The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 511: A Conversation in the Night

Lu Li stepped out of the carriage and retrieved the spare key from the mailbox.

The sleepy children, now awake, clutched their blankets tightly and climbed down one by one.

"Is this our new home?" the youngest girl asked, her gaze full of curiosity as she looked at the two-story wooden house shrouded in mist.

Vir glanced at Lu Li before answering quietly, "Yes. We'll be living here now."

The door creaked open.

Holding an oil lamp, Lu Li was the first to step inside, lighting a candle on the dining table.

With joyful faces, the children rushed into the house and began to look around curiously, as if trying to memorize every detail. Their excited exclamations echoed through the rooms from time to time.

But the house was empty—not even a cobweb in sight. There was only dust and the supplies Lu Li had left in a corner for Remi and Jimmy before his trip to the Lennon Archipelago.

It seemed they hadn't come down from the mountain to collect them yet.

"You can sleep upstairs," Lu Li told the children. "The bedroom is large enough for everyone."Vir nodded and, taking the younger children by the hand, led them upstairs.

The sound of stomping feet followed, sending dust drifting down from the ceiling. Muffled children's voices could be heard soon after.

A few minutes later, Vir came back downstairs alone. She told Lu Li that they had made their beds and were ready to sleep. She had come down to ask what they should do next.

"This is your home. You decide," Lu Li replied, not wanting to interfere in their lives.

A look of disappointment crossed Vir's face; she had thought Lu Li would be staying with them.

"I have other things to attend to, but I'll bring you food and supplies regularly."

"And what do you want us to do?" Vir asked.

"Survive."

For a group of children to survive at the end of days was no easy task, even under Lu Li's protection.

Vir understood his meaning. After a slight hesitation, she gathered her courage and asked, "Can you tell me about... the monsters?"

Lu Li looked at Vir calmly. She averted her gaze in embarrassment, not daring to meet his eyes. A moment later, his serene voice broke the silence.

"Alright."

This girl was willing to bear the burden of knowledge for her brothers and sisters, and Lu Li had no reason to refuse her.

For the next half hour, Lu Li told Vir about many things: the three exorcist organizations; the four types of anomalies—evil spirits, spirits of defilement, evil gods, and other oddities; the concept of the Mind Level; and finally, every evil spirit he knew of.

The Shadow Stealing Fire, the Abyss, the Shadow Puppeteer, the Uninvited Guest, as well as the reasons for the decline of humanity and the environment: the Eternal Night and the Beginning of the End.

Due to their destructive nature, these evil spirits were also called Calamities.

The Strange Fog and the Rain of Change had not yet been classified as evil spirits, as their sources remained unknown.

Lu Li told Vir about the most important thing: observation.

When encountering an unknown anomaly, regardless of its type, the first step is to remain calm and observe. If it's an evil spirit, you must analyze its ritual based on its form and actions.

For a girl not yet nine years old, this was difficult to grasp, but it might slightly increase their chances of survival.

It was approaching nine in the evening. The children, accustomed to sleeping early, were already asleep. Even Vir was starting to nod off.

Lu Li took a small wooden box of rotten meat from his pocket. He told Vir that if she ever encountered an anomaly, she should open the box and wait for a crow to arrive, which would then notify him.

It wasn't a very effective plan; Lu Li couldn't reach them in a matter of minutes, no matter where he was. But it might help the children stay calm and try to save themselves.

Additionally, Lu Li gave her some survival advice—they had experience, but lacked foresight.

For example, stocking up on water, firewood, coal, and kerosene; burying their trash; and reinforcing the doors and boarding up the ground-floor windows to protect against robbers.

"Go to sleep now. Don't forget to light at least two lamps and leave someone on watch. I'll be leaving soon," Lu Li said, handing her the key.

Vir thanked Lu Li again, took the box and the key, and ran upstairs.

After a brief whisper, silence fell upstairs once more.

Once the children were asleep, Anna materialized and sat down across from Lu Li.

She was ready to hear what he had to say.

"What do you want?" Lu Li asked bluntly.

"Want?" Anna didn't understand the question.

Lu Li rephrased. "What do you want to do now?"

Gazing into Lu Li's dark eyes, where her own reflection stared back, Anna suddenly looked away. The moment reminded them both of her former shyness and insecurity.

And yet, just two or three months ago, those feelings had still been a part of her.

"I want... to be your shadow."

As if reading her mind, Lu Li continued calmly, "You can be independent. You don't have to rely on me completely, like you did before when I wasn't around."

Anna couldn't suppress the icy aura that began to swirl around her, though she carefully directed it away from Lu Li so as not to harm him.

A sorrowful expression washed over Anna's face, her voice becoming quiet and uncertain. "But I don't want to... be apart."

Anna's emotional state had been unstable for some time, so Lu Li had to speak to her even more gently and patiently than he had with Vir. "This isn't about being apart. Our relationship won't change. It just means you'll be able to make your own decisions, think for yourself, and do what you want to do."

"Why are you saying this?" Anna asked, tilting her head.

"Because if this continues, you'll lose yourself and become a true shadow."

Besides Lu Li, Anna cared for no one and nothing else—not for Aunt Mary, not even for the books she had once so dearly loved.

"Is that so bad?" Anna whispered.

"That's the problem."

Anna wasn't aware of her own changes.

Lowering her head, Anna murmured, "But I don't know what I can do..."

"You'll find your purpose."

Anna was like a great vine clinging to a tree, but she could become a tree herself.

"There are different ways to protect someone. Right now, you are my strength," Lu Li's words resonated in Anna's soul. "But there's another way to protect: by using your own power to shield me from anomalies."

"Protect you..." Anna repeated Lu Li's words softly.

The icy aura gradually receded back into her ghostly form. Anna nodded. "I'll try to change."

But the aura of Hope and the In-Between could distort her understanding of what it meant to protect.