The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 754: The Withered Tree

The boat turned around just a few meters from the shore, its wake dissolving into the murky swamp as it headed back.

The grinding of Model's teeth echoed through the cavern. It skittered anxiously to the edge of the bank, but the churning mud forced it to recoil.

Pushing off with its long limbs, Model leaped onto a patch of solid ground jutting out from the swamp, swiftly pursuing the boat along the cavern's edge.

They passed the three islets again. The old woman with the bowl no longer beckoned to them, the girl in the white dress watched them with curiosity, and the short creatures pretending to be human moved more sluggishly.

On the other side of the swamp, Model didn't race ahead of the boat this time, but followed it with bounding leaps.

With only a few meters left to the exit, Model was still a hundred meters from the edge and seemed unlikely to catch them in time.

"Go back the way we came," Lu Li told the boat.

The moment the boat turned at the bank to head back, Model—which had been deliberately lagging behind—accelerated. Its slender limbs became a blur of motion, leaving behind afterimages as it bounded closer across the fractured surface of the swamp.

But it was still too late. By the time Model reached the exit, the boat had already pushed away from the bank once more.

Model let out a howl, its terrifying aura flaring as it leaped onto the cavern wall, attempting to scramble up and get at the boat from above.It only managed to climb seven or eight meters before the sheer steepness of the wall caused it to lose its grip and plummet to the ground.

Flailing its limbs, it righted itself, and a creature waiting by the exit for the boat became an unlucky victim of its rage. The enraged Model lunged, its spike-studded maw turning inside out as it swallowed the creature's arm whole.

The creature jettisoned its arm before it could be completely devoured, dissolving into a puddle of slime and slithering away.

"It must be furious..." Prusius whispered, his voice trembling as he peeked over the side of the boat, only his eyes and animal-like ears visible.

"I hope it leaves us alone," Katerina said, watching Model rampage by the exit.

That was clearly a futile hope. Model had locked onto them. After its tantrum, it once again set off in pursuit of the boat.

The anomalies with human heads were hesitant this time. Some continued their charade of being human, while others sat listlessly on the islet, ignoring the boat as it passed for the fourth time.

The girl in the white dress dropped her helpless act. She glanced at the pursuing Model, then said to Lu Li and Katerina, "You can come up here and hide from it."

The old woman was gone, leaving only her bowl on the shore, well within reach.

The boat drew closer to the bank.

Dozens of meters away, at the entrance to the swamp channel, Model paced impatiently, waiting for them.

"Keep going back," Lu Li said.

The boat turned, but instead of going back the way they'd come, it headed for the nearest islet.

"Go back! Go back!" Prusius cried, but it was no use. The boat docked at the islet's bank with a gentle rock.

"It's mad at us!" Prusius shrieked.

Lu Li looked at the boat and tried to reason with it. "We're trying to escape a pursuer. We weren't trying to mock you with our back-and-forth in the swamp."

Several seconds passed. The boat remained at the bank, unmoving. But beneath the surface of the swamp, something was clearly stirring.

They had no choice but to step onto the islet's shore.

The moment they set foot on land, the boat slowly drifted away.

The only consolation was that the boat hadn't sent them toward the entrance where Model was waiting.

Now, they had two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news.

The good news was that Model couldn't reach this islet directly, and another boat was already heading toward them.

The bad news was that Model was on that boat.

Glancing around, they saw the islet was only a few dozen meters in diameter. Apart from a withered tree in the center, there was nothing else.

Lu Li looked at Model in the approaching boat and pleaded for help. "Elder Sister, can you help us?"

"Why should I help you?!" Elder Sister materialized on Lu Li's back, scrambled onto his shoulder, and let out a piercing shriek.

"Because we'll take you to Midnight, and we'll help you find clay."

"Liars! Don't even think about it!"

Elder Sister slid off his back and began to fade from view.

"Elder Sister, please, help us! Model is going to eat us!" Prusius wailed, prostrating himself in the mud.

After a brief silence, Elder Sister tossed out one last phrase before vanishing completely: "...That tree can help you!"

Lu Li's gaze fell on the lone withered tree on the islet.

Katerina warned him, "Whatever you're planning... you'd better hurry. It's getting close!"

The boat carrying Model was now less than a hundred meters away.

Lu Li nodded and approached the withered tree. A thread of consciousness, woven from his aura, discreetly coiled around it and spoke in a strange language—not one of vibrating air, but of direct communication between essences.

The tree needed fuel. If Lu Li shared his fuel with it, it would help him resolve his current problem.

And that fuel... was Humanity.

"How do I give it to you?" Lu Li asked.

"Touch and share."

The withered tree's consciousness replied.

Lu Li raised his right hand and touched the rough trunk, thinking, "I want to share my Humanity."

A warmth bloomed in his chest and flowed down his arm, a sensation like dipping his hand into warm water. This was Lu Li's Humanity.

Humanity flowed from his palm into the wood, and the consciousness coiled around it suddenly expressed a sense of delight.

When his Humanity dropped to two units, Lu Li pulled his hand away.

The tree's consciousness was not satisfied, but it still conveyed its gratitude and asked Lu Li to wait a moment.

A single seed dropped at Lu Li's feet.

The tree's consciousness conveyed a request: take the seed and plant it somewhere safe.

Lu Li picked up the seed and agreed.

"Sharing fuel... Why... How did you do that?" Elder Sister reappeared on Lu Li's shoulder, her tone one of disbelief. She was so stunned she forgot to shriek.

"We'll talk about it later."

Lu Li stepped away from the tree and walked over to Katerina, who was standing by the water's edge.

Model had almost reached the shore.

Katerina, preparing to draw her Anomaly, muttered sarcastically, "I thought I'd found a treasure, but it turns out I just found a world of trouble."

She'd only wanted to sell Lu Li for a good price, and instead, she'd almost died several times.

"We don't have to do anything else. Just stand back," Lu Li's voice came from beside her.

"Did you do it?"

"Yes."

Stepping back toward the center of the islet, they watched the boat dock. Model extended its long limbs and set foot on the bank.

The instant it did, the ground beneath it gave way, and Model's hind legs sank into the mire. Writhing limbs hidden in the swamp stirred to life, dragging its legs deeper into the muck.

Model dug its forelimbs into the ground. It might have pulled itself free, but thick tree roots burst from the earth, crumbling the soil around its front legs.

With a low, air-shuddering roar, Model was dragged into the swamp. The water churned and boiled as more and more limbs coiled around the creature's thrashing body, pulling it down into the mire.

Murky bubbles rose to the surface. The churning lasted for a few more seconds, and then everything went still.

"What in the world... was that thing in the swamp..." Katerina breathed.

Ash drifted slowly to the ground.

Lu Li turned. The withered tree in the center of the islet was crumbling to dust, carried away by the faint breeze blowing over the swamp.