Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 687 - 687 206

687: 206.

The Last Storm Arrives 687: 206.

The Last Storm Arrives The view stretched along the coastline but was blocked by the port of Rodest in the gulf.

However, even if he had seen the Elm Forest in the south, it wouldn’t have been much different from what was visible from the cliff top.

Anna noticed Lu Li’s gaze, so when she returned in the afternoon, she brought back an item encircled by Raimy and Jimmy: a telescope.

It seemed to have been removed from a coastal street for viewing the scenery, as the base still had screws that should have been fixed into a slate.

Raimy and Jimmy were particularly fond of this object, and after installing it at the edge of the cliff, they couldn’t wait to peer out towards the sea and the Ruins of Belfast.

The image distortion was severe, and the magnification was less than 60.

After playing for a while, Raimy resumed her role as a farmer tending the fields, and Jimmy’s Monster Avatar lay down on a small patch of sand next to the cabin—a piece of the beach he had specifically brought back with him.

Once the novelty had worn off for the Jimmy siblings, Lu Li approached the telescope.

First, he observed the Ruins of Belfast and Rodest Port, then he turned the telescope to aim at the Elm Forest in the south.

“Ship traces appeared on the rocks around Ghost Prison.

The Heretics may have already landed on that island.”

Annie’s voice arose beside him, and Lu Li stepped away from the telescope.

“Can’t see anything,” Lu Li said.

The island lay further south; to see it, one would need to go outside the gulf or stand at the southern edge of the Elm Forest.

This was somewhat good news, as at least the cliff top wasn’t within the sight of the prison housing many ghosts and those Heretics.

Unexpectedly, Aidanvoya also tried the telescope.

She looked in the direction of the summit of Belfast…the direction towards her and Tesla’s home.

After afternoon tea, residents walked out of the cave into the mist at night, returning to their cabins.

Lu Li also fell asleep amidst Anna’s “goodnight.”

Anna, who had taken his advice, flipped through a novel she was usually interested in, but unfortunately, the plots that would usually enthrall her now failed to move her.

Instead, Sara’s memories, which were many times more profound than the stories, kept surging forth…

Underneath the calm, suppression lay buried, and it was about to break through the soil.

…

Dawn arrived, and the bustling mist quietly receded.

The tender buds emerging from the soil were adorned with morning dew, with nearly a third of the cultivated land sprouting crops.

It was not just the crops; numerous buds awakening from dormancy sprouted from the soil near the cave.

At first, Raimy would move them, planting them carefully in front of the cabin, but as the number of growing plants increased and the rare became the norm, she no longer found it surprising.

Any botanist witnessing this scene would have gone mad.

“It’s a shame it’s getting colder…”

Raimy, watching her brother shiver as he climbed out of the bedding, fetched a coat for him from the wardrobe.

Lu Li could counteract the disaster of the plant anomalies, but what about natural laws…

Raimy thought of the crops in the fields and the plants on the cliff top, which would soon wilt, and her mood also turned sad.

“There should be…

a spare stove at Lu Lili’s place?”

The chill seeping through the coat made Jimmy inhale sharply, “Or…

or perhaps ask Anna to bring one back from Belfast.”

If it kept getting colder, he even felt he might catch a cold.

“Can’t use a stove in the cabin,” Raimy said.

As for building a stone house…

that would take days, and they’d have to find a place in the forest with enough stones.

“Then a heater or something, anything to start a fire.” If it kept getting colder, Jimmy even felt he might catch a cold.

“I’ll ask Lu Li,” Raimy said as she pushed open the wooden door, allowing the sea breeze to sweep the chill into the cabin.

She told her brother, whose breath was nearly stopping, “He should be awake by now.”

…

Lu Li awoke from his long dream.

The charcoal in the fireplace had already grown dim, and the feeble flame in the oil lamp flickered slightly.

By the dimly lit desk, Anna was still holding the book, virtually no different in thickness from the last time she read it before sleeping last night.

“Anna.”

As if awakening from a dream, Anna’s eyes, blurry in the darkness, filled with confusion, “…was it a nightmare?”

“It’s already daybreak.”

As her confusion faded, Anna noticed the nearly extinguished fireplace and the dying oil lamp, “I’m sorry… I was engrossed in the book.”

Anna brushed the hair from her forehead and added new wood to the fireplace.

An invisible wind fanned inside, rekindling a bright light from the originally dim charcoal, gradually igniting the flames.

While she was refilling the oil lamp with kerosene, Raimy entered the cave, relaying to Lu Li the news of the colder weather and Jimmy’s desire for a heater.

“There are extra heaters in the cellar.”

Such portable, space-saving heaters met Lu Li’s needs well, but the thick smoke it produced would fill the cave.

A fireplace with a chimney suited the situation better.

Raimy brought the heater Jimmy was concerned about back to the cabin.

Jimmy hid in the cabin until the weather warmed a bit in the morning, then moved next to Lu Li under the Annie Tree.

[The last storm of the year will arrive at Himfast early tomorrow morning.]

The rain clouds that had pushed deep into the Tranquil Plains from the Sielma Mountain Range were turning into a storm.

Typically, storms formed over the sea and struck the land, but this time it was strangely the other way around.

Yet, as many weird things had occurred this year, people hardly had the time to ponder the reasons, only wearily dealing with the new crises.

The Arlen Peninsula Survey Report warned all the settlements on the peninsula to stock up on resources to cope with troubles.

This was destined to be the hardest storm to manage.

The storm would reach Himfast by early morning, with Belfast following slightly later, but it wouldn’t be later than mid-morning.

“The storm is coming.”

Lu Li handed the newspaper to a somber Jimmy who approached.

Jimmy took it absent-mindedly and then, remembering he couldn’t read, took it to find Raimy.

Soon, Raimy, clutching the Arlen Peninsula Survey Report, came to find Lu Li, “We need to get ready.”

The crops and recently sprouted plants were bound to perish in the storm, but with Lu Li here, they would inevitably sprout anew eventually.

There were sufficient resources in the cellar, so their greater concerns were the cabin’s sturdiness against the rain and Annie’s safety.

The storm could destroy trees to devastating effect.

If they did nothing, Annie, who had only recently recovered from a serious illness, might not withstand the storm.

Instead of Anna staying by Annie’s side throughout the storm, Raimy suggested a better idea: building a makeshift tiny house for Annie.

It wasn’t difficult or time-consuming.

They didn’t need to consider the placement of doors or windows, or worry about leaks; it just needed to block most of the wind.

The longest part of building Annie’s tiny house was Jimmy spending over an hour to find the wood; the actual construction took less than twenty minutes.

A cramped wooden house for Annie was easily assembled.

It had no doors or windows, and the gaps were so big fingers could fit through.

Then Jimmy, Raimy and the helping Aidanvoya began reinforcing their cabin.

All afternoon, the lively sound of hammering nails and boards echoed across the cliff top.