Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 568 - 568 Eighty-seven

568: Eighty-seven.

New Home 568: Eighty-seven.

New Home The Mist of Strangeness that enveloped Belfast was not silent or deserted.

At least it wasn’t like that on the main roads.

Citizens wanting to leave the city carried oil lamps and torches, dragging along family and luggage, converging onto the main roads from various streets to form a creeping line of stars stretching towards the summit of Sugard Mountain.

After everyone had witnessed the three flesh-made, fog-breathing strange creatures emerging from the sea, the first to panic had already fled from here.

And when night fell, with no good news coming through the radios, more uneasy citizens took their luggage, aiming to avoid danger and set upon the road to leave Belfast.

They feared a recurrence of the Zenst incident.

Amongst the winding line, a peculiar procession mixed in: a tall man with black hair, dressed in a black coat, was followed by seven boys and girls holding hands.

Spread throughout various points on the main road, the Exorcists guarding the crowd took note of this strange group, and then, seeing the badge on the man’s chest, nodded subtly to him.

Following the crowd for about fifteen minutes, the man and the children turned into a deserted side street.

As the feeling of safety, along with the crowd behind them, both peeled away, the children once again huddled together, closely following behind Lu Li.

The smallest girl was holding Wei’er’s hand and clinging to her favorite stuffed bear with the other.

Looking up at Lu Li’s back, she suddenly quickened her pace and raised her hand, wanting to offer it to Lu Li.

Wei’er gently pulled her back to her side and patted her head, telling her to stay put.

They had only brought what was necessary; everything else remained at the “camp,” including canned food and some dried fish.

Lu Li explained that he would retrieve these items tomorrow.

“How much longer do we have to walk?

My foot hurts,” the little girl said, lifting her right foot and hopping forward.

“I’ll carry you,” Wei’er said helplessly, lifting the girl, who giggled crisply a few times and then took off Wei’er’s glasses and put them in her jacket pocket.

“This walk is taking too long, shall I take you there?” Anna whispered into Lu Li’s ear.

“They are too young; it’s not suitable for them to be exposed,” Lu Li replied, the minds of children being more susceptible to corruption.

After a moment, he added, “There’s a police station a bit further up at Love District, we can try to borrow a horse-drawn carriage there.”

“Hm.”

Anna returned to silence.

Light shone from the windows of the buildings on the street side, and occasionally, citizens with family and luggage passed by nervously, dispelling the loneliness in the children’s hearts to some degree.

This clutter of footsteps continued for a few minutes and then suddenly ceased as the leading steps came to an abrupt stop.

“There’s something up ahead…”

Lu Li furrowed his brow looking towards the murky street a dozen meters ahead.

The obscure scent characteristic of the strange was surging.

Without hesitation, Lu Li stepped onto the porch of a residence and knocked on the door.

“Anna,” Lu Li murmured.

Click—

The sound of a bolt being unlocked came from behind the door.

Pushing down the doorknob, Lu Li opened the door and turned back to the children at the foot of the steps, saying, “There’s a strange up ahead; let’s hide inside for now.”

“Oh,” Wei’er hurriedly replied, leading the younger siblings past Lu Li.

Once all the children were inside, Lu Li closed the door tightly and locked it, then peered through the peephole to observe the outside.

Thud thud—

Footsteps came down from the stairs behind him, followed by a man’s surprised question, “Who are you…?”

The male homeowner had come down from upstairs, still carrying a wooden stick—however, his face showed only surprise, devoid of fear or other emotions.

It seems that neither thieves nor monsters would be likely to bring a group of children with them.

“Shh…” Wei’er and Mera both made a silencing gesture and pointed outside the door, “There’s a monster out there.”

The little girl in Wei’er’s arms also tried to shush them but was pulled back down by Wei’er.

Panic flickered across the man’s face, his subconscious wondering whether it was these people who had attracted the monster, but since the man in front of the door never looked back, he had no choice but to keep quiet and nervously watch below.

The obscure aura on the street was drawing nearer, and it gradually came into view outside the peephole—a shape that could not be clearly seen, only the mist that had been pushed aside forming a distorted, twitching human silhouette that slowly moved along the street—

The children in the foyer and the male owner on the stairs involuntarily held their breaths, the curtains obscuring their view, making it difficult to see what it was, but the “grating” sound of joint friction was steadily getting closer.

After a few dozen seconds, this bone-chilling sound gradually faded away.

After patiently waiting for two more minutes, Lu Li stood up straight and moved away from the peephole.

“What was that…” The male owner finally dared to ask, his voice hoarse.

“Something in the mist,” Lu Li looked up at him, then opened the door to let the children out, “Thank you for providing shelter, we must be going now.”

“No…

You’re welcome.”

The male owner replied blankly, watching as Lu Li closed the door behind him, his figure vanishing.

The footsteps outside the door were growing distant, and the male owner suddenly felt an inexplicable unease—as if he were leaving the warmth of a fireside to step into the cold darkness.

He almost felt like calling out to stop them.

“What’s wrong, dear?” His wife’s voice suddenly came from behind, and he saw her standing by the door, her hands on her swollen belly, looking worried.

“Nothing.

Go back to the room and hide…”

The male owner gently shook his head, suppressing the unnamed loss in his heart, and returned to the bedroom.

…

Some ten minutes later, Lu Li stepped into the Love District.

He had borrowed a carriage from the Police Station and was now quickly making his way toward the warehouse in the Elm District with the children.

Wei’er patted the little girl and told her to go to Mera, then climbed onto the outside of the carriage to sit beside Lu Li, looking up to ask, “Mr.

Luli, what was that thing in the mist just now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Not even you know?” Wei’er said in surprise, having already learned of Lu Li’s identity back at the Police Station.

“Most people who witness a strangeness with their own eyes hardly survive to tell others what they encountered,” Lu Li intentionally told her more, considering the little girl’s intelligence.

“And knowing them usually comes at a price.”

“A price?” Wei’er tilted her head, not understanding.

“The price of acquiring knowledge,” Lu Li said.

Otherwise, Demon Slayers would have long been able to release information on the strange beings and would no longer need to destroy large amounts of books and keep themselves separated from the civilians.

Human beings are so frail that even knowing of their existence comes with a cost.

“Mr.

Luli, does this world…

no longer belong to us?” Wei’er asked with a tender voice yet profound depth.

After a moment of silence, Lu Li answered Wei’er, “Perhaps it never belonged to us.”

…

The carriage was much faster than walking, and even when sensing a strangeness, there was enough time to turn around and get away.

Approaching seven o’clock in the evening, the carriage entered the Elm District, passing through the ruins that had been destroyed due to the man-eating house incident, and stopped at a warehouse on the edge of Elm Street.

“We’re here.”