Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 84 - 84 Eighty-four

84: Eighty-four.

The Hope that Fades Away 84: Eighty-four.

The Hope that Fades Away The task was completed.

There was no compensation, nor any benefit.

Even the client perished in a sea of flames.

Though she had left with her family before the flames devoured everything.

The carriage wheels rolled over the uneven cobblestone road, breaking the deep silence of the night, as the lights from the windows on both sides of the road became progressively brighter, resembling a rise from the eternally dark abyss to tranquil and clear waters.

The discomfort brought by the darkness gradually faded away, an intangible and elusive feeling, but as the surroundings of the carriage brightened, the two people and a ghost on the carriage indeed felt more at ease.

Hades sighed continuously next to them, largely because the trip had been in vain.

Lu Li sat beside him, lost in thought.

Hades didn’t notice the slightly lamenting tone, but Lu Li did.

If the family of three had already died last night, who was the woman crying on the phone and begging Marcus for help?

The ghost of the mistress?

Or something else?

Lu Li turned his head, the carriage was moving away from Oak Street.

But the flames that rose there were still clearly visible two blocks away, like a giant torch in the night.

It seemed that the big fire was enough to cover up the remaining traces.

“What is that black withered branch?”

Turning his gaze back, Lu Li asked Hades beside him.

Hades momentarily snapped out of his dejection, looking somewhat weary, “It’s just as you think.

A Homogeneous Item, weaker than the Spirit-Calling Gun, but with lesser side effects accordingly.”

“You, you always have a bunch of questions, huh?” Before Lu Li could speak, Hades’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

Lu Li saved his breath and nodded.

“I knew I shouldn’t have come.” Hades sighed loudly on purpose.

“A task where the client dies and on top of that, several more problems are added, all for free.”

Lu Li ignored Hades’s sarcasm and asked, “What is a Homogeneous Item?”

“I remember I explained it to you before …

never mind, it’s easy to explain.

A Homogeneous Item is an object that has been infected with the essence of the Inner World and turned into something beyond ordinary.

Of course, this infection can be artificially induced, like our Spirit-Calling Guns.”

“Are there many Homogeneous Items?”

“Not too many, but not too few either.

You and I, who often deal with ghosts, always have some chances to come across them.

That stone mask you have is also a Homogeneous Item, I’ve told you before, haven’t I?

You could try to develop it.”

Lu Li thought the same.

The enhanced power of the Spirit-Calling Gun was obvious, and Lu Li had not yet discovered the first rose’s traits.

But the side effects were also quite clear: it was costly, and his physique was irreversibly converging towards the Inner World.

The former cost 50 shillings per shot, each of Lu Li’s shots costing as much as 75 pounds of black bread or four days of living expenses for a family of three.

Recently, the latter issue had started manifesting as Lu Li began to notice his hands and feet getting colder during sleep.

Lu Li always ensured he had enough nutrients, clearly linking the issue to nutritional deficiency and acclimatization.

“Will there be any risks?”

“Of course, there will be.

A Homogeneous Item is like a Bernie Bot’s Bean, you never know what flavor the next one will be.”

Hades’s oil lamp flickered.

He picked it up and shook it, realizing the gas valve was loose.

After tightening it and ensuring the flame was stable, he continued, “You can try to sense its essence to gauge whether it is dangerous, but this is not accurate.

Most Homogeneous Items are very good at hiding themselves.”

“Do they possess consciousness?” Lu Li noticed the word “hide.”

“Pfft, of course not, but maybe, though I’ve never encountered such a thing.” Hades waved his hand dismissively, chuckling, “Don’t worry, it’s just a figure of speech.

There’s one solution, you could have someone else wear it to test it—just don’t say I suggested it.”

“How should I use them?”

“If you want to know how to properly use a Homogeneous Item, you can judge by its appearance.

Like the Spirit-Calling Gun, you just pull the trigger.

Like that mask you brought the other day, it’s obviously meant to be worn on the face.”

“Perhaps not necessarily.”

Lu Li suddenly spoke.

Hades was startled for a moment, then burst out laughing, “You’re right, judging by appearance isn’t always accurate.

Masks don’t necessarily have to be worn on the face; who knows if your mask’s Homogeneous Item originally belonged to someone who wanted to put a mask on their buttocks.”

Ignoring Hades’ disgusting analogy, Lu Li continued to ask, “That black dead branch of yours, what is its ability?”

“It allows me to temporarily possess the aura of the Inner World.

However, it wasn’t supposed to be used this way, I think,” Hades replied.

Hades took out the black dead branch to show Lu Li, with its row upon row of gnawing marks strikingly awful.

“I tried planting it in the soil, nourishing it with water, throwing it into fire, oh by the way, this branch wasn’t originally black.”

Lu Li nodded thoughtfully, “I’m thinking about something.”

A look of refusal spread across Hades’ face, “Just think about it, please don’t ask me, I hate the word ‘free’.”

Lu Li asked directly, “Can ghosts become stronger?”

Although Hades verbally refused, he still chose to answer, shrugging his shoulders, “Why not?

A lot of part of the undead ascend by fighting other ghosts or living people.

Are you thinking about training your Little Ghost?”

Lu Li neither confirmed nor denied this.

Afterwards, he noticed Hades open his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but for some reason, he didn’t.

His gaze drifted to the curtain-shielded carriage.

“I’ll visit your Detective Agency when I’m free,” Lu Li said, seeming to understand Hades’ intention.

“Hmm.”

Suddenly, Hades stopped talking, and the atmosphere grew silent.

After a silent ten or so minutes, the carriage arrived at Hades’ Detective Agency, where he waved and disembarked, saying goodbye.

Restarting the carriage, Lu Li returned to his own Detective Agency.

“That guy seems a bit strange, but otherwise he appears rather friendly,” Anna, who had been quiet for a while, peeked out and said.

She doesn’t like to show herself in front of strangers, and she’s somewhat afraid of Exorcists.

“Yes,” Lu Li agreed.

…

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Long House on Sailor Street.

Lu Li jumped down from the carriage, tilting the umbrella he held above his head as if to prepare it for Anna who was getting off the carriage after him.

But Anna paid no attention to these details; she directly passed through both the carriage and the Long House walls, slipping back to the Detective Agency.

Having no physical body means you can do as you please.

Lu Li tied up the carriage, picked up an oil lamp, and returned to the door.

Just as he was about to enter, Lu Li looked down and spotted a snipped newspaper lying in the gap between the blue stone slabs at the door, nearly soaked through by the rain.

Lu Li glanced hurriedly, withdrew his gaze, and walked into the corridor.

The door slowly closed behind him, while that piece of newspaper still lay on the ground.

The texts directly facing upwards gradually blurred.

[This text might appear anywhere you see it.

If you’re reading this, then everything you’re experiencing is unreal.

Your mental and physical state is not good, wake up quickly.]

[Don’t be deceived by everything you’ve made up, please wake up quickly!]

Phase One: Incubation Period (Completed)