The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 208: The Fog

The vessel was cruising at twelve knots. At this pace, the sailboat would reach its destination in about an hour and a half, right around sunset.

"Assuming we can even see the sun through these clouds," Lu Li thought, spearing a piece of fish with his fork.

The silverback fish had a delicate flavor, and its broth was a milky white. Lu Li wasn't particularly fond of fish due to the bones, which were a nuisance and a potential hazard, but the silverback was different. It was boneless, save for those near the fins and along the spine.

Captain Harvey had opened a bottle of vintage wine, swirling his glass as he enthusiastically told Lu Li all about the silverback fish. His captain's hat was nowhere to be seen, revealing a mess of tangled brown hair braided into numerous small plaits.

After eating his fill, Lu Li, feeling a pleasant warmth inside, left the mess hall and stepped out onto the foredeck to admire the view.

The sea wind toyed with his hair and the tails of his coat. As evening approached, the drizzling rain had unexpectedly stopped. Beneath a grim sky, a leaden-gray ocean stretched to fill the horizon.

Aside from the water's ominous, strange color, the calm surface of the sea didn't seem nearly as dangerous as the stories made it out to be.

A few idle sailors stood on deck, gathered in small groups and discussing the usual topics of male conversation. Lu Li's gaze swept over them as he wondered if the investigator assigned to watch him might be hiding somewhere on this very ship.

After taking in the fresh sea air for a few more moments, Lu Li returned to his cabin under the curious stares of the sailors to prepare for the task ahead.

Time passed. The sky slowly darkened, and the crew began to light oil lamps and torches around the ship. Lu Li glanced out his window. The clouds on the horizon, where the sun had set, were stained an ominous, deep red.He watched in silence as the sun dipped below the horizon, the crimson clouds bleeding into a dark violet before finally merging with the others.

Lu Li checked his backpack one last time and asked the sailor posted at his door to bring him a life jacket and a lifebuoy.

When it was completely dark outside, Captain Harvey knocked on the door.

Lu Li tucked his Spirit Gun into his belt, pulled on his raincoat with the hood down, and strapped the life jacket over it. Then he grabbed his backpack and the lifebuoy and stepped out of the cabin.

“Lower the sails! Drop anchor!” Louis’s loud voice boomed from the deck.

Walking across the deck with Captain Harvey, Lu Li heard the command and frowned faintly. Weren't sailors supposed to avoid words like that?

The wind-filled sails came down. With a groan, the thick chain at the ship's bow slid down, link by link, until the anchor found the seabed.

“This is as far as we can go,” Captain Harvey explained, leading Lu Li to the rail. “There are dangerous reefs ahead, hidden anywhere from a few to several dozen meters underwater.” Several sailors were attaching ropes to a small wooden boat, about three meters long, which was suspended over the side.

“We'll wait for you here. The searchlight will show you the way,” Captain Harvey said. He clapped his hands and shouted up toward the mast, “Second mate, turn on the searchlight!”

A powerful beam of white light shot out from the top of the mast, illuminating the dark expanse of sea before the ship.

Lu Li tossed the lifebuoy and his backpack into the boat, picked up an oil lamp, and sat down on the bench.

“The sea favors the bold,” Captain Harvey declared, as if giving Lu Li his blessing. He then signaled the sailors to lower the boat.

The ropes went slack. The boat descended past the level of the deck, plunging into darkness. A spark flared for an instant, then a steady flame ignited.

The boat moved farther away from the bustling deck, drawing closer to the dark water. A few seconds later, its hull gently kissed the surface of the sea.

The ripples spreading from the boat were instantly swallowed by the waves. The lines holding it went slack, and the hooks automatically disengaged and were hoisted back up.

Sitting in the boat, Lu Li raised the oil lamp and leaned over the side. The water, nearly level with the gunwale, was as black and impenetrable as ink, reflecting only distorted, shattered glimmers from the flame.

Several heads appeared over the ship's rail. Captain Harvey, standing at the forefront, removed his cap and waved.

Lu Li averted his gaze, set the lamp in a holder at the bow, and took up the oars to begin rowing.

The relatively calm sea and weather were on his side. He rowed the dinghy out from the shadow of the sailboat, and the searchlight's beam shifted to guide his path.

In the bright beam, bizarre shadows became visible on the seabed, and strange flecks drifted through the water.

The small boat slowly pulled away from the ship, the searchlight's beam growing more diffuse with the distance. It lit up a wider area of the surface but struggled to penetrate the depths.

What lurked beneath the thick, impenetrable blackness of the sea's surface remained unknown.

Glub... Glub-glub...

Bubbles suddenly broke the surface to the right of the boat. Lu Li tensed, his eyes darting to the spot, but after a few moments, he looked away.

It was only an illusion.

The Contamination Detector on his wrist was silent.

Lu Li switched on his flashlight. Its faint beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the area immediately around the boat and the surface of the water.

He had already rowed about a hundred and fifty meters from the ship. The searchlight's beam barely reached him now; it was at the very edge of its range.

Just then, carried over the sound of the waves, muffled shouts reached Lu Li from somewhere behind him.

He stopped rowing and turned around.

The sailors on deck had crowded against the starboard rail. They were pointing at something in the darkness, their shouts carrying across the water. The searchlight beam, which had been fixed on the surface, began to flash erratically.

Lu Li didn't know what the flashing light signified, but he had a sinking feeling that something was terribly wrong.

Without hesitating, he turned the boat around and started rowing back toward the ship.

His oars splashed into the water, kicking up spray as the sea around his small boat grew choppy. He was closing the distance to the sailboat quickly.

The shouting from the deck grew louder, but he still couldn't make out any words. Trying to remain calm, Lu Li breathed heavily, putting his back into rowing.

When he was fifty or sixty meters away, full-blown panic erupted on deck. The sailors screamed as if they had seen something horrifying and scrambled for the hold. The unattended searchlight swung wildly, its beam now pointing uselessly at the sky.

Just as the sweeping beam of light slid across the starboard side of the ship, Lu Li saw something rising from the water...

Lu Li kept rowing, his jaw set. When he was just a short distance from the ship, the oil lamp in his boat flickered a few times, its flame suddenly dimming as if seen through a haze.

Fog had rolled in.

Click... Click...

The Contamination Detector suddenly began to tick softly. Lu Li instantly dropped the oars. He snatched up the flashlight, pointing its beam to his left, while his other hand flew to the grip of the pistol tucked in his belt.

The fog swirled around him, blanketing everything. The oil lamp now only managed to illuminate a tiny circle around the boat.

The boat drifted forward on its own momentum. With the arrival of the fog, the once-choppy sea fell unnervingly silent. The waves vanished, and the surface of the water became as smooth as a mirror.

The lone boat was adrift on a dark, fog-shrouded sea.