Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 256 - 256 One hundred thirteen

256: One hundred thirteen.

Human footsteps 256: One hundred thirteen.

Human footsteps “`

He opened the cover of the book, and a light grey title page appeared before his eyes.

Most of the title page was occupied by a penciled gray shadow, leaving only an irregular unshaded area in the middle.

In the center surrounded by shadows, four outlines were drawn; the first one on the left was marked “Main Affinity Continent,” which was the complete map of the continent where Lu Li resided, with the Ailen Peninsula jutting out from the southeast corner.

To the right and slightly above the “Main Affinity Continent,” the second outline was placed some distance apart, marked as “Barren Lands,” which was the largest of the four outlines, almost twice as tall as the “Main Affinity Continent.”

Below and to the right of the “Barren Lands,” lower than the “Main Affinity Continent,” was the third outline.

But it wasn’t a single entity; instead, it was a collection of fragmented pieces of varying sizes, with the words “Lennon Islands” appearing above the cluster of islands.

The fourth outline was located below the “Main Affinity Continent,” and it was the farthest from the other three outlines; not even filling the “Barren Lands” and “Lennon Islands” could cover one-fifth of the gap.

That place was called “Tillage Garden.”

Beyond these four larger contours, there were a few scattered small outlines or black dots, most of which didn’t even qualify to have their names mentioned.

At the very top of the title page was written: [The known world we have explored so far]

Below “Main Affinity Continent” and beneath “Tillage Garden,” a white line advanced a few centimeters into the gray shadow, shaping the form of a ship.

This ship was known as the Zeni, the great ship of the great explorer Solacevia Sim, who had discovered Tillage Garden.

Beside it was marked a line of text: [The farthest distance we have sailed to date]

And these outlines, together with the surrounding shadows that enveloped them, were so insignificant and minute that they didn’t even occupy a tenth of the entire title page.

In the bottom right-hand corner of the title page, where the page turns to the next, a final line of text was written: [This world is so vast; we have only just stepped out the door of our own home]

This title page made a deep impression.

And this world had still not been completely explored.

Lu Li temporarily shifted his gaze away from the title page and looked towards the gap between the two rows of bookshelves, which was still empty.

Making sure the strange “Library Ghost” didn’t appear again, Lu Li stepped back a bit to the brighter edge of the bookshelves.

His gaze lingered on the title page for another moment before he turned to the second page.

The color scheme remained the simple black, white, and gray, and this page contained the Main Affinity Continent and its surrounding waters.

The continent divided into a dozen national territories; the Ailen Peninsula extended from the main body of the continent; the Shadow Swamp connecting Ailen Peninsula with another half of the maritime area; Arlen Kingdom on the other side of Earlen Peninsula Duchy; several larger islands encircling the Main Affinity Continent; several major ports including Rhodest Port; larger shoals around the Main Affinity Continent’s waters; topographic symbols represented by trees, waves, houses, mountains, hills, grass, and three waves.

The distances from the other three continents and islands: nearest to the Barren Lands, followed by the Lennon Islands, and farthest to Tillage Garden.

These details might not be comprehensive, but they were sufficient to provide a broad overview.

“`

This book was exactly what Lu Li needed.

After lingering on this page for several minutes, remembering the general content, Lu Li turned to the next page.

The Barren Lands is the name of this continent.

Its vastness is not only in its area, but in that it is a complete whole, without any islands around it, as if all the islands had run off to the fragmented Lennon Islands.

The topography of the Barren Lands is mostly hills and mountain ranges, lakes.

The vast interior actually has only a few houses representing towns, while the coastal regions are slightly better off, also home to over seventy percent of the Barren Lands’ population.

This continent is just like its name, the Barren Lands.

The distance from the other three continents and islands: closest to the Lennon Islands, then the Main Affinity Continent, and farthest from Tillage Garden.

The third page is about the Lennon Islands, with most of them occupied by Hodgkin’s United Empire, and the rest are divided into various small countries or alliances.

It has a relatively narrow and long shape, similar to an eggplant.

Including the spaces between the islands, it seems even larger than the Main Affinity Continent, but if the water between them was wrung out, it might only be three-fifths the size of the Main Affinity Continent.

The distance from the other three continents and islands: closest to the Barren Lands, next to Tillage Garden, and furthest from the Main Affinity Continent.

Lu Li turned to the fourth page.

This page is Tillage Garden.

For some reason, this continent caught Lu Li’s attention.

Perhaps because the Immortal Giant had sunk there, or perhaps because the entire continent suddenly lost contact, or perhaps because Hades once said that Tillage Garden was a place left behind by the Ancient Gods — various signs made Lu Li feel uneasy about that place.

It seemed as if something very bad was happening on that land at the moment.

Tillage Garden is currently known to be the smallest land mass in the human-inhabited area, even slightly smaller than the wrung-out Lennon Islands.

However, the continent is rich in resources, and its surrounding oceans are even more abundant due to the long lack of exploitation.

When Solacevia Sim discovered it, there was already a group of natives settled by the seaside called Seaview Cape.

They seemed to be descendants of people who had gotten lost at sea and arrived at Tillage Garden a very long time ago, but lacking books, they could only live a relatively primitive life.

By the time Solacevia Sim arrived, their language had already lost some of its parts.

Therefore, Solacevia Sim returned with the news of the New World and new shipping routes, and the countries began to dispatch fleets to colonize.

But because the shipping routes were unfamiliar and sailing in the deep sea was already very dangerous, they were unable to take the resources of Tillage Garden and develop trade, only managing to maintain a tenuous contact.

Some of the sailors who had reached Tillage Garden and did not wish to risk the return journey gathered with the locals, establishing a small town at Seaview Cape.

Seaview Cape faces north, with the distance from the other three continents and islands: closest to the Main Affinity Continent, next to the Barren Lands, and furthest from the Lennon Islands.

“Immortal Giant” disappeared off the coast, a few dozen nautical miles from Seaview Cape, where there were no reefs or the possibility of pirates.

“Immortal Giant” did not travel directly to the Main Affinity Continent, but instead made a U-shaped detour past the Barren Lands, nearing Tillage Garden before looping back to the Main Affinity Continent.

This was to take advantage of the warm currents to save on fuel, and to demonstrate the grandeur and sturdiness of this great ship, reviving the fortunes of the faltering Hodgkin Royal Sailing Company.

There has been no new news about Tillage Garden and the Immortal Giant for the time being, but Hodgkin Royal Sailing Company has already collapsed due to this accident.

Dozens of minutes later, after flipping to the last page, Lu Li closed the book and stood thinking for a while, then put it back in its original place.

He had already noted down the title of the book, and he could purchase this very useful book from the merchants the next time they came.