Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 488 - 488 The Shadow over Insmouth Town

488: The Shadow over Insmouth Town 488: The Shadow over Insmouth Town The steam train, spewing black smoke, stopped at the Insmouth Town Platform.

The desolate platform had no waiting passengers, not even a single staff member in sight; it was as empty as if abandoned.

If not for the plant disaster, the platform would have been swept by an autumnal, desolate wind.

The chimney of the Alchemy Factory by the river flowing into the sea stood tall, and faint human figures could be seen in the coastal houses from afar.

The local townsfolk stood at the crossroads, motionless, gazing at the stationary steam train, appearing strangely eerie.

Just as Raimy had written in her letter to Lu Li, the locals were very…

xenophobic.

Affected by the environment, the noise from the passengers inside the nearby cars also diminished.

At the front of the steam train, coal stokers with their faces blackened and only their white teeth visible hurried off the train to refill coal, looking as if they dared not stay long.

“Something’s not right…” Anna, hiding in the Inner World, whispered as she looked towards the figures standing between the distant houses.

They had been standing still for too long, as if time in the entire town had paused.

The next scene told Anna that time in the town was indeed marching on.

Shadows emerged from the houses, took to the streets as if disturbed by the train, and turned their heads to look over.

For a moment, Anna felt a piercing sensation of being intensely watched; they were looking at her, or rather…

at Lu Li behind her.

More and more figures appeared on the street, and at a certain moment, they eerily and numbly started walking toward the train at the platform.

Their movements resembled those of lifeless corpses.

…

“Hey, hey…

Aris, something doesn’t seem right…”

In front of the small wooden hut storing coal at the corner of the platform, Bell nudged his colleague who was busily at work.

Aris, shoveling coal into a sack without looking up, said, “Don’t think about slacking off, mate.

Get to work.

Steam trains might soon be banned again, and plenty of workers are eyeing this job.

We need to be…

*sigh*…

exceptional.”

“If you don’t look up now, we’ll never get the chance to prove ourselves!”

The anxious shouting of his colleague finally made Bell look up to where he was pointing.

The other two workers also looked up and simultaneously froze.

“What are these locals trying to do…” The sight of townspeople woodenly encroaching on the platform made Adams uneasy.

Bell couldn’t help but move backward, a thought urging him to run flashed through his mind: “Could it be that this place has become like Shadow Town…”

“No…

it couldn’t be…

they don’t look like monsters—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the other two workers suddenly dropped their shovels and ran towards the train.

The sound of their hasty retreat intensified the panic of the two men, who couldn’t help but look back to see the train staff who had stepped off for air all hiding back on the train, with someone leaning out of the door, waving and yelling at them.

“Run!”

Bell shouted, running toward the train’s engine with Aris.

Aris quickly fell behind.

Sensing something was wrong, Bell looked back to see Adams with a half-full sack of coal running slowly.

“Forget about the coal!

There’s enough on the train to get us to Belfast!” Bell shouted.

Adams clenched his teeth, dropped the half bag of coal, and ran back to the train’s engine with Bell.

Once everyone was back on board, the train conductor clutched his still-smoking pipe and loudly urged the train to start.

The townsfolk, numbed like the dead, had already neared the platform; some stiff figures climbed onto it, approaching the train.

Inside the carriage, there was not a single sound, save for the occasional cries of terror.

Fortunately, the sharp whistle of the train scattered the eerie silence under the clouds, and black smoke belched from the chimney as the train gradually moved away from the platform.

Hundreds of figures stood silently on the platform, their heads turning to follow the departing train, unseen by the people aboard.

It wasn’t until this moment that a hushed whispering gradually began to fill the oppressively silent train carriages.

“Those ‘people’ seem to be here because of you…”

Anna turned to look at Lu Li.

Although those locals were indeed human, they harbored an air of obscure malevolence within them, akin to the aura of the Inner World, more intense than what she had felt from Lu Li.

Even the miasma was so strong that she could almost catch glimpses of it, a potent stench of deep-sea silt that couldn’t be dispelled.

There were other Exorcists on the train; they would report the strange situation in Insmouth Town to the United Organization.

It was not until the shadow of Insmouth had dissipated and time had passed that the adjoining carriage slowly returned to a noisy buzz of conversation.

As time moved on, the sky began to grow dark, and the train stopped at a new town as the evening approached.

This town, named “Zornst,” looked exactly like a train station should.

There seemed to be more people than there were passengers on the train.

People in simple clothing and people in colorful attire waited on the platform, some carrying suitcases, others holding sacks and children.

When the steam train arrived at the station, the crowd began to press onto the train.

The staff opened the doors and struggled to stick to the carriages, not to be pushed away by the throng, continually murmuring complaints like “Too many people,” “We can’t possibly fit so many,” “Who knows how many more at the next platform.”

It seemed everyone knew that the Lennon Islands were free of oddities and flocked to port cities capable of long voyages.

Like Belfast, the steam train’s final destination.

But there were too many people, even the dining car was packed.

The waiter came to the first-class carriage and asked Lu Li with difficulty

whether he would allow other passengers to stay here.

The train staff knew that there was a significant figure in this carriage.

“What is the next stop?” Lu Li asked.

“Maple Leaf Town.”

“How long will the train stop there?”

“Twenty minutes, sir.”

“Let them come, I might get off at Maple Leaf Town.”

“Your kindness is appreciated.”

Shortly after the waiter left, passengers began to trickle into the first-class carriage.

They had been briefed by the waiter that Lu Li was some important person and conscientiously minimized their noise and even their breathing to avoid disturbing him.

Jojo and Fran had already returned to sit quietly across from Lu Li.

When the train started moving again, Jojo whispered, “Aren’t you going back to Belfast?”

“Anna’s Aunt is in Himfast, we are going to pick her up.”

“Then see you in Belfast.”

“Mm.”

In the first hour after nightfall, the train reached Maple Leaf Town.

The cozy lights spread across most of the houses in the small town as Lu Li and Jojo Fran said goodbye and got off the train, carrying the oil lamp the waiter had provided.

Crowds passed by on both sides, squeezing into the train, the cool, damp air striking one’s face.

Lu Li took a deep breath, turned his back to the window where Jojo and Fran were watching, and walked towards the phone booth outside the platform.

Before searching for a carriage to Himfast, Lu Li needed to confirm that Aunt Mary was still in her Himfast home.

Half a minute after the phone connected, Aunt Mary’s gentle voice sounded.

After telling her he and Anna would arrive in Himfast within a few hours, Lu Li left the phone booth and rented a carriage to leave Maple Leaf Town.