Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 258 - 258 One hundred fifteen

258: One hundred fifteen.

Saint Elena (I) 258: One hundred fifteen.

Saint Elena (I) Reiss’s behavior made Lu Li realize something was amiss.

He bowed his head in thought, first ruling out that it was the door’s doing, and then dismissing the possibility of an illusion.

And since it wasn’t trouble coming from him…

Lu Li roughly recounted his experiences between the bookshelves.

Upon hearing his words, Reiss took a deep breath and suddenly pulled the alarm device under the counter.

Whir——

An intolerable, piercing wail abruptly echoed eerily over the True Library.

As the nearest to the source of the sound, Lu Li bore the brunt, his suddenly furrowed brows indicating his pain at the moment.

Bang——

Amidst the wail, a thunderous noise suddenly mixed in.

A hidden door that blended with the wall abruptly opened, followed by another loud bang as another hidden door swung open.

One by one, hidden doors in the walls opened amidst the wails.

Reiss stood up and shouted loudly, “An anomaly has invaded, all personnel must immediately leave the library through the exits!”

Due to the sudden outcry, the people in the hall who were taken aback dropped their books and ran towards the various exits.

Looking towards Lu Li, Reiss’s eyes behind his glasses, once dulled by the years, were now sharp again: “There’s no Library Ghost here!

The True Library affiliated with the three major organizations absolutely forbids anomalies to appear.

I appreciate the information you provided, young man.

The situation is grave, leave immediately!”

“What about you?” Lu Li countered.

“The noise can temporarily hinder the anomaly’s movement, take this chance to leave.”

Reiss replied, pulling a second lever under the counter.

A pitch-black portal suddenly appeared at his feet, Reiss jumped into it decisively, and the entrance disappeared after him.

In a flash, only Lu Li was left in the entire library.

And screams.

And the “Library Ghost.”

Lu Li turned around and walked towards the only exit still open, which, coincidentally, was the same place he had left that morning.

His pace was not quick, in the presence of an anomaly lurking in the dark, his normal walking speed was utterly anxiety-inducing, making one want to shove him forward.

Lu Li was thinking about the “Library Ghost.”

He hadn’t felt any malice or presence from her, nor the intention to harm him.

Approaching the open wooden gate beneath the massive door, Lu Li suddenly felt something, turned around, and looked back.

Between the seventh and eighth bookshelves stood a nearly faded, ethereal silhouette in a long dress, her face as twisted as ever, invoking an innate fear and disgust.

She seemed untouched by the noise, lifting her arm and waving slowly at Lu Li, as if saying goodbye.

“Thank you.”

A light, ethereal voice, almost drowned out by the noise, reached his ears.

Lu Li’s pupils abruptly constricted; he silently watched her for a few seconds, nodded, and walked out of the library.

Bang!

The hidden doors closed automatically behind him, silencing the banshee-like screeching noise from within the library.

…

Elena was a service worker, or to put it bluntly… a lady of the night.

There was no shame in that; in Belfast, many women of low birth and some beauty became such professionals.

They were usually forced by gangs, or simply did not want to toil away all day just to earn a bit of coal oil and black bread money.

Elena was the same, but she considered herself different from them, say…

more high-end.

At least until a month ago, Elena had drifted between the various taverns of the Rum District, but after those two incidents occurred in the taverns, especially after her foolish sister was…

she didn’t dare go to the bars anymore, and like those old women whose looks had faded, hid in the alleys renting rooms at the front of houses, beckoning to those stinky and lecherous men.

Although Elena had heard that the murderer and his men had met a grisly end not long ago, out of fear, she still didn’t leave the place.

To be fair, aside from these customers being a bit stinky and poor, and liking to haggle, there were no other downsides.

At least they didn’t hit people like the drunk patrons in the taverns, and there weren’t any gang members coming to collect protection money.

Speaking of which, that woman and her own sister really were pitiable.

One was thrown into the sea and drowned alive by those men, and the other had her face slashed and was hanged from a lamppost…

Huddled with her shoulders drawn up, Elena leaned against the door of her small cabin, bored and thinking to herself, the men passing by unable to arouse her desire to solicit.

Considering herself smarter, she could tell which men were penniless, and also which ones were just looking to take advantage.

She wasn’t going to be like those brainless old women, sticking to any man that comes by, getting taken advantage of without getting a single shilling in return.

And at that moment, a tall figure suddenly caught her eye, causing Elena’s scattered thoughts to abruptly pause.

The stranger’s odd black hair and eyes carried an irresistible sense of mystery, and his outstanding appearance made him stand out like a black gemstone amidst the rubble.

Elena shook her head vehemently, realizing that several other harlots were already eyeing the figure with envy, and out of urgency, lifted her skirt and ran towards him.

Being closer, Elena was the first to cling to his arm.

She triumphantly threw a look to the other women and asked coquettishly, raising her head, “Hi handsome, fancy a bit of fun with me?”

The man, although he did not slow his step, didn’t dodge or shake her off, and Elena realized she had a chance!

Just as she was about to speak, she noticed the man quickened his pace, and she had to shuffle along in her heels that were difficult to walk quickly in, clinging to the man’s arm and barely keeping pace.

“Don’t, don’t walk so fast… my feet are hurting—”

Elena staggered, trotting after the man.

She wanted to break free but found that her arm was actually trapped by the man’s.

Finally, after running for several seconds, the man, who had become a scoundrel in Elena’s mind, stopped.

This was the edge of the alley, and the bustling street outside could be seen.

The man let go of Elena and looked at her calmly, politely saying, “I’m good, thank you.”

Elena, out of breath, went from a face full of complaints to one of shock, “What do you mean, you’re good!?”

“I’ve shaken off the trouble.”

As he spoke, he took a bundle of shillings from his pocket, drew out a 10-shilling note, thought for a moment, then put it back, instead giving Elena a 5-shilling note.

“Goodbye.”

He turned and walked towards the street, disappearing around the corner.

“Stingy bastard, ptui!”

Elena spat after his retreating figure, stamped her foot bitterly, then let out an “ouch,” limping back to the front of the cabin with her somewhat sprained ankle.

Ignoring the sarcastic remarks of those hateful and ugly women, Elena decided to take a break, exhausted.

She crawled back into the dark cabin and closed the door.

The noise was blocked outside, and Elena heaved a sigh of relief, relaxing.

She turned around and suddenly saw a ghostly figure in a long dress with her back to her.

Elena froze, subconsciously calling out the identity of the figure.

“Sister…?”