Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 373 - 373 Two hundred thirty

373: Two hundred thirty.

The beginning of change.

373: Two hundred thirty.

The beginning of change.

It wasn’t the jostling of the carriage that made Lu Li inadvertently misread the line.

The first line was indeed eerily written with two identical sentences.

Whether Raimy was using the repetition to express her gratitude, or thanking Lu Li separately for two kinds of assistance, Lu Li had no way of knowing.

But one fact had already presented itself.

This was a reply letter.

Raimy and Jimmy had received Lu Li’s letter and had sent a reply.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and Lu Li looked up toward the outside of the carriage.

Several carriages were blocking the way ahead, and there seemed to be some commotion further on, but Lu Li paid no attention and continued reading.

The second line was still a sentence that seemed to be a metaphor for something.

“[We have already found the correct way to extricate ourselves from this predicament, all thanks to the information you provided.]”

“[Just like you said, Jimmy’s problem lies with his other body, and I can’t completely solve this trouble, but luckily I can alleviate it, and you can use this method too, Lu Li.]”

“[Do you remember I once mentioned a method that might restore Sanity Value?

That’s exactly what I used, and after my attempts, Jimmy has become much clearer, and he knows it’s thanks to your analysis.

I told him that thanking you was unnecessary…

We are good friends, aren’t we?]”

“[Given Jimmy’s current condition, it’s not suitable for him to move around or enter big cities.

We plan to go a bit further and stay in Watch Town to rest for a while until Jimmy’s condition improves.]”

“[We don’t know how long we will have to stay in the town, and to prevent you from getting impatient, I’ve decided to tell you the method, the one that can restore Sanity Value.]”

The carriage trembled slightly and started moving forward again.

In the latter part of the letter, Raimy wrote a strange passage.

Lu Li could understand the content of this passage, but its peculiarity cast a leaden-grey shadow over the surroundings.

The text itself was not problematic; the problem was the content of this section.

In the letter, Raimy told Lu Li that the way to restore Sanity Value was…

by consuming the bizarre.

Yes, consuming.

And the truly strange thing was that this method did indeed seem feasible.

At the end of the letter, Raimy was looking forward to Lu Li’s reply.

Turning to the back and seeing no other text, Lu Li put away the letter and tucked it into his chest pocket.

Lu Li would consider it but would not act rashly.

His Sanity Value hadn’t reached the point where he needed to take such a risk, and he also needed to verify the true feasibility of the method, such as whether anyone had tried something similar before.

Considering that the first few generations of Demon Slayers had always been exploring in this area, it was possible they had attempted something similar.

After a while, the carriage arrived on Elm Street, where Lu Li saw night watchmen dismantling the infected houses in the light rain.

Passing straight through Elm Street, the elongated carriage entered Elm Forest.

…

As the afternoon approached, the carriage reached the cliff and stopped in front of a dirt slope.

Lu Li secured the reins and walked towards the cliff.

The echoes of chiseling were faintly audible, merging with the clinking sounds and accompanied by the appearance of Anna, who emerged from her concealment.

She told Lu Li that there had been no abnormalities since his departure, and the Jones Brothers had been working in the cave all along.

“What about Annie?”

“Her aura is protected by the Elm Forest, but she is still asleep and hasn’t responded to me…”

Approaching the cave, the chiseling grew louder, Anna once again concealed herself, and followed behind Lu Li into the cave.

Clang——Clang——Clang——Clang——

The continuous and unceasing sound of chiseling echoed through the cave.

The Jones Brothers gathered in the depths of the cave, their iron picks scraping against the rocky walls, bringing down fragments and occasionally sparking.

Large chunks of broken rock were piled in a corner, and several more heaps lay outside the cave.

The interior of the cave had started to take shape, with half a meter deep pit dug out for a cellar.

If progress did not slow down, they might be able to finish the excavation by tomorrow evening.

Under the glow of the oil lamp, Lu Li’s shadow stretched deep inside.

Sensing the arrival of someone, the Jones Brothers all stopped and looked over.

The eldest brother put down his pickaxe and walked towards Lu Li.

His bare torso in the cool cave, his muscular body radiating a strong heat.

“Will it be in time?” Lu Li asked.

“Faster than expected.

The cave isn’t made of solid rock; there’s a lot of easy-to-dig soil and rubble.

With some luck, we could be finished by tomorrow noon,” replied the eldest, his chest heaving as he caught his breath.

A drop of sweat slid from his forehead into his eye, causing him to squint slightly.

Lu Li nodded, “Then it’s still two days’ pay.”

The eldest brother cracked a smile.

Lu Li then asked, “Do you know any craftsmen?”

The generosity of Lu Li put the eldest in high spirits, and he quickly responded, “Of course, what do you need done?”

“I need to set up a seawater distillation unit on the fireplace.”

“I’m sorry…

What did you say?”

“Recommend a craftsman who is skilled and quick.”

“Alright, when do you need him?”

“Take me to him after we return this evening.”

“No problem.”

After the brief conversation, the eldest returned to the depths of the cave to continue working, while Lu Li left the cave, which resounded with the never-ending clangs, and began to move the furniture from the cart into the cave, stacking it in a corner where it would not obstruct the workers.

As the Jones Brothers marveled at Lu Li’s strength, they were also curious about what he planned to do with these items.

It took only a few minutes to empty the cart; Lu Li and Anna returned to the carriage.

The noise of chiseling inside the cave was too much to bear for an extended period.

Anna cradled one of the books Lu Li had bought, looking very pleased with it.

Lu Li turned up the brightness of the oil lamp and picked up today’s newspaper.

[Zainster Port Loses Contact!!!]

Lu Li paused slightly, not bothering to read the content, but instead flipped through two other newspapers.

[Zainster Port Attacked by Strange Beings!]

[Ailen Peninsula’s Zainster Port Out of Contact!]

Lu Li roughly skimmed the content, finding the news largely the same: Zainster had suddenly been attacked by something terrifying four days ago, and then lost contact, with only a few survivors escaping the city.

This news had already been reported by “Investigator Weekly” on Monday, and the three newspapers seemed to have briefly summarized that news before reissuing it.

Perhaps to prevent ordinary people from hearing about the existence and immediately coming under attack, or maybe out of concern that it would cause public panic and unrest, none of the newspapers mentioned what caused Zainster Port’s downfall: the Terrifying Faceless Giant.

Lu Li had thought this matter would not appear in mainstream newspapers, but rather spread slowly and widen with time through word of mouth.

However, all three newspapers had coincidentally gone public with the terrifying event in Zainster.

The simultaneous reporting of this incident by the three major newspapers was too coincidental, coincidental as if they had received some sort of instruction and then released the information to the public.

From these actions, Lu Li could sense some kind of urgency, a hasty remedy to some disrupted plan.

He looked up, outside of the carriage into the dim world, where the phantom tendrils stretched deep into the clouds.

Had the change already begun…?