The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 616: Deep Sleep

“Do you know when you’ll fall asleep again?” Lu Li asked.

“I don’t know... Maybe in a little while, or maybe in a few hours,” Doreen answered, shaking her head. Her narcolepsy made her sleep patterns completely unpredictable.

Lu Li nodded, accepting the task. “In that case, Doreen, stay with us. If you fall asleep, we’ll keep watch.”

“I’m begging you, please stop these nightmares...” Tom agreed without a second thought. He knew full well how capable Lu Li and Anna were. If even they couldn’t detect the approaching shadow in her dreams...

Lu Li decided against inspecting the fork in the secret tunnel. If it was truly connected to the Abyss, his presence there would make no difference.

Tom headed to the mayor’s office to report the situation in the tunnel to Valentine, while Doreen followed Lu Li and Anna back to their room.

“You can take that off. You won’t need it in here with us,” Anna said to Doreen, who had entered the room still wearing her protective suit.

The girl nodded, removing the bird-beak mask and the heavy suit. Before them stood a fragile girl of fifteen or sixteen. It was hard to imagine that she had ever been cheerful.

Doreen sat quietly by the window, trying not to be a bother to Lu Li and Anna. Her face was etched with a profound, unshakeable sorrow.

If an artist were present, they could have painted a true masterpiece.News of the secret passage arrived shortly after: the exorcists had boarded up the fork with wooden planks and continued to explore the main tunnel until they found its end. The exit was located in an old watchtower east of the city, out in the wilds. The Blood Dandelions had spread there as well, though not in large numbers.

The tower stood at the edge of the dandelion field, and the cleanup crews were still scouring the surrounding area for an uncontaminated zone.

The plan was for workers to go through the secret passage and build a temporary but sturdy shelter on the other side, safe from the dandelions. If the crews found a safe location, the plan would be modified: they would construct a covered walkway leading to that zone.

Anna switched on the radio. An announcer’s voice repeated a steady stream of warnings, urging residents to remain indoors and sharing details of the evacuation plan to quell the rising panic.

Valentine and Tom had come to Lu Li earlier, asking about the likelihood of an anomaly attack during the night. Devastated Flarand couldn’t withstand another assault. But starting the evacuation by day meant there wouldn’t be enough time to build the safe zone on the other side of the tunnel, which would split the survivors into two groups.

Lu Li couldn’t give Valentine an answer; it was something more unpredictable than the weather.

With a sigh, Valentine had departed. After a brief word about his sister, Tom followed him out.

At two in the afternoon, the besieged city of Flarand finally received some good news. They had managed to contact the St. Andy shelter, located 230 kilometers to the east. The shelter was beyond the dandelions’ reach and was prepared to take in the town’s evacuees.

The cleanup crews had also determined the distance from the tunnel exit to the edge of the dandelion field: thirteen kilometers.

A long distance, but not a hopeless one.

Fortunately, building materials were still plentiful. They were salvaging them from vacant houses, carefully disinfecting the wood with fire, and sending everything through the secret passage to construct the walkway on the other side.

But even with every available worker on the job, and working through the night, the thirteen-kilometer walkway wouldn’t be finished before noon the following day.

The townspeople would have to endure one more fearful night in Flarand. Though there were, of course, exceptions.

Anna joined Doreen at the window, and they both looked down at the square below.

A group of wealthy aristocrats, clad in expensive protective suits, had gathered in the square, demanding that Valentine grant them priority evacuation. Tom had tried to reason with them, but one of the ladies slapped him across the face. He lost his balance and fell, provoking a wave of laughter from the crowd. If not for that, the lady might have ordered her servants to beat him half to death.

The onlookers in the square were outraged, but powerless. Though Flarand had been devastated by the dandelions, a semblance of order remained. And as long as that order held, such people would continue to exploit their privileges.

The mayor said nothing, simply ordering the crews to escort the arrogant nobles to the garden and through the secret passage. Valentine, however, made his own silent protest: he refused to appear before the aristocrats even once.

“Unbelievable. That there are still such fools at a time like this...” Anna said disdainfully.

“It’s not foolishness. It’s just that their own lives are more important to them than their reputation,” Lu Li replied from his seat by the fire, flipping through Lilia’s book. “A reputation is both the most important and the most useless thing one can have.”

The aristocrats weren’t worried about their reputation. A bad name was no obstacle for them. And even if it were, all they had to do was toss a few crumbs from their table, and the grateful common folk would immediately start singing their praises.

“People...” Anna whispered, watching as Tom was comforted by others in the square.

Just then, as she sat by the window, Doreen’s head suddenly slumped sideways.

An unseen hand caught her head before it could fall further. Anna looked up at Lu Li. “She’s asleep.”

“Move her to the bed.”

Lu Li closed his book, rose, and walked over to the bed. He slipped the Mind Level counter from his wrist and fastened it onto Doreen’s.

The device remained silent. Lu Li looked at Anna.

“I don’t sense anything...” Anna replied, gazing at the peacefully sleeping girl. The worried lines on her face were smoothing out. “She didn’t jolt awake in terror... maybe this isn’t one of the nightmares?”

“Perhaps.”

Lu Li opened the door and asked a servant to fetch Tom and bring a small bell, something they could use to wake Doreen.

A few minutes later, Tom rushed in, carrying an old handbell.

“Do we need to wake her?” he asked anxiously, his eyes fixed on his sister.

“Hold on. She’s just sleeping for now,” Lu Li replied. “Are there any side effects if she’s woken up?”

“She might just fall right back to sleep...”

“Then wake her.”

Lu Li stepped back from the bed. Tom approached his sister and gently jingled the small bell.

Chime... chime...

The pleasant, melodic sound, as soothing as the firelight, filled the room. Doreen’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

“Did I... fall asleep again?” she mumbled, looking around as she sat up.

Tom lowered the bell and let out a sigh of relief.

“What did you dream about?” Lu Li asked.