Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 695 - 695 Two hundred and fourteen

695: Two hundred and fourteen.

The safest place 695: Two hundred and fourteen.

The safest place “Ha…”

Standing at the doorway, Jimmy breathed out, the chill on the dim cliff top making him shrink his neck, and without thinking, he went back inside the cabin and shut the wooden door.

“You’ll get sick…

you definitely will get sick…” wrapped in a blanket, he huddled beside the stove, rubbing his nearly frozen nose.

“You really are strange,” Raimy, reading by the window, said helplessly.

The idea of a ghost being afraid of the cold sounded like a cold joke.

“Ghosts aren’t supposed to be as cold as you, brother,” Jimmy said, shivering.

Though he knew he was certainly not human, just like those who enjoy boasting, Jimmy liked to brag about this fact.

“Then you keep warming up by the stove, I’m going to look for Aidanvoya.”

Aidanvoya needed someone to accompany her, and Lu Li and Anna wouldn’t possibly do such things, so it was only Raimy who could do it.

“Don’t open the door—” Jimmy shouted.

He was a step too late; his sister had already pulled open the wooden door, cold wind pouring in, causing the flames in the stove and Jimmy’s shadow on the wall to flicker incessantly.

The intentionally door-opening Raimy laughed lightheartedly, closed the door, and left, leaving her brother shivering beside the now steady stove.

Not far from the wood cabin, Raimy knocked on the door: “Miss Aidanvoya, are you awake?”

Click—

The wooden door, moist with water vapor, scraped the floor as it opened, and the sea breeze on the cliff top couldn’t disperse the musty smell of the damp wood inside the house.

Aidanvoya’s home also had a stove.

Of course, she didn’t need to warm herself; the stove was just there to ensure that the cabin stayed dry.

Although a damp cabin wouldn’t bother a ghost with issues like sickness or discomfort, it looked a lot more comfortable.

“Just call me Aidanvoya,” Aidanvoya said, waiting for Raimy to come in before pushing the wooden door shut.

“I have rested well, and although I am no longer human, the stove still brings me comfort.”

They spoke quietly for a while, until it was no longer dim outside and the dense fog had lifted.

Together they went to the cave.

Before leaving, Aidanvoya didn’t forget to add some firewood to keep the stove burning, to ensure it wouldn’t go out from being unattended for too long.

Wood was cheap; it was everywhere.

What was missing were usable matches and lighters.

The former could occasionally be scavenged from ruins, although it depended on luck yet a box could last a long time.

The latter had to be found in dining halls or noble kitchens, and those found were usually broken and unusable.

Lately, Anna had managed to find only a lighter and an oil lamp with its own lighter.

Of course, the merchants definitely had matches for sale.

“Good morning.”

After greeting Lu Li and Anna, they lit the oil lamp and placed it on the newly built wooden table.

They pulled books with bookmarks from the shelves and returned to quietly flip through them beside the table.

After a while, Jimmy also came to the cave, and being illiterate, he started playing with the children.

Normally they wouldn’t gather like this or gather so early.

Today was Monday, the day the new issue of “Arlen Peninsula Survey Report” was delivered.

As the food cooked in front of the fireplace began to emit a delicious aroma, the bright light outside the cave was blocked by a figure.

The merchant walked into the cave, bringing the new issue of “Arlen Peninsula Survey Report” and other newspapers, as well as the fixed weekly salary paid every Monday.

Lu Li handed the merchant a rough piece of paper and a pen, which listed essential items such as canned goods, kerosene, coal, matches, and jerked meat.

“Write down their prices,” Lu Li said.

After the merchant had written the prices with a pen that seemed tiny in his hand, Lu Li indicated that he did not need to trade for now and watched the merchant leave.

The merchant’s prices allowed the residents atop the cliff, isolated from news, to visually understand the outside world.

And it was free.

Why would a merchant charge for merely inquiring about prices?

The latest issue of the “Investigator’s Weekly” mentioned the third disaster of the Barren Lands only once.

Although sorrow was not far from them, everything was worsening, and standing still would only make the path ahead more difficult.

They predicted “The Time of Silence” would envelop the human world within a month, with the front reefs of the Lennon Islands closest, expected in five days.

Next would be the visitor archipelagos of the Main Affinity Continent, inland.

The Arlen Peninsula was up next, expected in ten days.

Four common newspapers published this information.

These days they had been repeatedly mentioning “The Time of Silence,” so the news did not cause much public unrest after its release.

Beyond that, the “Investigator’s Weekly” advised people to move to coastal towns or those close enough to rivers for refuge.

Although coastal towns were more susceptible to attacks from the Mist of Strangeness, they would not be troubled by food.

A city with a population in the tens of thousands consumes a colossal amount of food, and it was almost impossible for humans without crops to get enough food inland.

The “Arlen Peninsula Survey Report” published similar content but in a boastful manner: Himfast was close enough to the sea, yet far enough away, neither too close to be attacked by the deep sea and the mist nor too far to lack food and face difficulties.

They extensively praised the City Lord and the council for their foresighted action in establishing a port and the nobles who invested.

This reassured those who were hesitant, making them even believe that Himfast was no less secure than the distant Lennon Islands.

The Lennon Islands continued to sing praises of their safety.

Words like “Divine Sanctuary,” “God’s Chosen Land,” and “The Queen protects us” were cheaply splashed around.

Even though there were some voices of concern, they were masked by the praises.

People’s concerns were not unfounded, but they were worthless.

Whether the Lennon Islands were involved in the schemes of the strange beings or not, they were now the safest place.

While towns on the Main Affinity Continent and the Barren Lands were busy receiving refugees, expanding cities, erecting walls, and hoarding supplies, life in the Lennon Islands remained no different from peaceful times.

Except that the people there were truly tired of the endless fish, even the poorest could pick up shells and dead fish washed ashore to barely fill their stomachs.

It was said that there were shipping companies relaunching tickets to the Lennon Islands.

To avoid danger, they would not venture into the deep sea but use medium-sized sailboats along the coastline.

The tickets were expensive, yet they sold out quickly.

If the first sailboat smoothly reached the Lennon Islands, people would scramble even more fervently for tickets, and other shipping companies would also make their moves.

Trade and capital always exist, no matter when.

As the hunting hour approached, Raimy asked Anna to bring some rainproof cloths, and tiles would be even better if she could find them.

“I want to go check the beach again,” Anna put away the gun holster handed to her by Lu Li.

Lu Li looked up at her, knowing which beach she meant: Ghost Prison.

“Belfast is too close to us, almost at our doorstep.

We need to know what’s happening there.” Anna responded to Lu Li’s gaze.

Lu Li thought silently for a moment and then agreed to Anna’s suggestion.

“Be careful.”