Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 822 - 15. Do not believe

Chapter 822: 15. Do not believe

The Mantis Ghost, also known as the Mantis Phantom by some.

Mantis comes from its form, ghost comes from its ability—to penetrate entities.

The Mantis Ghost is not a particularly challenging anomaly to deal with; there are countless more terrifying anomalies in the wilderness, as its weakness is quite obvious: as long as you keep your distance and remain quiet, it won’t detect you.

"You seem to have more questions." Katerina observed Lu Li.

Lu Li remained silent for a moment before choosing to voice his question to Katerina, "Have you heard of the Shadow of the Evil Spirit Girl?"

"I don’t know."

Katerina shook her head as she recalled, then suggested, "Someone in Tang Ge Town must know."

She hoped Lu Li would go to the town, as that meant she would receive a large reward.

Provided that Lu Li truly was a pure human.

"I will go to the town with you." Lu Li understood Katerina’s intentions, but he did not refuse.

He needed to find out what had happened in this world, and—

News of Anna.

"Wait a little longer, the Mantis Ghost will linger around for a while after losing its target." Katerina’s accelerated heartbeat echoed in the cabin.

"You’re excited," Lu Li noted, watching her.

Katerina didn’t hide it, "You have no idea how much your bounty is, it’s enough for me not to leave town for a few months, maybe even become a resident!"

"What about your family?" Katerina remembered something and asked.

Lu Li slightly lowered his eyes and calmly replied, "She went missing."

"That’s quite common in the wilderness, isn’t it..." Katerina thought Lu Li should learn to adapt to these things.

The cabin became quiet due to the heavy topic.

They stayed in the shelter cabin waiting for the Mantis Ghost to leave. Suddenly, without any warning, a series of rapid footsteps echoed from the street outside.

Lu Li looked to Katerina for explanation.

"Not the Mantis Ghost." Katerina stood up abruptly.

The footsteps approached quickly, stopping right before the unlocked door.

Creak—

The door was pushed open from outside, revealing an empty street.

Yet Lu Li sensed a kind of chaotic malice as if it were tangible, spreading at the door.

"Brother! How is it you... This is impossible!"

Yet, it seemed Katerina saw a different scene; she was communicating with the malicious presence.

The exchange continued, Katerina’s emotions shifted from disbelief to skepticism, gradually nearing credulity. At one interval, she glanced at Lu Li, as if the topic of conversation with it concerned Lu Li.

Realizing that if Katerina continued interacting with the anomaly, some trouble would arise, Lu Li lowered his gaze to his left hand.

If Friday infused the Redemption Fragments into his hand back...

Lu Li left his seat, stepped forward, and swung a punch at the mass of malice as Katerina rushed forward in alarm.

It wasn’t just a mass of air, as Lu Li’s fist sank into it like thick syrup, the malice evaporated, a sharp scream seemingly resonated through the cabin.

Lu Li wasn’t accustomed to his new power yet, but evidently, he hadn’t used it incorrectly.

The malice vanished with the sticky sensation enveloping his fist, and Katerina, emerging from the hallucination, halted her charge.

Destroying the anomaly, a faint humanity flooded into Lu Li, bringing warmth but without the Death Retrace.

Was it excised by the outline suspected to be Friday, or was the anomaly not human-formed?

Lu Li closed the door, turned, and asked Katerina, "What was that?"

"I owe you one."

Katerina still felt shaken; she had almost been lured in by the anomaly, or rather, she had already been lured in, "I don’t know, there are too many monsters that deceive with illusions. This place isn’t safe anymore, we need to leave."

As the words fell, a gentle whisper suddenly sounded behind Lu Li.

"Lu Li..."

Lu Li’s upright body stiffened momentarily.

"I succeeded... You died..."

Lu Li didn’t respond or turn around, instead, he lifted his eyes to Katerina, indicating he was ensnared.

He knew it was an illusion, not the real Anna.

The familiar whisper continued behind him.

"I know you have doubts... This is different from everything you experienced underground... But the answer has always been with you..."

"Lu Li... my love... open that diary you picked up in the Temple... and face the truth..."

Lu Li paused slightly, reaching his palm into his pocket and pulling out Nasram Alaya’s diary.

"The answer is in there..."

In the whisper, Lu Li opened the diary.

[I am trapped here]

[The intervals between tides are long, the next one is in over ten days, but the path down has collapsed, I can’t leave here]

[The good news is, I won’t live for ten days, there’s no food or water, the wounds caused by Anna are also causing my life to ebb away]

[Whoever finds this diary, I am Lu Li, a Demon Slayer, next I will document all the anomalies I know]

"Thinking carefully... that skeleton is you..."

The whispered words made it difficult for Lu Li to suppress his thoughts.

Was it the shelter resident trapped by despair, or was it himself, Lu Li?

Suddenly, a sharp sound sliced through the air, a faint scream echoed in the cabin, then silence returned.

The familiar whispers no longer resonated at Lu Li’s ear.

"Evened out again."

Twice saved by Lu Li, and twice saving him, Katerina walked past him, pulling out the Homogeneous Item embedded in the door panel.

Lu Li glanced back at the diary, its content restored, still the diary written by the Nasram Alaya, the shelter resident.

"Hurry, if it’s a group anomaly, there will be trouble."

Katerina inserted the Homogeneous Item into her eye, yanked open the door and stepped onto the street.

Lu Li followed her out of the cabin, moving towards the dim exit of the shelter.

The Mantis Ghost that prowled near the entrance had long vanished, only nearly dried sticky blood marks remained at the exit and on the Deep Sea Stone.

That was Lu Li’s blood.

Katerina peered out for a moment, pulled out a piece of Fluorite from her bosom to dimly illuminate the surroundings, gesturing for Lu Li to follow.

The shelter was located inside a mine, its exit was also a mine tunnel.

Following the glow held by Katerina, Lu Li walked several hundred meters, recalling his contribution points and the Deep Sea Stone, asking Katerina if the merchant still existed.

"That kind doesn’t exist, at least I’ve never heard of it." Katerina suddenly crouched, brushing the mine floor with her shoe. "Shh... we’re getting close to the entrance of the Mantis Ghost’s nest, stay quiet."

Marks resembling picks striking the rock appeared underfoot.

The further they walked, the denser the marks became.

Lu Li and Katerina moved cautiously forward nearly a hundred meters, successfully passing an offshoot path—leading to the Mantis Ghost’s nest.

After gaining some distance, they increased their pace as they approached the mine tunnel’s exit until the dim light of the outside world glowed at the tunnel’s end.

"What time is it now?" Lu Li asked.

"Midnight."

Katerina suddenly remembered something and turned to add, "Oh, and once you’re outside, don’t look up, you’ll go mad."

"A new disaster?"

"No, sometimes the view just makes people lose it... you probably won’t go mad, but, whatever you do, never, don’t believe the sky."