Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 477 - 477 Three hundred thirty-four

477: Three hundred thirty-four.

Their hands 477: Three hundred thirty-four.

Their hands Lu Li stood on the shaking, tilting deck, grasping the mast to ensure he wasn’t thrown off the ship.

“We’re about to reach shore, hold the fuck on!”

The rough curse echoed in his ears as Lu Li turned his head to see the captain of the sailboat sticking his head out from the captain’s cabin, shouting at the panicked sailors on deck.

In the midst of the fierce storm, Lu Li looked ahead and faintly saw the coastal jungle in the distance.

If all went as expected, that was Shadow Swamp, a place not much safer than the vast sea.

“There are reefs ahead!!!

Hard to port!!!”

Suddenly, the lookout sailor in the crow’s nest let out a terrified scream, straining his voice.

The captain’s face changed, running back to the captain’s cabin and smacking the first mate on the head.

“Hard to port, damn it!”

They had spotted the reefs too late.

By the time the lookout sailor realized they couldn’t avoid them, his piercing screams cut through the rain and waves, resounding across the deck.

“We’re going to hit!

Hold on tight!!!”

The sailors scurrying about the deck secured themselves, one of them running towards Lu Li—or rather, the mast behind Lu Li—and tying himself to it with a rope.

“My dear Alessa, please bless us with a smooth landing…”

The sailor murmured tremblingly, repeatedly rubbing his rough palm over the photo frame blurred by the rain.

In the next moment, the ship violently shuddered as it hit the rocks.

Lu Li, backed against the mast, was lifted and flung into the sea away from the ship.

Boom—

Encased in bubbles, he plunged into the ocean, sinking briefly before his body began to float upwards.

In the dim waters before his eyes, a shadow suddenly fell into the water, plummeting past Lu Li.

Lu Li looked at the photo frame sinking towards the seabed and suddenly reached out to grab it.

The scenery changed, and Lu Li moved to the next scene.

Meanwhile, in reality, the dissipating Human-faced Worm revealed a look of relief.

A second ghostly, formless arm emerged, its callous, rough palm gently supporting Lu Li’s back.

…

The homeless man set down the lid of the trash bin he had been rummaging through.

Having found nothing, he reeked of a sour stench and sighed as he staggered towards the next trash can.

The night enveloped him, with only the scattered moonlight in the dim alleyway.

Lu Li lifted his head, it was just a normal, hazy crescent moon.

Screech—

The homeless man had already opened the second dumpster.

“Ugh…”

He peered inside and suddenly released the lid with a look of disgust, pinching his nose and waving his hand that was missing an index finger.

The homeless man seemed to have no expectation for the last trash can, opening it casually before uttering a surprised shout.

The dumpster was somewhat high, and the homeless man was not tall enough.

After failing to reach something by tiptoeing, he braced himself against the edge of the dumpster and climbed over it.

With the lid pressing down on his back, his dangling feet kicked as he wriggled little by little into the dumpster,

Lu Li felt something was off and reached out to grab the homeless man’s ankle.

But he was a step too late; the homeless man, who had slid most of his body into the dumpster, slipped right in, followed by the thud of a heavy object landing and then the sound of rummaging.

Before Lu Li could do anything, a long, narrow shadow stretched into the alley and fell at his feet.

Lu Li glanced sideways, the Human Head Balloon with its mocking smile drifting into the alley entrance.

Thud—

There was movement beside him as the homeless man, having found something, stood up with the lid of the dumpster on his head.

Lu Li at this moment raised his hand, pressing down on the lid of the garbage bin that was being pushed open.

Although Lu Li knew this was meaningless.

The Human Head Balloon floated above the garbage bin, following its original path, the homeless man would climb out of the garbage bin, get choked by the Human Head Balloon’s spine and assimilate into a new Human Head Balloon.

The scene dissipated, and Lu Li plunged into the next fragment.

Thick deep sea, a hand missing a finger propped up Lu Li’s back.

…

“Who will save me…

Who will save me…”

The woman’s helpless cries echoed in the swamp jungle.

Lu Li slowly walked out of the cabin.

On the outskirts of the long-abandoned swamp village, a girl holding up her skirt, looking panicked, climbed onto the wooden bridge and hid in the cabin that Lu Li had exited, slamming shut the door that was not yet rotten.

Rustling—

A Six-legged Monster stepped in the mud and emerged in the jungle outside the village.

It pursued the girl’s footprints, approaching the cabin.

Lu Li glanced at the closed door, and the muffled sounds of despair and sobbing came from inside the cabin.

Without hesitation, Lu Li reached out his hand to brace the door for the girl inside the cabin.

Then came what seemed like an endless stream of death fragments.

However, slightly different this time, in the thick deep sea, the fourth pale arm that appeared gently supported Lu Li’s back.

His speed of descent was gradually slowing…

Next, Lu Li witnessed the deaths of many people.

Some were disciples of Old Mother, but more were innocent people unrelated to Old Mother.

The temporal span went from before the Ailen Peninsula had been touched by civilization, to just a few hours ago.

The long temporal span allowed Lu Li to personally experience the history of Shadow Swamp, the establishment of Shadow Town, the abandonment of the native villages, the events of the Shadow Town incident, and their conclusion.

Lu Li saw a lot: how the church’s cellar fell into ruin, how the Eyeball Tower was erected, the blood sacrifices held by Old Mother’s Believers, the destroyed granaries, and the survivors fleeing in all directions…

He also saw some familiar faces: the owner of the Wave Tavern where he first stayed when he entered Shadow Town, her assistant, the mayor, Aunt Sofia.

Even though everything had truly happened and nothing could be changed, the Lu Li who was experiencing these moments was still doing all he could to prevent it.

The old fragments faded away, and new fragments emerged.

Lu Li stood in front of the small forest cabin.

It was lively here, with two families of three.

As dusk approached, the men were chopping wood in the clearing outside the house, the women were chatting inside the cabin, the children were playing, and another little boy was curled up in the corner, holding a diary, clumsily writing content on it.

[April 12th.

I am very sad…

I don’t know what happened, my parents rushed in frantically and carried me away, they took me into the woods, the ground is so wet, is this the swamp?

There are so many bugs, luckily we found a house before it got dark, another family of three, just like us, and there’s another little boy!]

“Mommy, I want to eat a big piece of meat!”

Suddenly, the shout of another little boy made the cabin silent.

“We can…

we have new guests…” his mother said with a strange smile, picking up the axe by the wall.

Then, a burning stick from the fire was suddenly thrust into her face.

The flames spread, and before Lu Li could reach the children, the death fragment ended and he was pulled into the next scene.

…

Lu Li did not move.

Many hands were supporting his body, preventing him from sinking.

In the thick deep sea, Lu Li came to a standstill, his hair and the edges of his clothes solidifying.

Gradually, another skinny arm emerged, resting on the empty space on Lu Li’s back.

The strength of the skinny arm was negligible, but for a fleeting moment, Lu Li’s hair seemed to start fluttering.

This was not an illusion; Lu Li’s body, against all odds, started to slowly and imperceptibly float upwards.