The main objective was clear, but Lu Li finished reading the rest of the file anyway, then gathered the pages and handed them to Plis.
Plis waved him off. "Just tell
what needs to be done."
"Isn't the Night's Watch entitled to know the details?" Lu Li asked, perplexed.
"We're just the enforcers," Plis replied.
The Night's Watch was even more direct than Lu Li had imagined.
But perhaps that kind of structure was the only thing that allowed them to maintain their morale and sanity in the face of such inexplicable anomalies.
Lu Li fell silent. He put the docunts away and said to Plis, "Have the Alliance track down Hawkins and that cursed antique book."
Hawkins and the book were the most compelling leads, and Lu Li figured the Alliance was already pursuing them.
"So, is the source of the contagion confird?" Plis asked.
"A week ago, Hawkins gave Petra an antique book. That's likely the source," Lu Li answered, adding after a mont, "So, by that logic, we haven't been contaminated."
If the cursed antique book was the source, the whole chain of events fell into place: Hawkins gave Petra the book, which she took ho and read. Its twisted knowledge contaminated everything in her house. The next day, she brought a tainted teacup to the cafe, spreading the contagion there. From the cafe, it spread to four other buildings. A week later, the anomaly manifested in Petra's house, and a day after that, similar anomalies appeared in the cafe and the house at 3 Elm Street.
However, Lu Li needed to ascertain one more thing: how many more such houses were out there, still undiscovered.
In the past week, plenty of people besides those five families had been to the cafe, but only their hos had been contaminated. After a few questions, Lu Li quickly discovered why: all of them had a habit of leaving their personal cups at the cafe.
This was a small relief, as the cafe's recent custors had all been residents of Elm Street.
Just to be safe, Lu Li asked if any strangers had visited their hos after their trips to the cafe, or if they had thrown anything out.
The four families, including the cafe owner, fell silent.
Household trash was a daily occurrence.
A heavy tension settled over the room. So of the Night's Watch mbers started breathing heavily, not daring to imagine the horror that could have unfolded had the contagion spread further.
As the squad captain, Plis remained calm. "Every street has trash cans. They're emptied on Sundays."
"Today is Sunday," Lu Li reminded him.
"Dammit!" Plis shot to his feet, knocking his chair over. He yelled to tty, "tty! Contact the Alliance and have them stop the trash collection on Elm Street! The rest of you, with
to the disposal station!"
Plis and his squad threw on their cloaks and rushed out of the cafe. The room grew quiet, the few remaining civilians who'd overheard fragnts of the conversation exchanging bewildered glances.
A few minutes later, Plis and his people reappeared outside the window and returned to the cafe.
Lu Li noticed that there were two fewer of them.
It seed the news wasn't bad.
Tossing back his hood, Plis let out a sigh of relief and said to Lu Li, "The trash is still there. The downpour actually helped."
The downpour really had helped. If not for this peculiar rain, Lu Li would never have left his ho, stepped into this cafe, or discovered that the "man-eating houses" were contagious. The infection would have kept spreading silently, culminating in a sudden, catastrophic outbreak in a matter of days.
"Investigator Lu Li, what do we do next?"
"Inspect Petra's house and find the book," Lu Li said. He paused, turning to tty. "Did you tell the Alliance they need to investigate Hawkins and the cursed antique book?"
"Not yet."
"Do it now."
"Understood."
tty turned and headed for the second floor.
Plis removed his cloak, righted the toppled chair, and said dubiously, "Inspect Petra's house? But we can't get inside."
"Ever been fishing? Humans have the advantage of intelligence... and tools."
Plis understood what Lu Li ant.
tty soon ca down from the second floor and reported to Lu Li, "I've inford the Alliance that you intend to inspect Petra's house. They said they'll contact the Investigators and are sending soone to assist. He should be here shortly."
"Assistance?"
"Yes, a Senior Investigator."
Lu Li nodded and turned to Plis, who had just finished pondering the matter.
"I'll gather my people now. We'll make so tools that will let us retrieve things from the house without going inside," Plis said.
Lu Li stood up. "Then let's go."
"Now?"
"I need to check sothing."
Lu Li picked up the Allen Peninsula wildlife guide he had been reading and reached for a romance novel to return it to the shelf.
The open book suddenly slid away, evading Lu Li's hand.
A brief pause followed. Lu Li turned to the cafe owner. "How much for this book?"
"What...?" The cafe owner was taken aback for a second before hastily replying, "If you like it, please, take it."
"Thank you," Lu Li nodded, accepting without hesitation. He then said to Anna, "Grab it on your way out."
After putting the wildlife guide back, Lu Li donned his now-dry cloak and stepped back out onto the street with Plis, tty, and the rest of the squad.
The torrential rain continued to hamr the earth. The cobblestones shone like boiling water, and torrents surged through the gutters.
The rain showed no sign of letting up.
They said this was only the beginning—a prelude to the real rainy season.
When the real rainy season began, the fishing boats would be confined to port and the factories would fall silent. Not even the most avaricious owners would risk keeping their businesses open.
As they approached number 33 Elm Street, Lu Li again felt the malevolent summons of the anomaly.
The door stood slightly ajar. It was impossible to lock; every prior attempt had only resulted in it swinging open again.
"Maybe I should try going in...?" Anna whispered.
"That's too dangerous," Lu Li countered, rejecting Anna's offer. He turned to Plis and the others. "Could you all move back to the middle of the street?"
Plis frowned, hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Be careful."
The Night's Watch retreated to the middle of the street. As the distance between them grew, the figures of Lu Li and the house blurred in the downpour, resembling a faded pencil sketch.
Lu Li raised his hand and pressed it against the wall of the house.
A sound ca from the wall, muffled by the noise of the rain.
Lu Li focused and whispered sothing in response to the call in his mind.
"Can you hear ?"
He waited a mont, but the summons in his mind remained unchanged. A blood-chilling malice lurked beneath its welcoming facade.
Lu Li asked two more questions: "Who are you?" and "What are you?" but there was no reply.
This anomaly was incapable of communication. It possessed only a simple, primal instinct: to consu.
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