The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 537: New Residents

Dark clouds still hung over Belfast.

Although the Strange Fog had retreated into the depths of the sea at dawn, and wandering anomalies no longer roamed the streets, a shroud of smoke from the night's fire enveloped the city, making it hazy and ghostly.

But the danger was far from gone.

Many anomalies hadn't vanished with the fog; instead, they had hidden themselves in dark alleyways or empty houses, biding their time.

The madness would continue for several more days—until almost no survivors were left in the city.

Anna could feel a heavy, lurking tension in the air above Belfast. The city seemed to have been transformed into a haven for monsters.

That was why she didn't think it was a good idea for Lu Li to return, even for a moment.

"Elm Street is on the very edge of the city. It shouldn't be too dangerous," replied Lu Li, whom Anna was carrying.

The food Anna had gathered was given to Remi to prepare. Anna regretted that she couldn't cook herself, but she knew something else was far more important right now: protecting Lu Li during his visit to Elm Street.

They were not far from their destination, and through the haze, Lu Li could already make out the ruins of what was once the most vibrant city on the Allen Peninsula.To the northeast, in the district near Elm Street, sunken ships were visible. Some had crashed onto rooftops, others were broken in half, and still others stood vertically, like colossal tombstones dozens of meters high.

"The survivors call this place the Shipwreck District. It's full of creatures that came from the depths of the sea," Anna, ever attentive to Lu Li, informed him.

"Have you encountered them yourself?"

"I met quite a few survivors. When they saw me, most of them tried to hide or begged me not to touch them... I asked them about what happened last night."

This was exactly what interested Lu Li. "Tell me."

"Even if you hadn't asked..."

It wasn't just anomalies that lurked in the night's chaos. Evil Spirits and even Evil Gods had appeared on the streets of Belfast. Lu Li, for instance, recalled the Shadow that Steals Fire, an unseen guest of the calamity.

Though the suffering lasted all night, some survivors still managed to escape—if one could forget that Belfast once had a population of nearly a million people, and now only a few thousand remained.

Most had spent the entire night hiding under beds, in closets, basements, or attics. Only when the fog dissipated did they dare to venture out, hoping to band together and try to leave the city by crossing to the other side of the mountain.

As a result, most only learned about what was happening in their immediate surroundings, or through rumors from other survivors.

The first escapees had informally divided the ruined city into danger zones. Anomalies roamed everywhere, but some places were particularly deadly.

Lu Li could see one of them clearly—the Shipwreck District.

The unfortunate souls who lived here were the first to be attacked. The moment the church bells began to toll, dozens of ships from the port and the sea were hurled onto these streets by an unseen force.

Most of the residents died instantly, barely woken from their sleep. Then, from the fallen ships, creatures with fish-like features and a suffocating stench of the sea emerged—monsters from the ocean depths that occupied the district.

Only a few managed to escape before the wave of monsters flooded the streets.

By now, there was likely no one left alive there.

Another particularly dangerous zone was dubbed the Ash District, though it was once the Nameless District, a place Lu Li and Anna knew well.

Even before all this, Lu Li had encountered unsettling phenomena here—"snowflakes" of ash falling from the sky.

Now, the entire Nameless District and its adjacent streets were buried under a ceaseless fall of ash.

There were no visible anomalies in the Ash District. Some survivors, unable to find shelter, had tried to hide from the monsters in this zone. But the outcome was predictable: no one who entered ever returned, and the anomalies themselves avoided the Ash District.

"The danger zones probably aren't limited to just these. The survivors know too little," Anna noted.

"I think so too," Lu Li agreed.

The danger zones were only the ones they happened to come across.

Anna had learned to gather information about her surroundings on her own. If Lu Li's personality were a little warmer, he would probably have been pleased by her growth.

"Also, many said that amidst the nightly horrors, figures in black cloaks walked the streets, muttering something as if praying to incomprehensible gods."

"Cultists," Lu Li said thoughtfully.

"Most likely. Only those who worship monsters could remain calm in their midst."

Often, such people cause even more harm than the monsters themselves.

Among the anomalies, one could sometimes find creatures far more intelligent than humans, but cultists were more dangerous—they were once human and knew perfectly well how human society worked, and what its vulnerabilities were.

What was especially terrifying was that those whose minds and souls were infected by the will of an Evil God felt neither pity nor remorse, considering loyalty to their master their highest duty.

"The main thing is that they don't discover our shelter. And don't make contact with them unless they find us first," Lu Li said.

He had dealt with Evil Gods before—he knew that every servant was like an eye for its master. If Lu Li revealed himself to a servant, the Evil God would know as well.

He would not underestimate any Evil God. The conflict between the Mother of the Swamp and the Old Mother of the Swamp had left him with grim memories—even gazing upon the Mother of the Swamp's materialized body for too long was dangerous.

Anna pronounced coolly, a hint of menace in her voice, "If any anomalies approach the forest, I'll send them where they belong."

The path to Elm Street was revealed through a corridor of dead trees, which concealed the remains of the former neighborhood.

A scene of complete devastation and soot unfolded before Lu Li.

The previous night, a fire that had engulfed the neighboring streets had reached Elm Street, sparing no house. Plumes of smoke still rose from the rubble of walls.

There wasn't a single person in sight, nor a sound to be heard.

Absolute silence reigned.

Nearby, the place Lu Li had been preparing for the children had also been destroyed.

Anna carried Lu Li to a burned-out warehouse. Suddenly, a faint rustle came from beneath the collapsed beams. A few seconds later, a short figure, covered in soot and grime, crawled out.

It looked more like a skeleton, barely reaching Lu Li's waist. Dark clumps of something, like mud, were stuck between its bones, and sharp teeth protruded from beneath a massive jaw.

If this creature were the height of an adult, it would have been terrifyingly grotesque.

Following it, other similar figures crawled out from the debris. They all tilted their heads strangely, as if listening for Lu Li's presence.

Suddenly, the largest one drew closer, but frightened by the crunch of cinders underfoot, it shrank back to the others. It was clear that it wanted to approach Lu Li, yet at the same time, it was terribly afraid of something.

The fear of strangers seemed so natural to them that it had become part of their very nature.

But breaking through that fear was a strange pull toward Lu Li.

"What are you going to do?" Anna asked, noticing Lu Li's silence.

These... children no longer posed a threat to Lu Li, even if they had changed beyond recognition.

"I'll take them with me," Lu Li replied.

"To the Elm Forest?"

"Yes."