Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 428 - 428 2353 phones

428: 235.3 phones 428: 235.3 phones The cave entrance was veiled by a curtain of water, and the damp mist blew into the cave, making the ground and rock walls near the entrance darker in color than those further inside.

“I didn’t think you’d find this place,”

Draped in a woolen coat, Lu Li stepped out of the room and calmly looked at the merchant standing at the edge of the cave entrance.

It was unexpected that the merchant would show up here; however, to some extent, it was a good thing.

At least from now on, Lu Li could maintain contact with the merchant without getting close to the city.

Lu Li had nothing to buy but, after inquiring about the current price of the Deep Sea Stone, he sold the story of The Shadow of Puppetry as information to the merchant.

This brought Lu Li three hundred and fifty investigation points as a reward, and an answer: the story was indeed part of a serial called “Nightmare.”

Although the merchant’s source of information was a mystery, there was no reason for it to lie.

After the trade, Lu Li watched the merchant disappear outside the cave entrance, then turned his gaze to Anna, “We’re ready to leave.”

It wasn’t time yet to take long refuge, as the disaster had not arrived; during this period, he had to collect supplies as much as possible.

Anna floated out of the cave to bid farewell to Annie, while Lu Li sorted out the bedding and poured the lukewarm water from the iron pot in front of the fireplace into the fireplace.

Sssh—

The red-hot charcoal cooled rapidly, with steam mixing with the smoke drifting out.

After putting out the fire in the fireplace, Lu Li took the radio and the novel Anna hadn’t finished reading, untied the horse’s reins, and left the cave.

Driving down the top of the cliff, the emotions lingering in the forest once again became unfamiliar, swirling around him.

The muddy mountain road was hard to traverse; had Anna not been there, Lu Li might have had to wait on the cliff for the storm to pass before he could leave.

The carriage quietly made its way through the twisted and withered Elm Forest; at one point, Anna suddenly turned her head, looking deep into the woods.

“There is something very unsettling about that place,”

Lu Li followed her gaze; under the veil of rain, the forest was hazy, with no strange entities or auras.

“How far away from us?” Lu Li asked.

“It seems very far, but it’s in the Elm Forest,”

Lu Li recalled the Elm Forest map drawn by the limping Barton.

“That direction is Silent Hill,” Lu Li said.

“About seven miles from here.”

The ominous feelings Anna had might have come from Silent Hill, which had been shunned by all due to some terrifying rumors well before everything went downhill.

“The Elm Forest is our territory,” Anna narrowed her cold, crimson eyes.

“Not now,”

Lu Li replied; the weather was too dreadful, and anyone with some sense would not investigate in such conditions.

Anna nodded, suppressing the impulse to clear their turf.

It was two hours later when the carriage entered Elm Street.

It took almost another hour to get back to the carriage house, return the carriage, and head back to the Detective Agency.

The “sailor” sitting behind the door of the Long House quickly opened the door for Lu Li.

This occupation usually appeared after the rainy season began in the row of wooden houses that could be traced back to the first settlers.

These wooden houses were ancient, and even with continuous renovations, they couldn’t keep up with their aging.

During the storms, it wasn’t strange for a downpour to occur inside the Long House.

No one would live in a dwelling where their belongings and safety weren’t assured, not even a tramp.

Therefore, responsible landlords would select suitable candidates from the tenants to serve as “sailors,” responsible for watching for leaks and other issues in the Long House during the rainy season.

As a reward, the “sailor’s” rent would be correspondingly reduced.

The “sailor” of the Long House was a lean middle-aged man who, up close, reeked of an indelible fishy smell, perhaps a true sailor.

The “sailor” informed Lu Li that earlier, a noble carriage had delivered several wooden boxes, which the residents had moved to the corridor outside the Detective Agency.

He also mentioned that since morning the telephone at the Detective Agency had been ringing incessantly.

Lu Li declined the “sailor’s” help, took out the key to open the door, and, wide-eyed, the “sailor” picked up the stacked wooden boxes and went into the Detective Agency.

“`

Squeak—

The door closed.

Lu Li straightaway let go and walked over to the desk.

The wooden crate floated in mid-air, drifting toward the corner of the wall before falling.

On the other side, Lu Li sat down behind the desk and picked up the phone to contact the Police Station.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t just one person who had been looking for Lu Li yesterday.

Three numbers had called Lu Li’s phone.

They were from Tesla, Jojo, and Marcus, respectively.

Lu Li first called Tesla.

His servant answered, indicating that Tesla was at the base, and would relay the message to him later.

After hanging up, Lu Li called Jojo.

The phone connected, again not with the person himself, but Jojo’s anxious voice soon came through, “Lu Li!

Is my brother with you?”

“No, what happened to him?”

Jojo exclaimed, “My brother’s gone missing!”

Lu Li calmly asked, “Who told you that?”

“The cargo team leader, he came to me yesterday afternoon and said my brother ran away with his goods.

I know Oliver is cowardly and greedy, but he’s definitely not that kind of person; something must have happened!”

“Where was he last seen?”

“Don’t know, someone said they saw him by the convoy when loading, but by the afternoon, he had disappeared along with the convoy.”

Intuition told Lu Li that Oliver’s disappearance was very likely related to something supernatural, but it wasn’t certain.

Oliver’s job was to wait outside Shadow Swamp near Shadow Town for the inland convoy, then to act as a guide and accompany the convoy to Belfast.

It wouldn’t be surprising for an accident to happen over the nearly three hundred miles of the journey.

“First go to the Police Station to report it,” Lu Li told Jojo.

“I will, thank you!”

Jojo hung up the phone in a hurry.

The receiver was placed back on the phone, and the ringtone sounded once more.

It was Tesla calling.

He brought news about Richard: They had found Richard three days ago, but he had run away and likely returned to the Ailen Peninsula.

“Just to be safe, keep an eye on your surroundings lately.

He’s a madman, and he might try to attack you again, especially since you have a mark on you.”

Although the blood-colored tentacle had vanished after burrowing into Lu Li’s forehead.

The person on the other end of the phone hung up hastily.

It seemed like something had happened on Tesla’s end.

Returning the receiver, Lu Li frowned.

There was still no news about “the Door”; it seemed like everyone had forgotten about it.

Lu Li pondered and didn’t rush to dial the third number.

However, before long, the phone rang again within the Detective Agency.

With Lu Li picking up the receiver, a familiar, presumptuous voice came through.

“Hey Lu Li!

You must be busy, right?

There’s no exorcist in all of Belfast who is more dedicated than you!

I heard you resolved Baron Joseph’s trouble?

That’s fantastic, congratulations to you, and to myself too, after all, we had a deal, you take nine and I take one.

You must remember it, right?

Hahaha—”

This was the reason for Lu Li’s hesitation.

The fifty thousand shillings had already been spent.

“`