Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 198 - 198 Fifty-five

198: Fifty-five.

The second knock on the door 198: Fifty-five.

The second knock on the door The fire burned quietly, making the atmosphere in the cabin oppressive.

Certain beings living in the swamp had sent Lu Li this invitation.

Whether this was the root of the warning that “the swamp could hear things that did not belong to it” was unknown, but it was foreseeable that the gathering would be fraught with danger.

It seemed that once one entered the swamp, the level of danger and strangeness escalated visibly.

“Let’s just ignore it…”

Anna couldn’t think of a reason to go, as it seemed like a sure path to death.

“Hmm, if we can.”

Lu Li closed the invitation and placed it aside instead of throwing it into the fire.

Who would dare say that destroying the invitation wouldn’t trigger some sort of strange event?

“Why do you say that?”

Anna, whether it was an illusion, detected a hint of pessimism in Lu Li’s words.

Lu Li lifted his dark eyes, his deep black pupils reflecting the firelight and Anna’s reflection: “This is their territory, and from the moment they noticed me, my purpose here became irrelevant.”

The invitation was sent by something in the swamp, meaning they weren’t afraid of Lu Li not attending.

Anna finally realized the severity of the situation and said worriedly, “Let’s leave as soon as the rain eases up, let’s not deal with these Blood-Colored Tentacles…”

Lu Li shook his head; now it was about more than the Blood-Colored Tentacles.

He had killed a family in the cabin not long before the swamp beings had sent the invitation, which said enough.

Since arriving in this world, Lu Li had countless times had to adjust his expectations of the strangeness of this world, but now it seemed he had been too conservative.

“What do we do?”

Lu Li said calmly, “Keep moving forward, deal with the Blood-Colored Tentacles and leave immediately if there’s still time.”

Anna, infected by Lu Li’s calm demeanor, gradually relaxed—until the knocking sound came again.

Knock, knock, knock—

The mechanical, sluggish knocking sounded outside the door.

Lu Li and Anna exchanged glances, reached for the Spirit-Calling Gun, and looked towards the door.

This cabin, located deep in the Shadow Swamp, suddenly became a hub of activity.

Entering the perceptive range of the Spirit-Calling Gun, Lu Li frowned slightly and said to Anna, who was looking at him inquiringly, “There’s no malice, the presence of a Homogeneous Item.”

Several presences, seemingly human, lingered behind the door.

Exorcist?

Or perhaps a night watchman or investigator.

Homogeneous Items could cause more damage to spirits than to physical entities.

To prevent Anna from getting hurt, Lu Li, dressed only in a shirt and shorts, got up and walked to the door, opening it.

A cold, damp air hit him in the face, causing Lu Li’s pupils to contract sharply.

A figure with the body of a person and the head of a bird stood behind the door, its dark, massive eyeballs staring steadily at him.

As his contracted eyes gradually relaxed, Lu Li frowned and asked, “Who are you?”

It was a tall figure wearing a Bird Beak Mask with a long bird beak, the wide-brimmed hat merging with the mask, covered in a pitch-black waterproof robe, reflecting under the oil lamp held in the palm.

This image reminded Lu Li of a medieval European plague doctor, the same Bird Beak Mask and mysterious attire emitting an ominous and deadly aura.

The Bird Beak Mask figure did not answer; eyes behind the sewn-in black mirror pieces of the mask seemed to be staring at Lu Li.

Getting no response, Lu Li’s expression remained unchanged, but he began pressing the door closed with his left hand gripping it.

“Passerby.”

A hoarse female voice filtered through the Bird Beak Mask, becoming muffled, sounding from behind the door.

The door continued to close.

Click—

A palm clad in leather gloves braced against the door.

“Just looking to avoid the rain.”

…

A dried piece of wood was tossed into the fire, sparks and flames surged.

Hiss…

A drop of rain fell from the tip of the bird beak, landing on the stones outside the fire, evaporating from the heat.

Even after entering the cabin, the Bird Beak Mask figure did not speak or show any intention of removing the mask.

Anna floated beside Lu Li, her shyness mixed with curiosity as she inspected the Bird Beak Mask figure sitting opposite them.

The bird beak mask imperceptibly shifted to one side, and Lu Li turned his head to look at the Spirit-Calling Gun placed beside him.

Did you recognize it?

“Thank you.”

Perhaps because of the Spirit-Calling Gun, the figure in the bird beak mask spoke the first sentence after entering the cabin.

The voice, muffled and hoarse even through the mask, was discernible as a woman’s voice; the sounds heard earlier outside the door were not an illusion.

“You’re welcome, this is not my house.” Lu Li responded.

The petrified corpses and the family’s bodies, along with the debris, still piled outside the door, were surely visible to the figure in the bird beak mask.

The brief exchange ended there, and silence once again fell upon the cabin.

Anna began to feel awkward.

The atmosphere looked too uncomfortable…

Even the howling wind outside could not make the atmosphere any more natural, and this eerie stalemate continued for a while until Lu Li picked up a water bottle and broke it.

The recent opening of the door had brought in moisture, and along with the over-frequent use of the Spirit-Calling Gun, Lu Li’s body temperature had not returned to normal.

“I’ll go get the coat.”

Anna said, carefully stepping around the figure in the bird beak mask, picking up Lu Li’s woolen coat hanging behind the door, and turning back to him.

Just then, the figure in the bird beak mask suddenly moved.

She stood up, pulled a pitch-black umbrella from behind her, and stabbed it towards Anna!

Lu Li also grabbed the Spirit-Calling Gun in that instant, aiming at the bird beak mask.

The bird beak mask, merely stitched leather, offered zero protection against bullets.

“She is a spirit.” The umbrella stopped in front of Anna’s chest, and the figure in the bird beak mask whispered.

“But she doesn’t harm people.”

“She does.”

“You have three seconds to let go of Anna, or I shoot,” Lu Li said, his tone turning indifferent, emotionless, concise.

“One.”

“She is a spirit,” the figure in the bird beak mask repeated.

“Three.”

Lu Li’s finger pulled the trigger.

“Another nutcase who doesn’t count to two.”

The figure in the bird beak mask cursed softly, reluctantly lowering her arm, moving the umbrella away.

Lu Li, unmoved, watched as the frightened Anna returned to his side, then set down the Spirit-Calling Gun that was almost scorching in its coldness.

Suddenly, Lu Li turned his head to look out the window, feeling a presence peering in, but in reality, there was nothing—the window had already been boarded up.

Lu Li’s sanity value had dropped to the brink of causing hallucinations.

“Who sent this?” the figure in the bird beak mask asked.

“What who sent this?” Lu Li replied.

“The invitation.”

“Something from the swamp.”

“Can I have it?”

Lu Li paused slightly, then picked up an invitation next to him and tossed it toward the figure in the bird beak mask: “Here, take it.”

The figure in the bird beak mask carefully tucked away the invitation, picked up the oil lamp at her feet, and turned to leave.

Rainwater poured into the cabin, and the figure in the bird beak mask paused her steps, her words multiplying for the first time: “Leave soon, this swamp is starting to become unwelcoming to you.”

Bang.

The door closed, and the figure in the bird beak mask disappeared behind it.

“What’s going on…?”

The rapid changes left Anna unable to react.

“She probably came here for the invitation.”

Lu Li answered, his gaze seemingly piercing through the door, watching the figure walking deeper into the forest.