Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 768: 1. Cleaner

Chapter 768: 1. Cleaner

The gloomy clouds covered the sky, no rain in sight, the air was filled with dreariness.

The dark grey mountain forest was silent as if dead.

In the backyard of Jinlongyu Taoist temple, Lu Li received a guest.

Wearing casual short sleeves, slippers on his feet, unkempt stubble, if you ignore the sleep in the corners of his eyes, this middle-aged man might appear quite carefree and casual.

The trial was over, but the mysticism exchange meeting continued. In a Taoist temple full of monks and Taoists, the presence of an ordinarily dressed person was quite strange.

Standing behind the door, Lu Li quietly gazed at the middle-aged man outside for a few seconds and then spoke: “It’s you.”

“You know me?” The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows slightly.

“The one watching me that night at Tang He—it was you, right?”

The middle-aged man did not deny nor refuse, scrutinizing Lu Li with a peculiar gaze: “Are you this perceptive?”

“I usually remember things that leave a strong impression.”

“Not surprising for a detective, this level of perception and memory is top-notch, but unfortunately…” He left the rest unsaid, unnecessary; everyone understands.

“You must be here for more than expressing pity,” Lu Li placed his phone back in his pocket and looked up to ask.

“Of course not, I came to resolve all your doubts,” The middle-aged man smiled. “Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Big Liu, a member of the Scavenger organization.”

They had been observing Lu Li since he appeared near the sewers.

So when Lu Li showed up at the exchange meeting, they noticed him.

Lu Li didn’t respond, just stepped aside to make way.

Carrying a smile, Big Liu walked into the guest room, his eyes paused briefly on the neatly made bed, as Lu Li’s voice arose behind him.

“Tell me what the door is.”

“Don’t be so hasty; explaining the door is lengthy and—”

“I’m patient,” Lu Li interrupted.

He returned to the warm chair and sat down, leaving the door open, allowing light from outside to brighten the dim room somewhat.

“Alright, mainly because plain explanation makes the door seem unimpressive; I intended to speak of other things first to highlight the door’s horror and peculiarity.”

“I have witnessed the horror of the door, just go ahead.”

“As you wish… When the door appeared is unknown to us, the Scavenger organization, though widespread, is newly formed. Past data are also verbally unclear… You know, anyone who encounters the door will be discovered by it and…”

Big Liu paused, avoiding Lu Li’s emotional fluctuation and didn’t continue.

He glanced at the black-eyed Lu Li, calmly looking towards the mountain forest outside the door, and continued: “I don’t know how you view the door, but you are certainly underestimating it. It is far more… terrifying than you imagine. Much, much more terrifying.”

“Internally, we refer to the door as cancer cells. Not only because contacting it makes you noticed by the door, but also because the term ‘cancer cells’ is extremely apt for the door.”

“What does it mean to be discovered after contacting it?” Lu Li guessed something but still voiced the question.

Big Liu gave Lu Li a meaningful look: “Exactly as you think, hence why I said the door is incredibly terrifying.”

“It’s like an Evil God, gazing at all of us in the void. All factors involved with it might be perceived by it. For example, seeing the survivor’s diary from inside the door, watching any video materials of the door, hearing whispers unintentionally coming from inside the door, or even discussing the door excessively; as long as you contact any information related to the door… those with weak willpower will be influenced while engaging these. If lucky, one can recuperate or go mad, if unlucky like you, only a path to death remains.”

“So it’s not just physical contact with the door that leads to detection.” Noticing Lu Li’s gaze, Big Liu chuckled bitterly: “I can speak about the door recklessly because… I’m already being watched by the door, just like you.”

“This is why we are deeply secretive about the door, and feel powerless, hence calling it cancer cells for one of the reasons. Its behavior is chaotic and filled with malice. Any rational speculation is futile against it, and these could drag oneself into the abyss. Furthermore, its high infectious nature makes it difficult to preserve any data… after all, the person seeing the data might be noticed by the door and could go mad.”

Big Liu spread his hands: “Therefore, we can only act secretly, without any inheritance, looking more like a pile of loose sand.”

“Can we attack it?”

“A novel question; most people ask how to survive.” Big Liu laughed lightly: “The answer is no. They differ from all rules we know. After all, the teacher didn’t teach us that reading a diary could drive us mad, right?”

Lu Li recalled the Water Ghost’s diary. He thought it simply wanted to write a diary, although dying yet insisting on keeping a diary felt strange… but now it seems its intention was far from simple. Revealing the diary about the door was intentionally done.

Regaining his thoughts, Lu Li noticed a point in Big Liu’s words: “Them?”

“There’s more than one door.” Big Liu replied.

“And this is another factor why we call it cancer cells…” Big Liu exhaled a long breath, his smile vanishing, speaking in a voice full of despair: “It will spread.”

“Like spreading cancer cells, the door will expand outward. If the newly appeared doors aren’t promptly dealt with, they will occupy externally upon fulfilling certain hidden conditions, multiplying into a second door.”

Lu Li remained silent for a few seconds: “So Lingling City’s door is just one of many.”

“Yes.” Big Liu spoke, with a hoarse voice chuckled bitterly: “Now you realize how fearsome our enemy is.”

“Can the doors be destroyed, or anything surrounding the doors?” Lu Li proposed a guess, but to little effect. Someone in the Scavenger organization must have brought it up and acted upon it… the current situation already reveals the result.

“Of course it was tried, including physical means, but after those attempting all mysteriously died, no one does it anymore.”

“Then how do you stop the doors?” Lu Li asked, recalling the bloodstains seen on the walls beside the door in the underground passage.

“By having members enter the doors and resolve the crisis behind them. This is the only way to deal with the doors. It’s arduous, and the result you’ve seen. Just the door in Tang He’s sewer exhausted us for a month, investing dozens of people. Not a single one has emerged alive, and the door remains there.”

“What lies behind the doors…”

Big Liu was silent for a long time, gently shaking his head: “It cannot be said, nor be heard.”

“Even when already noticed by the door?”

“Even when already noticed by the door.”

Lu Li stayed quiet, digesting all the information Big Liu had revealed.

“How many people are in the Scavenger organization?”

Big Liu answered: “Unknown, the organization follows a crucial rule: the more you know, the quicker you die. The more you engage with the door, the more you grasp the indescribable fear. And that’s what brings me to the second content I must tell: what the Scavenger is.”