The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 790: Harbor Island

Workers from the Prisi caravan, holding torches aloft, approached the shore where a deep cliff had given way to the surging water.

The high tide had transformed the Port of Storms from a hazardous reef into a deep-water harbor.

Wooden boats that had been run aground were refloated and loaded with cargo.

The ships waiting outside the bay, their lights like fireflies, headed for the Port of Storms now that the tide had come in.

Many ships moored along the shore. Merchants who plied the routes between Vinnelag and the surrounding islands purchased goods from the caravan, ready to transport them elsewhere for a profit.

A few ferries arrived as well. They were mostly operated by locals, who, for a fee, shuttled passengers bound for Vinnelag or other destinations to the Harbor Island.

After paying four shillings for the two of them, Lu Li and Katerina boarded a wooden boat.

Mothers with children, married couples, hunters—the boat filled up quickly. In the dim light, none of the other passengers recognized Lu Li.

The boatman took up his oars, pushed off from the shore, and steered the small vessel toward Harbor Island.

The water reflected distorted, fractured glimmers of light. All around the edges of the bay, countless pinpricks of light shone like fireflies against the night sky, all converging on the Port of Storms.The Port of Storms was busier by night than by day.

Harbor Island was located on the outskirts of the port's central cluster of pillars, connected by bridges but still on the very fringe of the main hub.

A divine presence protected the bay, preventing the anomalous fog and any monstrous sea creatures from entering.

"See that brightest island? That's where the church is."

A mother was telling her curious child about the Port of Storms.

The child awkwardly closed his eyes and began to pray. His gesture prompted his mother and several other passengers to join him, collectively giving thanks to the divine entity that protected them.

Prusius watched them with envy. He wanted to join in, but he knew that as an anomaly, he would only cause trouble if he did.

After half an hour of smooth sailing, they disembarked on Harbor Island.

The island was a massive stone pillar, largely an open platform with no structures apart from a few wooden shacks where various shipping companies sold tickets.

A long wait followed.

The ships had to finish loading their cargo before coming to Harbor Island to pick up passengers.

Strictly speaking, transporting passengers was not the main business of these shipping companies. It was more of an unspoken arrangement: the crew members would ferry passengers to earn some extra money, and the company management turned a blind eye.

It was a way of sidestepping labor disputes: pay the crew a lower wage, but let them earn extra money on the side.

In that respect, Vinnelag had truly restored its former "glory."

Over time, more and more passengers from various caravans arrived on Harbor Island, the crowd gradually swelling to over a hundred people.

Several wooden boats brought local food vendors to the island.

Roasted monster meat, fish pies sizzling in their own fat, hot water sending up plumes of white steam—on a cold and damp night, the smells were enough to make one's stomach growl.

A vendor quickly approached Lu Li and his companions, trailing the aroma of cooked food.

Lu Li did not buy anything; they had their own food.

The disappointed vendor was about to turn away when he spotted the expensive-looking canned food Katerina pulled from her bag. His eyes immediately lit up:

"Do you need any purified water? Clean, tasteless purified water?"

Purified water—in other words, distilled water.

Even though it was distilled, it still contained contaminants.

"It qualifies as third-grade according to the Terminas Association standards!" the vendor added hastily when he saw them hesitate.

The Terminas Association was based in Vinnelag and set the standards for various foodstuffs.

Third-grade was the lowest tier, but it was still far better than water that did not meet any standards at all.

Lu Li bought some of the distilled water to refill their flasks.

A few more vendors gradually arrived, but they were too late; the aroma of food already hung thick over Harbor Island.

Amid scattered conversations, the passengers waited for the distant ships to arrive.

"Mama, something's glowing over there. Is it a star...?"

A little girl nearby asked her mother.

Lu Li, calmly eating cold meat pâté from a can, glanced up. One of the stone pillars was glowing like a star for some unknown reason.

A moment later, a terrified figure stumbled into the crowd on the open platform, pointing back and shouting in fear:

"The bridge collapsed!"

Panic swept through the crowd. A few people ran toward the bridge to see for themselves and found it had been torn away from the other side, now floating adrift on the water.

It was not just the bridge to Harbor Island; many of the bridges in the heart of the Port of Storms had collapsed, turning the stone pillars into isolated islands.

"What happened?!"

"What's going on...?"

"Mama!"

The panicked crowd swarmed the wooden ticket shack. The locals inside remained relatively calm, explaining that the shimmering light signified an intrusion.

Some kind of curse had appeared on that island.

He urged everyone to calm down, explaining that now that the bridges were destroyed, the curse could not reach them here.

Upon learning that the destruction of the bridges was a protective measure, the frightened crowd calmed down considerably.

"Doesn't the divine entity deal with this?"

Lu Li asked Katerina once they were back on the open platform.

"They can't detect it," Katerina replied, shaking her head.

"Some contagions are difficult to detect. For instance, items carrying a contaminating curse, or ignorant people who've become infected."

The city could not completely seal itself off from anomalies—not even Vinnelag, which was more hostile to them than anywhere else.

In a sense, an anomaly of the same origin is also a form of contagion, just a less dangerous one.

The appearance of the curse caused some problems for the passengers.

The ships finished loading their cargo but failed to come to Harbor Island for the passengers as usual.

Katerina went to the ticket office for an update and returned with bad news.

"None of the ships are willing to take us."

"Why?" Lu Li asked.

"The outbreak scared them off."

If the contagion spread to one of the ships, it would not just affect the crew; the vessel itself would be blacklisted from doing business in Vinnelag.

Without that source of income, their families would starve.

"Not even for a lot of money?" Lu Li asked.

"The problem is, we can't contact the ships."

Lu Li recalled something and asked if there were any ships from the Fourteenth Shipping Company present.

Katerina went to ask, but unfortunately, none of the ships belonging to Lu Li's company were in the port.

Lu Li glanced around. A sea breeze swept across Harbor Island. As long as it did not rain, they could spend the night here.

But would they be able to leave tomorrow?

As he pondered this, a ship's horn echoed from the darkness—a sound heavier, more distant, and deeper than any other, like the low cry of a whale.

The horn's call sounded familiar to Lu Li. He calmly gazed out at the bay.

A colossal silhouette slowly emerged from the edge of the darkness. The first to spot it screamed and scrambled away, panic spreading like a plague.

Only Lu Li, Katerina, and Prusius gritted their teeth and held their ground.

Lu Li looked up. A massive, rusted ship moored at the edge of Harbor Island, giving a low blast of its horn as if in reply.

It had come for him.

"What is that...? What is that...?"

Prusius tucked his tail between his legs and dropped to the ground, so terrified he almost rolled over to expose his belly.

"The Whale," Lu Li said. Old things always evoked a sense of nostalgia, and his expression seemed to soften.

"Do you still want to follow me?"

"O-of course..." Prusius stammered.

"Are you really going to board it? That... thing?"

The sudden turn of events had left Katerina unable to think clearly.

"Yes."

Lu Li gave a slight nod and stepped onto the "Whale's" back, with Katerina and Prusius following hesitantly behind him.

The ship's horn sounded again, its tone somehow lighter now as it pierced the night sky. Under the stunned gazes of all who remained, the colossal vessel sailed off into the churning darkness.