The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 94: A Nasty Business

"You seem very calm," Lu Li observed.

"Because, as I've said, there's no conflict between us."

The dark alley was devoid of light. Hall stood in the shadows, a smile playing across the half of his face that was somehow illuminated.

"Richard was the one who attacked you, and Yulissis was the one who tried to possess you. As for me? I just profited from Richard's scheme. I have no desire to get mixed up in his intrigues."

"Unless, of course, you're one of those guys with an overblown sense of justice, the type to scream 'In the name of justice!' and try to kill me, hahahahaha..."

Hall burst into laughter, the sound tinged with madness. But the mirth died on his lips when he realized he was laughing alone. Across from him, Lu Li's expression was utterly impassive.

His laughter trailed off. A look of dawning realization crossed his face as he asked, "You're not actually going to do that, are you?"

The ensuing silence was heavy with tension. Hall’s frivolous demeanor evaporated. "Richard is your enemy," he declared, his tone grave.

"That doesn't stop me from dealing with you along the way." Lu Li unsnapped his holster.

He knew the Spirit Gun would affect his Mind Level, but it was his only weapon."I can tell you anything you want to know, including Richard's plans and where he might be hiding!"

Lu Li paused. "Where is Richard?" he asked.

Hall exhaled faintly. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

Anna whispered in his ear, "We could get Richard's location from him first, and then..."

"No."

The single, cold word shattered any hope he might have had. Both Hall and Anna were stunned.

For the first time, Anna felt she was thinking more strategically than Lu Li, and she couldn't stop herself from exclaiming, "You could have at least lied to him!"

"I never lie," Lu Li replied, turning his head to look at her, his expression serious.

"Heh heh heh..."

A cold laugh suddenly broke the silence. Hall covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking. "I was going to settle down, start a normal life," he chuckled softly, "but since you're forcing my hand... don't blame me..."

BANG!!

His voice cut off abruptly. The sudden report, like a dragon's roar, scattered the tension. Smoke billowed from the pistol's muzzle. The rain seemed to pause for a heartbeat, then began to pour with renewed intensity.

Through the drifting muzzle smoke, Hall was visible, bloodied, his chest a ragged ruin.

Whether it was because the first rose had fully bloomed, or because Hall wasn't as strong as he let on, or perhaps for both reasons—the single shot had nearly killed him outright.

Lu Li calmly ejected the spent casing and loaded a new cartridge.

"Wait! Who's the madman here, you or me..." Hall, writhing in pain, realized Lu Li was about to shoot again and screamed, "Why shoot without warning? I wasn't finished talking!"

"Was I supposed to wait for you to yell 'Action'?" Lu Li tilted his head slightly.

This, however, reminded Lu Li of something. He held his fire, turned his head, and said, "Anna."

"Huh?"

Anna mimicked Lu Li, tilting her head.

"If you finish him off, you'll grow stronger."

"Hmm... leave it to me," Anna said after a moment's hesitation, and flew forward.

Suddenly, a series of ripping sounds came from Hall's body. Tiny cracks spiderwebbed across the torn flesh of his chest. Something began to push its way out of the pitch-black fissures.

An indescribable malice oozed from the cracks. Hundreds of fissures on his chest widened at once, and a red eye emerged from each one, covering his entire torso.

Like the back of a toad.

"What is that? It's hideous! Aaaah!" Anna clamped her hands over her eyes and shot backward even faster than she'd approached.

Just then, a figure blurred past her, a voice drifting back: "Looks like I'll have to finish this myself."

The hundreds of red eyes on Hall's chest swiveled in unison to fixate on Lu Li.

And on the Spirit Gun in his hand.

BANG!!

The muzzle jerked upward as plumes of smoke erupted into the air. Once again, a deafening, dragon-like roar echoed through the narrow alley. It felt as if the very ground trembled.

"Aaaaaargh!" Hall let out a tortured scream. The countless crimson eyes on his chest burst, erupting in a bloody pulp that splattered the nearby walls before mixing with the grimy rainwater and flowing into the gutter.

"Aaaaaargh!" Hall shrieked, clutching his chest as he thrashed on the ground.

"Impossible! This is impossible! How can you be this strong?!"

"You're just too weak."

Through the haze of unbearable pain, Hall heard the crisp click of a spent casing being ejected, and the sound sent a wave of pure dread through him. He reflexively rolled to the side, but it was too late.

Bang!

The third shot! Hall's right arm instantly exploded, spinning away as it dissolved into the air, as if boiling into nothingness. Even the blood vanished with it, leaving no trace it had ever been there.

"Aaaah! Wait! Please, wait!" Hall screamed, fighting through the agony, desperate to stop him.

"Wait for what?" Lu Li asked, his voice steady as he loaded a fourth cartridge.

"I give up! I give up!" Bloody foam frothed at Hall's lips. "I'll tell you everything I know! You're looking for Richard, aren't you? I'll tell you where he is!"

"Go on," Lu Li said calmly.

Crimson saliva dripped from Hall's lips. He fought through the pain, gasping for breath. "If I tell you... will you let me go?"

"You've asked that question already."

"Then what's the point in talking?" Hall managed a crooked smile.

"Don't talk, you die now. Talk, and you get to live a little longer."

Anna peeked out from behind Lu Li and sniffed. "He still has some of those eyes on his chest. Let's pluck them out, they're so gross..."

"No... don't!" Hall begged frantically. "I'll die right away... They're part of me. I'm only alive because of these eyes..."

Lu Li silently filed that information away and lowered his pistol. "Talk."

"Cough... cough," Hall hacked up a large clot of blood that sizzled and evaporated the moment it touched the ground.

He breathed heavily, his cheeks twitching with spasms of pain. His eyes were filled with weary exhaustion.

"The truth is, I'm already dead. After the psychiatric hospital was abandoned, there was a fire. A few other critical patients and I burned to death, still strapped to our beds... Richard was lucky to escape. I just want to live. I love my wife dearly, she's five months pregnant, though the child isn't..."

"I don't need to hear this. I'm not interested. Just tell me where Richard is."

Hall looked taken aback, his lips trembling. "But... but isn't this the part where the villain reveals the truth at the last moment so everyone can understand his motives?"

"I'm not the one who listens to that."