Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 786 - 19. Work harder, better, faster, stronger

Chapter 786: 19. Work harder, better, faster, stronger

"Who is the mortician?"

"Aunt Chen usually handles the preparation of bodies here."

"Has she left already?"

"Not yet, but soon. She gets off at six... there’s half an hour left."

"What if a body is brought in tonight?"

"We usually don’t work at night. We store the bodies in the freezer first."

"Take me to meet her."

"Ah, alright, follow me."

Led to the staff lounge, Lu Li saw the mortician known as Aunt Chen, an elderly woman with somewhat cloudy eyes and a patch of spots on her right front forehead.

The former was common with age, while the latter were age spots.

After confirming this, Lu Li shifted his focus to the ghost of Liu Xiaoyan.

Leaving the funeral home, Lu Li drove out of the park. The west was shrouded in twilight, streetlights not yet lit, casting a dim ambiance around.

Beep—beep—

"Hello, how’s the investigation going?"

"Send me Liu Xiaoyan’s home address."

"Hm? Are you really trying to milk me dry?" The suppressed emotion yelled from the phone.

"You’re the only one I know at the police station," Lu Li calmly responded.

"...Alright... I’ll go ask for you."

To say he knew no one else was unfair; Lu Li had seen quite a few police officers in his years as a detective, but they were mostly just familiar faces with no relationships.

Lu Li turned on the speakerphone, placing the mobile on the passenger seat.

The screen lit up for a moment, then dimmed, leaving only the standby light blinking slowly, indicating the call was still ongoing.

A few minutes later, Officer Wen’s voice sounded: "102, Unit 5, Building 13, Hong’an Street Area A."

"Okay."

Lu Li picked up the phone and hung up, giving Officer Wen no time to ask questions.

He put away the phone, slowed down the car, and parked on a lonely road, calling out Yang Chunxue.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh——"

Yang Chunxue’s appearance accompanied by a piercing scream, she covered her eyes, shouting loudly.

"Is this your new entrance style?" The noise made Lu Li frown, rippling the calm lake.

"Ahhhhh——ahhhh——ah...?"

Yang Chunxue peeked through her fingers, confirming she was in the car and not an icy cold morgue, sighed in relief, and dropped her hands.

"Hehe... I thought you summoned me in the morgue." Yang Chunxue scratched her head, laughing sheepishly.

Silently pressing the accelerator again, Lu Li glanced at the silly-faced Yang Chunxue in the rearview mirror: "Are you ready to advance to a vengeful spirit?"

"Wha-why did you suddenly bring this up..." The silly smile turned hesitant.

"I haven’t used the dozens of guides from Jinlongyu Taoist temple yet."

Yin Virtue has already risen to sixty-six points, even if it doesn’t reach the level of a vengeful spirit, it’s not far off.

In terms of both level cap and experience material, Lu Li was fully prepared.

"Our next opponents are quite tricky, and our current strength may not hold an advantage."

Lu Li couldn’t sense any yin energy from the red tentacle, the bizarre and malicious aura on it was similar yet different from the door. This time, he was clearly dealing with something beyond his understanding.

"I can evolve anytime! When do we start?" Yang Chunxue’s bright eyes sparkled like starlight. Once she brushed away her tension, she was eager to grow stronger, then use a larger square of physics to combat the enemy.

"Now."

"Huh?"

Her expression froze as Yang Chunxue looked around, uncertainly asking: "Right here...?"

She thought it would be more ceremonial, like standing in a Hexagram Array, candles burning in the corners, Lu Li in a black robe, face hidden beneath a hood, chanting intricate spells—

At the very least, they should wash up at the Detective Agency before starting.

Having been through this once, Lu Li understood what she was thinking, locking eyes with Yang Chunxue through the rearview mirror: "I’ll make up for it later, okay?"

"You’re not lying to me, are you?" Yang Chunxue suspiciously scrutinized Lu Li’s back.

"I never lie." A lie, deceit, impersonating police but still a good man, Lu Li replied.

"Mhm... don’t forget to make it up later, let’s start."

He envisioned the Ghost Envoy Manual, flipping to the twenty-plus catalogs recently obtained.

With so many catalogs acquired, Lu Li no longer tried each one. Most ghost abilities had similar paths; Yang Chunxue’s yin energy dominated, with some altering senses or partly transforming limbs, possessing abilities harmful to ghosts.

Lu Li already had these two points.

The vehicle drove calmly on the silent road.

Inside the car, Lu Li selected two less appealing guides to enhance Yang Chunxue.

Yang Chunxue’s surrounding yin energy condensed, her steady aura gradually rising, but after a dozen seconds, it ceased to increase, stabilizing at a fixed level.

Veins seemed to emerge faintly around her, illusory and sparse, far less intense than Kong Nanqing.

The level of a vengeful spirit didn’t seem to follow a simple 8+2=10 formula.

Lu Li chose two more guides, continuing the enhancement.

The stable aura rose again, blood veins around Yang Chunxue increased, flickering like noise around her.

Her aura gradually turned cold, causing the car’s temperature to drop sharply. Deep within her clear eyes, a crimson glow emerged.

"Feels... tight..." Yang Chunxue exhaled softly, her cute face puffing up.

She was at her limit, but her aura still fell short.

Perhaps it was linked to the absence of strong obsessions and resentment.

"Keep going, I can handle it!" She suddenly uttered.

Lu Li nodded, selecting two more guides to reinforce her.

Zzzt—

The car’s headlights flickered a few times above.

Yang Chunxue seemed submerged underwater, her ink-like black hair and clothes floated up, eyes flickering crimson.

The chilling yin energy raged in the confined vehicle, Yang Chunxue’s surrounding space accelerated, red blood strands flickering densely—

The dashboard malfunctioned, the needles instantly dropping to 0. The lights flickered even more frequently.

Lu Li frowned slightly; the scene of Yang Chunxue’s advancement to vengeful spirit seemed different from Kong Nanqing.

The latter smoothly transitioned after a certain level of stimulation in a brief dozen seconds, but Yang Chunxue... faced more difficulties.

Could ghosts be different from each other?

The car’s headlights began to flicker just like the lights. To avoid causing more issues or even rendering the car dysfunctional, Lu Li stopped the vehicle, decisively placing her into the Ghost Envoy Manual.

The rampant yin energy and flickering blood strands vanished with Yang Chunxue, and the car’s temperature gradually rose back up.

The flashing headlights and instrument panel returned to normal.

Lu Li summoned the Ghost Envoy Manual entity, turning to Yang Chunxue’s page.

The catalog image seated on the balcony railing, with legs swinging, was undergoing changes. Its colors faded, contrasting with shadows emerging in the blank areas.

The portrait was transitioning.

A hint of red appeared on the ghost character at the top left, gradually spreading.

Perhaps this was the progression bar for becoming a vengeful spirit. Once the ghost character turned entirely red, the catalog’s transformation would be complete, and Yang Chunxue’s advancement finished.

It was expected to take several hours.

And Lu Li was very short on time now.