Chapter 262 - 262 119

Words : 1322 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

262: 119. True Map of the Ailen Peninsula 262: 119. True Map of the Ailen Peninsula However, there was still a gap of 1050 shillings in the trade. “How much can this information offset?” Out of some kind of test, Lu Li recounted what had happened yesterday at the True Library. Earlier today, he had tied the same information to the leg of a crow. After a few seconds of stiffness, the merchant replied, “Partial information about an evil spirit, it can compensate 150 shillings.” “What if the information is repetitive? I’ve told the investigators’ organization before.” Lu Li did not take an unfair advantage, he needed to consider the consequences if the investigator or merchant discovered the information was repetitive. Especially since the reward from the investigators was more than from the merchant. If he received compensation from the merchant and none from the investigators, it would be a loss. “We’ll record repetitive intelligence, but it must be confirmed as your own experience,” the merchant answered. “Can it be about anything?” “As long as it’s related to the ghostly strangeness.” Many of the paranormal events Lu Li had experienced were ignored by the investigator’s organization, but he could trade them to the merchant. In the future, after completing events, Lu Li could totally receive compensation from both, the investigators and the merchant, even though the merchant’s pay was not much. Thus, Lu Li began recounting every encounter with ghostly oddities since his arrival here, excluding Anna, the door, and the blood-colored tentacles. Each piece of intelligence was worth only a few dozen to a few shillings, but given the complexity of the information, more than a dozen pieces were exchanged for 450 shillings. Among them, encountering an evil spirit with an umbrella, the girl merchant directly offered a compensation of 150 shillings, and Lu Li had yet to mention the major piece of information: Shadow Swamp. Revealing Shadow Swamp last brought Lu Li 300 shillings, leaving him only 50 shillings short of completing the transaction. Lu Li did not take cash, preferring to owe. After receiving books and maps from the merchant, Lu Li noticed that the merchant did not seem to be planning to leave as it continued, “Would you like to check out this week’s special offers?” “What’s available?” Lu Li placed the items on the desk and turned around to ask. “Investigator’s organization weekly special, like a newspaper, records special news happening in each area, one issue per week, subscription price is 400 shillings for four weeks.” That amounts to 100 shillings per week, per newspaper. While a normal newspaper costs only 1 shilling. This was of course very expensive, especially when Lu Li’s weekly salary was only 350 shillings, but he still chose to subscribe for four weeks. Of course, on credit. “Today is the weekend, in two days on Monday your newspaper will be delivered by the merchant,” the merchant replied. “Anything else?” “Spirit-Calling Gun promotion, this week only it costs 350 shillings and includes three silver-plated bullets.” “...Continue.” “Intelligence Trading Week, this week trading intelligence with the merchant can earn an additional 10% in compensation and discounts.” Almost 900 shillings of the total he had earned from his own experiences, surprisingly, included a 10% bonus. It seemed that trading intelligence with the merchant wasn’t going to yield substantial compensation. At least not now. After the trade concluded, the merchant strapped on his exaggeratedly large and worn backpack and left. Lu Li returned to the desk, intending to browse through the map when Anna walked out of the kitchen. “Let’s eat first.” She held the pot with a towel cushioned around the handle, which seemed very hot as it hissed when placed on the dining table. Then she pinched her own earlobe—only when Lu Li looked at her calmly with an inquisitive gaze did she embarrassingly twist and say she was imitating the neighbor’s wife’s way of cooking. Lu Li sat down at the dining table, enjoying the “rich” meal prepared by Anna. Whether it was because Anna’s cooking skills had improved or because of the effect of new ingredients and spices, the taste was indeed much better than before, and more like... food. The leftover bread from the night before was cold, shriveled, and very hard. Lu Li broke it apart and threw it into the meat soup, then drank the bits of meat from the wooden bowl. Setting down the wooden bowl revealed Anna’s uncontrollable cheeks flush with joy. “The flavor has improved a lot, hasn’t it?” “Yes.” “So, it’s not at all that my cooking skills are the problem. It’s just that you’ve bought too few ingredients.” Lu Li did not respond to Anna. After washing his hands, he returned to his desk, unfastened the top button of his shirt to dissipate the warmth from the soup, and picked up the books. The books brought by the merchant were comprehensive, clearly knowing what Lu Li wanted. Four of the five books were about the customs, people, and history of various continents; the other one was familiar to Lu Li. Steps of Humanity It was exactly the book Lu Li had once browsed in the True Library and it had left a deep impression on him. This saved Lu Li the trouble of buying it again. Lu Li revisited Steps of Humanity once more and placed it along with the other four books on a shelf behind, then picked up the special edition map of Ailen Peninsula. Half the size of the desk, the parchment spread out, having been well-aired and stretched over time, no longer bore the animal odor. Ailen Peninsula was clearly portrayed on the map, with clear patterns whether it was mountains, seas, or farmland. Lu Li then opened the official version of the Ailen Peninsula map, which was a quarter smaller than the former, used symbols instead of labels, and was made of the same paper used in common books, seemingly as if a gust of wind would tear it to shreds. Lu Li cleared a space at the edge of the desk and placed the official map there, comparing the differences between the two. He first looked toward Belfast, the easternmost part of the map, where internal details showed a to-scale city and a special marked location: Anres Brothers’ Repair Station. The Night Watchers Organization was next to the city hall. Other areas were sparsely dotted with bases and branches of Night Watchers and investigators, mostly within cities. His gaze moved westward where a light gray shadowy area represented Shadow Swamp, marked with dark red ink in a hook-shaped symbol. Representing the Evil God’s Territory. The same color and symbol appeared three times on this map for Lu Li. This meant that, to date, there were a total of four territories like Shadow Swamp on Ailen Peninsula. Relics, danger zones, Sanity Decline Locations, Evil Spirits in physical form, immovable anomalies—Lu Li identified them by the shape, color, and position of the symbols. These things spread across various parts of Ailen Peninsula and into the deep seas surrounding the island. They were not densely positioned on the half-desk-sized map. But as mentioned before, this was only the map up to this month. They were constantly being cleared by the three major organizations of Ailen Peninsula, and new anomalies were constantly appearing. This was just one Ailen Peninsula, not even one-tenth the size of the Main Affinity Continent. All afternoon, Lu Li calmly flipped through books and maps. Anna tried to understand them, but soon found that story books were more interesting. Undisturbed, Lu Li rapidly absorbed knowledge while repeatedly raising his expectations of the dangers of this world. This calm continued until July 13, two days later. The investigators’ organization issued an event assessment for Apprentice Investigator Lu Li.

Chapter 262 - 262 119

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