Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 476 - 476 Three hundred thirty-three

476: Three hundred thirty-three.

Palm 476: Three hundred thirty-three.

Palm The middle-aged woodcutter walked through the mud that came up to his ankles, dragging the felled logs behind him.

The logs trailed a deep furrow behind the woodcutter.

Lu Li cast his eyes downward to his feet, then lifted his head to look at the sky.

The cloud cover in the sky obscured Lu Li’s vision; when he returned his gaze, the surroundings were a swamp jungle covered in dark green moss and vines, filled with the calls of birds and insects.

This was probably the first time Lu Li had witnessed the vitality of this world with his own eyes.

The departing woodcutter didn’t leave Lu Li much time to observe his surroundings; a muffled grunt, the sound of a fall, shattered the scene, returning Lu Li’s consciousness to his body.

A burning sensation of suffocation surged in his lungs once more.

Lu Li slowly turned his head in the thick deep-sea, the demise of the Human Head Balloon attracted the attention of the surrounding dark shadows, which approached slowly like jellyfish.

One resentful face after another gradually emerged around him; Lu Li lowered his head to look at the abyss he was falling into, then lifted his gaze again, focusing on the nearest Human-faced Worm and swatted it away with the Spirit-Calling Gun.

All movements under the thick deep sea slowed down, except for the hatred on the faces of the Human-faced Worms.

The scenery changed abruptly, and Lu Li was once again dragged into a fragment of death.

In a dark, damp basement, the flame of a candle cast a negligible amount of light, a shadow knelt on the ground, its long, trembling shadow under the flame flickered incessantly.

Whispered prayers echoed in the basement, mixed with the rich smell of boiling herbs and an undeniable rotting smell.

Lu Li moved slowly in the basement, his real body in the thick deep sea doing the same thing.

Turning to the side of the kneeling figure, Lu Li saw his body wrapped in blood-stained bandages and the object of his prayers: the Mother of the Old Swamp.

The echoing prayers in the basement gradually weakened, the figure swayed gently, then seconds later fell headlong and could no longer rise.

The Old Mother’s statue exuded a fleeting reddish mist.

As he escaped from the death fragment, Lu Li coughed out the last bit of air from his lungs.

Extreme oxygen deprivation began to strip him of his consciousness, strip him of his sanity.

More and more Human-faced Worms approached, colliding with the swinging Spirit-Calling Gun, fading, dissolving.

Li found himself in a wooden house, beside him, a tribal couple dressed in grass skirts and animal skins were eating.

His brow furrowed slightly, not yet free from the suffocation and faintness.

Only within the death fragments could Lu Li briefly maintain a clear conscience.

Endless coming Human-faced Worms would continuously drag him into death fragments, but Lu Li could not find a way to break the cycle.

The Mother of the Marsh had been sealed by the Old Mother, and Anna remained outside the Banyan Tree, unaware of what was happening— and even if she knew, she could do nothing.

The tribal couple spoke in a language incomprehensible to Lu Li, not in tribal tongue, but in a common language with a thick accent.

Lu Li looked outside the wooden house; the pervasive smell of rotting mud and the vines hanging in the darkness indicated that this place was still in the swamp.

He slowly waved his arm, a stupid-looking action, but the Human-faced Worms approaching in the thick deep sea would likely be hit by the Spirit-Calling Gun, extending the time Lu Li remained in the death fragment.

This was his only chance.

His next destination would be the abyss that called out Lu Li’s name.

Without wasting time trying to understand their words, Lu Li moved toward the door.

He wanted to confirm once more if the moon he had witnessed before was real.

But death did not wait for Lu Li; noisy sounds of the table overturning came from behind, and in an instant, Lu Li was enveloped in the next scene of death.

Still the villagers of the swamp jungle, they were hunting on the periphery of the Shadow Swamp, and danger crept up silently.

Then, death fragments came one after another, ranging over a long time span, from the early swamps where time was indeterminate, or as recent as two days prior during the incident in Shadow Town.

Witnessing death scenes one after another, as real as though he had experienced them personally, Lu Li came to know everything about the Mother of the Marsh.

Lu Li glimpsed the moon several times within the death fragments, yet they were indistinguishable from the moon in his memory, far removed from the bizarre and indescribable moon he had seen the first time.

The origins of the human-faced worms were also fully confirmed by Lu Li.

They were once followers of the Mother of the Marsh or innocents who perished due to her death.

Their souls became part of the Old Mother’s power, bound to her shell day and night, without peace.

Before Lu Li, an old man in a dusty, old-fashioned grey suit, carrying a suitcase, walked down an alley on his way home.

The alley was dim, lit by just a sliver of light, but the old man simply steadied himself against the wall, a little more cautious in his steps.

He had died before the Blackout Calamity.

Looking up at the night sky, Lu Li’s gaze returned, his dark eyes slightly hardened.

Human Head Balloons with eerie smiles floated over his head, drifting leisurely toward the old man touching the wall as he moved forward.

Lu Li reached out, his sluggish movements unable to grasp the balloon’s dangling spine, nor keep up with it— he could only watch as the balloon drifted above the oblivious old man’s head, wrapping its spine around his neck, gently lifting—

The scene shattered, Lu Li abruptly returned to the viscous depths of the sea, opening his eyes to find human-faced worms floating around him, approaching with a strange frenzy and covetousness.

Lu Li didn’t understand why no human-faced worm had approached him before, but soon, he would return to the death fragment.

Suddenly, one of the human-faced worms in front of him was pushed aside, revealing another.

It had Oliver’s face.

Fixating on Lu Li with intense gaze, it rammed headfirst into the Spirit-Calling Gun in Lu Li’s hand.

…

“Brother…”

Jojo’s voice penetrated the cabin door, echoing in his ears.

Lu Li was silent, looking incredulously at Oliver who was looking up toward the cabin door.

The death fragment in front of him signaled the end of Oliver.

“Oliver…”

Outside, Jojo’s voice rose again.

This was the cause of Oliver’s death.

The fire and oil lamp radiated light and warmth, but by their arrival, Ashes had long lost their heat.

“I’m here!

I’m right here!”

Oliver responded loudly, nearly falling into the fire, scrambling to get up and rush to the door.

His shouts echoed just outside, as he hurriedly removed the chair blocking the door, and just as he was about to pull open the cabin door, Lu Li raised his arm, blocking the door that was being opened.

But this was only a death fragment, something Lu Li had already witnessed, unable to change anything.

Oliver, unable to see Lu Li, couldn’t open the door, only shouting powerlessly, “I’m right here.” Then, everything ended, and Lu Li’s consciousness returned to his body, remaining asleep.

Suffocation prevented Lu Li from maintaining his sanity and thoughts, as severe oxygen deprivation plunged him into unconsciousness.

He didn’t get to see the last moments of Oliver’s dissipation.

His hair and coat fluttering, his hand firmly grasping the Spirit-Calling Gun, Lu Li lost control of his body as it sank downward, falling into the dark and abyssal depths.

At that moment, an invisible and frail arm seemed to emerge from the void, gently pressing against Lu Li’s back as he fell toward the abyss.