The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 909: The First Two

Although the relationship between the Mother of the Swamp and the twisted forest had shifted from war to cooperation, Lu Li still wouldn't let the Deep God approach the giant tree.

"Why won't You let Me... get closer?"

"Can You suppress your instinct and not take the mutilated body?" Lu Li asked Him.

The Deep God didn't answer, but He no longer demanded to be brought near the giant tree.

The giant tree was also refused. Lu Li declined its invitation to stay and returned to the Mother of the Swamp's hut to rest for the night.

The next morning, they began building a breakwater for the Northern Shadow Swamp and expanding to the east and west.

As they crossed the forest, the farther north they went, the muckier the swamp underfoot became, until it was completely flooded with seawater. The crowns of the trees tilted more sharply, as if the trees themselves wanted to flee this place.

The forest's escort allowed them to pass swiftly through the shifting shadows of the trees, to see the endless expanse of the sea at the edge of the sky, and to hear the ceaseless roar of the surf.

"Giant tree, can you hear me?"

Tree roots, resembling sea serpents, surfaced from the water, straightening up and swaying toward Lu Li.Lu Li then asked the giant tree to guide them along the northern coast once more.

The condition of the Northern Shadow Swamp was worse than expected: a twenty-five-kilometer coastline bordered the swamp entirely, and the seawater relentlessly eroded the life from the trees, day and night.

By comparison, the Southern Shadow Swamp was far luckier. It also bordered the sea, but its higher elevation prevented seawater from penetrating deep inland. Even where swamps formed, they were freshwater, and a river flowed through its depths.

"What... are you... planning... to do?"

This time, only Ophelia had come with Lu Li, with the giant tree also considered a companion. The Deep God had remained in the Southern Swamp, the Mother of the Swamp had gathered her servants, and Prusius was simply left behind.

"Kiss me... before... the sea... or... propose?"

Lu Li had assumed her "what are you planning to do" was about building the breakwater.

Ignoring Ophelia's show of affection, Lu Li contemplated how to construct the breakwater.

Building a twenty-five-kilometer dam was a near-miracle of engineering. Even for modern people in the early stages of industrialization, it would have taken several years. Obviously, people from the city couldn't come here, nor could they stay for so long.

Lu Li asked the giant tree to gather the roots underground to form a natural breakwater. But the giant tree was unwilling, saying it would kill the forest.

"Each tree will only use a portion of its roots."

Over more than twenty years of instinctual evolution, the giant tree's root system had become as lush as its canopy, which was why the forest attacked with its roots.

In truth, if the branches could move, the effect would be better than that of the roots. The problem was that the giant tree found it difficult to shed the shackles of its arboreal instinct—the roots were the only thing it could actively control.

And instinct only compelled the forest to avoid the seawater, not to block its path.

The seawater flooding the swamp began to churn with mud. In time, interwoven roots broke the surface, forming a prototype breakwater five kilometers high and twenty centimeters wide, just as Lu Li had demanded.

Lu Li scooped up some seawater and poured it over the root breakwater; most of the water ran down the sides, while a smaller portion was absorbed by the roots.

"Even denser."

The tangled roots, like countless snakes in the mud, writhed and coiled eerily, accompanied by the sound of crushing fabric. At last, they settled into the form of dense roots, as if carved from stone.

Such roots were sufficient to serve as a breakwater, if only they were a bit wider and deeper.

The only problem was that the dry, twisted, lifeless roots of the trees at the edge couldn't form the breakwater Lu Li required.

"Can the trees here become like the giant ones deeper in the forest?" Lu Li asked.

The giant tree answered Lu Li that it would take time, and the forest couldn't withstand any further expenditure. The power of the mutilated body was nearly eternal, but its use had limits.

"The war is over. The front line doesn't need these combat roots, nor do the canopies of all the trees," Lu Li said, reallocating the resources the giant tree possessed.

The twisted forest's development was clearly deformed, a consequence of following its instincts: when water was scarce, it spread its roots, anchoring itself in the earth. When light was lacking, it endlessly grew its branches.

The former could indeed be remedied, but the latter was pointless.

The absence of sunlight prevented them from photosynthesizing.

The giant tree trusted its friend and heeded his words.

...

On the trench-scarred battlefield, the shadow people shimmering behind the banyan tree fell silent, and the six-legged creatures crawling past also settled down.

More and more of the Mother of the Swamp's servants appeared at the edge, their gazes fixed grimly on the opposite side of the battlefield, where the lush but wounded canopies were gradually withering and shedding their leaves as if winter had come.

This scene unfolded in every corner of the twisted forest: the web-like canopies that had blocked the sky in layers vanished. Light once again touched the rotting earth, and the mist enshrouding the forest quietly dissipated.

Simultaneously with the changes in the twisted forest, the northern coast was also transforming.

The bare trees rippled, growing slowly at an imperceptible speed. The edge bordering the seawater boiled with mud, like swarming fish, and an endless number of low, thin root breakwaters rose upward.

And from time to time, a new, tender root would emerge from the water and, like a tentacle, merge into the breakwater, thickening it layer by layer.

Next came the seawater in the swamp, and this was a task for the Deep God: to pump the seawater out of the swamp.

Returning to the Mother of the Swamp's territory to find the Deep God, Lu Li was met with refusal.

"A god... should not be doing such things..." the Deep God whispered coldly.

"It's for the return of your mutilated body."

...

A churning pillar of water surged into the sea on the other side of the breakwater. Ripples spread across the swamp's depths, which were no longer dark.

If one looked closely, they could see that the water level inside the breakwater was slightly lower than sea level.

"I... rather enjoy this."

The Deep God sank into a strange state of tranquility, as if He could repeat the action endlessly.

"That's called a sense of accomplishment!" declared Prusius, who had inevitably shown up, standing on the raised tree roots.

"I... like the sense of accomplishment."

Ignoring the Deep God's mistake, Lu Li gazed at the breakwater stretching into the distance.

Building the breakwater and pumping out the water would take some time, but not too long.

While they waited, they could turn to another task: expanding to the east.

The west was ruled out by Lu Li, as it belonged to the Main Continent. But expanding his allies' territory on the Allen Peninsula was beneficial for Lu Li.

As for how to deal with the underground bedrock, Lu Li had more suitable helpers.

...

On the desolate but relatively flat hills, the earth trembled restlessly. Stones vibrated, and the rising dust enveloped everything like a fine mist.

More than a dozen worms were crushing the hard bedrock underground, impenetrable to the tree roots.

The giant tree showed an affection for them, perhaps mistaking the worms for oversized earthworms—a misconception. They were only helping Lu Li dig, not feeding. If they had begun to digest everything they swallowed, the giant tree would have felt a terror akin to encountering a predator.

In any case, they were getting closer to completing the first two objectives.