"Did sothing happen?"
"Oh, don't be so cold! Listen, I've got a huge deal for you, and I know you'll be interested!"
In his own way, Marcus was incredibly dedicated. He usually used the word "commission," but this ti he said "huge deal," which ant it might actually be sothing serious.
Lu Li remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
Marcus waited on the other end of the line for about fifteen seconds before he couldn't stand it any longer. "Hey, are you still there?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Uh... Aren't you curious what it is? Fine, I'll get straight to the point. Baroness Joseph—her fa echoes across the entire Allen Peninsula, you know who she is, right? Well, she's hiring an exorcist! You probably can't even imagine how rich that beauty is. Let
put it this way: her fortune could buy a dozen streets in Belfast!"
"On top of that, Baroness Joseph always pays generously. I can already taste the enormous reward we'll get once we successfully complete the commission! My friend, we're going to be rich!"
"What's the commission?"
"It's still unknown. It might be long-term protection or solving so problem she has. Either way, it's incredible... The news has already spread throughout the eastern Allen Peninsula, and a lot of exorcists are heading to Agate Lake."
"A lot of people?"
"Of course! It's an open recruitnt. Joseph will choose whoever she finds suitable. It could be one person, or maybe several. But we'll have plenty of competition. We need to stand out from the crowd to get that massive fee. So, are you fired up?!"
Of course, Lu Li felt no emotional surge, but he was genuinely interested. He desperately needed money right now.
"When?"
"The day after tomorrow. There's a ball at the baroness's estate tomorrow evening. All the exorcists interested in the commission will be there."
Marcus suddenly went quiet. "Wait a minute, it seems to
that you and Baroness Joseph have so kind of..."
Marcus really was well-inford.
"No."
"I haven't even said anything yet... Alright, forget it. So... don't forget to show up during the day, and also, my commission! I'll remind you early the day after tomorrow, though you probably won't forget... Heh heh heh, you know, just in case. If we get this commission, we won't need to..."
The voice cut off abruptly—Lu Li had hung up the phone.
"Mm?"
Anna peeked out from the kitchen.
"It's nothing."
"Oh."
Anna disappeared behind the doorfra.
It was not yet six in the morning, and the sky was just beginning to lighten. With no rain, the dawn arrived a little earlier than in the past few days. But during the rainy season, when storms rolled in, it could be as dark as evening even at eight in the morning.
The sound of water boiling ca from the kitchen. While the food wasn't ready yet, Lu Li made a call.
After a short wait while the call was connected, JoJo's voice ca through the line.
"I need you to find sothing out for ."
Lu Li told JoJo about Baroness Joseph's commission and asked her to dig up the details, offering to pay her one and a half tis the market rate.
JoJo happily agreed and promised to report back to him by evening, regardless of the outco.
After hanging up, Lu Li tore a clean sheet from his half-filled notebook and wrote:
[This is Lu Li. I received your letter.]
[Thank you for the thod you suggested. I will use it when the need arises.]
[Do you know anything about the incident at the port of Zenster? If you have any details and can share them, I would be very grateful.]
[I have built a shelter in the Elm Forest outside Belfast. When you are ready to set out, let
know. I will tell you its location.]
Having written everything he wanted to say and making sure he hadn't missed anything, Lu Li waited for the ink to dry, folded the letter, and sealed it in a new envelope, addressing it to [Remi and Jimmy].
Initially, Lu Li had tried to avoid contact with Remi and Jimmy. They were an unknown factor, and the unknown was often linked to trouble.
But now, with the world's collapse inevitable and the end fast approaching, communicating with them might prove useful.
After all, they had always shown him goodwill, and he had helped them many tis. They were friends.
If Remi and Jimmy ant no harm and truly appeared in the real world, Lu Li would have two unusual allies.
As for why Lu Li told them about the shelter... in theory, the more strange creatures there were on the cliff, the safer it would be.
Half an hour later, Anna placed a pot on the table. Lu Li took off his coat, washed his hands in the kitchen, sat down, and began to eat. Afterward, he and Anna left the detective agency.
After hiring a carriage, they picked up the Jones brothers and headed to the cliff once more.
This ti, there was no irritating knocking. The Jones brothers looked around and, following Lu Li's instructions, began to build a wall of Deep Sea Stone around the cleared space. They crushed the leftover stone fragnts, mixed them with water, and used the mixture as mortar to fill the gaps between the blocks.
Since there was no more noise, Lu Li stayed in the cave, watching them work and occasionally helping them fill buckets with seawater.
The Jones brothers worked quickly. An hour later, a dark wall stood deep within the cave, as if partitioning the space. The ten-centiter cubes of Deep Sea Stone were neatly stacked one on top of the other, with an opening for a door in the middle.
Lu Li hadn't yet figured out how to make a door. Perhaps he should ask the old craftsman for advice.
Once the wall was finished, the Jones brothers began to lay the floor. This work went even faster, but they were forced to stop when they ran out of Deep Sea Stone.
The floor was only about seventy percent complete.
"How much more do we need?"
The eldest brother thought for a mont and gave Lu Li a fairly precise figure. "At least four more crates of that stone."
"This will have to do for now."
When Lu Li acquired more Deep Sea Stone, he could finish the job himself. He had watched the brothers long enough to understand how to build the walls. It wasn't difficult—anyone could do it, though lack of experience would make the work slower.
There was nothing more to be done at the shelter for now, but it was still early, not even ten in the morning. The Jones brothers had already received an advance from Lu Li and, feeling a bit awkward, offered to help him expand the cellar.
Fortunately, they had their pickaxes and other tools with them.
Lu Li didn't refuse and returned to the carriage to wait.
The Jones brothers worked until one in the afternoon, deepening and widening the cellar in the cave to nearly nine square ters. That was more than enough space.
There was no rush to move his things from the cave into the shelter, so Lu Li took the Jones brothers back down.
Four crates of Deep Sea Stone were still needed. At current prices, Lu Li would have to earn fifty thousand shillings to complete the basic construction of his shelter.
It seed his participation in Baroness Joseph's event was unavoidable.
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