Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 212 - 212 Sixty-nine

212: Sixty-nine.

Sanity Value Test 212: Sixty-nine.

Sanity Value Test The next morning dawned overcast and rainy, just as before.

It wasn’t as cold as yesterday, but it was nearly so, with the townspeople donning an extra overcoat.

Order had been restored on the streets, yet the collapsed wooden houses and the residents’ downcast expressions silently spoke of the recent events.

Anna stayed at the Detective Agency, while Lu Li went out alone, heading for the coastal street.

Mixed with the rain was the sea breeze, and standing in front of Old Pick Laundry, which was still without a main gate, Lu Li stepped inside.

The buzz of conversation filled his ears, and between the tables and chairs, the atmosphere was as lively as a tavern.

Nearby residents gathered to chat while waiting for their clothes to be washed.

Old Pique emerged from behind the counter, exchanging a few words with passing residents before approaching Lu Li and signaling for him to follow.

Lu Li followed Old Pique to a dimmer corner of the hall, pulled out a chair to sit, and gestured for Lu Li to sit opposite of him.

“We’re talking here?”

“Right here.”

“Won’t they hear us?”

“They won’t hear us.”

The conversation from yesterday seemed to have switched sides, the meaning unchanged, each of Lu Li’s questions seemed like a confirmation of something.

After standing quietly for a few seconds, Lu Li sat down in a chair at the corner of the wall under Old Pique’s watchful gaze.

From here, he could clearly see the entire shop.

“What would you like to drink?” Old Pique leaned his arm on the table and asked.

“Nothing for me.”

“It’s on the house.”

“A hot drink then.”

“Just a moment,” Old Pique said, rising to head toward the counter.

Lu Li thought that this might be when someone came out to test his Sanity Value, but that thought was interrupted when Old Pique came back with two steaming cups of coffee.

“No need to doubt, it’s really me.”

Lu Li didn’t show any emotion, but Old Pique guessed his thoughts anyway.

He pushed one cup of hot coffee towards Lu Li and placed another in front of the empty seat beside him: “Many first-time Exorcists who come for testing doubt it.

It’s normal.”

Lu Li’s gaze shifted from the cold light and bustle of the lively shop, settling on the empty seat beside Old Pique.

A hand, thick with calluses, reached out to hold the back of a chair, pulling it out to sit down and lifted the coffee cup for a sip: “Evil…

can’t you even spare some cane sugar?”

This cantankerous-looking old man with upturned corners in his eyes seemed to share a good rapport with Old Pique.

Old Pique shrugged, “I got them mixed up, your cup is his.

Oh, I just wanted to see a different expression on your face.

You’re not mad, right?”

Lu Li remained silent.

“Got personality,” the old man chuckled with a heh, then casually leaned his arm on the back of his chair.

“You really are cautious…

You might even live longer than I will.” It wasn’t clear if Old Pique’s murmur was a compliment or a sarcasm.

He turned to Lu Li, “I’ll be asking the questions, you’ll be answering, and he’ll be scoring.

Any other questions?”

Scoring?

Is this old man related to Malevolent Spirits?

“Let’s start,” Lu Li said, still speaking tersely.

Old Pique ignored Lu Li’s demeanor and cleared his throat, then asked the first question amidst the constant buzz of the noisy shop.

“Do you think this world is getting worse and worse?”

An indescribably obscure aura spread around the table, as if gloom, sadness, and fear were attracted by the atmosphere, rising from the deepest depths of the heart.

Lu Li realized that the consciousness of the malevolent spirit had already emerged.

It was affecting him and only him.

To ordinary people, these were just some normal questions, at most, a bit strange.

“Yes.”

After a few seconds of silence, feeling the obscure aura, Lu Li responded.

“Wow,” the old man exaggeratedly moved his lips, but no sound came out.

“When facing those bizarre and eccentric incidents, do you feel fear?”

Lu Li answered calmly, “No.”

Old Pique’s gaze gradually became peculiar as he asked the third question, “Would you resort to any means necessary to survive?”

“No.”

“You and a stranger are on a leaking wooden boat in the deep sea; the boat can only carry the weight of one person.

To survive, would you push that person into the water?”

Lu Li’s eyebrows almost imperceptibly furrowed, but he still answered, “No.”

This question made the whole section strange.

The first two questions were related to Sanity Value, but the third turned into something like a psychological test.

Although the Sanity Value is related to psychology, it is only a marginal connection.

“You and an enemy are on a leaking wooden boat in the deep sea; the boat can only carry the weight of one person.

To survive, would you push that person into the water?”

Old Pique presented the fourth question with only a change of the character involved.

“Yes,” Lu Li answered just as directly.

This question might have many premises, such as the enemy being a good person or the possibility of plugging the leak in the boat.

But in answering the question, Lu Li would not consider these factors, allowing his response to become ambiguous.

Without hesitation, he answered straightforwardly.

“You and a dog are on a leaking wooden boat in the deep sea; the boat can only carry the weight of one person.

To survive, would you throw the dog overboard?”

“No.”

The old man, who had been silent until now, suddenly interjected, “That might cause you to drown.”

Lu Li’s indifferent gaze met the old man’s, “I cannot decide the life of another.”

Old Pique grinned, “But you pushed that enemy overboard.”

“He has a grudge against me, doesn’t he,” Lu Li replied.

The old man had no response to that, and it seemed as though Old Pique smirked, “The next question is about you and your good friend, but I guess I don’t need to ask.”

To strangers, he would show the greatest degree of goodwill, let alone to those close to him.

“Would you harm a ghost that doesn’t hurt people?” Old Pique read the sixth question, then looked at Lu Li expectantly as if he already knew the answer.

“No.”

Lu Li’s response was not beyond his expectations since he had seen a ghost following Lu Li the previous night.

However, the carefree old man beside him seemed to hear something unbelievable, sitting up straight with wide eyes.

Old Pique continued, “The last three questions are more or less the same, so I’ll just ask them together: would you harm an Evil Spirit, an Evil God, or a mythical creature that doesn’t hurt people?”

“What is that?”

Aside from the last one, Lu Li had no contact with or understanding of the first two.

Moreover, the only mythical creature he knew of might not be the same kind he was thinking of.

Old Pique said, “I thought you knew, then let’s move on—”

“These are the four classifications of supernatural entities compiled by humans.”

The old man suddenly took over the conversation, enlightening Lu Li, “Back then, Demon Slayers categorized the frequently appearing supernatural entities into four systems: the Malevolent Spirit System, the Evil God System, the Evil Spirit System, and the Mythical Creature System.”

“So, kid, if they don’t harm people, would you harm them?”