633: One hundred fifty-two.
Bizarre City 633: One hundred fifty-two.
Bizarre City Humans were unable to observe the Inverted City.
The “guard” at the city gate described Lu Li’s transformation, signifying sothing akin to a special talent.
The oddities, likewise.
Otherwise, they would have simply looked for a reflection that had not appeared in the Inverted City, instead of disguising themselves as humans and playing gas in “Paradise.”
“It has nothing to do with you,” Lu Li calmly responded, bypassing the “lady” and leaving from under its stomach sac.
The fewer details you knew, the more vulnerabilities you exposed; silence was the best response.
“Is this how you treat a lady?” An indignant voice arose from behind, laden with reproach.
No one could guess its true identity.
“I don’t like won.” Lu Li did not turn back.
His simple response floated through the air, drawing so mocking glances.
The “lady’s” expression turned icy, but “she” was temporarily unable to continue bothering Lu Li, as the figure of a young “man” approached it.
All beings bore the sa visage.
All beings were suspicious of each other.
Moving far enough away, Lu Li stopped at the crossroads, waiting for a carriage to pass.
He seed to be checking the ti as he pulled out a pocket watch from his pocket and opened it.
The pocket watch gave no warning, the Sanity Value Counter did not alert, and the acute premonition also disappeared.
There was no trace of any presence in the Royal City, except for the peculiar city itself.
The several skeletons pulling the carriage finally passed, and Lu Li’s view beca clear.
People moved along the streets, custors’ silhouettes visible in the shop windows.
They lived here in human forms in this city resembling one beneath the earth, temporarily.
Lu Li didn’t know where to search for Anna, but for now, assuming the identity “assigned” by his “master” was the safest course, as well as using the talent that allowed glimpses into the Inverted City to gather the disguised surviving humans.
But first, Lu Li had to gain their trust.
After waiting at the crossroads for a few seconds, a figure invisible in the Inverted City approached him.
It was a middle-aged man.
As he passed by, Lu Li whispered low, “Senior Investigator Lu Li.
I have the ability to distinguish between humans and oddities.
I know you are human.”
Panic flickered in the eyes of the middle-aged man, quickly concealed, as he frowned and muttered ‘crazy’ under his breath, walking away in distaste.
This seed ineffective.
The damp ground in the city indicated what had transpired over the past few hours.
Those who readily exposed their vulnerabilities and trusted others had already perished.
Only the smart, cautious, and suspicious ones were still alive in the city.
So the several encounters on the way to Xiusi University resulted similarly—the best one involved a person who showed interest but ultimately shook his head and walked away, unable to trust Lu Li.
However, with the eighth person he approached, the situation turned.
“Senior Investigator Lu Li, previously hidden at Ryko Farm because an assistant investigating the Royal City disappeared, I ca to find her.
I have the ability to distinguish between humans and oddities.
I know you are human.”
Opposite Lu Li was a middle-aged man with disheveled brown hair, shabbily dressed, the edge of a Sanity Value Counter peeking from beneath his cuff.
The man, initially planning to pass by, hesitated as his gaze flickered uncertainly when he heard the words.
He was hesitant whether to trust Lu Li.
“If you are an Exorcist, you should have heard of .
Try to recall: the Ailen Peninsula, the one who rang the Evil God’s Death Knell.”
The middle-aged man frowned in thought for a mont, his eyes suddenly flickering with covert excitent and surprise.
He rembered sothing, but still did not speak.
“Tesla Family, Flay Family, Ma Fulin Family, Exorcists’ Council, the Dandelion incident of the night,” Lu Li listed the likely known pieces of information to the middle-aged man, which had so effect as the skepticism in the man’s eyes almost faded away.
“I was asked to go to Xiusi University, do you know if there’s a hotel there?” Lu Li changed his plan, realizing this wasn’t the place for discussions.
Perhaps because the conversation had lasted too long, or perhaps because of Lu Li’s appearance, so malevolent glances were cast upon him.
“…I’ve never been to that street,” the middle-aged man slowly replied after a few seconds.
“I will rent a room there, with a crow mark on the window.
Co there when you find ti, and I will find a chance to co out.”
Feeling the surrounding gazes growing restless, Lu Li didn’t linger any longer, preparing to leave the area.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man whispered, clinging to a glimr of hope, “My na is Gemini Reed.
I trust you, at the cost of my life…
I am an exorcist, the kind that’s outside the United Organization…
Be careful of the bizarre, they vary greatly in temperant, cautious ones might continue to observe you, but rash ones will attack on suspicion.”
“Thank you,”
Lu Li nodded lightly and walked away, crossing the intersection and fading into the distance.
Exorcists like Gemini Reed who believed in Lu Li were only a minority.
For a long ti after that, Lu Li didn’t encounter another human who believed in him, and he even ran into trouble—
“Human?!”
This old man shouted out loud, intentionally loud enough for the surrounding bizarre to hear, “Do you think I’m a fool… luring to attack you so you can be punished?”
He then deliberately retreated from Lu Li, distancing himself, and repeated the words Lu Li had said earlier to the approaching bizarre, mocking excessively.
Even without seeing the Inverted City above him, Lu Li could feel the undeniable malice from those silhouettes.
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” Lu Li simply watched the old man calmly.
The seeds of doubt Lu Li had planted quickly grew, and so malicious gazes now shifted onto the old man.
Then, in the mont the old man’s face scread in horror, the bizarre sward him.
Lu Li’s eyes slightly drooped, no longer paying attention to the abruptly ceased cries for help, and he turned to leave.
A few bizarre eyed the departing Lu Li enviously, but he hadn’t shown any signs that would make them suspicious—a mistake could bring severe punishnt.
Lu Li didn’t bla the old man’s actions; it was just a selfish act to maintain his safety—he had already paid the price for his actions.
However, so lingering dangers remained, such as Lu Li’s decision to no longer contact survivors.
He entered the Royal City to find Anna, and whether to save more people or to investigate the truth, it was best done after finding Anna.
And the bizarre following behind.
Easily shaking off the blatantly clumsy tracking behind him, Lu Li reached the street where Xiusi University was located.
Entering the hotel closest to the university, Lu Li took the keys from an unidentifiable owner, climbed the stairs to the second floor under constant scrutiny.
It’s worth ntioning that the currency in transactions was still Shilling, not the more “common sense” flesh and blood.
Click—
After closing the door, Lu Li checked the closet and under the bed to make sure there were no bizarre hiding, then he opened the stove in the corner and used a piece of charcoal to draw a crow mark on the window.
Having done this, Lu Li left the hotel and approached the main entrance of Xiusi University.
At that mont, cryptic whispers arose deep within his mind.
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