The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 198: Steps of Mankind

Lu Li opened the book. Before his eyes lay a pale gray page.

Most of the page was consumed by a gray shadow, like the smear of a pencil, leaving only a small, jagged section untouched.

In the center, surrounded by the shadow, were four outlines. The first, on the left, was labeled the Main Continent—a map of the land where Lu Li lived, with the Allen Peninsula jutting out to the southeast.

To the right and slightly above the Main Continent, at some distance, lay a second shape labeled the Fallow Lands. It was the largest of the four, nearly twice the size of the Main Continent.

To the right and slightly below the Fallow Lands, and lower than the Main Continent, was a third outline. It was not a single landmass, but a scattering of fragments of various sizes. Above them was the inscription: Lennon Archipelago.

The fourth outline was situated below the Main Continent, the greatest distance from the other three. Even if the Fallow Lands and the Lennon Archipelago were placed in the gap between them, they would not fill a fifth of the void. This land was called the Arable Lands.

Besides these four major landmasses, tiny shapes and dots were scattered about, most of them without even a name.

At the top of the page was an inscription: [The world as we know it].

Beneath the Main Continent were the Arable Lands, and below them, a white line extended a few centimeters into the gray shadow. It depicted a ship.

This ship was The Zephyr—the vessel of the great explorer Solasivia Khim, who had discovered the Arable Lands.Beside it was a caption: [Our furthest journey to date].

All these contours, encircled by shadow, seemed so insignificant and small, occupying less than a tenth of the page.

In the bottom right corner, where a thumb would cover it while turning the page, was one final line: [This world is so vast, and we have only just crossed the threshold].

The page made a powerful impression.

So, this world had not yet been fully explored.

Lu Li tore his gaze from the page and glanced down the aisle between the bookshelves. It was still empty.

Confident that the strange book ghost had not reappeared, Lu Li stepped back toward the edge of the shelf, where the light was better.

He glanced at the page one more time, then turned it.

The next page, rendered in the same palette of black, white, and gray, displayed a map of the Main Continent and its surrounding waters.

There was the continent itself, divided into dozens of nations; the Allen Peninsula, jutting out from the mainland; the Shadow Swamp and the sea connecting the peninsula to the rest of the continent. He saw the Kingdom of Ellen, situated on the other side of the Allen Peninsula's principality. Major islands dotted the waters surrounding the Main Continent, along with several large ports, including Port Roadster. The map detailed major reefs and indicated terrain with simple icons: trees, waves, houses, mountains, hills, and grass.

It also showed the distances to the other three landmasses: the Fallow Lands were the closest, followed by the Lennon Archipelago, with the Arable Lands being the most distant.

The map might not have been minutely detailed, but it was comprehensive enough.

This book was exactly what Lu Li needed.

After spending several minutes studying the page and committing the key details to memory, Lu Li turned to the next.

The Fallow Lands—that was the name of this continent. Its vastness lay not only in its area but also in the fact that it was a single, solid entity, with no nearby islands, as if all the islands had gathered around the Lennon Archipelago instead.

The terrain of the Fallow Lands consisted mostly of hills, mountains, and lakes. In the expansive interior, only a few settlements, marked by houses, were shown, while the coastal regions were more populated, home to over seventy percent of the Fallow Lands' inhabitants.

The continent was as desolate as its name suggested.

Its distances to the other landmasses were listed: the Lennon Archipelago was the closest, then the Main Continent, and finally the Arable Lands, which were the furthest away.

The third page depicted the Lennon Archipelago. The Hodgkin United Empire occupied most of its islands, with the rest divided among various smaller states and alliances. The archipelago had an elongated shape, resembling an eggplant. Including the space between the islands, it appeared larger than the Main Continent, but if one were to remove all the water, it would probably only be three-fifths of its size.

Its distances were noted as well: closest to the Fallow Lands, then the Arable Lands, and furthest from the Main Continent.

Lu Li turned the page.

This page illustrated the Arable Lands.

For some reason, this continent made Lu Li uneasy.

Perhaps it was because the Kodasserlsen had sunk there, or because communication with the continent had been abruptly lost, or maybe it was Gades's words about the Arable Lands being a place forgotten by the old gods. All these signs filled Lu Li with a sense of foreboding.

It seemed that something terrible was happening on that land.

The Arable Lands were the smallest of the territories known to humanity, even smaller than the Lennon Archipelago without the water. However, the land was rich in resources, and the surrounding ocean, long untouched by exploitation, teemed with marine life.

When Solasivia Khim discovered this continent, a settlement of indigenous people already existed on the coast, at a place called the Cape of Gaze. They were apparently descendants of people who had been lost at sea long ago and had reached the Arable Lands. Without books, they lived a relatively primitive life, and by the time Solasivia Khim arrived, their language had partially eroded.

Solasivia Khim returned with news of a new continent and a new sea route, and various nations began sending ships for colonization. However, due to the unfamiliar route and the dangers of open-sea sailing in those days, they could neither extract resources from the Arable Lands nor establish trade, maintaining only a tenuous connection.

Some sailors who reached the Arable Lands, unwilling to risk the return journey, settled down with the locals, founding a small town on the Cape of Gaze.

The Cape of Gaze faced north. Its distances to the other three landmasses were: closest to the Main Continent, then the Fallow Lands, and furthest from the Lennon Archipelago.

The Kodasserlsen had vanished several dozen nautical miles from the Cape of Gaze. There were no reefs or pirates in that area.

The Kodasserlsen had not sailed directly to the Main Continent, but had followed a U-shaped route, passing by the Fallow Lands, reaching the vicinity of the Arable Lands, and then turning back toward the Main Continent. This was done to take advantage of warm currents to save fuel, and also to demonstrate the ship's grandeur and reliability in an attempt to salvage the reputation of the struggling Royal Hodgkin Sailing Company.

No new information about the Arable Lands or the Kodasserlsen had arrived, but the Royal Hodgkin Sailing Company had already gone bankrupt because of the incident.

After several dozen minutes, having read to the final page, Lu Li closed the book. He paused for a moment in thought, then placed it back on the shelf.

He committed the book's title to memory, deciding he would buy a copy from the Trader the next time one appeared. It was sure to be very useful.