Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 244 - 244 One hundred and one

244: One hundred and one.

Labyrinth room 244: One hundred and one.

Labyrinth room A palm suddenly reached out, grabbing the wrist of the off-balance Doma and yanking her back onto the path.

Regaining her footing, Doma exhaled a breath of warm air, gave Lu Li a quick glance with her brown pupils, but said nothing.

Across from her, Owen tossed the corpse of the little dwarf puppet over, which Doma caught and cleared space for Frank and Owen to leap over, pulling these two who were also leaning forward and nearly plunging into the swamp to safety.

The sign in the center of the swamp was obviously a trap, and when the five of them successfully arrived in front of the next door, the timely narration revealed the meaning of the trap.

“Perhaps you once lost yourself, forgetting your purpose.

But with the help of excellent companions, you successfully found your path.”

So that’s how it is…

Owen had pretty much understood the purpose of this level.

They didn’t need to jump into the center of the swamp to read the content on the sign.

The door to the next level was right in front, they should have just gone straight through.

This level was reminding them to stay focused on their goals; distractions and meaningless curiosity could kill.

Especially in their capacity as investigators working on a case.

Owen looked at the others, Lu Li and Daniel remained calm, Frank seemed thoughtful, only Doma, without a second thought, opened the wooden gate in front of her and walked into the next level.

Hopefully, she understood, just too lazy to show it,

Owen thought to himself.

…

Bang.

The light sound of Lu Li closing the door drew everyone’s gaze, and then they looked away.

“The maze blocks your way, and to get through it, you must have an unwavering heart.”

The moment the narration started, Owen looked at Doma.

Just as he had imagined, Doma tried to smash the towering stone walls that connected to the sky with the corpse of the dwarf puppet.

It was no use.

“Looks like we have no choice but to honestly navigate the maze,” Owen analyzed.

“However, the narrator seems to have given us some hints.”

“What did you think of now?” Fran, in confusion, asked.

If someone else had said that, Owen might have thought it was a sarcastic remark about his previous incorrect analysis, but everyone knew Frank was a very kind big boy.

“‘To get through it, you must have an unwavering heart,’ that’s the narrator’s hint.

Perhaps after we enter the maze, we will face terrifying and confusing challenges that will make us want to recoil.

So what we have to do is ensure we never retreat, no matter what.”

“I like that!” Doma caressed the weapon in her hands.

“Maybe you’re right, we could give it a try,” Frank said, eager to go ahead.

Lu Li and Daniel habitually refrained from voicing their opinions, so Owen’s suggestion was, in effect, unanimously approved.

Owen hurriedly blocked Doma, who was already rushing toward the right passage: “Wait a minute, let’s first discuss how we should proceed.”

The entrance of the maze split into left and right, and there would surely be forks within, so before they went in, they needed to decide which way to go at the forks.

“Stick to the right side!” Doma waved the dwarf puppet.

Owen and Frank exchanged glances, and the plan was thus decided: to progress along the right-side wall.

Along the way, Owen had Doma leave some marks on the maze walls before continuing forward.

Lu Li still walked at the end, following Owen and the others, turning around in the room without seeing anything.

As an outsider who could see nothing, Lu Li could only analyze their current situation through the exchanges between Owen and the others, such as now when they encountered their own marks.

“Have we circled back…?” Frank stared at the mark, dumbfounded.

Owen didn’t think so; there was a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes: “No, remember the hint?

Unwavering heart…

maybe my guess was correct.”

“So we just need to keep going?” Fran asked.

“That’s right.”

The silent Lu Li looked at the swamp wooden door that was within arm’s reach.

They still didn’t know they had circled back to the starting point.

Their footsteps kept advancing, and as time passed, the number of times they encountered the markers began to increase, three times, five times, seven times…

Doma’s restlessness visibly escalated, and the confidence on Owen’s face started to fade, replaced by self-doubt.

Only Frank remained as optimistic as ever.

Lu Li, who could see through illusions, noticed that as the number of times increased, they were not just circling at the entrance anymore, but starting to get closer to the exit.

At that moment, they had arrived at the middle of the room.

If they continued like this, they would eventually reach the wooden door on the opposite side.

“We have seen this mark for the fourteenth time.”

Owen, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped, the towering cyan-gray walls around him like a prison, trapping them inside.

The repetitive monotony of his surroundings made him start to question his own judgment.

“I think we’ve been going in circles.”

Frank patted Owen on the shoulder, “But we must persevere, right?”

“This is pointless!” growled Doma, tired of going in circles.

Frank turned to Daniel for help, “What do you think we should do now?”

“…”

Daniel remained silent.

Frank then asked Lu Li, “What do you think, Lu Li?”

“Either way is fine.”

“Let’s change direction…” It was then that Owen no longer held on to guesses and changed his mind, “We’ll turn left at the next fork.”

Doma was fine with anything as long as she didn’t have to see that damned mark again, Frank hesitated, but still agreed.

So when the next fork appeared before them, they turned to the left, and at the same time, a door appeared in front of them.

An excited Doma quickly walked up to the door, opened the wooden door, and the landscape behind the door emerged before everyone’s eyes, with bubbles of a dark purple sludge emitting a rotting stench.

They had returned to the starting point.

Creak, creak—

The wooden door held by Doma made a grating sound.

“Um… Can I say something?”

Frank carefully stepped forward and began, “I think Owen’s idea was correct, it’s because we can’t stay resolute that we end up back at the start.

As long as we follow one wall, we will eventually reach the next wooden door.

We’re in an assessment; the four supervisors are watching us.

We won’t really be trapped here to die, right?”

Frank’s reassurance made Owen feel better and calmed Doma’s impatience.

Shutting the swamp stage’s wooden door, they set off once more.

Five times, ten times, fifteen times, twenty times, thirty times… the marks kept appearing on the paths they passed.

“How much longer must we walk?” Doma’s grip on her little dwarf puppet was close to crushing it.

“We will eventually find the exit,” Frank cheered everyone on.

“But it’s been thirty times already,” Owen hesitated uncertainly.

In this situation, everyone’s strengths and weaknesses were exposed: Doma was irritable yet unexpectedly patient, Owen smart but couldn’t fully trust himself, Frank kind and friendly but indecisive.

“Lu Li, do you have any ideas?” asked Fran, unable to deal with the situation.

“Continue,” Lu Li said, looking ahead.

The wooden door to the next stage was close at hand.