Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 307 - 307 164

307: 164.

Things bought by squandering the family fortune 307: 164.

Things bought by squandering the family fortune Deep Sea Stone was essential; it could avoid many surrounding troubles and was the foundation for establishing a refuge.

This is also why the three major organizations were acquiring Deep Sea Stone.

But even with a 10% discount, the 7920 shillings were beyond what Lu Li could afford.

Perhaps “bankrupted” could describe the current situation.

A deposit of 2300 shillings left only 300 shillings for daily expenses, with the remaining 2000 shillings thrown in, still leaving a shortfall of 5920 shillings.

So Lu Li started to recount his experience on this sea voyage.

When he mentioned eating Silverback Fish on the sailboat, the merchant was indifferent.

When he talked about reaching the vicinity of Disc Reef, the merchant was indifferent.

When he described the mist that devoured sound and waves, the merchant silently said “30 shillings,” not much, possibly because the information about the Mist of Strangeness was not very rare.

When he talked about the dying whale entangled by black substances, the merchant said “50 shillings,” not knowing whether it was because of the black substances or the whale, or both.

When he mentioned clothes from the seabed that came to life, the merchant paid “60 shillings.” The information about the Soul Ferry fetched the highest so far—”250 shillings.” Afterwards, each time Lu Li described an encounter with strange shadows on the ship, the merchant would say “20 shillings,” and the captain’s shadow and the shadows of the crew likewise contributed “60 shillings.”

Having some experience exchanging information for shillings, Lu Li began to know which parts could unearth more, such as the crew list found in the Captain’s Cabin; the Soul Ferry was a fishing boat lost in a hurricane, which brought him “250 shillings.” And after a slight pause, Lu Li disclosed an identity and a name: Captain Wayne.

“20 shillings.”

“First Mate Streler.”

“20 shillings.”

“Second Mate Becken.”

“20 shillings.”

“Navigator Lester.”

“20 shillings.”

“Sailor Lee.”

“20 shillings.”

Lu Li recorded all the crew members and their positions listed, perhaps as a blessing from the crew members, in some mysterious way, for Lu Li who returned their information to land.

The twenty-three names brought Lu Li “460 shillings.”

Only the last one wasn’t mentioned yet.

The merchant, faced draped by the scarf and the hat, hiding his eyes in the shadow, was impossible to discern emotionally.

However, he did not display any impatience or other emotions; perhaps compared to general descriptions, the existence behind the merchant needed this incredibly detailed information.

“The last shadow is crew member Haben.”

Just like the previous twenty-three times, the merchant offered payment after his speech: “20 shillings.”

But Lu Li wasn’t finished.

“But he wasn’t on the ship.”

“…”

Lu Li continued, “But on the third day after the hurricane dissipated, I saw his spirit in Belfast.

Anna told me his essence was fading away, as if something was absorbing his soul.”

“Eh heh…”

Hearing her own name, Anna scratched the back of her head, embarrassed.

After a brief silence, the merchant spoke, “200 shillings.”

This price was very close to the price of the information about the Soul Ferry itself.

Friday then made an appearance, but only brought “30 shillings.” Lu Li incidentally mentioned “as dawn broke through the clouds,” “5:30 AM,” “after jumping into the sea then appearing on the surface,” and unsurprisingly gathered “210 shillings.”

Having finished discussing the main source of income, the Soul Ferry, Lu Li began recounting his encounter at Seaview Cliff.

The content about wilderness survival didn’t bring any payment, so Lu Li directly skipped it.

Fin Prints “30 shillings,” shadowy figures “50 shillings,” Friday claiming to face what was under the black robes would drive him insane brought no shillings.

All in all, the total earnings were: 2030 shillings.

At first glance, it might seem like a lot, and indeed it actually was a lot, but Lu Li only needed to obtain over 40% of the information in simple cases to receive the same reward, without having to take such great risks.

Just like Tesla had said, don’t expect merchants to give you too much of a reward.

The purchasing gap had suddenly reduced to only 3890; it seemed that with a bit more effort Lu Li could exchange for a cubic meter of Deep Sea Stone.

However, Lu Li didn’t plan to directly fill the difference with the 2030 Shillings he had obtained from the information.

The merchant said, “After deducting 50 Shillings for credit, you have 170 investigation points left, which can be exchanged for 1700 Shillings; you will need an additional 2190 Shillings,” the merchant stated.

“When will the Deep Sea Stone be delivered?”

“A few days later, the next time the merchants arrive,”

the merchant said succinctly.

Anna felt that he talked much more than the previous two merchants.

“Then can I also make the payment at that time?”

“You can, but you need to pay a 10% deposit.

If the remaining full amount is not paid when the next merchant arrives, the deposit will be forfeited.”

Lu Li nodded, “The 2030 Shillings I got for selling the information, I want to exchange for investigation points.”

The exchange with the merchant was at a fixed ratio of one to ten, but if he found another investigator or an Exorcist from one of the three major organizations, he could get a ratio of one to eleven or one to twelve.

Usually, Lu Li wouldn’t do such troublesome things just for a bit more profit, but now was an exception.

Even so, Lu Li still had a shortfall of nearly 1500 Shillings, and he needed to find other ways to make money.

The merchant paused for a few seconds and then spoke, “You currently have 373 contribution points.

Do you have anything else to trade?”

“Actually, there is more, but I’m short on money,” Lu Li said.

“Can I ask about some things first?”

“You can.”

“What’s the price of past issues of the ‘Investigator’s Weekly Journal’?”

Perhaps being the first to ask this question, or at least the first to ask him, the merchant paused for several seconds before answering, “The ‘Investigator’s Weekly Journal’ is produced based on subscriber numbers; there are no spares.

If you need past issues of the ‘Investigator’s Weekly Journal,’ they can be specially produced for you at a 30% discount.”

In other words, Lu Li could buy past issues of the ‘Investigator’s Weekly Journal’ for 70 Shillings.

“How much is it with the discount I get today?”

“60 Shillings.”

“Three copies of the ‘Investigator’s Weekly Journal’, I want the ones from early June, early May, and early April, and I will pay you next time as well,”

Lu Li changed his mind, taking advantage of the first, or perhaps the last, discount, and spent another sum of money.

Regardless, Lu Li might have earned, but the merchant never lost.

After completing the purchase, Lu Li continued, “Are there any special offers this week?”

“Tickets are on special offer, with discounts between 10% and 35% this week.

It’s Sanity Value self-check week; buying a second leaf of the Soul Tree is half price.

Library week; this week, you can borrow a book from any True Library in the area, which must be returned after the event.”

The latter could be useful to Lu Li.

“One last thing,”

Lu Li took off the two Spirit-Calling Guns from his waist, along with their holsters, and handed them to the merchant, “Check them, and if there are any issues, fix them.”

As the merchant inspected the holsters, Lu Li inquired about the power and price when different numbers of roses bloomed.

The merchant didn’t respond to Lu Li about the former, but he did answer the latter question.

“A single appearing rose can be sold for 1000 Shillings.”