Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 540 - 540 Fifty-nine

540: Fifty-nine.

Strong and Weak 540: Fifty-nine.

Strong and Weak The lamplights at the harbor flickered dimly.

The municipal administration was still supplying power to the harbor, perhaps saving more lives and facilitating the Exorcists dealing with the Human Pus at the port.

Though the Exorcists had never truly advanced deep into the harbor.

The Exorcists’ front line had only progressed to the end of the bridge, beyond which it became difficult to advance further.

Being in the open meant that Human Pus could swarm from all directions, despite their bulky, twisted, revolting bodies being easy targets.

The numbers of Human Pus, usually far larger than the bullets carried by the Exorcists, seldom came alone.

And they wouldn’t give the Exorcists time to reload bullets for several seconds.

“It’s been a long time since I had such an easy job,” Weiden whispered to his colleague next to the burning torch, “Just hiding behind a barricade, and pulling the trigger on any Human Pus that appears.

Civilians could do this with ease.”

Many Exorcists were gathered here, some observing the harbor, some looking for partners to venture into it.

Someone replied to him, “But it’s pointless.

Don’t forget we came here to clear the harbor, and hiding here won’t make the Human Pus come to us voluntarily.

How many of them have we killed till now?

Three hundred?

Or four hundred?

There are thousands in the harbor!”

His voice, loud with agitation, echoed through the mist.

“Shh!

Damn…keep it down.”

Weiden cautioned the Exorcist employed by the United Organization, like himself, complaining in a low voice, “I’m just a small-time detective dealing with the paranormal for neighbors.

This kind of thing should be left to those more powerful guys, we can only do what we are capable of.”

As his words fell, a collective howl from the Human Pus suddenly echoed from the mist-enshrouded harbor, followed by the squelching, wet, disorderly movement.

Had they been startled?

Startled, Weiden looked up, and the other Exorcists guarding the end of the bridge also stopped what they were doing, nervously gazing into the depths of the mist.

The howling sounds emerged from the mist, but the volume was diminishing.

“Are they moving away from us?”

Murmurs of confusion rose among the crowd.

It was then that the wooden bridge trembled, a figure ran from behind, bringing news: a Senior Investigator had entered the harbor to handle the Human Pus situation, and all Exorcists were to guard the wooden bridge to prevent any breakthrough.

…

Tap—

The tip of his shoe touched the deck as Lu Li landed from the sky, steadying himself.

Holding an oil lamp, Lu Li walked to the base of the ship’s mast and observed, “This is the place.”

That cargo ship carrying several tons of kerosene.

Lu Li handed the oil lamp to Anna and took out what Rachel wanted to give him—an oddly shaped stone finger, as if broken off from a statue.

Following the instructions Rachel had given, Lu Li held it high in his palm, clenching his fist around it.

The stone finger, under pressure, retained its shape, and then suddenly, a beam of light penetrated the gaps at Lu Li’s fingertips and spread outward.

At first, its light was no more than that of the oil lamp, but as time passed, the luminance grew stronger, as if he were clutching a second lighthouse atop the rocks in his raised hand.

The dazzling light, nearly swallowing Lu Li’s figure, left no place for shadows and mist to hide, silently melting away like ice and snow.

The deck, the cargo ship, the Profound Sea, the harbor—all came into view as the light expanded.

It was named Ancient Statue Fragment, and Rachel had told Lu Li of its origins and purpose: a strange mist found within ancient ruins.

When investigators discovered the place, nothing remained but broken columns standing where the great hall once was, and countless shattered statues buried beneath.

People discovered the remains of a statue beneath the ruins when an Alliance personnel, cleaning up the debris, picked up a part of the statue and subconsciously gripped it, an accident occurred.

A blinding light burst forth from the palm of their hand, frightening the personnel into dropping the fragments, and the light gradually dimmed.

In the following days, people learned its function: when the statue fragments were held tightly, they would emit a strong light that could dispel things of darkness and illusion, such as the dark, the mist, or other weaker anomalies.

Regrettably, the statues were so severely damaged that the exorcists found it difficult to piece together a complete statue, nor could they trace their origins.

After being examined by the Exorcists Association, the ancient statue fragment was confirmed not to be a contaminant and would not bring any adverse effects, because

unlike the Illusion-Breaking Candles, which could be artificially manufactured, it was difficult to find a practical use for them, so it was temporarily stored as a cultural relic and a special tool.

Rachel thought this was a good opportunity to use the statue remains; of course, after use, Lu Li would hand back the exhausted ancient statue fragments.

Without the aura of a special tool, it was still a relic.

After about ten seconds, the blooming light ceased to expand outward.

The port’s skies echoed with the intermittent screams of the Human Pus, and within the light spreading to the edge of the port, Lu Li had already faintly made out their approaching silhouettes in the surging dark mist.

“Build the bridge,” said Lu Li.

It seemed there was no need to circle around the port anymore, the Human Pus knew uninvited guests had arrived.

Anna’s “building” was simple and convenient; she lifted the deck, laid wooden planks a few meters wide and ten or so meters long from the ship’s side to the docked port, allowing the Human Pus to move across smoothly, instead of falling into the sea and polluting it.

Moreover, the now-revealed cabin could accommodate even more Human Pus.

In the corner of the cabin, barrels were stacked, containing the solution to this incident, and the Human Pus, issuing indistinct screams, had already surged onto the “bridge.” They were not at all affected by the blossoming light, squirming upwards like clumps of wet mud manipulated by children.

Anna, carrying Lu Li, floated into the air, watching from above as the dense tide of Human Pus surged onto the deck, some being squeezed off into the sea and instantly disappearing into the vast depths.

The Human Pus fell into the cabin, their parts that seemed to be heads staring up at Lu Li in the air, continually crowding below his feet, piling into a tower-like mound.

More and more Human Pus swarmed from the port, the accumulated spire grew taller, and just as it was about to surpass the deck, a wave of force struck, causing the shaky tower to collapse.

“How weak…”

Anna murmured softly, the densely squirming Human Pus in the cabin not much stronger than ants.

Yet it was these weak, ugly creatures that could easily destroy the most glorious and prosperous city on the Ailen Peninsula.

Lu Li turned his head to look at Anna’s profile, saying nothing.

A few dozen seconds later, four to five hundred Human Pus had gathered in the cabin, entangled with each other, clumsily wriggling and crawling.

The assembled number was too small, far from enough to ignite the cargo ship.

Anna planned to do something during this time, but there was a problem in her way.

“They’re not suitable for being smashed with redemption.”

“Hmm.”

“I have a good idea,” Anna said.

“Use another Spirit-Calling Gun.

You shoot, I’ll load.”

Lu Li did not refuse.

Although with Anna there, other Sequence guns were almost useless besides “Redemption,” the random abilities after the rose bloomed aroused his curiosity.