Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 648 - 648 167

648: 167.

Another group of survivors 648: 167.

Another group of survivors A fireplace blazed warmly.

A woman tiptoed as she tended to the clothes rack, while a young man in a loose, ill-fitting new velvet shirt mopped the floor.

At a dining table placed in front of the window, two lovers sat facing the street view, and one of the middle-aged men who had dragged himself in went up to the counter and poured himself a beer to sip lightly.

This peaceful and beautiful scene seemed oddly abrupt in Royal City at this moment, but the man deeply desired it all to be real—

Just then, York patted his shoulder.

“Welcome to the safe house, buddy.”

This man, Webb, took a while to respond, then maintained a confused expression as if he had won a major prize but couldn’t believe it.

He had been numbly searching for other survivors for a long time and indeed met a few individuals and teams who claimed to be survivors.

But Webb didn’t trust them; he always found various reasons to convince himself: the survivors in front of you are strange beings in disguise, they are deceiving you.

It had nothing to do with observation skills; it was just that Webb no longer trusted anything after knowing his wife was disguised by a strange being.

And now…

Webb thought that survivors should be like rats, skittishly hiding in the dark, cold underground.

But this scene indeed touched Webb’s weary, numb heart.

“I was caught and brought here; there’s nowhere to run,” Webb told himself.

Even as a newcomer, he had the privilege of choosing a set of clothes and a snack for free.

He wasn’t interested in the former and knew the origin of the young man’s loose clothes, but he devoured the latter out of starvation, even if it might have been poisoned.

Gemini Reed understood Webb’s unease well; the damned paradise made people lose their trust, played by strange beings at will.

If Gemini Reed had met Lu Li later, she wasn’t sure she could still trust him.

Webb’s conflicting psychology of not wanting it all to be fake yet subconsciously questioning everything didn’t last long, as it was easily shattered by Lu Li and Anna—they rushed out and dragged back a silhouette to the clothing store.

Thinking it was a survivor, York approached just to see Anna slicing off its limbs while Lu Li evaporated it with his Spirit-Calling Gun.

“Well, I thought it was a newbie…” Muttered York as he turned to grab a sack.

This scene made Webb truly trust this group of survivors without reservations.

This absolute trust was more important than anything at this time.

The bodies were taken by York and Red to an alley to be fed, and upon returning, Gemini Reed, who Webb sought out to express his concerns about whether the food and water would last, received the worry.

“We should save some food,” Webb said to Gemini Reed, who was almost halfway through his beer.

Gemini Reed set down the glass, “Lu Li said the paradise won’t last long, it will change the rules or end the game soon.”

The good news carried a harsh truth behind it: the increasingly scarce humans would make the “game” unsustainable.

This speculation had begun to show signs: for a long time, no survivors passed through the streets anymore.

Only strange beings, strange beings, and more strange beings.

On the bright side, after the initial phase, those who gained identities chose to hide at home.

As for the downside… there weren’t many survivors left in Royal City.

Just then—

The quartz clock in the corner suddenly chimed dully.

It was 2 a.m.

Four hours until dawn, but would everything end once it was light?

They weren’t sure, but those who died would never see the dawn come.

Perhaps they wouldn’t either.

The quartz clock only chimed briefly twice, but the echoes it stirred were still reverberating in their hearts.

Ten minutes later, Lu Li no longer waited passively for survivors to pass by: “There are four survivors at Xiusi University, I’ll try to get them out if they’re still alive.”

“Am I joining you?” York asked from behind the counter.

“Just Anna and me.”

The safe house was left in the care of Gemini Reed.

As an Exorcist, he knew what to do.

“Be careful.”

The survivors watched as Lu Li and Anna left the clothing store.

Gemini Reed hung a ‘Closed’ sign on the door, double-locked it, then returned to sit by the fireplace.

After the departure of Lu Li and Anna, the atmosphere in the clothing store had quietened significantly.

Even York, who was always livening up the place, fell silent, glancing at the clock periodically.

The most unsettled was Emma, who had to clean the room to calm her nerves, resulting in her clumsily knocking over various items.

“What’s wrong?” Yiwo asked, puzzled, as Emma looked like she was terrified.

The question made Emma’s hands tremble as she held the broom, her face a mask of conflict, drawing the attention of Gemini Reed and the others.

“I’m sorry I lied to you all…” Emma’s hands twisted nervously together.

“Actually, I…

come from another group of survivors.”

York and the others involuntarily showed their surprise, only Gemini Reed furrowed his brows, “Why mention it only now?”

Lu Li and Anna had just left…

Coincidence or conspiracy?

However, he did not suspect Emma of being non-human.

Emma hung her head in shame.

“I originally deceived His Excellency Lulian and Miss Anna.

After I trusted you all, I was too scared to say…”

“What is the situation over there?” Gemini Reed asked.

Hiding in a church, there were about twenty survivors, lacking food and water.

This was the situation of the other group of survivors.

Emma was one of the survivors sent out to gather food, which explained why her backpack was filled with so many canned goods.

“My brother is also there, so I have to go back…

Will you come with me?

Or allow me to leave temporarily to inform them back at the church…”

Gemini Reed thought for a moment, making the safest choice for them, “I can’t decide on my own, you’d better stay here and wait for Lu Li to return.”

But just then, there came slow knocking at the door, along with cries for help—

…

“Help!

Someone help us!”

Before the last stretch of alley leading to Xiusi University, a lady waved from behind a low wall in the backyard of a house, calling for help.

Lu Li looked up at Inverted City, seeing no one behind that low wall, and signaled to Anna that she was human.

“What happened?”

“You…are you humans?” As the shouts drew Lu Li and Anna near, the lady regretted her impulsive outcry.

“If you weren’t calling for help, we would have taken action by now,” Anna responded.

Lu Li then presented a badge to verify his identity: “Exorcist Lu Li.”

“Exorcist…” The lady hesitated for a moment, then quickly realizing, hurriedly said, “I’m human too!”

“I know,” Lu Li nodded gently.

“We are a group of survivors…

but a monster is amongst us, it’s inside killing people right now; only I managed to escape outside…

please…” the lady covered her face, sobbing, looking like a woman engulfed in panic and fear.