Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 563 - 563 Eighty-two

563: Eighty-two.

The beginning of everything 563: Eighty-two.

The beginning of everything A few seconds later, Lu Li lowered his arm, but Anna was still holding on to him.

This intimacy made Lu Li somewhat uncomfortable, but the weightless Anna didn’t cause any trouble, except for the ticking of the counter.

Lu Li thought Anna would let go after venting her concerns, but dozens of seconds passed, and there was no sign of her releasing him; instead, she lifted her head, eyes unblinking, staring at the black pupils so close at hand.

“What are you going to do?”

As she gradually came closer, Lu Li suddenly asked, his tone as calm as usual.

“I…

I was too worried about you.”

Anna’s gaze flickered, and she let go of Lu Li, stepping back slightly to create some distance, but still maintaining the closeness only intimate relationships have.

“It’s all right now.

Richard is dead, and half the problem is solved,” Lu Li said, looking up at the Asylum, now turned into a pitch-black ruin emitting no flames but still radiating heat, and then towards the more distant Sugard Mountain.

A thin layer of fog obscured the view of the mountaintop.

“Half?”

Lu Li withdrew his gaze from the distance and replied, “The secrets of the ‘door’ went unasked.”

“So our clues are cut off…” Anna murmured coldly,

“Not necessarily.” Lu Li shook his head lightly, and when Anna looked over, he did not say what it was: “Let’s leave this place first.”

“The Coachman is hiding outside the manor.”

“Mhm.”

As they conversed, Lu Li left the manor and returned to the carriage, directing the Coachman towards the road to Watch Town.

The situation in Belfast was unknown, and Lu Li wanted to investigate there first.

A dozen minutes later, Lu Li and his companions, swimming against the current, arrived at the bustling Watch Town.

Most of the people who had fled from Belfast were gathered here, sitting by the streets, looking bewildered or frightened, with cries and wails echoing above, never fading.

This carriage from the Seaside Town stopped in front of the busy Police Station, which was equally noisy and chaotic, with the office area packed with residents.

Lu Li found a police officer and was taken to the office of the harassed police chief, who was frantically answering phone calls.

“Weren’t you sent to resolve the incident?” The police chief’s plump face showed undisguised disappointment, but he still told Lu Li about what had happened in Belfast.

Apart from the information already known on the road, the police chief mentioned many other things, such as the construction of Rodest Port, which had been halted halfway, and the uncertain status of the recovery.

The weird creatures creating the Mist of Strangeness outside the bay meant the port could hardly reopen unless they were dealt with.

Fortunately, because of last night’s Mist of Strangeness, which did not begin to dissipate until the early morning, and the port being temporarily closed due to the Human Pus incident, no fishing boats had gone out to meet misfortune.

“Have other weird creatures appeared?” Lu Li asked the key question.

“Not for now, those monsters only created the Mist of Strangeness but…

to be honest, no one knows when they will be driven away, or how long the fog will cover everything.”

This was also why the residents of Belfast and the passengers who had arrived earlier were leaving the place.

Apart from the direct danger of the Mist of Strangeness itself, the derivative survival problems were equally severe.

The lower-class residents had already spent most of their money exchanged for food and kerosene.

Factories, shops, and fishing boats dared not risk resuming operations, and people unable to work would only accelerate the depletion of their food supply.

Caravans that delivered food were unable to reach Belfast, which would cause a sharp rise in prices, creating a vicious cycle.

The longer the Mist of Strangeness lingered, the greater the despair of the people.

Even though he knew these events would inevitably come with time, the reality of their arrival still plunged Lu Li into silence.

The fragile ants could hardly withstand even the slightest breeze before a storm.

Coming out of the Police Station, Lu Li looked up toward the mountain top, where the thin fog allowed visibility only for a couple of miles, revealing the road full of carriages connecting Belfast and Watch Town.

“Where to next?”

Anna’s whisper arose, right beside his ear.

“Back to the Detective Agency first.”

Approaching the carriage, the coachman was surrounded by some people with luggage, asking how much it would cost to take them to the Main Affinity Continent.

Lu Li walked up to the carriage, thanked the coachman and told him he could go back now.

After bidding farewell to the coachman, without bothering with the people who crowded around once more, Lu Li headed to the carriage line.

As expected, all the carriages and horses from the line had already been rented out.

“Let’s fly back after we leave town,” Lu Li said, as there was no longer any point in hiding his superhuman powers at this time.

“Okay.”

Just as he had no time to visit the Mother of the Marsh, Lu Li also had no time to visit Hades, who had moved to Watch Town.

After buying an oil lamp filled with kerosene from the grocery store, Lu Li left the town.

Ensuring he wouldn’t be seen by too many people and cause a disturbance, Lu Li rose into the air under Anna’s ability and rushed toward the mountaintop at a speed faster than the carriage.

People on the road along the way were either astonished and shocked or frantic with fear.

Gee—Gee—Gee—

At some point, the warning sound of the Sanity Value Counter began to speed up slowly.

Lu Li frowned slightly, as he hadn’t sensed any presence approaching him.

“Anna?” he asked softly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the accelerating Sanity Value Counter suddenly began to slow down again.

Anna’s voice emerged beside him, “What’s wrong?”

After a brief silence, Lu Li said, “You seem strange.”

“Hmm… ever since I saw you, I’ve had a strong urge to be close to you…” Anna whispered into the void.

“Even though the vitality you carry is uncomfortable for me…”

“Why is that?” Lu Li asked, wondering if this was related to the trial.

“I don’t know the reason…” After a pause, Anna’s voice became downcast: “I’m struggling to suppress this feeling… Perhaps I’ll endanger you.”

“The help you bring is more substantial,” Lu Li said.

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t just Lu Li’s comforting words that kept Anna from becoming saddened, but also the method to increase Sanity Value.

Perhaps she could try it after returning, Anna thought.

Flying low along the road, Lu Li was quickly approaching Belfast.

This was evident as the mist enveloping the surroundings gradually thickened, the visible range reduced from one or two miles to a few hundred meters, and then to within several dozen meters.

Beneath the road, the torches tinged with the red haze in the caravans ensured that Lu Li would not lose his way, and as the sky darkened, he returned to Belfast.

Anna had wanted to fly with Lu Li over Agate Lake, but as they approached, an unsettling and ominous aura enveloped the surroundings.

There was a strange presence in Agate Lake.

They bypassed Agate Lake, and Anna carried Lu Li in a low flight, returning to Sailor Street.

The bustle present before they had left in the morning was gone, and the street had become quiet and still once again, making it unclear whether the people were hiding in their homes or had left the city.

Lu Li returned to the Long House, nodding to the residents who greeted him, took the key from under the damp carpet, and inserted it into the door.

Rustle—

The door, grating against the floor as it opened, Lu Li lowered his head, an unsigned letter lay in front of the door.

After closing the door, Lu Li picked up the letter, opened it, and unfolded the paper to read its contents.

[Did you really think I was dead, Lu Li?]