Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 381 - 381 238

381: 238.

Mist of Strangeness 381: 238.

Mist of Strangeness “[Do not try to understand them with common sense.]

[We have heard this phrase countless times, and each of us knows that strangeness is mysterious, elusive, unpredictable, and fantastical.

But…

let us be honest, we all know—our brains inevitably deceive us at times, like when we see the Deep Diver, we might think it comes from the deep sea because of its features like gills, fins, and flippers, but in fact, we all know that most Deep Divers we have seen were once human.]

[So you have to deal not only with the strangeness but also with our own brains.]

[This is what I’m saying, don’t let your thoughts restrict your actions, be cautious, be bold.]

[I am Will Ken, former Legendary Scout Demon Slayer, and in half a minute, another former Legendary Scout buddy will take the stage—a rather mischievous old man, he will tell you about evil spirits in ‘Evil Spirit Observer,’ be careful not to get scared, that’s all from me *insert soothing music sound*]

“Like the alley spirit we encountered in Himfast, irrational?” Anna inserted into the words of Legendary Scout Will Ken.

“Pretty much.”

So ordinary people had almost no chance of surviving an encounter with evil spirits.

Low-quality soothing music continued for a while in the poor radio before beginning to fade and disappear.

A distinct, aged voice came through the radio.

[I am Ron Swift, former Legendary Scout Demon Slayer, and currently a member of the Alliance rescue team, occasionally moonlighting as a pub dancer.]

Just as Will Ken had said, this was a rather mischievous old man.

The time was just 6:43, the previous speaker had left him plenty of time.

Ron Swift humorously told a few jokes before finally starting on today’s main topic.

[Someone off to the side has just given me the eye for the 23rd time *laughter*—they look pretty anxious, alright, I’ll tell you about an evil spirit.]

[It’s called The Shadow of Puppetry, some also call it the Manipulating Claw.

If you are pulled into its ritualistic feel, you will hear a hoarse, deep voice in your mind, like this *imitating*’ I am The Shadow of Puppetry, I am going to eat your brain~’]

[When you enter the ritual, usually the voice in your mind will assign you a role and tell you what to do next.

And what you need to do is act according to the role assigned to you]

[Like the names we have given it, it’s like a drama or a novel, you are a character in the story, you need to ensure the story continues, and don’t let the possible ‘audience’ feel anything is awry.

If you do something awry, The Shadow of Puppetry will warn you: several arms, as twisted and emaciated as those of an old man living for centuries, will twist out of the void above your head, reaching for you—]

[While it hasn’t completely descended, you still have a chance to correct your mistake, then it will forgive you like a magnanimous audience.

Remember, the more inappropriate your actions, the faster the arms appear, until you make an irreparable blunder, it will kill you in an instant, not giving you time to react.]

[If you unfortunately encounter The Shadow of Puppetry, here’s some good news *pause*]

[The survival rate for its ritual is very high, roughly 3.4 percent, which is quite rare among evil spirits that attack humans.

Even people who know nothing about strangeness might survive the ritual.

Also, the happiness the ritual can bring is among the highest.]

[You heard me right, I indeed used the word ‘happiness.’]

[The Shadow of Puppetry is one of the rare evil spirits that won’t cause those who enter its ritual to break down from fear, its script, its story might be bizarre beyond words, but usually not frightening.]

[So if you encounter The Shadow of Puppetry, you can say you’ve got both good and bad news: the bad news is, you’re in the ritual of an evil spirit.

The good news is, this evil spirit is The Shadow of Puppetry.]

[I’ve finished speaking, if you want to express gratitude for the information I’ve shared, come see my dance at Whistle Bar in Kantu City, Country of the Multitude of Stars *insert soothing music sound*]

7:03, the ongoing music abruptly stopped, leaving only the crackling background noise in the radio.

The radio broadcast ended “on time.”

Anna got up from the couch, turned off the radio, and turned to Lu Li, who was leaning on the couch: “Are you tired?”

“A bit.”

“Go to sleep!”

Anna was eager to set up their new home on the cliff tomorrow morning.

Lu Li walked into the kitchen to wash up, then came back, lay down on the sofa, and covered himself with a blanket.

“Good night,”

With Anna’s soft greeting, Lu Li closed his eyes.

He didn’t know how long had passed when suddenly a suffocating oppressive sensation descended, carrying a disquieting dark malevolence.

Lu Li on the sofa opened his eyes.

The flames in the two oil lamps on the desk and dining table were exceedingly faint, dim as if they could extinguish at any moment.

In the limited light, everything in the Detective Agency was covered with a thin, strange mist like a light veil.

In the dimness, Lu Li saw that the sculpture was not in its original place.

It shrank into a corner, facing the corner.

Lu Li saw Anna, her toes slightly dangling as she floated in front of the sofa protecting Lu Li, like a bristled cat.

Her twisted, rigid shadow spread across the floor, her crimson eyes coldly staring outside the window.

The cold aura around her was fully released, yet it didn’t affect Lu Li, who was close by, in the slightest.

“What happened?”

Lu Li asked her, his hand reaching for the gun holster under the pillow.

The curtains obstructed his view, so he couldn’t see anything outside the window.

The coldness on Anna’s face dissipated a bit as she said in a low voice, “The thing that appeared the first time we met at the gallery.”

Lu Li thought of their first encounter at Madam Anne’s Art Gallery, where a mist from the depths of the ocean had enveloped the entire city.

The situation now was exactly like it had been then.

Lu Li didn’t sit up but kept his hand extended under the pillow, observing the unmoved curtains.

Lu Li didn’t plan to lift the curtain to peek outside, to see what was happening.

He could feel that there was something deeply unsettling in the mist filling the streets.

Faint, abruptly cut-off screams and strange footsteps came from nowhere in particular.

This darkness and haze continued for a few minutes, and the thin mist in the room began to gradually dissipate.

The light from the oil lamps returned to normal.

The oppressive and uneasy feelings also vanished.

“When did this happen?” Lu Li pulled out his hand.

“Not long before you woke up, I didn’t have time to shout for you,” Anna, whose breath had settled and whose pupils were the last to lose a trace of crimson, gently shook her head.

“What was that…?”

“Mist of Strangeness.”

It probably wouldn’t come again, at least not tonight.

Anna nodded, harboring some unease, watching as Lu Li closed his eyes again, his breathing gradually returning to steady.

The dim night was silent and still.