The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 752: Escape

Lu Li climbed to the second floor, dimly lit by fluorite lamps, guided by the faint cries of Prusius.

Lu Li flung the door open. Inside, a creature with a bloated, toad-like body covered in bumps and slime was devouring its prey.

Its head was several times larger than a human's, and only poor Prusius's hind legs were sticking out.

The intruder's arrival spurred the creature to swallow Prusius faster, and his helplessly twitching legs almost disappeared into its jaws.

Before Prusius could be swallowed whole, Lu Li lunged at the creature and drove his fist into its stomach with all his might.

A ripple ran through the creature's disgusting, fatty mass, and a sticky, venomous liquid spurted from the densely packed bumps on its back.

The creature opened its maw and wretched up the contents of its stomach, revealing Prusius's hind legs in its throat.

Lu Li reached into the beast's mouth, grabbed Prusius by the legs, and yanked him free.

"I've got him! I've got him!" Prusius cried, falling to the floor, covered in slime.

Katerina shot him a pitying glance, then rushed to Lu Li's side and drove a needle-like Anomaly, held between her fingers, into the creature's eye.The monster opened its mouth to roar, but Katerina snatched the fluorite lamp, shoved it into the gaping maw, and pushed it deep into its throat, silencing it.

The Anomaly hadn't done enough damage, however. Just as Katerina was about to draw a dagger to finish it off, Lu Li reached out his left hand and pressed it against the monster's chest.

The ugly, bloated body began to shudder violently, and Katerina could barely hold it down. After a few seconds, its struggles weakened. A film clouded its sinister, black vertical pupils, and it collapsed onto the bed, which was soaked in the venom from its own back.

Humanity flooded into Lu Li, and he pulled his hand away.

"It's dead."

This creature possessed only the most basic humanity; Lu Li would need to destroy dozens like it just to increase his own by a single point.

The cautious Katerina didn't relax her grip. She waited a few more seconds to be certain the creature was truly dead, then pulled the Anomaly out and plunged it back into its eye.

Lu Li looked at Prusius.

The youth's face was frozen in a stupor. He was holding the remains of Mak-Mak—only half a body was left, corroded by stomach acid.

"How did you do that?" Katerina asked, tearing her gaze away from the creature with a hint of regret. She couldn't understand how Lu Li had managed it.

The creature wore no clothes, so searching it for money was pointless.

"That's my method of exorcism," Lu Li replied curtly.

"We were this close to big trouble," Katerina said, still shaken. She had no idea how the tavern would react to finding a corpse, but it couldn't be anything good.

Whatever the case, the sounds of their struggle hadn't attracted the attention of the tavern patrons below.

Elder Sister suddenly scrambled onto Lu Li's shoulder. Before she could cry out, Lu Li plucked her off and held out his left hand.

"Elder Sister doesn't give in to threats!" the doll with two pigtails and a distorted mask retorted, stepping back defiantly. "I... I'm going to tell my mom you're bullying me!"

"If you tattle, no one will take you to Midnight," Lu Li told her, his gaze steady.

Elder Sister's mention of her "mom" intrigued him. Wasn't she the leader of the spirits and entities in the City of Phantoms?

But it seemed to make sense. If there was someone more powerful above Elder Sister, it would explain why she needed an excuse for Lu Li to take her along when he left the City of Phantoms.

Elder Sister lowered her head and pondered for a few seconds. "When we get to Midnight, I'll tell you everything!"

"Fine."

Lu Li placed Elder Sister on his back again. She slid down from his shoulder as if it were a slide and vanished.

"Are we really taking her to Midnight?" Katerina asked. She didn't like the idea of traveling with a spirit or entity of unknown origin.

"We don't have much choice but to let her follow."

Even without factoring in her powerful "mom," Elder Sister wasn't to be underestimated because of her appearance—neither Lu Li nor Katerina could handle her.

Lu Li looked at the grief-stricken Prusius, who was still sitting on the floor. "Mak-Mak is dead. Can you still guide us to Midnight?"

"We should find another guide," Katerina frowned, not bothering to hide her disgust. "A guide is supposed to help us avoid trouble, not cause it."

"I... I can," Prusius said. He gently laid his companion's body down, sniffled, and got to his feet. "Miss Katerina, I only wanted to bring Mak-Mak because he knew so much. I wanted him to tell you everything. Now he and all his secrets are buried in that creature's stomach."

"How do we get out now?" Katerina asked Lu Li, ignoring Prusius. "If we just go downstairs, we'll definitely be suspected."

Lu Li didn't answer. His gaze fell upon the window.

Lu Li landed silently on the uneven cobblestones below.

Creatures passing the tavern cast glances his way. Once Katerina and Prusius joined him, the three of them set off deeper into the main line of the sewer.

After they had passed several forks in the tunnel, Katerina sensed they were no longer being followed and lowered her hand from her eyes.

They were far enough from the tavern now. Even if the body had been discovered, no one would be able to catch up with them.

Prusius trudged beside Lu Li, his head and tail drooping.

"This is the worst day of my life..."

Prusius couldn't even give his friend a proper burial and a headstone, something he'd always dreamed of doing.

He had even figured out what to write on the headstone: Mak-Mak, Scout of the City Patrol; Daisy, Informant of the City Patrol; and himself, Prusius, Captain of the City Patrol...

Lu Li pulled on a cloak and raised its hood, hiding his face in shadow like some kind of heretic.

But this attire was even more suitable for the Old Sewer than his previous clothes.

Before they left the bustling main line, which was much like a city market, Prusius advised Katerina to put on a cloak as well.

The sewer's branch tunnels were different from the main line. Humans weren't particularly welcome there, and most of the inhabitants were mutants and anomalous creatures.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Katerina took Prusius's advice and pulled on her cloak.

If the main line of the Old Sewer was a city, then its branches were the roads connecting cities, and the hidden tunnels were the wilderness.

The most expansive and the most dangerous.

Fortunately, the path from the City of Phantoms station to Midnight's main station didn't go through the hidden tunnels. They only had to be wary of the branching paths, which were not entirely safe and were constantly changing.

For instance, some branches had become hidden tunnels after collapsing. Others had changed due to a new ruler taking over. And some didn't permit humans to pass through at all.

Katerina had never truly trusted Prusius, but she had to admit he had helped them avoid a great deal of trouble.

He could somehow sense when a mutant war was about to break out in one of the branches, allowing them to bypass it. He could also recognize a hidden tunnel disguised as a regular branch, one that lured in unsuspecting travelers.

A reliable guide was essential for navigating the ever-shifting labyrinth of the Old Sewer and avoiding its many dangers.

"But why do we have to go through here?" Katerina asked, pinching her nose in disgust.

The entrance to another branch tunnel opened before them: a subterranean cavern.

Filthy, foul-smelling water trickled through rotting mud, winding its way toward the next tunnel. The vast cavern, dotted with huts built on stilts above the muck, made the whole place resemble a swamp.