I upgrade points in the Holy Inquisition

Chapter 258 257. The last painting

"Something happened?"

Lloyd saw the manager and the two investigators coming to him, and he immediately had a bad feeling...

In the streets and alleys of the Brilliant City, there has been an unofficial ranking list - the 'people everyone least wants to meet', and the profession of 'investigator' ranks third on this list, even above the police and tax officials...

Lloyd couldn't help but secretly say that something was wrong.

It was the manager who led the people in who took the initiative to explain:

"Don't be nervous, respected member, these two gentlemen are here to understand the situation from you, not to arrest you."

Lloyd nodded, and heard one of the investigators say:

"Do you know Agathe? A street painter, and received a painting from him three days ago?"

"Well? I do know a young painter who often sets up a stall in front of the second-hand book market, but we don't know each other's names... He did give me a painting, but not three days ago, but today."

Lloyd answered truthfully.

The manager next to him quickly explained:

"Uh... Actually, the young painter you mentioned is called Agathe... As for the painting, he actually sent it here three days ago and I received it on your behalf, but you didn't come for the past three days, so I was able to hand it over to you today."

His words were quite rigorous, which made Lloyd realize that something might have happened to the painter, and he asked:

"What happened to him?"

"Let's talk about this later. Can we check the painting you received today?"

"Of course, please, it's hanging on the wall in the basement."

Lloyd said, and turned back to get the key to help the investigator open the door.

As soon as the door was opened, the two investigators frowned and signaled Lloyd and the manager to step back.

Then, the silent investigator said directly in his partner's mind:

"The smell in here...spiritual pollution?"

The investigator who was responsible for the communication nodded and answered in his mind:

"Yes, it's right, spiritual pollution, but fortunately it's not very strong...it should be within our response range."

"Well...don't turn on the light yet, let me take a look first."

The investigator who was obviously from the [Intellectual] department said, and opened his [Intellectual Eye] to see the spiritual power afterglow in the basement that was originally invisible.

"From the remaining afterglow, this guy should be conducting some ritual-related research in it, which should be a special kind. These afterglows show patterns that I have never seen before, some of them are like...hard to describe, you can see for yourself."

As he said, he directly projected the picture he saw on his partner's retina.

There was only a faint blue spiritual charm in the air, like a nematode twisted into a braid, slowly swimming on the workbench and in the air, and then gradually dissipated into the air.

"It's a bit strange, but it doesn't look dangerous. It should be some simple functional ritual. Maybe it involves some gray areas? Anyway, mental pollution should not come from this."

The first investigator said in his mind, and looked back at Lloyd.

He was currently dealing with the manager's sales pitch. This guy tricked him into paying for a membership, but it was not enough, and he always wanted him to pay for a higher-level membership...

"Maybe, but that's not our business. Okay, get ready and go in."

The second [Intellectual] investigator said, taking out a sharp triangle from his pocket and holding it in his palm, so that he could cut his palm in case of danger and use the pain to stay awake.

His partner was the same. The two chatted secretly. After making some simple preparations, they went to the basement and turned on the light next to them.

The painting on the wall instantly caught their eyes. The two of them looked at it and immediately felt a creepy weirdness and curiosity.

"This painting... is really too ugly and too strange. The lines are disordered, the colors are chaotic, the theme is unclear, and there is no beauty and artistic atmosphere. Can you tell what the author is expressing?"

"I don't understand it either. It looks like a bunch of messy mosaics. It's ugly and makes people feel uncomfortable... Is this really the work of a so-called "painter"? Rather than the graffiti of a mental patient? Even the so-called postmodern abstract themes are not like this."

"But the good news is that there is no taboo knowledge on it that we are most worried about. It's just that the painting is too bizarre, which makes people's scalps numb and causes physical discomfort... Maybe the victim's mental state was already very bad when he created this painting..."

"Well, in this way, we can calculate the approximate time of the victim's illness..."

While evaluating the painter's work, the two investigators carefully checked the basement and even turned over the trash can.

In the end, nothing was found wrong except for the painting. They were all simple and common materials. The mental pollution only appeared for a moment when the door was opened, and then disappeared.

"What about this painting? Do you want to recycle it?"

"Since it is confirmed that there is no danger, it is better not to touch other people's things... But it is better to check the mental state of the young man? Do a mental assessment. Hanging such a painting on the wall makes me doubt his mental state..."

After a brief discussion, the two investigators called Lloyd in again, and then suddenly jumped up, attacked him brazenly, and inexplicably shone a flashlight in his eyes.

Lloyd was caught off guard and was dizzy.

"Oh my, my eyes!!! Are you going to kill someone?"

"Don't get excited, don't get excited, it's just a simple check, why are you reacting so violently?"

"Then you should have said it in advance..."

Lloyd said unhappily, rubbing his eyes constantly.

"Okay, okay, let's do a simple mental assessment..."

The first investigator said, and took out a picture book similar to a color blindness test chart from his pocket. On it were some mosaic patterns, which were randomly turned to one page and handed to Lloyd.

"Look at this, what does it look like?"

Lloyd squinted his eyes and glanced at it casually, and answered unhappily:

"A vicious kitten."

"Uh... this is obviously more like a tiger, right? But it's also a cat... Then take a look at this?"

The investigator flipped to another page.

"Ding Ding Cat... Oh, the scientific name should be dragonfly."

"What about this?"

"Kamiri Ayaka... uh, I mean the little turtle."

"It seems to be okay... Okay, last question..."

The investigator closed the album, turned back and pointed at the painting on the wall, and asked again:

"What about this? What do you see on it?"

"Hmm? The ancient battlefield composed of broken swords, corpses, blood and fire looks desolate and cruel. Although the painting skills are a bit immature and chaotic, the emotional temperament is well conveyed."

Lloyd answered truthfully.

"What?"

The investigator was stunned, pressed Lloyd's shoulder, and took out a flashlight to shine in his eyes.

"Are you here to cause trouble?"

Lloyd broke free of his hand, and seemed to be really angry. He subconsciously reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The investigator was forcing an explanation:

"Don't get excited, listen to me, your mental state is very dangerous now, I'm helping you."

"Alas...what danger can I have? I know what you mean, don't you just think that this painting looks like mosaic graffiti, don't you understand? Can't you even appreciate this kind of postmodern abstract art? Can you please have some imagination? Or some aesthetic level and artistic attainments?"

Lloyd asked back unhappily.

"Uh...so the painting you see is the same as what I see?"

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with my eyes, do you think I'm as blind as you?"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, the second investigator quickly "privately chatted" with his partner, as if discussing something.

Then the investigator bowed his head and apologized sincerely:

"Okay, sorry, I misunderstood, but this incident involves taboo knowledge, I have to be careful, I hope you can understand."

"Taboo knowledge? What happened to the painter?"

Lloyd asked hurriedly.

"In short, he inserted the paintbrush into his ear and into his brain, and then used the things he brought out to try to draw a picture..."

The investigator just said this simply, and Lloyd shuddered, as if his ears were hurting.

"But the painting was not completed. He died of cerebral hemorrhage when he was only halfway through the painting... and then he was found by the landlord yesterday."

The investigator continued.

"This..."

Lloyd couldn't help but look up at the painting on the wall that was not very beautiful. This might be the last work of the young painter.

"In short, this is the situation. Since you insist that your mental state is fine, there is no other problem here."

The investigator said, preparing to turn around and leave.

Lloyd stopped him and asked:

"Why did this happen?"

The investigator shrugged, showed a helpless bitter smile, and explained simply:

"Who knows? For people like painters, writers, and sculptors, this kind of incident will happen to someone every one or two months, but you just don't know it, so the "artistic attainments" you mentioned are not necessarily a good thing in this era...

But your painting is fine, keep it well."

After that, he left with the silent investigator.

"Alas..."

For this kind of thing, Lloyd could only sigh helplessly.

He remembered that the black car master Goldron had mentioned an incident before, and it was also a painter involved in taboo knowledge.

It's just that this time, it happened to someone he knew.

Thanks to Xingye Aqua for rewarding me 3000 points