Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 572 - 572 Ninety-One

572: Ninety-One.

Scorching Land 572: Ninety-One.

Scorching Land Standing at the edge of the canyon, Lu Li opened his eyes.

“1…

2…

3…”

The count echoed in his heart.

The dark red sky was like magma cooling off.

Magma surged at the bottom of the canyon, the air scorched and twisted with the rising heat, carrying the pungent stench of sulfur, filling the scorched canyon.

Hissss—

A burning sensation suddenly came from the back of his hand, and Lu Li lifted his palm.

The inverted pentagram burn mark on the back of his hand seemed to be scalded, emitting smoke with a sizzling sound.

As if tangible, the smoke gathered together, forming a hideous face with goat horns on its head.

“You’ve come earlier than I imagined…

Hmm?

Interesting…

You actually dare to summon spirits in hell,” the devil murmured as if it had discovered something.

“Whether you are overly confident or simply seeking death, I will soon find you and take your soul…”

Whoosh.

The waves of heat from below the canyon blurred and tore apart the face on the back of his hand, dispersing it.

The devil reacted faster than Lu Li had imagined—it had already sensed him the moment he arrived in hell.

“25…

26…

27…”

Lu Li continued to count the numbers calmly, shifting his gaze to survey the surroundings.

This scorched land had only high-temperature distorted rock and asphalt; no signs of life were to be found.

The heat waves baked Lu Li’s soul, but it wasn’t agonizing.

But perhaps lacking the protection of a body, or perhaps because Anna and the Spirit-Calling Gun were not with him, a trace of unease welled up in Lu Li’s heart, as if he were standing here threadbare.

“Vitality is the barrier that protects you from the terrifying temperatures of hell.

The younger and stronger you are, the longer you can stay in hell.”

Putting on the patch hat he held in his hand, which belonged to Richard, Lu Li withdrew his gaze.

Where could Richard possibly be hiding?

Lu Li took a step toward the edge of the canyon.

But it was as if his feet were stuck in a bog, sticky and difficult to lift.

Looking down, the soles of his shoes were melted by the high surface temperature, leaving behind a striking black footprint, dragging out strings of black several inches long.

Passing over this scene, Lu Li reached the edge of the canyon, with the heat wave hitting his face and magma flowing like a river at the bottom of the canyon.

“Those who die will change over time.

The pervasive heat bears malice that will bake their souls and humanity.

Those with stronger wills can hold on longer, or find shade which is not scorching, but there is a time limit…

Some will become the bottommost demons of hell, some will turn into half-human, half-demon monsters…

It will be very easy to recognize them.”

Obviously, the area close to the magma river in the canyon was the hottest place.

Richard couldn’t possibly be nearby.

Leaving two striking black footprints at the edge of the canyon, Lu Li started to move away from it, heading in the opposite direction.

He hoped that Richard wasn’t on the other side of the canyon.

“41…

42…

43…”

Counting the numbers, Lu Li tried to find moving figures in this barren land of gravel and rock.

While the canyon was in full view, the twisting heat waves rising from the ground hindered his sight, allowing only objects within less than a hundred meters to be barely distinguishable.

“67…

68…

69…”

In the outside world, Anna’s call had not sounded, the devil had not yet come, and in Lu Li’s field of vision, the first moving object finally appeared.

It was a thin humanoid creature with its ribcage visibly protruding, its shriveled stomach nearly touching its spine, its bald body covered in scars—some from burns, others scratch marks, crawling on all fours like a wild beast.

It had clearly noticed Lu Li before he had seen it, but it did not attack.

Instead, it followed him with a covetous look.

Lady Merlin didn’t mention what creatures were in hell, but she did share similar knowledge.

“The lowest demons are greedy yet cowardly, they mostly dare only to follow you from dozens of meters away.

Unless they are in a group, they won’t dare to attack you.”

No other living creatures were detected around Lu Li.

Could it be Richard?

Anna had agreed to a ten-second call, but now a hundred seconds had passed without any response.

Although the flow of time is not constant, Richard must have survived in hell for several days.

A few days might be enough for a weakly conscious deceased to become a demon.

Uncertain, Lu Li paused slightly before suddenly changing direction and moving closer to the demon.

He wanted to try if the demon still had any rationality, to see if communication was possible.

The beast-like demon began to recoil backward when Lu Li approached within ten meters, and Lu Li noted it had no eyes—only a mouth that took up half its face.

“83… 84… 85…”

As he counted silently, Lu Li continued to advance, and the demon in front kept retreating.

Realizing that this was nothing but a waste of time, Lu Li took off Richard’s hat, handed it to the demon in front of him, and said, “Have you seen the person who owned this?”

This movement and speech seemed to trigger something.

The demon in front suddenly growled and pounced towards Lu Li.

Taking a half step back, Lu Li raised his arms in defense.

But as the demon leapt forward, about to collide with Lu Li, it suddenly bounced back as though hitting an invisible wall, and fell several meters away.

A sharp wail came from the mouth that occupied half the face; jagged, uneven yellow and black teeth were exposed as the demon writhed on the ground, clutching its head in agony.

Green smoke continuously emerged from its body; its contorted form visibly shrank and turned charred and blackened at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Lu Li frowned as he watched this unfold.

Psychics generally avoid hell creatures, as they are difficult to kill without a cost, and injuries to psychics would be fully manifested on their souls.

Lu Li was an exception, his vibrant vitality affected even Anna, let alone the lowest demons in hell.

But it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

Lu Li’s soul was like a fire in the night, bright and conspicuous, noticeable from afar by the beings in the darkness.

The demon on the ground began to weaken until it stopped moving altogether, its outline scorched as if burned by a great fire, leaving behind only its charred shape.

Looking at it, Lu Li thought about something else.

Did it attack suddenly when he took off the hat because it recognized the scent on the hat?

Or was it Richard…

Looking up to survey his surroundings again, the scene from moments ago hadn’t been witnessed by any being other than Lu Li; the scorching, barren landscape remained unchanged.

But it was not absolute…

Lu Li thought, his gaze falling on an inconspicuous pile of rocks.

Such scenes were commonplace in hell; under the scorching heat, only rocks could persist indefinitely.

Circling around the demon’s corpse, Lu Li walked up to the pile of rocks.

These fist-sized rocks were stacked into a half-meter-high tower, the very top adorned with a teardrop-shaped sharp stone—the sharp end pointing sideways towards Lu Li.

This stone tower was man-made.

It was guiding the way.

“118… 119… 120…”

At the same time, Lu Li heard a distant, drawn-out, and deep call echoing in the air.

Anna’s first call came during the second minute of Lu Li’s arrival in hell.