The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 665: Changes

Or, she could stick to the original plan: lure Lu Li away from Watcher's Cliff.

"I'll tell him new evidence has been found in Belfast to draw him there. Then, I'll possess you and make contact with him."

Anna chose the Elm District as the meeting place—Lu Li would be relatively safe there.

However, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, like Selika Daler leaking the information, Anna wouldn't tell her their exact location.

"He might come out, but have you thought this through? This method will only work once. What about next time?" Selika Daler had no desire to be a disposable pawn, discarded after a single use. What could be more reliable for keeping a secret than a dead person?

"I don't mean anything sinister by it... but you should think it over carefully."

Anna fell silent.

Desire is insatiable. Of course, Anna didn't want to touch Lu Li just once.

"You want to lure him out..." Selika Daler mused aloud, either following Anna's train of thought or deliberately speaking for her benefit. "Does he have anyone he cares about?"

"Me."Anna was absolutely certain of it.

"But you're already with him. Unless..." Selika Daler shook her head slightly, dismissing a fleeting thought. "Are there any other people important to him? People who aren't around."

"...No."

Anna didn't know Lu Li's past. He never spoke of it, nor did he ever show any nostalgia for bygone days.

Selika Daler asked again, "Is there anyone you care about? Or someone he knows you value?"

"Aunt Mary..." Anna uttered the name of the woman who was now far away, in the Lennon Archipelago.

Selika Daler continued, "Then here's the key question... Does this 'Aunt Mary' keep in touch with you?"

"She's very far from us."

"Is she alive?"

"I believe so."

Selika Daler's expression relaxed as if a plan had just taken shape in her mind. "We can stage a little drama... an adventure story."

Anna lifted her chin slightly, signaling for Selika Daler to continue.

Selika Daler organized her thoughts. "First, we'll forge a letter from 'Aunt Mary' to lure him out. Then, after a series of adventures, it will all turn out to have been a false alarm."

Besides, Anna would have plenty of time to be with Lu Li.

"If none of this had happened, you could have been a writer."

Anna's words meant she accepted the idea.

"But now, all I can do is eke out a miserable existence, hiding in a basement."

Selika Daler gave a bitter smile.

Anna didn't reply. Leaving the basement for a moment, she returned from the second-floor bedroom with a pen and a notebook.

"He'll recognize my handwriting. Can you write?"

"My handwriting is terrible," Selika Daler answered doubtfully.

"It doesn't matter."

Anna thought the messier, the better. But after taking the pen, Selika Daler didn't start writing.

"What's the problem now?" Anna tilted her head slightly.

"I'm thinking of a plausible story."

Selika Daler replied.

She had, in fact, once dreamed of becoming a writer, back before the End of the World began.

Selika Daler wrote the letter in 'Aunt Mary's' name, simultaneously crafting the story that would unfold for Lu Li.

Fifteen minutes later, the story was complete, and the final letter was finished.

"A wonderful story..." Anna praised quietly. "Even if Aunt Mary found out, she would only commend it."

"I'm glad to have found my first reader." Four sheets, torn from the notebook, lay nearby.

Anna lifted them with an invisible hand. The paper, obeying her will, rustled and fluttered like little white spirits.

The ink needed to dry, otherwise the meticulous Lu Li might notice something was amiss.

Later, Anna would find some envelopes, put the letters inside, and send them to their destination.

"Are you really sure about this?" Selika Daler asked. "I can see you're hesitating... Maybe we should think of another way?"

Anna didn't answer.

Selika Daler understood that Anna wasn't as confident as she seemed.

Two days passed. During that time, Anna didn't come to her again, as if she had disappeared.

...

A wind swept across Watcher's Cliff, carrying the sound of the crashing waves and tracing the outline of a tall figure.

It was Monday. The Trader brought a new issue of the Investigator Weekly and a few regular newspapers, taking Adamfiya's letter to Tesla with him.

There was still no reply to the letter sent to the Exorcist Association, asking how an evil spirit could maintain its sanity.

Nothing new was happening on Watcher's Cliff.

Except for the plants growing in pots among the rock crevices, and Anna, who had seemed preoccupied for the past few days.

Even Lu Li had noticed the change in Anna, but she didn't answer any of his questions.

That day, Silence arrived a little later. By the time the eerie fog rose from the depths of the ocean, the air was already filled with the ringing of church bells.

Lu Li set his book aside and calmly waited for Silence to recede.

Then, as usual, after having dinner and reading for a while, he went to bed around eight in the evening and fell asleep.

"Good night," Anna whispered, putting Lu Li's book away in a drawer.

Deep down, she didn't want to destroy this idyllic peace; she had once only been able to dream of such a life. But now, her desire had taken on a life of its own, invisibly reaching for the sleeping Lu Li.

Anna took a notebook from the drawer and opened it curiously.

Inside were reminders and income logs from his time at the detective agency—entries ranging from tens to hundreds of shillings.

Remembering those days, a gentle smile appeared on Anna's cheeks.

Most of the notebook was empty, with many pages torn out. After flipping through a few pages, Anna was about to put it back when she noticed a slip of paper sticking out from the spine.

Out of curiosity, she pulled it out. In the light of the oil lamp, Anna saw that most of the notes on it were crossed out: [Find out where I am], [Save up enough shillings]. Only one line remained untouched.

[Find a way to leave this place]—it read.

Anna lowered her eyes, her emotions hidden in the shadows.

The ghostly shadow cast by the lamp flickered.

"Lu Li, where are you planning to go..."

...

Jimmy burst into the cave, nearly knocking over Anna, who was carrying ashes from the hearth.

"Sorry, Anna."

Bundled up like a bear, Jimmy hastily jumped back, only to bump into Amper. Fortunately, the creature's hide was thick, and it didn't even stir from its slumber.

"It's nothing."

Anna seemed to have resolved her inner turmoil and nodded to show she wasn't angry.

Only a few inhabitants lived on Watcher's Cliff, and Anna's return to her usual self brought back the old atmosphere. Remi teased her brother, who was bundled up in so many layers he looked like a monster. Jimmy loudly insisted that the weather was terribly cold, exhaling a puff of steam to prove his point.

Everything changed when Anna returned from hunting. Besides her catch, she had found something else in the ruins of Belfast...

"I found a letter in the detective agency's mailbox," she said, holding out a damp, crumpled letter to Lu Li.

"It's signed 'Aunt Mary'..."