Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 596 - 596 One hundred and fifteen

596: One hundred and fifteen.

The new homeland 596: One hundred and fifteen.

The new homeland Children.

Unable to determine their identities, Lu Li temporarily referred to them as such.

Of the original seven children, only five remained.

Lu Li had Anna move the debris aside to search for the two children who might have been buried underneath.

When they shifted the charred rooftop that was on top, some movement came from below the rubble, revealing one of the “children’s” kind.

Its leg was trapped under a collapsed beam, injured.

After Anna rescued it, it hobbled back to the midst of the children, tilting its head towards Lu Li like a wild beast, sensing his presence, drawing close yet fearful.

As the burned materials were cleared away, the ruins became lower and lower, the heat hiding at the bottom scattered and escaped, and the dark red charcoal twinkled, fading back into dimness.

“Wait a moment,”

As she shifted the broken, charred floorboards, Lu Li called out to Anna.

He walked slowly into the ruins, stepping on the crackling charcoal, and took something from a gap in the floorboards lifted by Anna’s control.

It was a pair of glasses, burned to the point of having only the frame left, and even wiping them with his palm couldn’t remove the char-black burns.

Holding it, he returned to the street and looked towards the “children,” who were also looking at him—suddenly, the largest silhouette crawled forward a few steps.

Lu Li crouched down, placing the glasses on its featureless, blurry face.

“Your name is Wei’er.”

But as soon as Lu Li let go, the glasses frame, crisped by the fierce fire, could no longer hold its original shape and shattered into countless pieces, falling onto the equally blackened ground.

“Wei’er” lowered its head in a daze, as if about to make a sound, but everything was quenched deep in its throat.

Having nearly razed the ruins to the ground, they finally found a trace of the last child at the very bottom, but only the hard skull remained, unswallowed by the flames.

“It’s time to go back.”

Withdrawing his gaze from Elm Street turned into ruins, Lu Li said.

The “children,” following their instincts, started to follow Lu Li on their own, without Anna having to force them.

Anna intended to carry them and hasten back to the cliff top.

However, once her power was exerted on the “children,” they would struggle in the air, waving their now thick claws frantically and fearfully.

So they could only carry Lu Li at a pace close to a jog while allowing the children to keep up.

There was no need to worry about getting lost or wandering away.

The oppressing atmosphere of Elm Forest made them instinctively stick close to Lu Li who gave them a sense of safety and comfort; Lu Li was also observing them.

However, not until they neared the top of the cliff could Lu Li distinguish the other two children besides Wei’er from their shapes: the second tallest, Little Jimmy, and the smallest girl.

Lying on the ground, it was even shorter than Lu Li’s shin, like a…

Back at the cliff top, Jimmy, in front of the wooden house, was fiddling with the hand-cranked radio with the large sharp claws of his monstrous body.

“Where’s Raimy?”

Anna didn’t see Raimy’s figure at the top of the cliff.

“Dealing with those…

food.

Can’t eat so much…

some are being preserved.” Jimmy’s weak real body replied.

“What’s up with these monsters…

what’s going on?”

“The forest’s new residents, Anna,” Lu Li answered, glancing aside, “Go call Raimy over.”

Anna put Lu Li back on the lounge chair and floated towards the cave.

“You’re a good man,” Jimmy remarked coherently, dragging the radio over to Lu Li with his claw.

“Help me turn it…

wind it up.”

Lu Li slowly lifted his hand, twisting the wind-up key tediously, like two patients sharing their ailments.

“Couldn’t you let me do that?”

A resigned voice came from behind, and Raimy took over the radio from her brother’s hand, wound it up fully and handed it back, then looked at Lu Li and the cowering, small creatures not far away.

“Did you call me because of them?”

Lu Li asked, “Can you find a way to communicate with them?”

“It’s somewhat difficult…” Raimy frowned, briefly sensing a clear view of them in her eyes, “Right now, they’re almost like wild animals, I can’t feel a conscious presence.”

“What are they?”

“Not Followers, but simply creatures infected into oddities.

Like the Human Pus in the harbor a few days ago,” Raimy answered, somewhat puzzled as to why Lu Li had brought back a group of oddities after going to see the children.

Noticing their small stature, Raimy suddenly realized, “They are those…

children?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lu Li nodded, continuing to ask, “Do they need to eat?”

“We’ll have to try it out.

This afternoon, my brother and I will try our luck at the edge of the city; if we find weaker oddities, we’ll bring their bodies back for processing.”

“We could try with canned food.”

“That’s too luxurious—okay, let’s hope the little guys don’t have too big an appetite.” Raimy nodded and went back to the cave to get the pork cans stored in the cellar.

Opening one, Raimy approached the “children.” They were still filled with fear towards anyone other than Lu Li, and they backed away making noises in their throats.

Raimy had no choice but to put down the can and return to Lu Li’s side.

The “children” gathered again, attracted by the scent.

“Wei’er” bowed her head and tore off a few bites, and then backed off as if she was full, allowing her companions to come forward to eat.

After taking turns eating, there was a little less than half a can of soup and meat chunks left.

“Their appetites are very small.”

Jimmy, who was adjusting the noisy radio, said.

He had tried many frequencies but only heard noisy static.

He was not discouraged and continued to adjust it slowly.

“They’re not full, they’re just…

deferring,” Raimy’s eyes gradually softened, and she looked at Lu Li, “The last half-can was left for you.”

“Open a few more cans,” Lu Li said.

Plentiful food would mean they needn’t hold back.

Raimy did as he said, opening four more cans.

The “children” stopped deferring and clustered around the cans to lick at the food.

They ate quickly, and if it were not for the narrow opening of the cans restricting their sharp teeth, they would have consumed the content in a few bites.

The slight relief was that the “children’s” appetites were similar to humans’, with the smallest even failing to finish half a can.

Even so, the cans Lu Li had stored and the 25 boxes bought from the merchant wouldn’t last a month.

“Actually, I wouldn’t recommend they eat human food.”

At that moment, Raimy told Lu Li, “One of the paths for oddities to grow is to consume the bodies of their kind to gain energy.

Like my brother, simply human food is not enough for him to survive…

except humans themselves.”

Humans were the second path of growth.

Lu Li didn’t reject Raimy’s suggestion, saying, “Could I entrust them to your care?”

“Of course, but what are you thinking…” Raimy guessed what Lu Li was considering.

“I’m planning to have them stay in the forest.”

Raimy pondered and said, “Hmm…

We could settle them at the cliff entrance, where we can construct a small wooden cabin; it won’t be too far from us.”

There was plenty of open space at the cliff top, but it might make the location too conspicuous.

Moreover, Raimy wanted the “children” to guard the cliff entrance, which would make Lu Li safer.

Lu Li had no objections, “Be mindful of those trees.”

“I know.”