The Bizarre Detective Agency

Click.

Closing the door, Lu Li took off his hat and hung it on the rack by the door.

The noise from the street was shut out, leaving the quiet detective agency shrouded in a veil of faint, hazy stillness.

Both the ocean and the Night Watchers were things far too distant for Lu Li to involve himself in. After gathering some basic information, he had turned away and left.

Limited light spilled into the agency from the window, even though it was daytime.

But Lu Li didn’t mind. This was only a temporary residence; sooner or later, he would find a new place to live.

It wasn’t just because Sailors’ Street had no electricity, but also because of the view. After learning from Hades about the dangers of the deep sea, Lu Li couldn’t help but adopt a sense of vigilance toward the ocean. A place where he could directly overlook the harbor had become a necessity.

Sitting back in the chair behind the desk, Lu Li loosened his tie and pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer, tucked between the pages of a book.

A line of text was written on it:

Lu Li picked up the pen on the desk, added more to the line, and wrote a new section below it.

[Important: Understand where I am (Completed)—Save 1,000 shillings and trade with Hades for more information.]

[Important: Resolve the ghost haunting me.]

[Secondary: Find a new place to live.]

This was a habit of Lu Li’s—summarizing his current tasks into a list. Each time he completed one, he would record it and then extend the list further.

This method allowed Lu Li to clearly see what he was doing, what he needed to do, and what he should do next.

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The second and fourth points overlapped to some extent, as both required saving money.

But the fact that Lu Li had marked the second point as “important” meant it had a higher priority.

Lu Li wasn’t worried that Hades might deceive him or suddenly raise his prices. Information like this—trade secrets within their line of work—was rarely shared by exorcists, especially since disclosing it might come with its own risks.

From every angle, Hades seemed like a very suitable partner—aside from being overly greedy.

After finishing his notes, Lu Li read through them a few times. Seeing no further need for additions, he put down the pen and waited for the ink to dry before tucking the paper back into the book and returning it to the drawer.

Once he had done all this, Lu Li stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and walked into the kitchen. The sound of running water echoed for several dozen seconds before the room fell silent again.

When Lu Li emerged from the kitchen, droplets of water slid down his sharp, defined face, clinging to his chin before trembling and falling.

It was still early morning, with a long time to go before nightfall. After some thought, Lu Li picked up the phone and slowly turned the rotary dial to place a call.

Beep—

After a long wait, the phone was finally answered. A loud, sharp voice came through the receiver: “This is Madame Slav’s Apartments. Who are you looking for?”

Just from the voice alone, one could almost picture a barrel-shaped woman in a nightgown, one hand on her hip as she took the call.

“I’m looking for Oliver.”

“What’s your relationship with that brat? Do you know he owes me two weeks’ rent! If you don’t want him kicked out onto the street, you’d better—” The woman on the other end began ranting non-stop.

Lu Li didn’t interrupt, quietly waiting for her to finish. When she finally paused, he calmly said, “Then please hand the phone to him. I’ll talk to him about it. Also, there’s a good chance he’ll try to avoid you by not opening the door. You can tell him his new boss is looking for him.”

The woman opened her mouth but suddenly didn’t know what to say. With an irritated grunt, she left the phone hanging and stomped upstairs in her slippers.

Lu Li could hear the sound of her footsteps fading into the distance. Eventually, it disappeared entirely. Faintly, he thought he heard the sound of pounding on a door. He listened closely, but the noise didn’t come again.

…

“Oliver! You bastard! I know you’re in there! Stop hiding and pretending you’re not home! You owe me two weeks of rent!”

Bang bang bang bang bang!

“Oliver! Get out here right now!”

The door shook under the force of her pounding, causing dust to fall from the frame. Tenants in nearby rooms peeked out through cracked doors, nervously watching the enraged lioness rampaging in the hallway.

As the door was her property, Madame Slav, despite her anger, couldn’t actually break it down. When her efforts yielded no results, she snorted in frustration. Recalling the man’s words on the phone, she decided to give it a try.

“Oliver, there’s a man who called himself your new boss. He says he has something important to discuss with you.”

Madame Slav pressed her ear to the door. Faintly, there seemed to be some movement inside, but no one came out.

Drawing out her words, she said, “Alright then, it looks like our little Oliver isn’t home. I guess I’ll just have to tell his new boss that his employee has decided to qui—”

“Wait!”

A sudden exclamation came from behind the door, followed by hurried footsteps. The door swung open.

“Hang on, Madame Slav—”

The voice abruptly cut off. A scrawny figure, barely reaching Madame Slav’s chest, was shoved back inside with one hand. What followed was a scream so chilling it made the other tenants recoil in fear.

After a noisy scuffle, Oliver reappeared, his brown hair sticking up like a bird’s nest, a bruise forming around one eye, and one shoe missing. Limping forward, he led the way downstairs.

Behind him, Madame Slav cracked her knuckles, her wrists as thick as Oliver’s thighs.

Once on the first floor, Oliver grabbed the phone and, as if by reflex, began to wail, “Boss, are you trying to get me killed…?”

“Or were you planning to hide forever? She’s a good woman, the kind who lets her tenants delay rent for two weeks,” Lu Li’s voice came calmly through the receiver.

Lu Li was well aware of how chaotic things were in an early industrial society, where capitalism was just beginning to take root.

“Hmph!”

Standing nearby with her arms crossed, Madame Slav snorted, a puff of warm air escaping her nose. She thought to herself, Finally, someone understands the kindness in my heart.

Oliver was at a loss for words. Instead, he asked, “So what do you need from me, boss?”

“Do you have any new cases?”

“There are quite a few. Are you still looking for well-off clients? I think I remember a few names.” Surprised that his new boss was interested in wealthy clients, Oliver hesitated briefly before listing some cases he’d jotted down mentally.

One of them involved a child possessed by a ghost.

“Possessed…”

Lu Li murmured the word, his fingers lightly tapping on the desk.

He had initially planned to take on cases like the “marbles rolling” incident that didn’t actually involve ghosts, allowing him to earn a commission with no risk. However, such cases typically came with low pay, whereas higher-paying cases often had a higher chance of being genuine hauntings.

The tapping of his fingers stopped. Lu Li decided to give it a try.

If it turned out to be a real ghost, he could always leave before it latched onto him.

After arranging to meet Oliver near the client’s home, Lu Li hung up.

“What’s your new boss’s name?” A heavy voice sounded above Oliver.

“Lu Li. His name is Lu Li,” Oliver blurted without hesitation, throwing his boss under the bus.

“Is he good-looking?”

Oliver’s small frame shuddered. Guessing where this was going, he dryly replied, “I assure you, there’s no man in all of Belfast more unique than him.”

Madame Slav’s eyes began to glow faintly green with an eerie light.