The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 676: The Actors Take the Stage

The second and third-class service offered only mashed potatoes and fish cakes, but they were unlimited—you could eat your fill as long as you didn't take any with you.

The taste of the fish cakes was worse than expected. Although the aroma during frying was mouth-watering, the first bite filled the taste buds with an overpowering fishy bitterness, mixed with the tang of an unremoved gallbladder.

However, for the common folk who rarely ate meat, it was a hearty dinner.

What could be better than the chance to eat one's fill?

Lu Li ate little, but Emin Grolin showed a keen interest in the cakes, popping one after another into her mouth until she had eaten nearly a grown man's portion.

Suddenly, Silence paid them a visit. A piercing alarm plunged the noisy hall into a dead quiet. The expressions on people's faces froze, but their eyes betrayed their anxiety.

Fifteen minutes later, a second signal announced its end. The hall breathed a collective sigh of relief, and the atmosphere gradually eased, though the earlier liveliness never quite returned.

After dinner, Emin Grolin, licking her fingers, shyly complained to Lu Li that her stomach had even gotten a little round.

Noticing that Lu Li wasn't accustomed to such food, she shared some fruit with him when they returned to their cabin.

The Ashori had another day's journey to the western coast of the Wastelands, so rest was important. At eight in the evening, Emin Grolin closed her pharmacology textbook, placed it on the nightstand, and began to remove her cloak.Beneath it was her everyday attire, which highlighted her slender figure. She stole a glance at Lu Li, who was flipping through a textbook on anomalies, then slipped under the blanket. A rustling sound followed, and a hand emerged from under the covers, holding her blouse and trousers.

Emin Grolin seemed a bit too uninhibited.

Or perhaps she just trusted Lu Li too much.

"Good night, Mr. Lu Li," Emin Grolin said, pulling the covers over her head, only her eyes peeking out timidly.

Silence fell in the cabin. Lu Li didn't answer.

"Mr. Lu Li?"

After a few seconds, Emin Grolin couldn't stand it any longer and broke the silence.

"What?" Lu Li looked up calmly.

"Why did you... I thought you didn't hear me wish you good night."

It seemed to have grown warmer under the blanket; the outline of her body relaxed.

"I heard you."

"Mm... But you didn't answer..." Emin Grolin mumbled quietly, a hint of hurt in her voice. She covered her mouth and nose, leaving only her long-lashed eyes visible.

"...I'm not used to it."

"Why?" Emin Grolin asked curiously.

If the three organizations hadn't merged, this inquisitive girl might have become an Investigator.

"Personal reasons."

"Alright..."

Accompanied by Emin Grolin's disappointed whisper, silence once again settled over the cabin.

Occasionally, footsteps and voices could be heard from the corridor, but as night fell, only the infrequent creaks of the ship's hull remained.

Around nine o'clock, Lu Li closed his textbook on anomalies.

Across from him, Emin Grolin seemed to be asleep already, a sweet smile resting on her face.

Lu Li took off his black coat, hung it on the door, and lay down in the cool bed, drifting off to sleep.

As time passed, most areas of the Ashori fell silent, except for the noisy restaurants, the daredevils on the spotlight-illuminated deck, and those busy at work in the boiler room.

The Ashori glided serenely through the calm, fog-shrouded water.

It seemed this peace would last until dawn, when the fog would lift, but...

In the dead of night, a flurry of hurried, disorderly footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor.

They were followed by the shouts of sailors: "All passengers, remain quiet! Do not bring oil lamps to the portholes, draw the curtains, and stay in your cabins! All passengers, remain quiet! Do not bring oil lamps to the portholes, draw the curtains, and stay in your cabins!"

Awakened passengers peeked into the corridor, only to see sailors flashing past, shouting the same words.

"What's happening?!" a panicked Emin Grolin asked Lu Li, who had moved the lamp away from view.

"Something might have happened."

Lu Li dimmed the lamp's light and gripped the headboard of his bed, preparing for a sudden lurch.

Emin Grolin followed his lead. The blanket slipped down, revealing her young body clad only in a singlet.

"All passengers, remain quiet! Do not bring oil lamps to the portholes, draw the curtains, and stay in your cabins!" a sailor shouted again as he ran down the corridor.

Then, an absolute silence fell over the ship. It was short-lived—the light on the ceiling suddenly went out.

Whummm...

The Ashori had cut all power. The lights in the portholes and on the deck went out one by one, from stern to bow, until they dissolved into the darkness.

Motionless, the Ashori resembled a giant iceberg, drifting silently through the water.

While the crew and passengers waited in suspense, time crawled by. Behind the drawn curtains, the surface of the sea hid dark movements.

Creeeak...

The straining of the hull sounded even louder in the silence. The ship listed slightly but quickly righted itself. It was as if something enormous had passed alongside, churning the water.

Lu Li's low Level of Reason and high Humanity allowed him to perceive more: the vague, oppressive presence of a colossal creature wrapped itself around the bottom of the Ashori. Its massive back brushed lightly against the hull, making the ship shudder.

The creature seemed oblivious—perhaps it didn't realize this floating object was full of food, or perhaps it simply wasn't interested. Soon, the sensation vanished, and the sea grew calm again.

A few minutes later, the ceiling light flickered and came back on, dispelling the passengers' tension.

Emin Grolin seemed to let out a sigh of relief, then looked curiously at Lu Li's hand, which was resting on his waist. "Is that your weapon? A Spirit Gun?"

"Yes," Lu Li replied, returning the lamp to its place and turning up the light.

Seizing the moment, Emin Grolin threw on her cloak and, blushing slightly, ran barefoot to the door to peek into the corridor.

Many passengers, like her, had come out to find out what had happened.

A passing sailor answered her question. "Just a minor incident, miss. It's over now, please get some rest."

Everyone who asked received the same stock answer.

The incident became just another episode—of the more than two thousand people on board, no one was harmed.

But it was not without its losses. Several crew members and passengers had died during the Silence, and an evil spirit, searching for prey, had crept aboard.

Surviving something like this on the first night of a seven-day voyage was a bad omen.

The passengers' anticipation of a new life had dimmed.

This, however, did not apply to Lu Li and Emin Grolin. The following evening, the Ashori approached the port of Most on the western coast of the Wastelands.