Detective Agency of the Bizarre

"The Sunshine Box is so precious; it shouldn't be wasted on the Eternal Forest," Tesla lamented upon learning that Lu Li had used up all the Sunshine Boxes.

"The Sunshine Boxes are consumables."

Lu Li told them that the sunlight would fade with time. So, they needed to leave the Eternal Forest as soon as possible.

Returning aboard Andrea, Lu Li finally relaxed his tense spirit. After changing into the new clothes brought by Merchant Anthony, he fell into a deep sleep on the single bed in the Captain's Cabin.

Raimy looked at Lu Li's sleeping face next to the oil lamp and whispered, "He's done so much for us. Do you really have no more news about An... her?"

Sensing that mentioning Anna's name would wake Lu Li, Raimy avoided the name.

"No... the Stone Forest was the last time I saw her."

Lu Li only slept for three hours before waking up, knowing this was his only sleep in the past week. Raimy hoped he would continue to rest, but Lu Li refused.

"What happened to Seaview Cliff after Anna and I left?"

Regaining his composure, with only sore muscles from resting, Lu Li asked.

"You tell it," Jimmy said to his sister.

Raimy recounted the situation after Lu Li and Anna "disappeared."

Due to the proximity to Old Himfast, Silent Hill was stirring, and Seaview Cliff was no longer safe. Raimy decided to migrate to Himfast, which still existed then. But Himfast was not welcoming; while hiding in the outskirts, they noticed the city's undercurrents, the Heretics plotting a scheme. Coinciding with the news of Lu Li resolving The Time of Silence, the Jimmy siblings changed their minds to seek Lu Li in the Barren Lands.

"The captain of the ship we boarded deceived everyone... He took us to Niss Town and told us Paradise Valley was in the Eternal Forest, luring us to search for it. For the children, we joined the team looking for Paradise Valley... By the way, why go to Niss Town?"

"The Flowing Cat is there."

"The Flowing Cat?"

"That black cat."

Raimy continued to recount the journey to find Paradise Valley, which was a hundred times more complex than what Lu Li experienced. The team dwindled, lacking food, and the three children and the cat got lost in the Eternal Forest. Eventually, they reached what they thought was Paradise Valley, the Land of Deceit. The sunlight and forest meadow made it seem like paradise, with Lu Li, Raimy, and everyone's family and friends there. Just as Raimy was about to indulge, Aidanvoya told her that "Tesla" was fake—the real Tesla was in the sanctuary.

Raimy suddenly woke up, realizing it was too coincidental that everyone there was familiar.

She persuaded some people to leave with her, but the Eternal Forest tried to stop them, causing them to lose their way and enter the depths of the Eternal Forest, where they established a settlement called Paradise Valley.

The Jimmy siblings never gave up on leaving to find Lu Li until Tesla arrived and told them Lu Li had been missing for several years.

So, when Lu Li wanted to take them away, the Jimmy siblings chose to follow without hesitation.

Then it was twenty years of monotonous life. Initially, new residents kept arriving at Paradise Valley. After Tesla's arrival, no one came anymore. They either died on the way or were lost in the Land of Deceit, disappearing. The population, once close to two hundred, dwindled as residents affected by pollution were exiled. Aidanvoya lost control completely seven years ago and chose self-destruction.

The peace of Paradise Valley seemed to last forever, until Lu Li suddenly barged in.

"Also, while you were resting, the Mother of the Marsh was calling you," Raimy pointed to the Crown of Thorns on the desk.

They all knew the Mother of the Marsh—Lu Li's former title "Ring the Evil God's Death Knell" was granted by Her.

Lu Li put the Crown of Thorns back on his head, calling to the Mother of the Marsh in his mind.

"...Did you succeed..."

"Yes, but Anna is not in Paradise Valley."

"...Regrettable... when will you return..."

"After bringing back the Flowing Cat, I will return."

"...We await your return..."

The Crown of Thorns fell silent again.

The next day, they arrived at the northwest corner of the Main Affinity Continent.

Unlike the last time, half the Twisted Cultists and the Jimmy siblings followed Lu Li ashore, walking along the broken road to Niss Town. The wraith that pulled Lu Li into the ritual not long ago was gone, whether left or hidden was unknown.

The edge of these barren mountains didn't harbor many strangeness; they smoothly arrived in Vig Town, retrieving the Flowing Cat and its group of cats.

Because many cats could no longer walk, nearly everyone—Lu Li, the Jimmy siblings, and the Twisted Cultists—cradled a cat, presenting a strangely harmonious scene.

Returning to Andrea, the two large ships sailed into the deep sea, destination the Land of Light.

No matter what, they were finally reunited—

Except for Anna.

The ensuing journey was thrilling yet peril-free, following the coast back to the northern Main Affinity Continent, nearing the Ailen Peninsula.

During the voyage, Lu Li realized that the Flowing Cat might still have a chance to restore its power: when the Silent Moments nostalgic to Tesla arrived, the cat group remained silent.

Several days later at dusk, they were close to the Land of Hope.

The distant glow in orange resembled a miracle, spilling onto the mottled Old Belfast.

The devastation by the Land of Vortex and Shipwreck District still lingered, much like an impending twilight.

They stepped out of the Captain's Cabin, staring dazedly at the approaching Land of Light.

The Jimmy siblings suddenly remembered they had never seen sunlight.

"Could we still be in the Eternal Forest?"

Jimmy suddenly said in a muffled voice.

Raimy couldn't help but curse her brother as an idiot.

Hmm—

The ship horn's sound echoed over the bay as Andrea sailed into the port, where swirling Bat Monsters descended, ready to carry Lu Li and the new residents to the camp.

Lu Li declined them and, along with the newly fascinated Raimy and others observing the Bat Monsters, rode on Amber's back, bathed in the sunset glow along the port avenue to the camp.

They had already heard Lu Li talk about everything in the Land of Light while on the ship.

But what they saw still amazed them—a land full of hopeful and active residents, Heretics living harmoniously with humans, strange yet ordinary residents, schoolhouses teaching science and mysticism, and crops growing lushly in the fields.

Everything the newspapers praised about the Land of Light was not exaggerated; the Land of Light truly was a Land of Hope.

If it wasn't the sorrowful sunset losing its sunshine but dawn with the rising sun, the scene would have been even more breathtaking.

Four residents were accommodated in sheds, to undergo Sanity Value and pollution assessments later, then naturally choose to become Heretics or Strange Residents. Tesla returned to his former home, where the Mother of the Marsh assigned some workers to help him clear the old house. As Lu Li left, Tesla was standing Aidanvoya's tombstone in the neglected backyard.

Then Lu Li took the Jimmy siblings and the children to Lake Heart Island, where they reunited with Annie.

The children's laughter brought joy to Lake Heart Island as they chased and frolicked under the Annie Tree, and the Mother of the Marsh arrived at Lake Heart Island.

"There's bad news."