Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 447 - 447 Three hundred and four

447: Three hundred and four.

Heading to the church.

447: Three hundred and four.

Heading to the church.

A figure tumbled clumsily into a trash can.

The debris at the bottom made the figure moan and gasp for breath, as if hiding from something and listening to the noise outside.

Rustle rustle——

A sinister crawling sound approached from outside the trash can, getting closer and closer.

In the darkness, the figure’s eyes widened, covering its mouth, not making a sound.

The only noise in the cramped trash can was the pounding of a heart.

Rustle——rustle——

The presence outside the trash can lingered for a while before gradually fading away.

The figure quietly waited another dozen seconds, not relaxing until there were no more sounds from outside the trash can, then it breathed heavily with relief.

Thump thump thump thump——

The heart was beating even more vigorously.

Calmly collecting its emotions and breathing, the figure slowly pushed open the lid of the trash can, peeking outside through the narrow gap.

Gravestones stood behind the low wall, and on the street beyond the fence gate, the Six-legged Monster crawled by with a rustling sound.

Ensuring that the street made it difficult to notice this side, the figure turned its gaze back to the graveyard.

Several Human Head Balloons floated in front of the numerous gravestones, occasionally touching each other as if whispering secrets.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, and the Human Head Balloons swayed with the breeze, one of them slowly turning its head.

The figure quickly crawled back into the trash can, not daring to peek outside anymore.

The figure felt around with its palm underneath for a while and then leaned against the cold wall of the bin, pulling out a notebook from its embrace.

Sss sss, ss——

A match was struck and it suddenly flared up, the faint light of the match illuminating Oliver’s blood-stained face.

The moist wall of the trash can reflected a shimmering watery glow.

Oliver held the match close and opened the notebook.

The illuminated page had a bookmark and showcased a sketch of a building.

The building’s stone texture and the towering eaves with an angel sculpture on top denoted its identity.

Oliver had seen it, or rather, he would see it every time he followed the convoy—on the west side of Three People Street, the church in Shadow Town closest to Shadow Swamp.

Sss——

The match abruptly went out, water dripping from above extinguished it, landing on Oliver’s fingertips.

Oliver struck another match and first looked up to ensure that the dripping wasn’t some monster’s saliva before continuing to read below the sketch.

[We’ve searched the whole town for that bastard Oliver and couldn’t find him, not even under the bed in the wine lounge.

Kirk says the guy might be hiding in the church’s basement, but how would an outsider know about that place?

And what would he be doing there?

Except for stone walls harder than a bank vault, there’s nothing else.]

[Anyway, that’s definitely the last place we haven’t checked, so we’ll go take a look later when Fran and Garcia get back from their investigation.]

Sss——

The match went out exactly when Oliver finished reading the last line.

Not wasting any more matches, Oliver put away the matchbox and the notebook.

Shadow Town Church…this is the place.

Remembering all the rumors about the church’s basement, Oliver, who was fleeing for his life, decided to make it his sanctuary until everything was over.

The lid of the trash can was pushed open slightly, a pair of eyes peering out from the gloomy interior.

The sky was still dark red, monsters ran wild, and the time for everything to end was far from coming.

The Human Head Balloons hovering above the graveyard hadn’t dispersed yet; they seemed to have no immediate plans to leave the graveyard.

Oliver clenched his teeth, and while they had their backs turned to him, he enlarged the gap in the trash can, flipped himself out of it, and landed on the ground.

Crawling on hands and knees, Oliver crouched down and made his way toward the church’s main door.

He moved as soundlessly as possible, ensuring his form didn’t rise above the low walls outside the church, his height being an advantage in this case—

But unfortunately, a breeze suddenly came around the corner, lifting the hem of Oliver’s clothes.

The breeze passed through Oliver and in his panic, blew towards the graveyard.

The Human Head Balloons swayed with the wind, like ordinary balloons being blown about.

One of them turned, revealing a distended, inflated, blood-stained face that was smiling yet not smiling.

Oliver nearly froze in place.

More smiling yet not smiling Human Head Balloons turned towards Oliver, they had spotted him.

Goosebumps rose under Oliver’s clothes, he observed the Human Head Balloons drifting towards him from the corner of his eye, no longer concealing his footsteps, and rushed toward the church’s main entrance.

The Human Head Balloons accelerated towards Oliver, but another breeze slowed their pace, giving Oliver the chance to dash into the half-open door of the church and close it behind him.

The last thing he saw was a crowd of Human Head Balloons gathering outside.

Thump—

The dull sound of the door closing echoed as the door shut completely.

Oliver, with his hands braced against the door, swallowed his saliva, straightened up, and turned to face the inside of the church.

Suddenly, a hideous and terrifying face pressed close to his.

Breath hitting it and cold, foul-smelling air reflecting back.

…

“The church is in an open space with no buildings around, how do we get there?”

Next to the wooden crates, Fran spoke to Lu Li and Jojo who stood around the map.

The church was on the very edge of the three streets, only a few hundred meters from Shadow Swamp, and there were no buildings for a hundred meters around.

This was because many of the settlers were believers in God, and secondly because when residents died, they were buried in the graveyard around the church.

This was also depicted on the map, the area around the church was clean.

“Isn’t there a hidden pathway?” Lu Li asked.

Jojo looked at him in surprise and was even more taken aback by Fran’s answer, “A hidden pathway…

there indeed is one.”

“Where?”

“It leads to Shadow Swamp.

As for the specifics, I’m unclear…

I only know about the existence of the pathway, nothing about its location.”

“So if we take the underground route, we need to go to Shadow Swamp first and then take the pathway from Shadow Swamp to the church.” Jojo furrowed her eyebrows.

“This pathway won’t help us much.”

Lu Li didn’t respond; he was searching the map for the building closest to the church that would allow them to safely arrive.

At that moment, Fran suddenly said in a disheartened tone, “Lu Li, I think you might be right.

There may no longer be any living people in the church…

it’s possible we’re the only living people left.”

“You don’t seem to be upset,” Jojo suddenly asked.

Because of the impostor at the Police Station, she was extra wary of strangers.

Fran smiled and said, “My parents died more than a decade ago.

They accidentally fell into a mud pit while picking fruit in Shadow Swamp.

By the time they were discovered by fellow townsmen, they were completely submerged.

When they came back to tell me and took me there, we couldn’t even find the mud pit to bury them.”

“I’m sorry…” Jojo’s tone was apologetic.

“It’s nothing, I’ve nearly forgotten about them,” Fran said nonchalantly, taking out a chain of beads hanging around her neck.

“So much time has passed, I’ve forgotten what they even looked like…

My only memory of them is this string of beads.”

Rustle—

The attention of the two was drawn as Lu Li refolded the map.

“Found a route?” Jojo asked.

“Yeah.”