Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 670 - 670 One hundred and eighty-nine

670: One hundred and eighty-nine.

Fallen ashes 670: One hundred and eighty-nine.

Fallen ashes Strictly speaking, the entire Valrend City is an infection zone.

The safe zone is maintained only around City Hall and its surrounding blocks.

Moreover, they struggle to clear more safe zones because the Dandelions can float and move about, and they don’t have the resources to keep the safe zone’s flames burning at all times, nor do they have enough manpower.

What City Hall could do was to warn all residents through broadcast not to go out, to lock and block their doors and windows, to hide in enclosed environments like bedrooms, cupboards, or basements, and wait for the possible rescue to come.

At the entrance of every building in the safe zone, a bonfire raged, driving away the Dandelions that had breached the outer defenses and drifted into the safe area.

Around some of the bonfires, figures wrapped up tightly, even their heads covered, gathered.

Personnel wearing Bird Beak Masks were urging them to approach the fire, one by one removing their outerwear.

“They were people rescued by the Cleaners from the infection zone, and after flame disinfection, they will be arranged to enter houses,” the City Lord’s Assistant explained.

Fortunately, the buildings around City Hall were mostly shops or company facilities like banks…

offering ample space to accommodate the survivors.

“You can move freely between the safe zone and the infected area, and if you need supplies, go to the square in front of City Hall to collect them.”

“Do you have separate log cabins?” Anna’s question came from underneath the black robe.

“I’m sorry…

what do you mean?” The City Lord’s Assistant did not understand what Anna meant.

“Log cabins that are distant from other buildings and easily combustible,” Lu Li said, having guessed what Anna was up to.

The City Lord’s Assistant thought for a moment and then told them, “Anteria Gallery and the library are made entirely of wood and are a distance away from the surrounding streets.

The gallery is on the outskirts of the safe zone, the library a bit further.

You want to…”

The City Lord’s Assistant suddenly realized something and added, in astonishment, “Forgive my bluntness but lighting them on fire will only clear the Dandelions around them, and there are many valuable artworks and books inside—”

“It’s a different method, one that might clear the Dandelions from the nearby streets,” Anna interrupted.

Clearing several blocks…

The City Lord’s Assistant was somewhat tempted.

“I need to consult with the City Lord…”

He scurried back to City Hall in the distance and soon returned, panting, to Lu Li’s side.

“The City Lord has given permission, and asks if you need any further assistance.”

The City Lord’s Assistant admired the decisiveness of the temporary City Lord.

The artworks in the Anteria Gallery could almost buy half of Rend City, but he had permitted burning it down without even taking some time to move those treasures.

“Bring enough kerosene to douse the building, and take us there,” Lu Li said.

Lu Li and Anna followed the City Lord’s Assistant back to the square in front of City Hall, their figures the only ones in the vast square not wearing protective gear.

Lu Li was protected by Anna, while the City Lord’s Assistant had learned from Valenteel—he believed that a City Lord not wearing protective gear could give the public a sense of calm and prevent panic.

The City Lord’s Assistant asked the resource allocation personnel for a team of Cleaners and a full 100 pounds of kerosene.

He had wanted to ask for more, but kerosene was being used up much faster than what the Cleaners brought back, so they had to save enough kerosene for use in the safe zone.

After everything was arranged, the City Lord’s Assistant picked up a set of protective clothing and said to Lu Li, “Please wait for me a moment.”

“No need, we will protect you,” Anna spoke up.

The City Lord’s Assistant paused, having heard the stories of Lu Li and Anna walking down the long street, the Dandelions veering away from around them in fear, and thus put down the protective clothing and returned to Lu Li’s side to lead the way.

The flames at the periphery of the safe zone were like an invisible wall, cutting off the drifting haze of Blood Dandelions from the outside world.

The City Lord’s Assistant, about to step into the infection zone, hesitated for a moment, involuntarily slowing his pace.

Anna spread out her invisible, flame-like protection, cutting off the approaching Dandelions and dispelling the City Lord’s Assistant’s hesitation.

After crossing a street infected by the invasion, the Anteria Gallery, veiled in a blood-colored curtain, came fully into view.

The gallery, like a Manor House in its configurations, was larger and more prone to burning than imagined…

Opening the front door, the Cleaners following behind Lu Li and his companions entered the gallery.

The dim gallery was also shrouded in a blood-colored mist, with blurry, shriveled outlines sprawled on the corridor’s carpet.

The desiccated corpses in front of statues and paintings lent an ironic twist to the scene.

“Pour half the kerosene around, and the other half over the walls outside,” Lu Li commanded, and the Cleaners with oil drums scattered to work.

The City Lord’s Assistant looked at the artworks hanging on the walls, as if they stared back at him, mocking or perhaps mourning.

“Are we really going to burn it…?” the City Lord’s Assistant reluctantly asked.

Discussing it and witnessing it were two completely different feelings.

“Survival needs outweigh personal needs,” Lu Li answered curtly.

Compared to these paintings and sculptures of interest only to well-fed middle-class and nobility, the books in the neighboring library bore a more significant meaning.

Unlike the City Lord’s Assistant, the Cleaners, who hardly ever visited art galleries, regarded this place with a mix of awe and indifference—

They casually did things that would have any noble or artist cry out in distress.

Watching his favorite painting being doused with kerosene, the Assistant saw the figure in the painting as if lamenting his own lack of intervention.

He could have taken one with him; no one would have chastised him, except himself.

The Cleaners finished emptying their oil drums inside the gallery and stepped onto the street.

Those outside had also completed their task, gathering together to await what came next.

Lu Li struck a match, igniting a kerosene-soaked painting and watched as it curled and burned before he, along with Anna and the City Lord’s Assistant, exited the gallery.

The blaze spread rapidly, clear flames lighting up the windows, while thick smoke began to billow out of the gallery.

In less than two minutes, the fire fully engulfed the gallery, flames towering meters high, forcing them to keep stepping back from the intense heat.

And when it was fully ablaze—

A hitherto silent breeze began to stir silently upon this land.

A twirling wind appeared around the gallery, acting like a conductor, guiding the aimless hot air upwards, converging and circling around the enormous bonfire.

The fire became entranced by the wind, gradually taking shape within its swirls.

The flames from the gallery, drawn by the forming hurricane, climbed higher and higher, dozens of meters, hundreds of meters, until at a certain moment they reached the Dandelions covering the city skies, bursting open loudly—

The closely-knit Blood Dandelions were ignited by the sparks, spreading rapidly, transforming into a magnificent and fantastical conflagration over half the city.

Onlookers in the City Hall square stood dumbfounded, gazing up at this spectacular sight.

The sky-spanning firestorm lasted but a moment before darkening once more.

In Valrend City, now dim due to the dissipation of the flames, black snowflakes began to fall.