Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 692 - 692 Two hundred eleven

692: Two hundred eleven.

Ways to solve memory problems 692: Two hundred eleven.

Ways to solve memory problems “`

Rustle, rustle—

The raging storm poured down the chimney, the coolness rushed into the fireplace, and the flames flickered wildly.

Dreadful weather, dreadful news.

After reading the notes in the newspaper, Lu Li handed it to Raimy.

“The third calamity…” Raimy’s mood became heavy.

It sounded far more despairing than the plant calamity and the night calamity.

The Evil Spirit Radio was placed on the table, next to the radio and the black cat sitting by its side.

Lu Li picked up the manual that came with it; compared to Albert’s prototype, the new Evil Spirit Radio was more like a Homogeneous Item mixed with mechanical parts—it was driven not by electricity, but by perception, just like the Sanity Value Counter.

It recorded evil spirits beyond those Albert had inputted, such as the Shadow Thief of Fire and the Visible Sound; the new calamity “The Time of Silence” was also among them.

The voices they represented were the sounds of wind chimes, humming, and bells.

When the Evil Spirit Radio made a sound, it meant that the corresponding evil spirit was nearby.

This was just the beginning.

Over time, the Evil Spirit Radio would record more evil spirit frequencies.

“[Humans have never conquered the sea, but they still sail through storms.]

A line was carved into the bottom of the Evil Spirit Radio’s wooden case, suggesting its answer: because of wisdom and tools.

Jimmy Ampere and the children took shelter from the rain in a cave.

Since Raimy had no physical body, she occasionally left the cave to check on the small cabin’s leaks and the integrity of Annie’s and the crops’ wooden hut.

The sculpture crouched next to the fireplace, seemingly afraid of the cold, with a coat stolen from Lu Li draped over it.

The stormy noon was as dim as evening; as the short hand of the clock began to fall, the sleeping Anna opened her eyes.

Lu Li, sitting on a wooden chair, tilted his head to observe the awakening Anna.

“Good morning,” Anna said weakly, sitting up from the bed, the blanket sliding off her ethereal body.

“It’s already afternoon,” Lu Li closed the book and pushed it to the corner of the table.

The black cat squatting there lifted a paw to hold down the book.

Anna wasn’t able to resolve those memories, just alleviate some symptoms, such as affirming her self.

“I feel like Sara is still alive…” She furrowed her brows and said with some confusion.

“She keeps influencing me with memories.”

“A person consists of memories,” was all that Lu Li responded.

In the Arlen Kingdom, there was once a famous paradox: Mike lost his memory, Tom received his memory.

So, is Mike still Mike or is Tom now Mike?

The discussion spawned from this also led to many similar paradoxical questions: If Mike who hadn’t lost his memory was cloned, would the cloned Mike still be Mike; if Mike and Tom exchanged memories, who would be Mike and who would be Tom?

But for Anna, it wasn’t that complicated.

She just had to treat Sara’s memories as a vivid, long, and fantastical adventure story.

Even if she was changed by the adventure story, it was okay because the changed Anna was still Anna.

As long as Anna could hold onto herself and not confuse Sara’s memories as her own.

This was difficult, because…

“I want to have a body,” Anna suddenly said seriously to Lu Li.

Because many things in Sara’s memories were exactly what Anna yearned for.

The experiences of having a body in the Royal City of Arlen granted Anna this yearning, and Sara’s memories deepened it.

To completely rid herself of Sara’s entanglement and obtain a body that wouldn’t make Anna envious seemed to be an option as well.

So, Lu Li called Raimy, who had returned to the cave, and asked her how an evil spirit could obtain a body.

“That’s difficult…” Raimy flipped through the knowledge inherited from the previous scholars and said.

Difficult, but not impossible…

“Is there a way?”

“`

Anna’s voice still sounded weak, and no one knew what she had experienced after sinking into consciousness.

“Well, it’s a ritual that allows ethereal beings to repossess a body,” Raimy paused slightly, suddenly avoiding Lu Li’s gaze, “but it’s very evil…

just as evil as the things Sara did to resurrect Adam.”

Raimy didn’t believe Lu Li would agree to let Anna do such a thing.

Suddenly, she regretted replying so quickly.

“What ritual?”

The frail Anna leaned against the Deep Sea Stone wall, asking with interest.

With a sigh in her heart, Raimy answered, “It’s a ritual that bestows a form…

The Evil God lacks believers, so it sends minions disguised as humans to towns to beguile mankind, bringing them back to its realm for transformation.”

“So we still need to find the Evil God,” Lu Li said.

“Not necessarily, if we can master this ritual…” Raimy regretted speaking of it even more.

She didn’t want to see a rift emerge between Lu Li and Raimy.

“What’s the cost?” But Lu Li had already asked.

“…Bodies, the fresher the better.”

The minions are the nourishment of the Evil God.

Lu Li had clearly understood this point during the incident in Shadow Town.

Aside from a few mysterious and strange Evil Gods who were indifferent to reaching beyond their realms, most Evil Gods followed their instincts, expanding in evil and bloodshed.

Every Evil God possesses similar powers, despite the different methods.

For example, Raimy’s former deity used the ritual that bestows forms to disguise minions as humans to deceive mankind.

There were also Evil Gods who would spread books imbued with their twisted consciousness; people who read them were distorted by the Twisted Knowledge within, gradually transforming into believers or minions.

Or let minions take the form of beautiful young girls to seduce men in towns; once impregnated, they leave and return to their domain to give birth to the next generation of minions.

Raimy started to explain the side effects of the “bestowing form” ritual.

The ritual was like ghostly possession, but after the transformation, the corpse’s appearance would change to resemble that of the possessor.

The duration was uncertain, usually depending on the body’s state of decomposition, but it usually didn’t last more than two weeks—although it could last longer, a body crawling with maggots in rotting flesh emitting a foul stench could hardly stay hidden in towns for long.

This meant that the bodies would be consumed as expendables, rather than used for the long term…

This was also why Raimy felt regret.

Lu Li would surely be caught in a dilemma, and so would Anna.

It was like “The Gift of the Magi,” where the husband sold his watch to buy a comb for his wife, while the wife sold her hair to buy a chain for his watch.

If that was all, despite being bittersweet, it would still be a heartwarming story.

But if they disagreed…

“Let’s try the first method,” Lu Li said to Anna.

“The first method…?

What is it?” Anna asked, curious.

“The Evil God possesses the power to seal away and erase memories,” Lu Li calmly looked at Anna, waiting for her response.

As long as the source was resolved, Sara’s memories, Anna would no longer be affected.

“Forgetting…” Anna’s eyes drooped slightly, her emotions hard to discern.

“I agree.”

Even though Sara’s memories inevitably affected Anna, causing her grief and loss over this decision, Anna still didn’t want to risk that Sara’s memories could one day make her hurt Lu Li.

Mother of the Marsh was the only choice.

Her relationship with Lu Li and the group was good enough, and they could communicate.

But this meant they would have to leave the clifftop again, departing right after the storm.