The Bizarre Detective Agency

The deathly silent room offered safety only through the bright glow of three lights and the scattered illumination from the windows, like stars speckling the darkness.

The windows of the office faced the hillside, leaving the harbor out of view. Lu Li couldn’t tell when the encroaching darkness would reach this place. Time ticked by, second by second, until, suddenly, the lights in the room flickered.

All three sources of light flickered simultaneously. Before Lu Li could discern the cause, the room visibly began to darken.

The flames of the candelabra and oil lamp remained steady, but they no longer emitted warmth. Their illumination started to shrink, growing smaller and smaller until it barely extended a meter. The weakest flame on the candelabra quietly extinguished.

Dimness reasserted itself as the room’s dominant tone, the air thick with a murky, oppressive presence.

Lu Li understood: the darkness had reached this place.

Grabbing the oil lamp at his side, Lu Li approached the window.

In the glass, his calm face and pitch-black eyes, dark as the night, were reflected back at him.

A veil of mist seemed to shroud the outside world, as though something tangible was stirring beyond the walls. It was fog.

It seemed to dim the lights even further, but due to the mysterious bell that had rung over the city, every household had increased their illumination, preventing the darkness from swallowing them completely.

The hazy view of Belfast Harbor resembled a starfield, faint and flickering. Occasionally, a scream pierced the night, echoing from an unknown location.

Lu Li stepped back from the window, putting some distance between himself and the glass.

He had an uncanny sense that something had emerged on the streets below, moving within the mist.

On his fifth day here, Lu Li was finally face-to-face with the eerie and bizarre nature of this world.

He silently debated whether to call off tonight’s plans, but before the thought could settle, the room suddenly grew brighter.

Momentarily stunned, Lu Li shifted his gaze to the oil lamp. After observing it for a few seconds, he confirmed it wasn’t an illusion. The flame regained its warmth, and the light expanded outward once more.

Realizing something, Lu Li looked out the window. The hazy fog had vanished, and the buildings on the hillside became clear and illuminated once more.

From the black mist’s arrival to its departure, not even a minute had passed. The mysterious fog had risen from the deep sea and now retreated just as bizarrely—or perhaps it had simply moved elsewhere.

Did the six chimes of the bell correspond to sixty seconds? Lu Li couldn’t say, nor could he dwell on the thought, as new disturbances arose within the gallery.

Tap—tap—tap—

Wet, sticky footsteps echoed from the neighboring room, just a wall away.

The wooden walls were poorly soundproofed—very poorly. A few seconds later, the footsteps ceased. Listening carefully, Lu Li counted the seconds: one, two, three…

Bang—

The deafening sound of a door being kicked open reverberated down the corridor.

The impact shook the office, the source unmistakably coming from the neighboring room.

Tap—tap—tap—

The footsteps resumed, and Lu Li could distinctly hear the soggy, muffled sound of bare, wet feet on the wooden floorboards.

Tap—tap—tap—

The wet, sticky footsteps moved from the adjacent room into the hallway.

It was clear: in a matter of seconds, this door would meet the same fate as the others on this floor, slamming open with a thunderous crash.

Rustle—

A faint sound to his side drew Lu Li’s attention. Turning his head, he saw the statue still standing in the corner, though now one of its arms was raised, pointing toward the cabinet along the wall.

The implication was clear.

Oddly enough, the statue had been unusually quiet since the mist appeared.

“No thanks.”

Lu Li declined politely. Hiding until he was discovered wasn’t his style.

Besides, the ghost was already at the door.

Tap—tap—tap—

The wet footsteps were now directly outside. Even without touching the pistol grip, Lu Li could feel the chilling presence seeping through the door.

Suddenly, a cold sensation spread from his calf.

Looking down, Lu Li saw a dark red fetus, its underdeveloped face devoid of features and its body still attached to an umbilical cord, clutching tightly to his pant leg.

The leg it held was already numb from the cold.

Realizing he had noticed it, the fetus opened its mouth, revealing a full set of sharp teeth, preparing to let out a scream.

A hand moved faster than the fetus could. Lu Li covered its mouth, stifling the sound and forcing it back into its throat.

Tap—

The footsteps outside the door abruptly stopped.

Lu Li looked down at the fetus. A thought crossed his mind. Swiftly, he scooped it up, stepped to the window, opened it, and flung the creature out. He wiped the blood off his hands with the curtain before closing the window.

The sequence of actions was executed seamlessly.

Bang!

A thunderous crash echoed through the floor as the office door burst open, splintering into fragments and swaying precariously on its hinges.

A figure in a white dress floated in the doorway. Her reddish-brown hair obscured her face, but a flash of hatred gleamed in her eyes before vanishing.

A swollen intestine extended from beneath her dress, dragging along the floor.

Her voice, chilling enough to drop the surrounding temperature, echoed through the room. “Have… you… seen… my child…?”

“No, I haven’t.” Lu Li’s dark eyes didn’t waver as he met her gaze with calm composure.

He had shifted the pistol holster to his back, his hand firmly gripping the gun’s handle.

“Have… you… seen… my child…?” the ghostly woman repeated in the same hollow tone.

“No.” Lu Li’s voice remained steady, his expression unchanging.

His gaze briefly flicked over her dress. A white gown like that didn’t seem practical for work, but it fit the aesthetic of a ghost. Understandable.

“Have… you… seen… my child…?” she rasped again.

Lu Li’s lips pressed into a thin line, his brow furrowing slightly.

The letter hadn’t mentioned that this ghost would repeat the same question like a broken record. In fact, it hadn’t mentioned anything about encountering a ghostly infant, either.

Was the situation deviating from what had been described?

“I have,” Lu Li suddenly said, nodding. “Isn’t your child about this tall, this big, with dark red skin and an umbilical cord?”

As he described the ghostly infant he had thrown out the window, the woman’s eyes glowed brighter with crimson light.

Lu Li pointed toward the door, maintaining his calm tone. “Go out, turn right, and walk straight for two blocks. I saw your child there not long ago.”

Before taking this commission, Lu Li had memorized the location of the nearest police station, just in case.

The ghost stared blankly for a moment before turning away. Ignoring Lu Li, she vanished from the doorway, her wet footsteps receding into the distance.

He hoped she wouldn’t return.

Lu Li exhaled softly, then glanced to the side to find the statue cowering in the corner, facing inward, completely motionless.

He opened his mouth to ask it something, but his expression shifted as his dark eyes snapped toward the door.

A nauseating wave of malice and cold radiated into the office. Standing in the doorway was another ghost—a girl in a pale green lace dress, her eye sockets hollow and empty.

Her lace dress was stained with blood, a pungent metallic scent wafting from the fabric.

There was no doubt about it—another one had come.

Holding his breath, Lu Li remained silent, hoping that, as the letter suggested, this ghost still couldn’t see.

Surely his luck wouldn’t be that bad.

Right?

Probably.

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