The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 710: Underground Cliffs

A muffled roar of water broke through the ringing in his ears.

It sounded as if he were near a waterfall or on a riverbank.

The thunderous sound assaulted his mind, a writhing knot of shadows that churned his stomach.

As consciousness slowly returned, Lu Li tried to roll over, but a sharp pain lanced through his chest, sending him sprawling face-first onto the cold stone. He retched.

He brought up nothing but bile, and Lu Li realized a great deal of time must have passed.

The heaving seemed to purge the fog from his mind, and his thoughts began to clear.

Lu Li pushed himself into a sitting position and surveyed his surroundings. He appeared to be on a large rock in the middle of a river, encircled by a churning current and cloaked in darkness.

A faintly glowing oil lamp stood nearby. Beneath him, his greatcoat was spread out, shielding him from the cold stone.

The wound in his chest had been dressed. His shirt was torn into strips, now wrapped tightly around the injury and stained dark with blood.

Suddenly, a sharp splash broke the river's roar. A dark figure emerged from the current and clambered onto the rock.It was a silhouette completely swallowed by the darkness, its edges defined only by the faint glow of the oil lamp.

Then, a pair of pale hands emerged from beneath a dark robe, wringing out the shadows as if they were water-logged fabric, causing the black cloth to ripple and fold.

"You don't seem surprised to see me?" a female voice inquired from beneath the hood. It was a voice so ordinary it was hard to place, yet Lu Li recognized it.

It was an old acquaintance: Friday.

Lu Li's gaze dropped. "I was unconscious. I couldn't have lit the lamp or dressed my own wound."

"So, you're disappointed?" Friday asked, her wet robe dragging across the stone as she padded barefoot to the lamp. She set a dripping oil can beside it and sat down. "Disappointed to be alive, or disappointed to see me?"

Lu Li’s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the shadows under her hood. "You know everything?"

As if drying her hair, Friday tilted her head and squeezed the hem of her robe, but she didn't answer.

"So what happened?"

Friday tilted her head the other way, still wringing out the cloth.

Lu Li didn't press her, instead silently piecing together what had happened.

He had been just a few miles from the oasis when Anna appeared and attacked him. The spear had pierced his chest, and he had fallen into the abyss...

Suddenly, the sound of applause echoed beside him.

"The heroine, willing to become a mindless evil spirit to protect her hero and help him break free from his chains. And the hero, who finally breaks free, choosing to be killed by the heroine rather than harm her..."

Friday, in her rumpled robe, was clapping her hands with mock admiration.

"A truly impressive story."

Lu Li watched her calmly, a suspicion forming in his mind.

"Were you the one in the shack by the shore?"

His mind went back to the words he'd heard on his way home after stopping Richard from taking the Ancient God's vessel. He remembered the dark, robed silhouette that had entered the shack and left the Beacon while he slept.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Friday said, spreading her hands. "I was just talking about this book."

She slapped a wet book down on the stone beside the lamp. A summary was written on its brown cover:

"The heroine, willing to become a mindless evil spirit to protect her hero and help him break free from his chains. And the hero, who finally breaks free, choosing to be killed by the heroine rather than harm her..."

What a strange coincidence.

Lu Li’s gaze fell to the lamp Friday had set down. He picked it up.

A familiar feeling washed over him.

A flicker of recognition sparked within him, and Lu Li turned the lamp over. Two lines were engraved on its base:

"The light of humanity, gathered in the wick.

It must be returned to where it belongs."

"The Beacon," Lu Li said, looking up at Friday.

"I just fished it out of the water. Seems to be yours, doesn't it? Lucky you," Friday remarked, letting out a low whistle.

Lu Li didn’t question her further. He scanned the surrounding darkness. "Are we in an old riverbed?"

"No."

Friday shook her head. She picked up the lit lamp, stood, and raised it high, its light glinting off the damp, reflective walls of a cave.

She walked to the edge of the rock, revealing walls that enclosed them on all sides.

"We're underground."

Lu Li grimaced as a sudden pain shot through his head. Triggered by her words, the memories of what happened before he lost consciousness came rushing back: falling into the abyss, plummeting for an unknown time, then hitting something as hard as a cobblestone street before plunging into the water and blacking out.

Clutching his wound, Lu Li struggled to his feet and took the lamp from Friday to examine their surroundings.

Just as Friday had said, they were in a small cavern formed by subterranean rock. An underground river flowed past its edge.

"How did you get here?" Lu Li asked the enigmatic woman, who had settled back onto the rock.

"I should be asking you that," Friday retorted, tossing the book aside. She tilted her head back. "I've been here for a long time. I saw the current carrying you, so I pulled you out. If I'd been a moment slower, you would have been swept deeper in. No need to thank me."

"Thank you."

Lu Li crouched at the edge of the turbulent, dark river. He cupped his hands, scooped up the clear, icy water, and took a sip. The good news: the water was fresh and safe to drink.

The bad news: they were trapped.

"How far to the surface?"

"Who knows? We could be near the center of the Earth for all I know," Friday answered, her voice betraying no hint of despair at their predicament.

Lu Li finished his inspection and returned to the center of the rock. There was nothing here but stone and water.

"So, how did you end up here?" he asked the enigmatic woman.

Friday leaned casually against the stone wall and told her story. "I was with the fleet sent to fight Silence. After they were defeated, I jumped into a river and got swept into one of the many abysses in the Wastelands. You?"

"Same as you," Lu Li replied curtly.

He inspected his wound as Friday added, "You were badly wounded when I pulled you out. Cold as ice. I patched you up as best I could, figured I'd be sharing this place with a corpse, but you woke up, fortunately."

"Thank you," Lu Li said again.

Even though Friday was enigmatic and her actions seemed strange—more like those of an anomaly than a human—Lu Li had never been one to judge by appearances or origins.

Especially since this was the second time she had saved his life.

"I need to rest," Lu Li said, settling onto the greatcoat that was spread out like a blanket. A sweat as cold as the river water beaded on his forehead.

Whether from blood loss or hypothermia, he found it hard to gather his thoughts. A deep weariness pulled at him, urging him toward sleep.

"Now? Here?" Friday glanced around at the encroaching darkness. "You'll freeze to death in your sleep."

The cold stone was already leeching the warmth from the air.

"Staying awake won't change that," Lu Li replied, his hand tightening around the recovered Beacon.

The Beacon radiated a warm, sun-like light, illuminating the cavern and pushing back the surrounding chill. Even Friday seemed to feel its pleasant warmth.

But Lu Li didn't maintain the glow. After only a few seconds, he let his hand fall open. Enveloped in the residual warmth, he curled into a ball and sank into a deep sleep.

He slept peacefully, as if awaiting eternal rest.