Detective Agency of the Bizarre-Chapter 1502 - 46: The Mastermind

The Immortal Giant stranded on the beach resembled a massive whale.

Standing beneath it, one could feel even more insignificant and lonely.

Luggage and traces of rescue efforts were scattered on the sand; the rope tied to the ship’s side and hanging down to the shallows was Lu Li’s only way back to the deck.

Picking up the rope drifting with the waves, Lu Li said to Kate, who stood in the shallows, "You can’t come up."

"Help me."

"I can’t do it."

In the two days since leaving and returning to the Immortal Giant, Lu Li hadn’t rested.

"Then I’ll climb myself."

Lu Li said no more to the stubborn Kate, grabbed the rope, climbed with his hands, steadied his footing, and slowly climbed to the top, flipping over the ship’s side and collapsing exhaustedly onto the deck.

The deck, stained with dried blood, was silent. The dull sound of waves lapping against the hull resonated on the deck, echoing into the mind, transforming into the wailing of lost souls...

Lu Li awoke with a start, unsure when he had drifted off to sleep, propping himself up on the deck.

The rope was taut, and Kate had only climbed a third of the way, clinging weakly to the rope.

Lu Li’s arms were tired, unable to help, and he temporarily left the ship’s side, stepping onto the upper deck.

If the clues were on the ship, the suites of the first-class passengers were suspicious places.

Nobles and the wealthy liked to bring along quirky items and antiques of old, which often had something in common with eerie things.

Ignoring the dark brown stains on the carpet, Lu Li pushed open the half-closed door, stepped over scattered stockings, shillings, gold coins, and a pipe, observing things that didn’t originally belong in the suite.

The first room had no clues. Unexpectedly, the opened drawer revealed a flintlock pistol and several bullets—not something typical of Kate.

Lu Li picked up the flintlock pistol and bullets, proceeding to the second room, then the third, the fourth, until the last one.

There were many antiques, and unusual items weren’t rare, but none that Lu Li was seeking.

This approach wouldn’t work.

Because even if there were clues, as an ordinary person, Lu Li would have a hard time noticing their existence and might overlook them.

At this moment, Lu Li gripped the flintlock pistol, gazing towards the door.

The dull sound of footsteps approached from the corridor, echoing closer.

Kate appeared barefoot at the door, clutching the hem of her damp skirt.

Kate’s appearance was timely.

Lu Li asked her, "Did they ever behave strangely or peculiarly while interacting with noble merchants?"

Kate’s gaze frequently landed on the bed, "What kind of odd behavior?"

"As if they were being controlled, acting differently than usual, inconsistent with their personality or status."

Kate recalled the passengers she interacted with, remembering a female companion of a first-class passenger. On the final evening, she exhibited an obvious oddity, such as unsteady standing and uttering strange babble.

It sounded like she was being controlled or possessed by something eerie.

Lu Li asked Kate to lead him to her cabin. They pushed open the damaged wooden door after passing through a blood-stained corridor.

Scattered stockings, wet marks by the bed, discarded underwear, embedded pink and purple toys and strings...

The oddity Kate saw that night was simply some form of intimacy.

"No clues here?"

With Lu Li’s confirmation, Kate asked him to leave, opened the wardrobe, changed into a loose long dress and shoes for easier movement, then headed to the next possible clue location, the cargo hold.

The Immortal Giant was silent, as those who could be rescued had been brought back by the townspeople to Bay Town. Leaving only them and... the stranded victims of death.

Raising the oil lamp, its dim light illuminated a few meters. Numerous shadows lurked in the cargo hold’s depths.

Lu Li and Kate walked through the cargo hold, potentially hiding something eerie, shadows shifting with movement, mixing the scent of novelties and wood into their noses.

Finding a particular unknown item in a cargo hold full of items was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Lu Li didn’t have much time to waste.

Minutes later, Lu Li suddenly searched with clarity of purpose, quickly locating what he wanted—a barrel of kerosene.

"... Are you going to burn this place?"

Kate received the oil lamp, watched as Lu Li unscrewed the barrel and poured the brown kerosene over flammable crates and cars.

"If it’s on the ship, the flames will reveal it."

There was a psychological rationale of birthing new life from destruction—Kate quickly accepted Lu Li’s intent to set the Immortal Giant ablaze.

If the analysis was correct, Lu Li would get an answer. If incorrect, they would end up with a burning ship.

Dropping the empty kerosene barrel, Lu Li took back the oil lamp, opened the lampshade, bringing the weak flame closer to the kerosene-soaked crates.

Orange-yellow flames gradually spread, tracing the spill mark upstream, revealing the contours of the entire cargo hold.

Lu Li and Kate stood at the cargo hold entrance, their faces illuminated by blazing flames.

Just when the flames were about to irrevocably consume the cargo hold, the happy dancing flames fell into stillness.

A long sigh resonated slowly in the tranquility of all things:

"Why do you destroy the people’s longing for peace..."

Waiting for this moment, Lu Li wasn’t surprised by the voice, his gaze sweeping over Kate’s face where the fire was frozen in stillness: "Is peace defined by the few survivors among two thousand on the ship?"

"On land, countless live without worries..."

"Are they truly living?"

The voice fell into the same stillness as the flames.

"Who are you?" Lu Li broke the silence.

"You call it the Land of Hope... Solaxim... Tillage Garden..."

Lu Li had only guessed half correctly: he believed that the force behind everything happening was aboard the Immortal Giant.

But it was the entire Tillage Garden.

Just as Lu Li witnessed Lennon’s Islands dying, now, it was Tillage Garden’s turn.

"Why did you bring me to this moment?"

"Because only this moment is safe..."

"Please take me away."

"Why? Isn’t it good here?" The consciousness carried a tone of surprise.

"How long has it been in reality?"

"Three days..."

"I don’t have a reason to stay here."

The proportional time meant Lu Li had already wasted three days, and illusionary beauty was no better than harsh truth, "I need to go to Haim to find Spirit Mold; it’s the only chance to save the Barren Lands and even the world."

The best-case scenario is that the Swamp swallows Midnight City, then is obliterated by the ineffable.

The worst-case is the Swamp devours the world whole.

The consciousness calling itself Tillage Garden agreed with Lu Li, but it required Lu Li to prove he could survive in the real Tillage Garden—it would send Lu Li to a disaster a few days after now.

"What about Andrea?" Lu Li asked.

"That ship? It hid after you entered..."

Confirming Andrea was safe, Lu Li let Tillage Garden send him into a new dream.

This was Tillage Garden’s domain, and the world’s awarded Cursed Title was useless before the "world" itself. Lu Li had no choice but to accept.

The sound of waves echoed in his ears, and Lu Li opened his eyes.

The pungent smoke, the shaking beneath his feet, the surging tide, scorched, bloody, deathly...

Before him appeared the Immortal Giant, suffering doom.

As if reliving his Belfast experience—everything was irrevocably falling into the abyss.