The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 234: The Deep Ones

Seconds after the last line of text vanished, the sound of slow, retreating footsteps echoed faintly. The ominous aura faded with them.

The footsteps gradually dwindled until they were gone completely. Lu Li let the creature leave without giving chase.

This time, the "door" had changed its approach. It no longer tried to contact Lu Li through a letter—perhaps because he had been ignoring its messages, or perhaps because receiving a letter on a deserted island was simply too implausible.

The "door's" goal remained the same: to make Lu Li hear it, then see it, touch it, and finally, enter the door in the sewer.

There was no doubt about it—which was why it constantly concocted lies to deceive and lure Lu Li.

But its lies were laced with a kernel of truth.

For example, a ghost could indeed increase its power by killing, and growing too strong too quickly could lead to a loss of sanity. If Anna received the letter, she might truly act as the "door" described. And there really could be a boat waiting on the shore.

But no matter how plausible it all sounded, it was still woven with deceit.

For instance, Tesla wouldn't be sending a letter to the detective agency right now, and Anna would have stayed put at the agency, not gone searching for Lu Li across the ocean.

Lu Li chose to trust Tesla and Anna.After he ignored the "door," a brief peace settled over the beach.

The smell of something scorching filled the air. Lu Li moved the four small fish to some rocks farther from the fire, picked one up, and bit off half of it, tail and all.

The white meat beneath the charred skin was cooked through, giving off a pleasant aroma. Saltwater fish are naturally a bit briny, so the taste was quite tolerable.

Lu Li chewed slowly, crushing all the tiny bones, then swallowed and popped the second half into his mouth, head included.

He ate the second fish in the same manner, deciding to save the remaining two for breakfast.

If, of course, he managed to survive the night.

The campfire flickered, and the shadows inside the shelter danced along with it.

Lu Li's shadow on the stone wall, the shadow of the rocks, the shadow of the can of stew. Suddenly, the last one detached itself from its object and began to hop about, trying to escape the shelter.

Slightly taken aback, Lu Li watched the can's shadow trying to flee.

A wild... can...?

The can's shadow reached the edge of the fire and, like most illusions, dissolved silently.

A new shadow appeared beneath the can, swaying with the flames, but it was nothing special now—just an ordinary shadow.

Aside from the problems illusions created, like leading to flawed judgments, they could sometimes be quite amusing.

After that minor incident, a long spell of peace once again settled over the shelter.

The can by the water collector had been full for a while, but Lu Li didn't risk going out to get it.

He was on an island in the middle of the ocean, and there was no telling what other strange and terrible creatures might dwell here.

Click...

Lu Li caught the barely audible sound and glanced down at the Mind Level counter, which lay still on his wrist, making no noise.

It was as if the sound he had just heard had been nothing but his imagination.

Lu Li watched the counter patiently until, tens of seconds later, a second click sounded, confirming it had not been a mistake.

Click...

Another click followed tens of seconds later.

His Mind Level was dropping very slowly, perhaps because the source was far away, or perhaps because it was very weak.

Lu Li didn't know the precise meaning of the interval between the counter's clicks, but there was no doubt that the more frequent they were, the faster his Mind Level fell.

Aboard the "Returning Souls," Lu Li had heard clicks every few seconds all night long, yet his Mind Level had remained in the second stage, albeit slightly worse for wear.

This meant that Lu Li's Mind Level was currently declining at an almost imperceptible rate.

The interval between the clicks gradually shortened until it settled at about half a minute.

The source was now quite close, possibly right on the beach, because Lu Li could smell a strong stench of fish and deep-sea silt on the ocean breeze filtering into the shelter.

These were the creatures that had left the flipper prints.

Lu Li thought he could hear muffled voices, but it might have just been his imagination.

Had they found him...?

Lu Li gripped the handle of his pistol.

The fact that these creatures lowered one's Mind Level meant the Spirit Gun could harm them.

Suddenly, the cot blocking the shelter's entrance was pushed aside. Lu Li instantly raised his Spirit Gun and aimed it at a figure shrouded in a black cloak.

The figure stepped into the shelter, returned the cot to its place, and sat down next to Lu Li.

The shelter was designed for two people, but now it felt a bit cramped.

"Don't you know how to walk quietly?" Lu Li asked the newcomer, Friday, lowering his pistol.

"You can even hear footsteps on sand?"

The question gave Lu Li pause.

Perhaps there had been nothing beyond the cot, and the footsteps were just another illusion created by the "door" to keep a cautious Lu Li from going outside.

"Why did you come back?" Lu Li continued, looking at Friday.

Friday answered casually, "Just as you said, something's wrong with the hut, so I came back."

"And what's wrong with it?"

Friday extinguished the oil lamp, set it down on the sand, and said, "Something unpleasant. Don't worry, it won't bother us tonight."

Friday clearly didn't want to elaborate, and Lu Li didn't press her, shifting his gaze to the cot. "Did you see them outside?"

"Who?"

Lu Li described the flipper prints he had found while surveying the shoreline.

"Sounds like the Deep Ones," Friday, as expected, recognized them. After naming them, she explained briefly, "They live in the ocean depths. Servants of some entity whose name must not be spoken aloud."

That explained why the flipper prints led from the sea.

Lu Li glanced up at the gap in the shelter's ceiling, but the sandy wall blocked his view.

The fishy smell that had seeped into the shelter began to dissipate, as if the Deep Ones had retreated back into the sea.

"Are they intelligent?"

"Like humans."

"So you can talk to them?"

The hooded figure turned to Lu Li. From beneath the hood, she gave him the same surprised look Tesla once had. "Why would you think that?"

"Just a thought."

Lu Li didn't elaborate on the subject, because the explanation would have been too long.

Friday didn't ask any more questions and began pulling cans of stew, matches, and a pot from beneath her cloak. She had brought back nearly every useful item from the hut; it didn't look at all like she had left in a hurry.

The sight made Lu Li realize something.

Perhaps Friday hadn't left in the morning because she thought the hut was safer. She had gone there alone so Lu Li would prepare the shelter, only to return and reap the benefits of his labor.

Instead of calling Friday out, Lu Li asked a different question. "Why do you wear that cloak? It must be inconvenient."

As if defensively, Friday clutched the cloak to herself and whispered softly, "If you saw my true face, you would go mad."

Lu Li held his gaze on her for a moment, then looked away.

Maybe there's nothing under her cloak?