The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 223: Childhood

A shadow drifted silently past Lu Li. It seemed to be carrying something, and as it reached the ship's rail, it soundlessly tossed the object into the sea.

Another shadow slipped by Lu Li. It headed for the cabin, passed through the door of the captain's quarters, and vanished.

Yet another shadow drifted near Lu Li. It leaned against the wooden siding of the cabin, resting for a moment before another shadow beckoned to it.

Two shadows converged on the deck a few meters from Lu Li, stood in silence for a time, and then went their separate ways.

They methodically reenacted their actions from life, moving strangely about the sailing ship, which was coated in a black substance deep in the dark ocean. They moved like phantoms and kept a ghostly silence.

Lu Li blended in with them, maintaining his role as a sailor "swabbing the deck." Not a single shadow disturbed him.

This continued for about an hour. Lu Li remained in front of the cabin, constantly repeating the motions of washing the deck. Occasionally, he would stop and lean against the cabin's siding to rest for a moment. Though he needed no rest, it was crucial to maintain his character.

Dawn was still two hours away.

Several more minutes passed before Lu Li noticed out of the corner of his eye that another shadow was approaching... or rather, heading straight for him.

Unlike the other shadows, this one seemed to be walking toward Lu Li with purpose. After pretending to move about randomly a few times, he became certain of it.The shadow drew closer.

Lu Li was not prepared to interact with them.

After a moment's hesitation, Lu Li, still feigning the act of swabbing the deck, turned to face the shadow and began backing away toward the cabin.

The sound of waves now came from ahead, and a sea breeze carrying the scent of fish gusted into the cabin. Lu Li retreated into the cabin.

The approaching shadow stopped at the entrance, hesitating to enter. It lingered there for a moment, then turned and departed.

It had indeed been targeting him.

Lu Li watched the shadow depart, then straightened from his feigned task, his brow furrowed in thought.

Directly looking at or touching them didn't lower one's Mind Level or distort one's thoughts. Aside from their shadowy appearance, they seemed utterly harmless—but that was precisely what made the situation so unsettling and strange.

An enemy is most dangerous when its nature is unknown.

Lu Li could handle the strange shadows calmly because he had understood their logic.

The shadows had their own logic, but now it had changed.

He hoped it was just a coincidence.

Lu Li thought as he stepped back out onto the deck, bending over once more to mimic the act of cleaning.

He could no longer find the shadow that had just approached him. Except for the captain in his easily recognizable cap and the sailor with a missing arm, they all looked the same.

Even after memorizing their particular features, Lu Li could only distinguish a few of them.

A lull returned, but just a few minutes later, another shadow headed for Lu Li—and it was not the same one as before.

Just as before, Lu Li retreated into the cabin. From the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow linger at the entrance for a moment before departing.

Something was wrong...

Once could be dismissed as a coincidence, but twice was too much, especially on this bizarre ship.

Mulling it over, he returned to the deck, and, as expected, the shadow was gone.

A few minutes later... a third shadow made its way toward Lu Li.

Lu Li was forced to hide in the cabin again, waiting for the shadow, which had paused at the entrance, to depart.

The intervals between their appearances were shrinking, but Lu Li couldn't figure out the reason.

Could it be that he was staying in one place for too long?

So, upon stepping outside again, Lu Li expanded his "cleaning" area, moving closer to the ship's rail.

It didn't help. Not even five minutes had passed before another shadow started toward Lu Li.

Four times now, a shadow had approached, the interval shrinking each time, as if they had noticed something.

But all this time, they had simply been reenacting scenes from their lives on this ship.

The only consolation was that they didn't enter the cabin. Whenever Lu Li went back inside, the shadows would stop pursuing him.

But Lu Li couldn't go out on deck for now. It was obvious that the interval would shrink even more the next time, until it reached some critical point, after which something terrible would happen.

Lu Li had no intention of waiting for that to happen.

He remained in the cabin, his thoughts shifting from "why are the shadows coming for me" to "what is their objective."

They've sensed he's an outsider and are trying to drive him into the cabin—those were the two possibilities that came to mind. Unfortunately, neither of them offered Lu Li any useful clues.

The eyes on the vines covering the walls gazed in different directions down the corridor, some looked at Lu Li, but with no hint of hostility.

Compared to the strange deck, Lu Li truly felt calmer here.

Lu Li silently watched the deck from the doorway. From time to time, the shadows of sailors drifted past.

This continued for some time, until, at a certain moment, the shadows on deck suddenly began to converge from all directions, gathering in one spot.

Lu Li frowned and moved to the edge of the cabin.

On the deck nearby, the shadows had formed three rows. The second spot in the first row was empty, and the captain's shadow stood before them all.

It was exactly as it had been when Lu Li first saw them.

Lu Li realized something. He stepped out of the cabin, crossed the deck, and climbed to the captain's quarters on the upper deck.

Pushing open the broken door, Lu Li wiped the black substance from the face of a clock. The time was 3:55.

Two hours had passed since the last "tide."

Judging by the shadows' strange behavior and the intervals between their appearances...

The next "tide" was about to begin.

Lu Li faced a choice. Hide in the cabin or join the formation. He had to pick one.

No matter how he looked at it, hiding in the cabin was the safest option. No one would harm him there, and the strange presences within seemed to bear him no ill will—yet Lu Li felt a sense of unease.

He had a feeling that if he returned to the cabin and hid from the black substance... something bad would happen.

Lu Li didn't have premonitions; he never relied on them. Such feelings rarely surfaced, and when they did, his strong self-control quickly suppressed them.

But that was before. Everything had changed now.

Science was no longer the only possible explanation; logic had become optional.

Under these conditions, trusting a gut feeling had become entirely reasonable.

I'll approach the formation first. If anything goes wrong, I'll retreat to the cabin.

Lu Li decided, stepping out of the captain's quarters and returning to the main deck.

The formation remained ghostly silent. Lu Li approached the shadows from behind, mentally counting down to the supposed start of the "tide."

He circled around to the side of the formation. The shadows didn't react to his presence at all.

But then, Lu Li stopped abruptly.

His spot had been taken by another shadow.

Or rather, a figure now stood in the space that had previously been empty.