The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 694: The People Rally to Help

Can animals become anomalies too?

Emerging from the statue's Memories of Death, Lu Li was still pondering the question.

A pig had gotten stuck in a mire, died, and transformed into an anomaly. Over time, the villagers found it, brought it to their settlement, and fed it, allowing it to grow. Close contact with it had made the people numb and unfeeling.

That was the story of the idol.

The story ended with Lu Li granting the statue peace with a shot from the Atonement, gaining 20 points of Humanity in the process.

The embers of the burned-out church still glowed. People huddled together by the fires in their homes as the encroaching fog enveloped them.

The survivors reacted in different ways. The villagers were plunged into grief over the loss of their families and homes. Those who had been changed by the statue, now returned to their senses after its disappearance, were overcome with endless remorse and pain. The travelers rejoiced at their salvation, while the merchants, though relieved, soon began to lament their lost goods.

There was no food left in the village, and the people could only go hungry, trying to sleep through the first night of their rescue. At dawn, they would have to set out for Revoltown.

The elder, Abdel, suggested organizing a night watch. Lu Li nodded and asked about Revoltown.

Revoltown was a small city. Barely larger than a town, but smaller than a proper city. It served more as a way station—the largest city in the Wastelands had once been located further east, in the Star Region.Its fate had been similar to that of Belfast on the Allen Peninsula.

“It’s not a place worth settling in,” Lu Li remarked, glancing at the parchment map.

Revoltown was located deep inland, with no access to a lake, just like the other abandoned settlements.

The only difference was that it was still holding on.

“We have no food, and it’s the closest city...” Elder Abdel sighed. “The mayor is stingy and greedy, but you are an exorcist... It’s unlikely he’d dare to try anything...”

The elder could only hope that the mayor would accept them because of Lu Li.

The conversations in the house gradually died down. The people, wrapped in animal hides, fell asleep against the walls.

At midnight, Silence suddenly fell.

But the people had already been woken and remained calm until Silence receded without claiming a single life.

The night in the village passed without incident.

In the morning, the fog dissipated.

People emerged from their houses. In the cool morning haze, only a thin, gray wisp of smoke rose from the ashes.

They searched the village again. Lu Li followed them but found no sign of Anna.

Soon, after gathering everything of value and wrapping themselves in warm hides, the people set off, following Lu Li and Elena.

Driven by hunger, they walked quickly—Elena had warned that the hyenas might still be nearby.

But even after traveling several kilometers from the village, they heard none of the hyenas' sinister laughter.

Moreover, they encountered no beasts or anomalies along the entire way. Vultures appeared occasionally, trailing them for a while before vanishing back into the wastes.

The outline of Revoltown appeared on the horizon after noon.

The tired, breathless people's spirits lifted. Although the city was still about ten kilometers away, the sight of its fortifications gave them strength after their aimless wandering through the wastes.

Two hours later, they finally reached the small city, which was surrounded by a stone wall.

However, the situation was not as promising as they had hoped.

The guards at the gate stopped them. Even after learning that Lu Li was an exorcist, they demanded permission from the council of nobles to grant entry.

Once inside, they were met with the hostility of the locals. The residents stared at the newcomers with open animosity.

Most of the shops in Revoltown were closed. Lu Li settled the people in the only open inn, told the innkeeper to prepare food, and began to ask about the situation in the city.

The answer was simple: there was not enough food.

Supplies had dwindled, and hunting and the occasional caravan couldn't feed the twenty thousand residents.

“Why don’t you leave?” Lu Li asked, turning to the innkeeper who was carrying dirt-covered potatoes up from the cellar.

“My grandfather founded this inn; I can’t just abandon it,” the innkeeper replied with a wry smile. “Besides, we don’t have much food. Only sweet potatoes to stave off hunger. Will that do?”

“Yes,” Lu Li nodded. “What about the other residents? Are they not leaving either?”

“Many have already left. Only those who can’t leave and those like me, who don’t want to, remain.”

Lu Li asked about the council of nobles. He got the impression that the council had usurped the mayor’s authority—and it turned out he was right.

After Silence began, the mayor had proposed relocating to the coast. The nobles and the wealthy had united against him and removed him from power.

Or, to be more precise, they imprisoned him.

“What’s the point of that?” Elena tightened her grip on her spear shaft, her indignation clear.

“Outdated ideas, conservatism, shortsightedness,” the innkeeper said, spreading his hands. “And wealth.”

Food shortages and starvation were problems for the common folk; every aristocrat had enough provisions to last for months, if not years. They continued to feast, living in a luxury unattainable for ordinary townspeople.

“Bastards...” Elena hissed, turning to Lu Li. “What are you going to do?”

“First, we find Anna.”

If Anna was in the city, rescuing the mayor and helping the residents would be no trouble at all.

Soon, stewed potatoes were served, and Lu Li ate with the others. When the meal was over, he told the people about his search for Anna’s mark in Revoltown.

The survivors eagerly agreed to help. With the exception of the women and children, the people split into groups and spread out across the city, looking for the mark Lu Li had described.

“And we’re just going to wait here and do nothing?” Elena asked indignantly.

“When it comes to searching for the mark, we’re no better than they are,” Lu Li replied, taking out the stone medallion and closing his hand around it.

Before the people returned, the Trader entered the inn.

“Ten crates of pork stew. As soon as possible,” Lu Li said.

The Trader departed without even naming a price.

“Why didn’t you order more?” Elena asked. She had already witnessed the Trader’s strange ways back in Helentown.

“The canned food doesn’t just appear out of thin air. If I take ten crates, there will be ten fewer somewhere else,” Lu Li explained.

The Trader returned faster than expected.

Half an hour later, he walked into the inn at the same time as the first returning group, carrying crates of canned food. The people were surprised by the Trader’s mysterious nature, but they were more delighted by the neat crates he set down on the floor.

To their disappointment, they hadn’t found the mark he described.

Group after group returned empty-handed.

The last group to arrive also failed to find the mark, but they had gathered some information that might interest Lu Li.

“An exorcist appeared at Viscount Khamis’s residence recently. They say she has powers like a sorceress.”