Detective Agency of the Bizarre

Tesla quietly stepped down from the podium, expressing helplessness to Lu Li.

His carefully prepared first lesson was disrupted by the Silent Moments.

Hades became the only victor, but he wasn't as pleased as he imagined— the Land of Light was becoming dangerous, perhaps a return to hell was in order...

Then he saw Lu Li take out a stack of brand-new, ink-scented Shillings from his stomach bag.

Damned Exorcist!

The Exorcists silently left the schoolhouse, and today the Agate Lake Camp was quiet.

Although people knew that as long as they kept their mouths shut during the Silent Moments, there would be no issues, they still carefully avoided making any sound.

"Should we have the residents hide in shelters?"

The Mother of the Marsh asked softly.

"No need."

"I remember we prepared veils..."

"Masks, they're stored in the warehouse."

They were originally dust protection gear for workers, but could also be used as ritual items to remind people "not to speak now."

Next, the Mother of the Marsh dispatched the Six-legged Monster to retrieve the masks from the warehouse, gathering all human residents in the square to distribute them.

Lu Li also put on a mask made of linen, cut into grids.

Lunchtime, unsurprisingly, was delayed or rather canceled, and classes were thus disrupted, leaving only the Alchemists and scientists quietly and steadily brewing potions and researching machinery.

At 3 PM, the Silent Moments faded away, and the resounding watchtower bell across the camp finally allowed the residents to relax.

"No residents disappeared."

From the cabin on Lake Heart Island, the Crown of Thorns conveyed the gentle whisper of the Mother of the Marsh. Lu Li took off his mask and put it in a drawer. For a long time to come, they couldn't be without their masks.

"See if the Black Night Calamity occurs."

Soon after, bad news arrived: the Black Night Calamity had also descended on the Land of Light.

However, compared to the Silent Moments, the Black Night Calamity had little impact on the camp— the Land of Light had sunlight, and even if clouds cover the night, the Fluorite Lamps were enough for the residents to sleep peacefully.

Yet since the calamity had invaded, could evil spirits be far behind?

Lu Li went to find the Jimmy Siblings who were supposed to visit in the morning, to arrange positions for them— to collaborate with scientists as scholars and subjects of study to analyze abilities.

Raimy's scholarly talents were very useful.

Perhaps this journey down the path of science was destined to be arduous, but every discovery along the way would increase humanity's chances of surviving The Dark Era.

As for Wei'er and Little Jimmy, they continued living in the camp as "children", although according to their actual age, they were already older than many camp residents. However, their peculiar nature was frozen in the childhood stage.

Amber also became a Strange Resident. Its relationship with Lu Li and two decades of stability in Paradise Valley had long been trusted by humans. However, it could only temporarily exist as a carrier like it did in Paradise Valley.

The Flowing Cat and the groups of cats were being treated by the Vine Church.

"Some of those prey can be given to Amber," Raimy suggested to Lu Li. "Amber's racial talent is to molt and grow in size every few years, but in Paradise Valley, we couldn't provide sufficient food... If we provide enough food, it can molt in a short period."

Lu Li contacted the Mother of the Marsh to feed Amber. The Land of Light's ongoing clearing was still producing abundant food, but it was only temporary. Once the Land of Light was completely cleared, the camp would face a situation where production was less than consumption again.

Realizing this, the Mother of the Marsh had also reminded the Twisted Shadow to slow down, herding them like shepherds to the temporarily unprocessed Land of Vortex.

The Jimmy Siblings followed Lu Li to a yard on the edge of the farmland specially cultivated, where three fluorescent plants brought from the Eternal Forest were planted in the purified soil.

Regrettably, even when Lu Li released the Speaker of the Trees during planting, it couldn't help them survive. The broad leaves withered and drooped.

Lu Li's Speaker of the Trees could revive them, but it was meaningless; they were fated not to last here.

Lu Li briefly released the Speaker of the Trees to maintain their vitality, allowing the farmers to dig out the plants Tesla and the others called "Glow Berry Grass" and move them to the second field of the refuge.

The fluorescent plants here were in much better condition than on the surface. Although there was no noticeable growth, they also hadn't withered, so they needed a longer observation period. Clearly, the dark, humid underground was more suitable for these fungus-like Fluorescent Grass to grow than the surface.

The third field was on Lake Heart Island. They were planted under the Annie Tree, in better condition than the second field, with fluorescent plants stretching with large broad leaves, and rudimentary fruit forming in the leaf cores.

Unfortunately, there was only one Annie Tree, and Lake Heart Island was not vast. Even if it were covered with crops, it was difficult to supply all the residents.

"Have they been fertilized?" Lu Li asked the Mother of the Marsh.

"Not yet, the farmers didn't dare to act rashly with the crops you brought back."

"Tell them to start fertilizing."

"What do you use for fertilization?" Raimy asked.

"Manure."

There was a compost pit in the downwind area of the shed district where human residents' manure was collected and piled up.

"Ugh..."

The outwardly fierce but inwardly delicate-hearted Jimmy retched.

He never knew crops were grown like this… How is this different from eating poop directly?

Raimy helplessly looked up at him, "Our story background is about farmers, have you forgotten, brother?"

The farmers began irrigating the two fluorescent plant fields, except for Lake Heart Island.

Lu Li didn't mind, but all residents including the Mother of the Marsh didn't want their Sacred Land to become overrun with a nauseating stench.

Night was falling, and Lu Li awaited news from the Twisted Shadow, which was converting the territory at the edge of the bay. When the dense fog rose from the deep sea, spreading towards the bay, news from the Twisted Shadow was brought by the Mother of the Marsh: though pollution was blocked by the converted territory, the dense fog bypassed it.

Unless the Alien God's territory completely surrounded the Land of Hope, the Mist of Strangeness would always creep into the Land of Light, which meant they wouldn't be able to completely resolve the issue until after the rainy season.

The Land of Light had two Alien Gods, and only two Alien Gods.

The Twisted Shadow didn't return; it and its cultists stayed in the bay, continuing the conversion.

The Mother of the Marsh's analysis overlooked this point. If only the Twisted Shadow constructed a barrier, even by the next spring, they couldn't completely encircle the Land of Light.

The Earth Dwellers' Trading Company might know a better way, but obviously, they couldn't reveal the situation to the ones leaning towards the strange faction.

Wearing only a white shirt, Lu Li hovered his pen above the blank page, never putting it down.

Click.

Capping the pen, he closed the notebook, pushed them to the corner of the desk, pulled his sleeves over his arms, left his seat, hung the trench coat from the back of the chair on the rack beside the sculpture, returned to bed, and slowly fell asleep.

The night on Lake Heart Island was surrounded by shimmering starlight, the Fluorescent Plants bringing delight to the pitch-black Lake Heart Island where only the cabin windows showed firelight — their flickering beauty dispelled loneliness.

It seemed a worry-free night flowed serenely.