Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 854 - 47. The Only Choice

Chapter 854: 47. The Only Choice

The writhing inner walls pushed them deeper.

A layer of light, transparent mucus secreted from their bodies soaked through their clothes, protecting them from the corrosive stomach acid.

The disgusting writhing inner walls felt like breathable water, enveloping them as they rushed downstream.

"It hurts! I’m going to be eaten!"

Suddenly, the scream of the big sister rang out beside Lu Li’s ear.

It was hidden beside Lu Li, having not eaten the Yellow Plum Grass, and was being digested by the worm’s stomach acid.

Lu Li handed a stalk of Yellow Plum Grass to the big sister, who shook her head in pain.

"I can’t eat anything!"

So Lu Li grabbed the big sister, stuffed it into his clothes, and turned it around a few times, letting her be covered with the transparent mucus.

At this moment, the Insect Path suddenly trembled slightly, and a faint wailing echoed.

Realizing something, Lu Li turned back, only to see a terrifying face hanging dozens of meters away, its blade-like forelimbs swinging, slicing and tearing through the Insect Path as it approached.

The Insect Path was long enough that its body hadn’t yet received the news of its death, still maintaining its writhing motion, pushing Lu Li and others towards the depths.

Their sliding speed was faster than that of the giant model, and in an instant, its roar and figure were blocked from view by layers of meat walls.

But it was only temporary, it wouldn’t let them go.

Not before it or they were dead.

"Why does it hate us so much..." Puxiu muttered in a daze.

"Maybe because we killed its child."

Katerina grabbed Puxiu by the neck: "Isn’t there anything in the old sewers that can stop it?"

"There is... of course there is, but those leaders wouldn’t let us go after dealing with it!"

"You chose this path!"

Puxiu drooped his ears and whimpered: "I didn’t know the model would resent you so much, and there’s another big model..."

Lu Li interrupted the argument between Katerina and Puxiu: "Is there a branch it can’t get into?"

"There is, but they’re all far from here!"

"Are there any other Insect Paths near the exit?" Lu Li asked again.

"On several branch lines away..."

"Lead us out once we’re out."

The Insect Path could allow them to briefly distance themselves from the giant model, and by jumping through a few Insect Paths, they might reach Midnight City before it closed in.

Or it might be blocked in the branch line occupied by the leaders.

Ten minutes later, a writhing of the worm’s tail expelled three figures.

Lu Li and Katerina barely steadied themselves, while Puxiu rolled several times, gray dirt clinging to him, making it almost impossible to recognize his hyena form.

Puxiu got up, shook his body to fling off the mucus, padded a few steps forward, and looked back: "Follow me!"

Running to catch up with Puxiu, Lu Li took out the big sister from his arms and woke her up.

"Ugh... how did I fall asleep..."

The voice of the big sister was muffled as she crawled toward Lu Li’s shoulder, but the slippery mucus caused her to struggle for a while until Lu Li gave her a push, and she finally climbed up to his shoulder.

"Don’t rush to leave, we still have to go to the next Insect Path," Lu Li said to the big sister who was preparing to leap off his back.

"Why! It’s so sticky and uncomfortable!" the big sister screamed in protest.

"Is the giant model still chasing us?" Lu Li retorted.

Recovering from the sleepiness, the big sister regained her nastiness: "A dense scent of blood shrouds you, only death can wash it away!"

"That’s why we have to continue along the Insect Path."

The big sister had no choice but to stay on Lu Li’s shoulder, holding onto the hood to prevent herself from being thrown off.

But the jostling from the running was uncomfortable, and she nearly got thrown off by Lu Li several times.

"Slow down a bit!"

The big sister waved her small burlap hands, patting Lu Li’s hair.

"You could let Puxiu carry you," Lu Li suggested. Puxiu’s hyena body would allow the big sister to ride like she was on a horse.

Running ahead to lead the way, Puxiu turned his human face: "Miss Big Sister, I can carry you."

"No way! He stinks!" The big sister, grabbing onto the cloak and being flung about, screamed in complaint.

Puxiu pretended not to mind, turned his human face forward, and discreetly sniffed around.

"You can crawl into the hood."

Prompted by Lu Li, the big sister jumped off the shoulder and fell into the hood, which was just the right size for her.

Sticking her head out with a ferocious mask, she loudly urged: "Run faster!"

The appearance of the big sister helped them avoid some unnecessary trouble, like those wanting to stop them.

"How far are we?"

A fork in the path appeared ahead, while behind them, far in the distance, an unsettling and resentful wailing approached.

The giant model was closer than expected; it had already arrived.

"It should be... should be around here. I can’t remember, I have to ask..."

With the giant model pressing closer, they had no choice but to wait while Puxiu hurriedly asked for directions.

Many existences ignored or avoided Puxiu, Lu Li and Katerina, who were dressed in black robes like heretics, and the small entity with the aura of an Evil God made them wary — despite the mucus embarrassingly sticking to them.

"Excuse me, where is the Insect Path?"

Amidst the distant spreading commotion that could be faintly seen behind them, finally, an Alien was willing to answer Puxiu, pointing to a branch line and telling them the location.

"Thank you for your help. I wish you a wonderful—"

Before Puxiu could finish his gratitude, Katerina impatiently dashed into the branch.

Puxiu stopped mid-sentence and followed Katerina with Lu Li.

The disturbance caused by the giant model was becoming increasingly clear as it broke free from the wooden house and gradually regained its strength.

At some moment, the big sister in the hood forcefully slapped Lu Li’s neck.

"I see it!"

At the fork, the charging giant model emerged, crushing everything in its path.

"Hyena, did you find the Insect Path!"

Katerina shouted through gritted teeth.

"Just ahead!" Puxiu shouted.

Accelerating to run for tens of seconds, they reached the end of the branch line — ahead, two branch lines split like forks.

There was no Insect Path.

"He said it was here..." Puxiu murmured.

"Simple, he tricked us." Katerina said coldly.

The ground was trembling, stones were jumping, and those perceiving imminent danger moved away.

But they could no longer run.

She asked Lu Li, "Do you have any ideas?"

"We split up."

Lu Li looked at the giant model. It had recovered significantly, and its terrifying face filled with malice, even a glance would cause nightmares.

"No way!"

Katerina placed all hope on Lu Li; she had almost sacrificed everything for it. The loss of Lu Li was a cost she couldn’t bear.

Lu Li withdrew his gaze, looked toward the edge of the fork, a concealed, narrow tunnel leading to a lower level.

"Then let’s go deeper."

Lu Li headed for the tunnel.

Katerina resisted the abyssal hole, but with no strength left, they had no other choice.

"If this doesn’t yield a rich reward..." Katerina murmured, following Lu Li with Puxiu.

The roaring sound closed in behind them, and shortly after diving into the tunnel, a loud crash and tremor erupted at the entrance, with large stones rolling past their feet.

"We can wait here."

Katerina instinctively lowered her voice: "No need to go deeper... wait for it to leave."

"It won’t give up. Rocks won’t hold it for long, and those in the depths will also be drawn," Lu Li shook his head softly.

By then, there would be nowhere for them to run.