The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 579: A Familiar Stranger

The young instructor narrowed her eyes, as if peering into the deepest corners of his soul. "Student, what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"I just wanted to get a closer look," Lu Li answered. With the instructor gripping his arm, he could no longer approach to help. The dying scream faded. It was all over.

Lu Li tried to pull his arm free, but to no avail... At the same time, the nearby pool of blood began to change.

The dead "student" got up, muttering, "There really are no humans in this damn place," and returned to the creature that had killed him.

It was all clear—the two monsters had set a trap, hoping to deceive a human.

And Lu Li had nearly fallen for it.

The young instructor released his arm and stepped away from Lu Li without a word.

Lu Li wondered if she, too, was a monster. He waited until the students had dispersed, then joined Gavril York.

"I have the bread," Gavril said, staring intently at Lu Li. Only after Lu Li responded with the correct password did he let out a sigh of relief. "Forgive me, I was terrified. I didn't think they..."

Gavril York fell silent; the crowded cafeteria, full of "people," was no place to continue the conversation.They got in the back of the line. Gavril York craned his neck, trying to see what was being served.

Lu Li, however, knew exactly what it would be.

When their turn in line finally came, Gavril York turned pale at the sight of the "food" in the bowls.

A ladle scooped a piece of flesh from a bloody mass and slopped it into Gavril's bowl. He could clearly see a human finger on a bone, sticking out of the meat. It took all of Gavril's willpower not to vomit. His usual disheveled appearance came in handy—the surrounding "people" didn't notice the change in his expression.

Lu Li was "luckier"—he got a piece of muscle.

They sat down at an empty table, holding their bowls. Gavril York was in despair; he couldn't even look at the contents of his bowl, let alone eat it.

"We're being watched," Lu Li said, glancing around. He noticed three monsters observing them.

If Lu Li or Gavril York acted in any way unbecoming of "people"—throwing away their food, for example—the monsters would approach them at once...

"Aren't you disgusted at all?" Gavril York asked with admiration.

Lu Li had been through similar things before, though never in such a disgusting form.

Gavril York picked up his spoon, trying to overcome his revulsion. The spoon trembled in his hand, only drawing more attention.

He dropped the spoon and grabbed his head in despair. "I know I'll die if I don't eat. But... I'd rather die than..."

"Give it to me."

Lu Li's calm voice cut through his panic. Gavril York looked up to see him take both his bowl and his own and walk away.

Few of the "people" paid any attention to Lu Li. Figures walking around the cafeteria with bowls were a common sight, and besides, Lu Li was heading for an inconspicuous corner.

Stopping by a wall with a hole in it, much like a mouse hole, Lu Li listened for a moment, then placed one of the bowls on the edge of the opening and pushed it inside.

The monster inside didn't stand on ceremony. As soon as the bowl reached the hole, a bony paw shot out, snatched the food, and dragged it into the darkness. Sounds of greedy chewing echoed from the hole.

Soon, the bloodied paw reappeared and obsequiously wiped the dirt from Lu Li's boot, smudging it even more.

Perhaps the creature recognized Lu Li.

Lu Li gave it the second bowl and returned to the table.

"You're just drawing more attention to yourself..." Gavril York said, a mix of anxiety and relief in his voice. He noticed that several more "people" were now watching them.

"At least I don't look suspicious," Lu Li replied.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over Lu Li. Gavril York watched in terror as a deep voice boomed from above: "You're wasting food."

The shadow and the voice were accompanied by the sharp smell of blood.

A massive figure in a dirty apron loomed over Lu Li.

"Food isn't wasted if it serves its purpose. And I believe it has," Lu Li replied.

The calmer Lu Li remained, the more anxious Gavril York became, and the more natural the situation seemed to the monster.

"Clever boy. Good. Come with me to the kitchen, you can help," the creature said and turned around. As it moved, the suffocating feeling vanished.

Gavril York, as if he had just surfaced from underwater, took several deep breaths, then began to blink desperately at Lu Li. "Don't go in there..."

"Go back to the office," Lu Li said. He intended to go with the creature, so after speaking to Gavril, he stood up and followed it to the kitchen.

At the kitchen entrance, the massive figure turned sideways and bent low to pass through the doorway, which barely reached its chest. Lu Li followed it inside.

The kitchen walls were coated in a thick layer of grimy grease, like amber icicles layered one on top of the other. The floor was so filthy and black it was nearly impossible to make out its original color.

In a corner of the kitchen, by a huge chopping block, lay a pile of human remains. On top was a nearly whole body, still clothed.

"The ingredients. You'll process them."

The creature turned, revealing a head like a boar's, with bared tusks. It stared fiercely at Lu Li.

Its appearance was strange and out of place in "Paradise," where all the monsters pretended to be human.

Lu Li remained unfazed. Strangely, all the monsters in this place radiated a subtle malice, but this creature did not. It was as pure as a human.

"Where are the ingredients?" Lu Li asked.

The massive figure picked up a kitchen knife, held the handle out to Lu Li, and approached him, radiating menace.

"On the chopping block," the creature said, and lay down on it.

The block was too small for it—all four of its limbs dangled off the sides.

"How should I process them?"

"Feet, shins, thighs. Hands, forearms, shoulders. Ribs, entrails, fat. Each piece must weigh no more than half a kilogram," the creature instructed calmly, as if asking Lu Li to butcher it.

But it forgot to mention one body part—the head.

"Separate the head whole, put it on a tray, and send it up the service elevator. It goes to the director's office."

Lu Li did as he was told. He expected to be covered in blood, but the opposite happened. The knife cut through flesh and bone as easily as if it were butter. Not a single drop of blood was spilled.

In just a few minutes, the massive figure was reduced to hundreds of pieces.

"Send it," the head, still conscious, instructed. Lu Li placed it on the tray and sent it up the service elevator, which resembled a fireplace.

"Remember what I have done, Lu Li," the head suddenly said.

Lu Li, who had just pressed the call button, frowned.

"Who are you?"

The elevator rose slowly, carrying away the head's final, solemn words.

"Allen Peninsula, Belfast, Investigators' branch, Senior Investigator, Tristan."