Detective Agency of the Bizarre

The castle's reaction will not take long, yet Claire has not returned.

Perched atop the tree canopy, staring at the flickering brilliance in the south, Lu Li summoned Merchant Anthony and took out the parchment.

"Will Ken, are you still there?"

The inquiry received no response. Lu Li assumed he was listening and continued, "The gold coin opened the treasure chest containing an eyeball."

After a moment of silence, Will Ken's intermittent voice echoed in the mind.

"...perhaps that was...originally...I don't know...will...sleep..."

Whispers were wiped out by the breeze atop the tree canopy.

Rolling up the parchment and handing it to Merchant Anthony, Lu Li let him continue searching for a way to restore Will Ken and wrote down a note.

Leaping from the canopy back to the ground, Lu Li temporarily returned to the now empty nursery.

The Little Gardeners had long gathered in the southern territory, perhaps advancing towards the intruders. Their departure dissipated the lingering stench in the nursery.

Entering the graveyard, Lu Li placed the note for Claire in the woods inside the treasure chest, pausing slightly before wrapping his tail around the murky eyeball.

The melting pupil was unrecognizable from its source, yet the outline slightly smaller than a coin was clearly not human.

Lu Li left the graveyard carrying it, then encountered a returning or yet-to-leave Little Gardener on the edge of the nursery.

The situation should have allowed Lu Li to easily bypass the Little Gardener and return to the Withered Forest, but when the Little Gardener stepped out from behind the tombstone, Lu Li glimpsed a frail soul occupying the deep sewn-together abhorrent body of corpse pieces.

Lu Li thought this might be a special Little Gardener or a competitor's ability, but after observing quietly for a moment, he dismissed those two possibilities.

Realizing something, he lowered his tail wrapping around the eyeball at this point.

Not far away, the observable soul's phantom gradually faded away but reappeared as Lu Li touched the eyeball.

Can this eyeball see through illusions, straight to the truth?

Following the cemetery plants' indications, Lu Li found a second Little Gardener remaining in the nursery. As before, possessing the eyeball allowed Lu Li to see into the Little Gardener's soul.

Thus, the gardener put it back inside the treasure chest to hide it.

Before more Little Gardeners could return, Lu Li went back to the fluorescent woods.

The forest remained unchanged despite Lu Li's possession of the True Vision Orb. The trees were without spirits, or perhaps these were their true forms.

Ascending to the canopy, the fire-lit areas on the dim ground below expanded larger and closer than before—they had already entered the Viscount's territory.

At this point, the branch supporting Lu Li fell into the canopy, layer upon layer of branches surrounded him, encasing his silhouette except for a soft glimmer probing inside.

Then, the distant sound of chaotic flight drew closer—a massive swarm of bats swept across the forest sky like dark clouds.

Once the bat swarm passed by, the unfurled branches revealed Lu Li's feline figure.

Gazing towards where the bats were flying, Lu Li confirmed that the war between the Viscount and humans had begun.

It might take humans a long time to push to the castle, but Lu Li was no longer inclined to wait.

Yet again summoning Merchant Anthony, Lu Li took the Invisibility Potion and the Tranquil Forest, wrapping the shriveled and plump eyeball along with a piece of fluorite before heading towards the castle.

Passing through the battlefield where the gardeners were dealt with, the meat mountain was still piled in the same place, with nothing useful left behind.

About to leave the woods, Lu Li instructed the Withered Forest not to attack humans.

After a slight pause, Lu Li added, "At least not before they attack."

The Withered Forest sheltered the garden; decorated flower beds grew by the roadside, with rows of lifelike, ghastly statues standing tall.

When enemies appear, the harmless flowerbeds will ensnare intruders while the revived statues deliver venomous blows.

The garden guarded the castle; the brightly lit magnificent castle stood upon the earth, with the Alchemical Tower hidden in darkness behind.

Yet for Lu Li, leaping into the flowerbeds was like walking on his own territory. Poisonous needles tucked away, he feared harm to their king.

Skipping quietly past the silently standing statues, Lu Li followed the stretch of flower beds towards the malodorous moat.

Stagnant, mysterious shadows floated, and foul odors emanated—the moat was the castle's final barrier. Claire had entered twice, so getting into the castle from above was a good option.

Lu Li retraced back to the side of the flower beds, pressed a cat paw against a vine, and imparted half his humanity.

In perception, the vines seemed imbued with consciousness, rapidly clarifying silently following Lu Li proliferating, transforming into a giant vine carrying Lu Li over the moat, reaching the second-floor window.

As Lu Li leapt onto the window ledge, the vine fulfilled its task, shriveled up, and fell into the foul moat.

Gazing at the muddy shadow-like silent moat, Lu Li's eyes turned back inside the window.

The cramped junk room was piled with items, the wall lamp connected to narrow pipes emitted brighter light than the oil lamp, joining as a part of the City of Endless Night.

Lu Li placed the Merchant's Eye on the window ledge. After waiting briefly, Merchant Anthony's silhouette emerged by the moat.

"Get inside the junk room, help me open the window."

Lu Li spoke from atop the second-floor window ledge.

Merchant Anthony strode into the shadows, waited for a moment, then the silhouetted merchant adorned with a ragged scarf appeared in the junk room, opening the window for Lu Li.

Lu Li slipped into the junk room, added another orb, and hid two eyeballs in the corner.

After brief hesitation, Lu Li decided not to revert to human form. Even if that meant acquiring the Doomsday Apocalypse, the black cat shape currently held significant advantage.

Despite successfully infiltrating the castle, navigating its complex and tall structure, populated with bizarre servants—no smaller than a town—finding Claire wouldn't be easy—

Chirp chirp—

The familiar bird chirp suddenly flitted past the window.

Lu Li leapt onto the windowsill, poking his feline figure outside to gaze at the receding shadow: "Claire?"

The shadow paused, swiftly returned and dashed into the junk room.

"Close the window quickly!"

Claire shouted anxiously, while Lu Li's tail pulled the window shut. Soon, a swarm of bat shadows swooped past outside, parts of which shattered and scattered out the window, probing the serene junk room.

In the nook beneath the windowsill, Claire's scared expression whispered, "Why are you here!?"

"Humans are attacking the manor, already bordering with Head Maid and gardener territories." Lu Li replied.

"So quickly? Could the competitors have united already…" Claire muttered to herself, "I couldn't get close to the Viscount. Those damn bats are everywhere, and I didn't see your 'sister'."

"What if we abandon the Viscount then."

"What?" Claire was slightly stunned.

"The gardeners dealt with by the maid could count towards us, one lord down. The head chef is in the castle, approaching and solving it, another lord down."

Claire pondered for a moment, gently shook her head, "Still not enough, never forget that Viscount is more important than all the lords. Unless… we also settle the Head Maid."

"Maybe not, the farm owner returned."

The bats found nothing and flew away from the window as Lu Li's voice echoed.

"Find him, make it three lords down."