Chapter 314 - 314 One hundred seventy-one

Words : 1412 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

314: One hundred seventy-one. Trade Deep Sea Stone. 314: One hundred seventy-one. Trade Deep Sea Stone. Back at the Detective Agency, Anna clutched the romance novel she had purchased that morning as she lounged on the sofa. Lu Li didn’t notice any change in her. “Not long after you left, the phone rang,” Anna said, her eyes fixed on the book as she spoke without looking away. “It was that strange fellow who calls himself Marcus.” “What did he say?” Lu Li took off his coat and hung it on the rack. “Um... He didn’t say anything, seemed like he wanted to tell you something in person.” It could be a new commission. Anna finished the page she was on, turned to the next, and looked up at Lu Li with concern, “Your Sanity Value...” “It has dropped a little, but it’s still in the first stage.” Lu Li spoke indifferently as if the problem concerned someone else. “So you won’t be taking on any missions for now?” “Probably not.” Peace returned to the Detective Agency, with only the occasional sound of pages turning. Ding-ling-ling-ling-ling—— After a while, the jarring ring of the phone broke the silence. Picking up the phone, a presumptuous voice came through the handset, “Hey hey, how have you been lately?” “What do you want.” Lu Li had no intention of reminiscing or making small talk. “I have a commission that you might be interest—” “How much?” “200 Shillings.” “Not interested.” “Er...” Marcus fell silent for a moment due to Lu Li’s blunt response, “I heard from the newspaper recently that you’ve gotten close with Baron Joseph... is it true?” Anna, who was engrossed in her book, instantly perked up her ears. “It’s false.” However, it was true that Baron Joseph wanted to pursue Lu Li. Marcus’s pleading voice came through the phone, “Please, in ‘Healthy Happy Every Day,’ aside from me, you’re the only member. The other Exorcists refuse to deal with me. I’ve been eating only one meal for several days in a row, please...” 200 Shillings was equivalent to half a month’s salary for a normal family, which wasn’t low. But Lu Li’s weekly salary was 700, even if he did nothing at all. Plus, with a financial shortfall of tens of thousands of Shillings, a few hundred Shillings couldn’t pique Lu Li’s interest. Put another way, he was no longer able to work with Marcus. So Lu Li said, “I have become an investigation officer, those commissions are of no value to me.” Marcus’s voice suddenly rose several octaves, making the already noisy translated voice even more piercing, “Investigation officer? The investigation officer from the big three organizations?” “Yeah.” “Well done! Our ‘Healthy Happy One Day’ is about to make a name for itself! I was wondering why I couldn’t collect any information about you anymore—listen, I can tailor commissions just for you. An investigation officer’s status is way more useful than any damn Exorcist, those wealthy nobles will definitely consider you, hahahaha we’re going to be rich, buddy!” The voice from the handset grew even more raucous, forcing Lu Li to hold it away at a distance, waiting for Marcus’s endless shouting and chatter, which abruptly stopped after a while. “Wait... don’t tell me you’re not interested...” “I’ll consider it.” Coincidentally, Lu Li was in need of money. Marcus started shouting excitedly again, his voice so thick with accent that it was indecipherable. Waiting for Marcus to calm down, he continued, “When do you have free time? I will look for commissions to schedule during your downtime.” “Anytime is fine.” “Then it’s settled!” After hanging up the phone, Lu Li looked at Anna whose curious eyes fell on him—the sound insulation quality of phones at that time was very low, so it wasn’t hard for Anna to overhear in the silent room. “You’re still going to work with him?” Anna narrowed her eyes dangerously. “It was this guy who caused you to approach that door near the sewer, wasn’t it?” “He’s not very involved, the main instigator is Richard.” Although there was something Lu Li had never been able to understand. When Richard had prepared the trap for Lu Li, Lu Li did not know him yet. What was his intention in harming him? Or could it be that someone else was behind this? The rest of the afternoon passed without incident. As evening approached, Anna pulled back the curtains, lit the oil lamp, watched Lu Li lie down on the couch to sleep, quietly observed him for a while, then went back to her bedroom to rest. Though she had been able to go without rest for a week straight. The next day was just as uneventful, except when Lu Li went to the market to buy groceries and noticed the price of pork had risen by one shilling. Anna quietly told Lu Li that she had recently been learning how to cook fish. The price of fish was rising as well, but not as crazily as other meats and vegetables. So, Lu Li returned home with not only pork but also a total of four small fish, weighing one pound. The latter was for Anna to practice on, while the former was for their meal. As it turned out, Lu Li’s foresight was justified, and Anna learned her lesson—preparing fish wasn’t as simple as just throwing it in the pot, at the very least the innards had to be cleaned out. The peaceful day came to an end. At dawn, the sky was dimly lit. Upon waking, Lu Li opened his eyes and saw Anna, who had turned off the oil lamp, pulling back the curtains, revealing the blurry, winding rain marks on the window. Just as the weather forecast in the newspaper had predicted, it was drizzling today. The water from the tap was chillier than usual. After washing up, Lu Li picked up an umbrella and went out with Anna to buy groceries. When Lu Li returned, he carried the same four little green fish as the day before, for Anna to practice on. If the world became so dangerous that they had to move to a refuge to survive, then fish might be the only stable source of food left. Proficient fish cooking skills would be very useful. Anna dashed into the kitchen, set a pot of water to boil, and while waiting for it to heat up, clumsily gutted the green fish, scooping out the entrails to throw into the trash. By the time she was dealing with the second green fish, the water had started to boil. Anna added the chunks of meat she had prepared earlier, along with seasoning and spices, and continued to work on the remaining small fish. Time gradually passed, and fifteen minutes before 7 a.m., there was a thumping sound at the door of the Detective Agency. It was as if someone was banging on the door with their body. The noise outside drew Anna’s attention. She poked her head out of the kitchen and watched as Lu Li opened the door, then stepped aside— A tall figure in tattered clothes entered the Detective Agency, its head bowed, carrying a square block of dark black stone. It bent over, carefully placing the one cubic meter Deep Sea Stone in the empty space behind the door. As the Deep Sea Stone touched the ground, the floor beneath trembled slightly. The weight of a cubic meter of stone was over two tons, yet this merchant carried it as if it was something trivial, Lu Li didn’t even hear him breathe heavily. This perhaps explained why everyone referred to the merchant as “it.” “Deep Sea Stone?” The new merchant nodded. “Anna,” Lu Li called out, turning his head. Anna, getting the hint, walked over to the Deep Sea Stone, dispelled the stance membrane that was always set around the ghost, and touched the Deep Sea Stone. Her fingertips seemed to sink slightly into the surface of the Deep Sea Stone, and Anna cried out in amazement, “I can touch it!” Anna’s fingers penetrated a few centimeters into the Deep Sea Stone, feeling resistance that prevented further penetration. Unless she released her Soul Projection and all her aura.

Chapter 314 - 314 One hundred seventy-one

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