Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 815 - 8. Terrifying Collision

Chapter 815: 8. Terrifying Collision

The heat waves from the lava sea radiate throughout the entire underground world.

This is directly manifested on the stone pillars supporting the world. The rock face closer to the lava sea is more fragile and mottled; a light touch with the palm causes dry stone fragments to crumble and fall, plummeting tens of meters down into the city.

The sulfur-scented hot wind blows through his hair tips, and Lu Li gazes out over the underground world.

Below his feet, the Lost Giant City is located at the center of the underground world. On one side is the downstream lava sea, its far end distorted by the heat waves, obscuring what lies beyond. On the other side, upstream is lit by a lava river, stretching into the gray depths.

The slightly narrower ends are also over ten li wide.

The underground world is shaped like a wide river.

Lu Li stares into the depths of the underground world.

If it weren’t for the conspicuous city, he might have followed upstream after emerging from the hole.

He withdraws his gaze and continues upwards along the spiral stone steps.

The stone pillar is approximately 600 meters high. The steps, like the city below, are oversized, about 1.5 times the size of human construction. The thicker stone steps have allowed the spiral staircase to preserve its main structure even after hundreds of years of erosion.

This integrity becomes incomplete at one hundred meters above ground.

Chipped and missing pieces of the steps are visible everywhere, and stepping on the side near the lava sea feels like walking on the crust of burnt bread; the crisp sound as the stone surface shatters into powder leaves noticeable footprints.

Starting at a height of two hundred meters, the hot air from the lava sea blows more fiercely, like a scorching summer wind passing through an open door.

The coat’s surface becomes damp and warm, and in just ten minutes it would completely dry out.

As he neared the middle of the stone pillar, some unsettling changes began to occur.

The steps beneath his feet suddenly began to tremble faintly, with gravel bouncing up from them.

Lu Li quickly increased his pace, ascending more than ten steps, but the tremors did not cease.

Debris fell from the stone pillar overhead, the source of the tremor was not the steps, nor the pillar, but the entire underground world.

Tens of seconds later, the vibrations gradually subsided. The dust from the falling stone covered the entire subterranean world.

The glow from the lava sea cast a pale yellow veil over the underground world.

On the edge of the veil, an inconspicuous black dot was treading the steps midway up the stone pillar.

Lu Li lowered the arm shielding his eyes, surveyed the dust storm raging in the underworld, and continued upwards.

No matter what, the source of the unknown tremor is not a good sign.

Lu Li no longer conserved his energy, increasing his pace upwards.

But starting from three hundred meters, Lu Li had to slow down. The damage to the steps was more severe, with missing corners and fragility no longer being the only problems.

Large sections of steps were missing and potholes abounded; a slight misstep could lead to collapse, and in some places, gaps revealed the city below.

This was not the hardest section to traverse. From below, looking up from the square, the middle and upper sections of the stone pillar had steps as broken as cliffs, and there was a nearly ten-meter stretch of bald stone pillar with no steps at all.

Approaching four hundred meters, Lu Li had to test the solidity of each step before shifting his weight onto it.

But even at four hundred and fifty meters, an accident occurred.

A previously confirmed solid step suddenly collapsed, throwing Lu Li off balance.

Quickly reacting, Lu Li grabbed the edge of the step with his right hand, leaving deep finger marks in the fragile surface. Fortunately, it was sturdy enough to bear Lu Li’s full weight, leaving him dangling over four hundred meters above the city below, without falling with the collapsed steps.

Drawing his gaze back from below, Lu Li lifted his left arm to grab the step’s edge, pulling himself up.

And almost as soon as he climbed onto a secure step, the second tremor arrived.

Having experienced it once, Lu Li vaguely sensed the source of the tremor this time—deep in the upstream of the underground world.

The second tremor was stronger than the first, the entire underground world felt like a steam train running on tracks, but it only lasted a brief dozen seconds before it abruptly ceased, leaving the underground world enveloped in sand and stone.

The murky dust engulfed the underground world, reducing visibility to less than a hundred meters, as if heralding the end of the world, isolating individuals from the world, the light from the lava sea stretched Lu Li’s elongated shadow, casting it into the dust.

The air became acrid, and as the tremors subsided, Lu Li bowed his head and continued upwards.

Whatever the source of the tremor, he had to reach the top of the stone pillar before the third tremor arrived.

Several minutes later, 500 meters up the pillar.

Lu Li was now just over a hundred meters from the top of the stone pillar.

This would be the most challenging part of the climb.

Most of the broken steps remained only at their roots, like steep cliffs. Although every so often a seemingly intact section of steps appeared, no one could tell if it was solid enough to support Lu Li or a deadly trap until stepped on.

Lu Li pressed closely against the stone pillar, inching upwards layer by layer.

What took time from the base to a hundred meters took only two and a half rounds, ten meters height at five hundred meters.

The third subterranean tremor came unexpectedly after more than ten minutes, but it was not as violent as Lu Li had imagined, even milder than the first, as if the crisis had passed.

Only the echoing clamors from deep upstream signaled that the situation was not yet concluded.

Lu Li released his grip on the stone wall and continued climbing upwards.

Three minutes later, Lu Li reached 570 meters on the stone pillar, with the rock face just within reach.

Above him was nearly ten meters of bare stone pillar protruding with rocks.

And at the upstream end, the increasingly loud echoing clamor.

Lu Li clung to the protruding stones, spiraling upwards, layer by layer.

Thankfully, the stones were still firm, with only a few stone skins flaking off.

His muscles gradually became sore, but Lu Li was getting closer to the upper steps—until he circled from the lava sea side to the upstream side.

The echoing clamor transformed back into the genuine sound of rushing tides, changing with the terrain.

A raging torrent surged from upstream, overwhelming everything.

Witnessing this scene, Lu Li suddenly understood why the city that had fallen underground for centuries remained spotless.

The terror lay not in the torrent itself. They could not topple the city or the stone pillar.

But in the moment the raging torrent clashed with the lava sea.

The torrents rushed many meters each second, accompanied by a thunderous roar, reaching the city’s edge in a blink.

Lu Li accelerated his climb, reaching the top of the bare stone pillar, and with a push of his feet against the pillar, he leaped and clung to the edge of the broken steps.

Crash—

The step his right hand grasped broke and fell, bouncing off the steps below before vanishing into the waves surging into the city.

Sizzle—

Simultaneously, the forefront of the wave touched the lava sea, letting off billows of steam.

Climbing up the steps, only thirty meters remained until the upper level. Lu Li leaned forward, running up clumsily but swiftly, steps collapsing beneath him layer by layer.

The lava and the tides had collided, instantly raising steam capable of cooking Lu Li in an instant, hitting the ceiling, changing their form, spreading around—

The underground world began to become stuffy, with the steam fog approaching the stone pillar.

The darkened upper level lay just ahead.

A lighthouse beam shone, and Lu Li ran into the upper level, leaping forcefully towards the edge—

The terrifying high-temperature steam closely followed him into the upper space.