Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 577 - 577 Ninety-six

577: Ninety-six.

The stars returning to their positions envelop the world 577: Ninety-six.

The stars returning to their positions envelop the world “Do you sense anything?” Raimy looked toward Anna in front of the cave.

Anna murmured softly, “Unease… fear…”

“I feel the same.

It seems the source of the change is also full of malice toward us,” Raimy asked, “What happened?

Did Lu Li faint?”

“He went to Hell, for some reason… and hasn’t come back.”

Anna replied, returning to the cave.

It seemed that the apocalyptic scenes outside could not affect her emotions in the slightest.

Raimy said something to brother lying on the lounge chair, then followed Anna into the refuge.

Lu Li on the bed breathed steadily, as if he was deep in sleep.

The consciousness permeating the Elm Forest and the refuge built with Deep Sea Stone started to have some effect—Lu Li’s Sanity Value Counter was beginning to stabilize.

“I need your help,” Anna, looking at Lu Li’s face, said to Raimy, who was approaching the refuge from behind.

“What do you want me to do?”

Anna removed Lu Li’s woolen coat, “Stay here and protect Lu Li’s body.”

“Where are you going?”

“To Hell.”

Anna’s calmness was as serene as picking up an oil lamp from the table.

Grabbing the woolen coat carrying Lu Li’s scent, and without hesitation, she closed her eyes once Raimy agreed to guard Lu Li, recalling the painful memories of near-death moments as Lady Merlin had described.

The experiences buried deep in her memory before death resurfaced, the pain and bloody coughs of a frail girl becoming increasingly weaker—it seemed unrelated to her current self.

Anna felt like an outsider, calmly flipping through her past memories.

Lady Merlin was mistaken about one thing.

She thought that Anna, who was already dead, would be more adept at spirit communication, but the coldness inside her prevented her from feeling the so-called near-death experience.

More importantly, Anna discovered she could not communicate with Hell, as if… the gates to Hell had been closed.

The dead no longer return to Hell.

Thinking of the horrific scenes unfolding outside, could this be the reason why Lu Li has not returned?

Anna’s chilly aura leaked out, carefully avoiding Lu Li, and violently filled the entire space.

Raimy stepped back slightly and softly persuaded, “Maybe you shouldn’t worry too much.

Lu Li is still alive, and he will find a way to come back.”

“He had better,” Anna replied, her tone as cold as the permafrost.

Sensing her bad mood, Raimy planned to leave the cave but then remembered something and before going out, said to Anna, “I suggest you take some time to properly fortify the refuge; it’s still missing a door.”

Anna’s indifferent eyes landed on Raimy, who continued, “Didn’t you notice?

The stones are now producing a stronger barrier.”

She approached the stacked black Deep Sea Stone bricks and reached out to touch them.

Just as Raimy had said, Anna felt resistance when she touched the Deep Sea Stone as if touching something solid.

But the wall couldn’t block entities that were too powerful.

When Anna released her aura, her hand started to sink into the wall like it was mired in mud.

However, Anna would continue to guard Lu Li, and if any strangeness approached, she would sense their presence.

Anna rummaged in her coat pocket and pulled out a wooden box containing rotten meat, pausing briefly before opening it.

At a time like this, was it still possible to summon the black crow and the merchant?

About ten minutes after opening the wooden box, the sound of flapping wings came from the entrance—a weakened messenger crow landed on the desk in the refuge.

“Summon the merchant.”

Anna said to it.

The crow gave a hoarse, tired caw and took flight from the cave.

A few minutes later, a figure appeared at the entrance, but it was not the merchant.

Raimy returned and brought her brother, Jimmy, along with her.

They brought wooden chairs to guard the entrance for Lu Li.

While waiting for the merchant, Anna left the cave to check on her sister Annie—it had awakened, sensing Anna’s presence and emitting an affectionate consciousness.

It was still very weak, possessing only a faint instinct.

The black sun still hung over the sea, its position unchanged.

The direction of Belfast was once again shrouded in the Mist of Strangeness, making it hard to peer through.

Only occasionally, when the wind carried it, could the faint sounds of countless lost souls whispering be heard.

Half an hour later, an unusually tall figure finally appeared at the cliff top.

With Lu Li’s soul absent, the merchant defaulted to trading with Anna.

“The price of the Deep Sea Stone,” Anna asked.

“10100 Shillings.”

Unexpectedly, the price was much lower than the last time of thirteen thousand Shillings from half a month ago.

But soon, the merchant continued, “per cubic centimeter.”

If Lu Li’s consciousness had been restored, he would have known what the merchant’s words meant.

“The newspapers no longer hide it, the shelters are open, the time when the price of Deep Sea Stone skyrockets,” Tesla had said.

Now all conditions had been met…

Anna watched the merchant, bearing a heavy backpack, leave the cave.

She had asked if the merchant could rescue Lu Li’s soul from hell, but regrettably, that was not within the scope of the merchant’s trade.

They only traded in objects and information, not in rescuing people.

“The forest consciousness is the outermost barrier, then it’s my brother and I, then you.

Even evil spirits would not rashly venture here,” Raimy walked over, softly comforting Anna.

Anna did not respond.

The light from the oil lamp illuminated her profile, and her slightly drooping eyelashes shadowed her eyes.

Raimy also returned to the cave entrance shortly after.

“The city… is it destroyed…”

A muffled, hoarse voice emitted faintly from Jimmy, who sat on the wooden chair.

“Hmm,” Raimy responded lightly.

The cave grew quiet.

They gazed at the outside world.

Despite no longer being human, the disaster that destroyed their home brought a somber and hopeless prospect that still moved them.

…

Ssh—

Ssh—

The sound of dragging emanated from the edge of the Meteorite Crater.

A demon dragged Lu Li, climbing up the slope.

Earlier, it had been shivering hundreds of meters away.

Once the terrifying demonic aura dissipated, unable to resist the enticing scent, it followed, discovering the delectably unconscious soul lying at the bottom of the crater.

The remnants of its human instincts told the demon that it should find a more secluded place to consume this delicacy.

But it was too weak, and as the demon dragging Lu Li’s soul up to the middle of the edge, the steepness caused it and the feast to tumble down, returning to the bottom of the crater.

The demon issued a frustrated whimper, its neck bulging as it obliterated that insignificant instinct, deciding to devour the delicacy right there.

It encircled Lu Li, taking up half his face, and its mouth dripped scalding saliva, growing larger as veins emerged on its ashen skin—then, as it bit towards Lu Li, numerous transparent arms appeared around it, tearing its flesh and limbs.

The demon’s cries of alarm lasted only a second before those ethereal arms shredded it into pieces, scattering around Lu Li.

With the threat to Lu Li dead, they gradually vanished, waiting in the void around Lu Li.