The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 688: After a Brief Confusion and Reflection

He opened his eyes to a grimy ceiling, the weight of a heavy but warm blanket pressing down on him.

The Atonement wasn't at his waist. Lu Li's eyes darted around the room, finding the pistol and the Beacon resting on a nightstand. A woman with a long scar across her cheek stood in the bedroom.

Noticing he was awake, the woman turned without a word and left the room. A moment later, an elderly woman appeared in the doorway.

"Elena said you were awake." Her hands, still dusted with ash from the stove, wiped against her apron as she spoke. "You can call me Aunt Susan."

"Where am I?"

The single bed creaked as Lu Li pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Helentown. Elena and her friends found you by the lake and brought you here," Aunt Susan replied with a smile.

A map formed in Lu Li's mind. Helentown was on the eastern shore of Lake Legkogo Zerkala. He had made it to the other side after all.

"Am I alone?" Lu Li scanned the room, his gaze falling on his coat folded over a wooden chair and his boots tucked beneath it.

"Yes... They only found you. It was a terrible disaster," Aunt Susan sighed.Lu Li’s gaze dropped as he recalled the scene just before he lost consciousness.

Seeing Lu Li's silence, Aunt Susan's eyes shifted to the holster on the nightstand. "Excuse me," she asked hesitantly, "are you an exorcist?"

"Yes."

"Then do you know what happened to Belfast?"

Aunt Susan spoke with a mixture of hope and trepidation, as if afraid of bad news. "I used to live there. I came back to Helentown when things started getting dangerous."

Was it because news was cut off from the town, or because everyone around her had been hiding the truth?

"Belfast was destroyed by anomalies," Lu Li told her calmly, delivering the truth without fanfare.

"Destroyed by anomalies... what does that mean?"

"The anomalies have taken over. The few survivors fled to Himmfast."

Distraught, Aunt Susan left the bedroom. Shortly after, an old man who introduced himself as the mayor came in and asked Lu Li what had happened on the lake.

"An uprising of the First Dead? That's terrible..." After hearing the whole story, sorrow clouded the old mayor's weary eyes. "Susan said you're an exorcist, is that right?"

Bang! Before Lu Li could answer, the door flew open.

A crowd of locals had gathered in the hallway, and in their jostling, they had accidentally pushed open the loosely shut wooden door.

"Sorry, sorry..."

A young man stumbled forward, then hastily retreated, grabbing the door and pulling it shut, cutting off the dozen or so pairs of curious eyes.

"My apologies... We don't get many outsiders in town," the old mayor said to Lu Li with a helpless shrug.

"It's alright. I am an exorcist," Lu Li confirmed.

"Then... did you come to deal with them?" The old mayor's breath quickened, his face mirroring the same hopeful yet timid expression Aunt Susan had worn. "Or... perhaps you know a way to fight them?"

Recalling the scene on Lake Legkogo Zerkala—hundreds of the First Dead swarming the boat, their power to drag people into illusions—Lu Li slowly shook his head.

"I suppose so... If they were easy to deal with, they wouldn't have held the lake for so long," the old mayor sighed. "Mr. Lu Li, where are you headed next?"

"Revoltown."

"I was there a few years back," the old mayor recalled. "That's a long way from here. It'll be dark soon. You should rest for the night and leave in the morning."

Lu Li didn't answer right away.

He wanted to find Anna as quickly as possible. But rushing had already led to Emin's death.

Having learned that lesson, was it worth taking the same risk again?

Bang! Just then, the door swung open again.

The woman with the scarred cheek and chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail—the one Aunt Susan had called Elena—strode to the bedside. Looking down at Lu Li, she declared, "We saved you. You have to help us."

"Elena," the old mayor chided softly, then turned apologetically to Lu Li. "She and the Gades brothers were the ones who brought you back from the lake. I hope you'll forgive her bluntness."

"That was us! We're the ones who found him!" came a loud boast from the hallway, as a young man's voice carried through the door.

The old mayor walked over and shut the wooden door, cutting off the noise from outside.

Lu Li calmly met Elena's gaze. "I'll stay in town for one night. In that time, I'll do what I can to help you find a way to deal with the First Dead."

The old mayor expressed his thanks. Whether or not Lu Li could actually handle the First Dead, the mere presence of an exorcist in town brought a sense of security.

Elena nodded. "I hope you keep your word," she said, before turning and leaving the bedroom.

The old mayor once again felt the need to explain that she meant no harm. Then, he shooed away the curious townsfolk, leaving only two young men, Abiloki and Jils.

"It was us—my brother and I—who saved you from the lake," Abiloki said, seizing the chance to speak to Lu Li. "And our big sister, too."

"Thank you," Lu Li nodded.

Excited, Abiloki shook the displeased-looking Jils. "Did you hear that? An exorcist is thanking us!"

"Alright, let the exorcist rest," the old mayor said, returning to helplessly usher the boisterous young men out.

"There's no need." Lu Li threw back the blanket and padded barefoot to the wooden chair. He pulled on his boots and woolen coat, then took out a stone medallion and crushed it. He turned to the old mayor and asked for a pen and paper.

"Please, have someone in town look for this symbol," Lu Li said, handing the old mayor a piece of paper on which he'd drawn the mark associated with Aunt Mary.

Helentown wasn't on the direct route between Raintown and Revoltown, but slightly north of it. Still, it was possible that Anna or Aunt Mary had passed through.

Lu Li went down to the first-floor living room and settled in front of the blazing hearth to wait for the Trader's arrival.

Outside, the light began to fade as another night closed in.

Half an hour later, the Trader appeared at the door.

The nearest town was over an hour's walk from Helentown, but the Trader's movements had always been mysterious.

The old mayor, Aunt Susan, and the Gades brothers all headed upstairs.

Lu Li shut the wooden door and got straight to the point. "Do you have any information on the First Dead?"

The closed door blocked the townsfolk's view, so they simply gathered at the window to watch instead.

"Three hundred and fifty contribution points," the wretched-looking Trader replied. Without waiting for Lu Li to agree to the price, he continued, "They are classified as Spirits of Defilement. They are purely aquatic, typically operate in swarms, and can use illusions to confuse their prey. Humans they drag into the water have a chance of becoming new First Dead. Their social structure is like that of an anthill; they have a king."

"A King of the First Dead?" Lu Li frowned. That was hardly good news. "Is it intelligent?"

"Fifteen hundred Investigator points. Yes," the Trader answered.

"What's their weakness? Or how can I get rid of them?"

"One hundred Investigator points."

Learning how to get rid of them was cheaper than learning about them, which suggested their physical forms weren't particularly resilient.

"Any offensive Anomaly can damage them. The Spirit Gun, for instance."

"What about this?" Lu Li held up the silent Beacon.

The Trader was quiet for a moment before answering, "It would work."

The answer brought a wave of sorrow. If he had only thought to use the Beacon on the lake, perhaps the people on the boat—perhaps Emin—would still be alive.