The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 228: Survival on a Deserted Island

Lu Li glanced down at himself. A muscular physique, fair skin, the protective amulet around his neck—nothing about him suggested he was dirty.

Ignoring her remark, he continued to wring out his shirt, then tossed it at his feet, letting it get coated in the dry sand.

It would make wearing the shirt uncomfortable, but it was the only way to dry it quickly.

Lu Li removed the two Spirit Guns and placed them on a rocky ledge. He then did the same with his trousers before rolling over several times in the sand to dry his body.

After pulling on the clothes, which grated unpleasantly against his skin, Lu Li felt his body gradually warm up. In another half hour, however, he would have to take them off again and clean out the sand, or risk damaging his skin.

He looked at his palm again. The edges of the gash had turned a pale white from the water, and the wound itself stung as if scoured by sand.

This would, at the very least, prevent inflammation and further infection.

Lifting his head, Lu Li gazed at the endless gray sky and sea. He could see the illusory, thin Bloody Tentacles descending from the heavens, showing him the way.

This was the sole advantage of the Bloody Tentacles.

Recalling the map he had studied before setting sail, Lu Li remembered the name of this island: the Isle of Gaze.Before the Night Calamity, during the age of active seafaring, this small island, located about eighty nautical miles from the Allen Peninsula, was the most distant isle to host a lighthouse for passing ships. Now, it remained the peninsula’s farthest island, but it was unreachable.

If someone had once lived here, then perhaps something was left behind.

Lu Li looked up at the cliff that blocked his view.

“I’m going to search the island for food and water,” he told the woman in black. “What’s your name?”

Lu Li still didn’t know the woman’s name.

“A name is merely a label,” the woman replied indifferently.

“So I can call you anything?”

“Mm.”

“Friday, dry your clothes and build a fire, if you know how,” Lu Li said, turning away.

Walking barefoot over the soft sand, Lu Li made his way around the cliff and emerged on the right side of the island. The sand and soil were different colors here, and the ground was covered with withered bushes and grass.

The presence of plants indicated a source of water.

Lu Li stepped carefully onto the visible patches of earth, avoiding the dense clumps of dried grass, and entered a forest of dead trees.

As he moved away from the shore, the sound of the waves grew fainter, and a dead silence settled over the surroundings. There were no insects, no birds, no signs of life whatsoever.

After walking a few dozen meters into the forest, Lu Li stopped and looked around.

The landscape was monotonous, but at the top of the highest cliff, he could see the corner of a dark brown wooden house.

There was a house on the cliff.

Lu Li turned toward the cliff and, navigating its uneven surface, found a relatively gentle path leading up.

A hundred meters up, a lone wooden house stood on the cliff’s peak.

Lu Li followed a path, where the faint tracks of wheels were still visible, toward the summit. The wind, which had died down in the forest, picked up again, rustling his shirt.

From the top of the cliff, one had a perfect view of the entire island and the distant horizon. This was precisely why the house had been built here, and why the island was named the Isle of Gaze.

Lu Li stood before the door of the house. Constant exposure to the sea wind and moisture had weathered the wooden planks to a grimy gray.

He pushed the door, and a stale smell of rot and something else, something deeply unpleasant, wafted out from within.

Lu Li drew his Spirit Gun, only to put it away a moment later. Having lost his flashlight, he could only rely on his senses.

He felt no hostile aura; the house was safe.

Lu Li entered the house. The floorboards groaned under his feet. The interior resembled a hunting lodge. A taxidermied, inedible swordfish was mounted on the wall above a single bed.

Only ashes remained in the fireplace, with an empty pot hanging above it. A few logs lay nearby. On a table by the window, next to the door, an oil lamp, matches, and plates were scattered about. The plates held nothing but blackened remnants of food, and three empty tin cans lay on the floor.

In a wooden crate in the corner lay four more unopened cans.

Judging by the time that had passed since the deep sea became dangerous and the Night Calamity began, the canned food had been here for at least half a year. If vacuum-sealing technology existed in this world, they might still be edible.

Even if they weren’t, the cans could be used to store and boil water.

Lu Li walked to the crate in the corner and picked up one of the cans. The paper label had completely rotted away, leaving only a metal can with a threaded lid.

Placing the other three cans on the table, Lu Li went to the window and pulled out a pair of leather boots from under the bed.

The boots were several sizes too large for Lu Li, but they were better than nothing. After shaking out the dust, he put them on. His footsteps became muffled.

He approached the wardrobe. A strong smell of mildew emanated from the cracks, as if something inside were decaying.

There was no scent of decomposition, however.

Creak...

The sound echoed as Lu Li opened the wardrobe door. A gust of damp, musty air rushed out. Lu Li took a step back and looked at the dark clothes hanging inside. They were covered in repulsive patches of mold, and no one would ever want to wear them.

Lu Li closed the door, shutting out the smell of damp wood.

“This place can serve as a temporary shelter,” Lu Li thought to himself.

It had everything necessary for survival, a good vantage point, and the house was clearly visible. This place could be their refuge while they waited for help from the investigators.

Taking the matches and the canned food, Lu Li left the house. Glancing at the wall, he thought he saw a human shadow flicker across it.

Lu Li never trusted illusions, so he paused at the doorway and scanned the room again.

The room, filled with the smell of dampness, was unchanged. It looked as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

“Probably just a hallucination.”

Leaving the house, Lu Li didn’t immediately descend the cliff. He walked to the spot with the best view. A deck chair and a few empty bottles stood there. Before the disasters and dangers had come, the person who lived on the Isle of Gaze had apparently enjoyed relaxing in this chair, savoring the beach and the wine.

Lu Li noticed something that looked like a pond in the center of the island and made his way down the cliff.

The return journey took him half the time. With the cans clanking, Lu Li returned to the rock shelter and tossed them inside.

The woman in black looked up. Somehow, her clothes were completely dry, without a single wrinkle or grain of sand on them.

Lu Li took off his uncomfortable shirt and held it out to her. “Help me with this.”

The woman in black picked up a can, ignoring Lu Li’s request. “Is there someone else here?”

“There was.”

Lu Li brushed the sand from his shirt and his body, then told the woman about the house on the cliff.

But he had already changed his mind.