The Bizarre Detective Agency Chapter 36

[Dearest Mr. Lu Li:

From the very moment we met, I knew I had found my companion for life. My love for you burns like a fire, and there is nothing in this world more agonizing than being apart from you. Cease exuding your intoxicating scent, for I have already fallen into an abyss from which I cannot escape without you, and even the Lord himself cannot stop me. When the night plays its dark melody dedicated to you, can you hear my longing?

Your secret admirer, captivated by your irresistible charm]

Lu Li fell into a long silence after reading the letter.

“What does it say? Let me see...” Anna stood on her tiptoes, trying to peek, but Lu Li’s shoulder blocked her view. A moment later, she remembered she was a ghost and simply floated through him.

Lu Li folded the letter and slid it back into its envelope.

“Nothing important,” he said.

Anna narrowed her eyes, sensing something was amiss.

Oliver had left in such a hurry that Lu Li hadn’t had the chance to ask him about any new cases.

First on the list was [Haunted House - Simple Park], but Lu Li was more interested in the other two: [The Ruins of the Belfast Library] and [The Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital on the Outskirts of Port Roadster].

The first case offered a chance to find the books he needed, while the second... Asina’s husband, Bill Eddy, was last seen near the abandoned hospital.

But each case was fraught with its own hidden dangers. The first was connected to the Night's Watch. After learning a few details from Anna, Lu Li’s suspicions about the library fire only deepened. He even began to suspect that the case hadn’t come from the library director at all, but from the Night's Watch itself.

As for the second, if the cultists who drove Bill Eddy mad were still there, any reconnaissance would inevitably lead to a confrontation, and he might even stumble right into their den.

Lu Li certainly intended to go, but not now, not before he was stronger.

Thus, the choice was obvious.

...

Belfast. Gasner Street.

The scent of burnt wood hung heavy in the air, an unavoidable greeting for anyone approaching the library ruins.

Passersby slowed their pace, sighing heavily. Most of them didn’t understand the value of books, but that didn’t stop them from mourning the fire that had consumed the entire building.

Fortunately, no citizens had been harmed, and the police had arrived in time to contain the blaze within the library’s walls. The neighboring houses had escaped with little more than blackened facades.

At least, that’s how it seemed at first glance.

The file Oliver had compiled mentioned a woman, a library employee, who had died in the fire, unable to escape in time.

Theoretically, there could be a ghost here.

Most of the library had collapsed, with only a small part of the structure still standing. The best-preserved area was a separate room in the basement—and that was where Lu Li was headed.

Creak.

As he stepped onto the charred floorboards, Lu Li heard them splinter and crack under his weight.

A few onlookers turned, whispering among themselves as they watched the young man dare to enter the ruins.

Lu Li frowned. The smell of char was stronger now.

It wasn’t a sharp, acrid smell, but more like the scent of smoldering embers. Yet here, it was far more intense than it had been outside, scratching at the back of his throat.

Lu Li walked through what had once been the main repository, eventually reaching the basement lounge area.

The fire hadn’t raged as fiercely here. Although the room was scorched beyond recognition, its structure remained intact.

Lu Li entered the lounge through a gap where the door had collapsed. The ceiling blocked out the light, and the soot-stained walls seemed to swallow what little remained, plunging the corridor into impenetrable darkness. The light from behind him felt like a single beam falling into a deep well.

The stench of burnt material was even stronger here. Lu Li coughed a few times, trying to clear the irritation in his throat, and took out the oil lamp he had prepared.

The moment the lamp flared to life, the surrounding darkness suddenly coalesced into a black, clawed hand, lunging from the depths of the corridor!

Lu Li’s pupils constricted for a split second before returning to normal. He calmly raised his head, studying the wall illuminated by the lantern.

Black fire trails snaked from the doorway at the end of the hall, leaving tongues of soot on the walls. At a glance, they resembled the clawed hand of a monster reaching out from behind the door.

Lu Li was standing right in front of that “hand.”

It was unlikely he would find the books he needed on this floor, but he decided to look around anyway. He was far from the first to be here—many people had come before him, turning everything upside down. Amidst the charred debris were patches of floor and wall untouched by the flames, their original color a stark contrast to the black soot.

Confirming there was nothing of value, Lu Li returned to the corridor and, stepping into the “palm,” approached the door at the end of the passage.

The basement door was made of iron, which had saved the lower level from being incinerated like the rest of the library. The number on the door was obscured by soot, so Lu Li wiped it with his hand.

Basement.

Screech.

As Lu Li’s hand touched the door, the slightly ajar panel swung open a little further. He froze, not expecting it.

An even more potent stench of char wafted out from the gap.

And with it came a chill that Lu Li had been feeling quite often lately. If he had to describe it, he would call it the breath of a ghost.

Lu Li couldn’t be sure if it was just cold air rising from the basement or if there was truly a ghost present.

He instinctively touched the holster at his waist, nudging it slightly upward.

Then, he pushed the door. A sharp shriek of metal echoed through the empty building.

A dark staircase leading down was revealed before him.

Lu Li raised the lamp higher and set foot on the first step.

Crunch.

As his foot landed on the stair, he stepped on a piece of burnt wood. A crackling sound followed, and when he lifted his foot, the wood crumbled into a pile of tiny fragments.

The lamplight fell upon the lower steps, which were strangely covered in pieces of charred wood.

An image involuntarily formed in Lu Li’s mind.

The fire spreads, mercilessly devouring everything in its path. The basement fills with thick smoke as the temperature skyrockets. A person stands desperately at the door, their coughing nearly drowned out by the roar of the flames, but smoke still floods their lungs. Their last ounce of strength isn’t enough to open the door. Finally, the flammable objects in the basement ignite, and tongues of flame greedily lash out at their back. Hair shrivels and turns to ash, clothes catch fire, eyes burst from the intense heat, and with a final, horrific scream, the person is reduced to a charred husk.