“Aaaah!!!”

A piercing scream shattered the night's silence. The woman, cowering behind the police officer and her husband, suddenly recognized the black, desiccated object lying on the ground. Just a few hours ago, she had been stroking little Henry's head... Screaming in terror, she yanked her husband away, fleeing the house.

The dandelion seeds, which had been drifting calmly in the air, suddenly stirred as if disturbed by the intrusion. Caught in the currents, they surged toward the open doorway.

To the police officer, it felt like a spectral, clawed hand was reaching for him.

A light touch to his face instantly turned into a sharp sting. The dandelion seeds burrowed into his exposed skin. The jolt of pain snapped him out of his daze. He spun around and scrambled for the exit.

“Quickly...” the officer rasped, but his voice was already becoming unintelligible. He could feel something unseen draining the life from him. His throat felt tight, and he began to cough, spewing terrifying white fluff.

The last thing he saw were the faces of passersby, their expressions shifting from surprise to sheer terror.

With a dull thud, the officer collapsed in the doorway. His body began to desiccate rapidly before their eyes. The oil lamp slipped from his grasp and shattered.

White tufts of dandelion pushed through his skin and clothes, as if using his body for nourishment. Carried by the screams and the frantic movements of the crowd, they scattered in all directions.

They clung to the clothes and skin of the fleeing people. Some were “lucky” enough to inhale them. As if alive, the seeds penetrated the skin, causing a strange pulsation. Within seconds, a person would begin to stumble, their body then sprouting a multitude of “dandelions” that pushed their way out like seedlings. A lifeless body would fall to the ground, and in its place, a new field of dandelions would grow.Panic and chaos spread rapidly through the streets.

“Anna,” Lu Li said quietly, turning his head.

Anna understood him without a word. A stream of cold air gusted from beneath her hood, enveloping Lu Li in a protective shroud. Ignoring the fleeing crowd, they moved toward the epicenter of the infection.

A woman fell not far from Anna. Her beautiful face was twisted in horror. She reached a hand out to Anna, as if pleading for help. The next moment, something horrifying happened: thin filaments began to sprout from her pores like roots, feeding on her flesh and blood. Soon, her entire body had transformed into a gruesome yet mesmerizing field of snow-white dandelions.

Anna frowned and stepped back. But the seeds from the woman's body, caught in the draft from her cloak, drifted toward her.

Anna flicked her hand, creating a gust of wind that scattered the approaching fluff. She returned to Lu Li's side, who sat motionless in his wheelchair, like a stone in a raging river.

“They’re dandelions. They feed on human flesh and blood... But I don’t sense any supernatural presence.”

Indeed, this anomaly looked deceptively mundane, just like everything else around them. That was why the outbreak went unnoticed until it was already underway.

Lu Li watched the scene unfold calmly. The dandelion seeds, like wisps of fog, drifted down the street, carried by the wind and the movements of the people. They seemed to pursue the stragglers—the elderly and those weighed down by heavy loads.

The moment a seed touched someone's skin, they would lose all strength in seconds, transforming into another field of dandelions.

Worse still, some seeds clung to the clothes of those fleeing, spreading the contagion further.

Fortunately, the day's rain kept the seeds from rising too high into the air.

“They’re afraid of fire,” Lu Li whispered.

The overturned oil lamp had set some trash ablaze. The dandelion seeds near the flames either vanished without a trace or were swept away by the currents of hot air.

Suddenly, Lu Li threw his own lamp toward a wooden house.

A crash of shattering glass echoed. Kerosene splashed against the wall. Lu Li struck a match and tossed it into the spilled kerosene.

The lit match sailed through the air and landed on the kerosene-soaked wall. A blue flame erupted, quickly engulfing the entire wall.

The flame turned from blue to yellow. Thick smoke poured from the cracks in the walls. Soon, the door burst open, and a middle-aged man ran out, coughing.

“For damages, contact the United Exorcist Organization. Now, get out of here. There’s an anomaly ahead,” Lu Li told the stunned man.

The man froze, but a breath of the cool, damp air seemed to jolt him back to his senses. The screams and wails echoing through the night air reached his ears. He grabbed his wife and child and fled, leaving his belongings behind.

Meanwhile, the entire wall of the house was engulfed in flames. The fire licked at Lu Li’s face, the heat scorching his hair and clothes.

Lu Li looked back at the street. It was empty. Only a dozen desiccated bodies and the swaying dandelions served as a reminder of the recent events.

“I hope not too many seeds have scattered,” Lu Li thought.

Though even a single seed was enough to cause major problems...

“Anna, create a current of air to drive them into the fire,” Lu Li said.

“I’ll try,” Anna replied. She had never used her power on such a scale before.

A faint vortex formed in the cool night air and began to grow rapidly.

The dandelion seeds, as if mesmerized, were drawn toward it. Everything on the street—the seeds on the ground, on the bodies of the dead, on the clothes of the fleeing—was swept up by the rapidly strengthening vortex.

The vortex, like a giant funnel, pulled everything in. Scraps of paper and trash were all lifted into the air, swirling in a current dozens of meters across.

It was strong enough to lift any light object. A little more force, and it would have been a true tornado.

Anna's cloak billowed in the wind. She used all her strength, directing the vortex toward the burning house while trying not to catch Lu Li in its pull.

Suddenly, the flames shot upward, bathing Lu Li’s face in a crimson glow. The fire, caught by the vortex, transformed into a pillar of flame, devouring everything in its path.

The people watching from a distance cried out and shrank back. But Lu Li, shielded by Anna, didn’t even feel a breath of wind.

The pillar of flame was reflected in his dark eyes.

After a few seconds, Anna relaxed her control over the vortex. The pillar of fire broke apart, scattering burning debris everywhere. Screams could be heard in the distance. Ash, like shimmering stars, fell to the ground, blanketing half the street.

Lu Li and Anna, their heads tilted back, watched the mesmerizing spectacle as if an infinite starry sky had opened up before them.

...

Two minutes later, exorcists from the United Exorcist Organization arrived at the scene.

The Night's Watch cordoned off the area. Investigators in protective suits began to examine the contaminated zone. Alliance personnel managed the aftermath: controlling the crowd and ensuring the fire didn't spread.

They had already received a brief report on the incident en route.

“For safety, it would be best to burn down all the houses in this area,” Lu Li told the exorcists. “Fire is lethal to them. The seeds can be carried by the wind and cling to clothing. Therefore, isolate all the residents, collect their clothes, and burn them.”

The operation's leader approached Lu Li.

“We will take your recommendations into account. And we will make note of your actions in preventing the further spread of the anomaly,” he replied seriously.

Several Alliance members examined Lu Li, confirmed that he was unharmed, and allowed him and Anna to leave the cordoned-off zone.