Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 789 - 22.12 pm~2 pm

Chapter 789: 22.12 pm~2 pm

Don’t look back!!!

Don’t look back!!!

Don’t look back!!!

The blood-red slogans with scarlet exclamation marks appear at the bottom of every stair.

When Lu Li came here, he couldn’t see the lines of warnings at the bottom of the stairs due to the angle, but standing at the bottom and looking up, he took them all in.

An instinctive warning simultaneously emerged, as an extremely unsettling sinister presence appeared above the stairs.

It was unseen, unheard, only sensed through some invisible perception telling Lu Li that something was hidden above.

The way back was inaccessible; the noise from below rapidly approached, and it seemed there was no way out.

Don’t watch the TV...

Lu Li recalled the hints dotting the walls and was thoughtful.

Shhh shhh shhh shhh—

The noise originating from below gradually became clear, corresponding with more severe snowy noise spots on Lu Li’s retinas.

The edges of his vision were almost entirely occupied by them, flickering incessantly.

Lu Li couldn’t be sure if the hints were real, but with the presence from below gradually coming up, he had no other choice.

Lu Li took a deep breath, held his breath, and closed his eyes.

The noise spots lingering on his retina vanished completely, only the echoing noises slowly approached from below.

With his eyelids closed, the dense darkness mingled with a blood-like haze. Without using his eyes, Lu Li’s hearing became more sensitive.

The noise was no longer obstructed by any separation; it appeared at the bottom of the stairs beneath Lu Li.

Shhh shhh shhh shhh—

No footsteps, no breathing, only the rustling noise like TV snow approached steadily and eerily.

As the entity moved up the stairs, the noise turned from clear to loud, and within the noise, faint screaming sounds were mixed, or perhaps it was an auditory hallucination.

Lu Li had completely held his breath, his chest no longer rising and falling.

Shhh shhh shhh shhh—

The noise was right at hand, the screaming sounds suddenly amplified, with males, females, old, and young. They were mixed together, covered by the television noise.

The entity passed by the eye-closing Lu Li without pausing and then moved upward.

The noise began to drift away, the screams quickly became faint, and then thoroughly covered by the noise.

Lu Li’s chest started to move again as he resumed breathing.

The air in the blood-red stairwell neither reeked of blood nor was foul, except for a slight chill, it had no other scent.

At least Lu Li couldn’t smell any.

And when the noise reached the 1230th floor above, it abruptly disappeared around a corner.

In the extreme silence, only a faint breeze from the deep stairs below and a barely traceable heartbeat remained.

Lu Li still didn’t open his eyes.

He was familiar with this kind of scene, typically when one opened their eyes at this point, there’d be a high probability of a hideously terrifying face in front.

Sinister arm armor appeared on Lu Li’s arms, five sharp and long, blue-black claws, unlike human ones, stretched out.

The wall only mentioned not watching TV, didn’t say not to fight.

Lu Li swung forward, the wind roared past, his punched fist hit nothing but air.

Lu Li slowly opened his eyes, there was nothing in front of him, nor were there any eerie presences on the stairs above or below.

He temporarily rid himself of trouble.

Lu Li, unperturbed, dispersed Ghost Hand, frowned slightly, and looked up towards the stairs he came from.

An ominous feeling lingered, the sinister presence still had not faded away.

Unable to return, he could only keep moving downward...

How many floors were below, where did they lead, or were they endless...

Lu Li gathered himself and started walking downward.

He didn’t deliberately walk down one step to then back up; it was pointless and reckless.

Tap—tap—tap—

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the deathly silent stairwell, as Lu Li reached the 1300th floor without pausing, turning to continue downward.

According to the depth, he was approximately twenty meters underground at this point.

Lu Li had no retreat, nor was retreat possible.

To him, a depth of two meters, twenty meters, or two hundred meters made little difference.

All could instantly deliver him to death.

Having descended another section of stairs, unsurprisingly, the numbers on the wall at the bottom changed to 1330.

Equivalent to one thirty in the afternoon.

Approaching 1300, Lu Li encountered what the slogans referred to as the presence of the TV.

Thus, now approaching 1300, did the wall hints about "children" mean they would soon appear?

The hints on the wall along with the time of the floors made Lu Li realize something. So following the clues downward, the "children" mentioned might soon appear, perhaps at one thirty in the afternoon...

Lu Li reached the 1330 platform.

Nothing happened.

...or perhaps at two in the afternoon.

The blood-red walls didn’t reveal new hints, and the three hints previously pieced together by Lu Li had become worn, fragmented.

This was not a good sign.

It’s like a puzzle game shifting from easy to medium difficulty.

Fewer hints, more fragmented traces.

Heading downward, Lu Li reached the platform between 1330 and 1400.

His gaze fell below, a silhouette appeared in his vision.

Unexpected yet expected.

An ordinary wooden door appeared at the corner of the 1400th floor, and in the next instant, the door swung open.

Children dressed in colorful clothes dashed out, hopping and skipping upstairs.

Their target was Lu Li.

They weren’t ordinary children. Each feature twisted together, eyes on the forehead, nose on the chin, four to five mouths spread across their faces.

Any normal person witnessing them would uncontrollably feel physically nauseous and dizzy.

At this moment, they rushed to Lu Li’s side, the four to five mouths on their faces opening simultaneously to speak.

"Come on, come on, let’s go out and play~"

"We’re going to the slide and play hide and seek~"

"My mom just bought a game console."

"I’ll treat you to snacks."

The chattering noise echoed in his ears, they pulled at Lu Li’s hands, tugged at his clothes, and pushed his back.

"You go ahead, I still have things to do."

Lu Li said, but upon realizing himself powerless and being dragged down the stairs by them, his dark eyes constricted.

Ghost Hand appeared on the surface of his arms, though it had no effect; the four to five mouths on their faces chattered, ignoring Lu Li’s ghostly arms.

They pushed Lu Li, and he couldn’t touch them nor resist.

With most of the stairs traversed, Lu Li saw brilliant sunlight, laughter, and a gentle breeze carrying a grassy scent from behind the door.

Behind the door was no longer the disturbing and unsettling blood-red.

"Come on, you haven’t been out with us for days."

"Yeah, yeah, you can play my game console."

"Everyone’s waiting for you~"

Lu Li seemed like a boy eager to go out and play but was held back by unfinished homework, reluctantly yielding to the urging of his pals.

Four or five children nudged Lu Li down the stairs.

The door drew nearer, the brilliance and allure beyond was intoxicating.

Lu Li moved closer to the door until it was right within reach, at the precise moment—

Lu Li’s right hand suddenly extended, grasped the wooden door beside him, and slammed it shut!

Boom!

The air stirred, the clamor vanished instantly.

The shadows of children around him dissolved like a mirage, completely disappearing.