Chapter 75 - 75 Seventy-five

Words : 1371 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

75: Seventy-five. The first rose 75: Seventy-five. The first rose The truly terrifying thing isn’t the night, for at least it can be avoided by other methods. But when the fog rolls in, those gasping for air have no choice but to surrender to fate. “Would they appear if the fog showed up during the day?” Lu Li asked again. The menacing, oppressive black silhouettes surrounding them seemed to have been forgotten by the two. Hades had no fear, either because he had seen them many times before or because he knew they couldn’t harm him. As for Lu Li... it was difficult to detect anything but calm in his demeanor, even when faced with death or terrors enough to shatter the mind. “I don’t know, that hasn’t happened yet.” Hades shook his head, speaking with a tinge of prayer, “It’s best not to hope for fog during the day. Regardless, that wouldn’t be a pleasant occurrence.” That represented a new variable, and clearly, this world was already too fragile and broke to withstand several more. “How do they come about?” In view of the 1000 Shilling fee, Hades was prepared to answer everything he knew: “Who are ‘they’? The fog? Or those things outside?” “Both.” “The fog comes from the deep sea, and as for those things outside, no one knows, they might have been here all along, and we are only now coming to realize it.” Lu Li had been in this world for some time now, and it seemed that the root of all strangeness pointed towards the depths of the sea. “The deep sea is the source, then.” Lu Li tilted his head, looking towards the beach, but his view was obstructed by the walls of the dark, cramped hall. “Something like that. Everyone is saying that the sailors wandering aimlessly in the water have brought about this disaster. Some say they disturbed the seals of an abandoned Temple, releasing an Evil God. Others claim the world is a Divinity’s backyard, where They allow humans to live indulgently but become angered by their reckless exploration and plunder, bringing down divine punishment. There are also those who say that the new land, Tillage Garden, discovered by Solacevia Sim, was a place left by Ancient Gods, and his arrival carved a path for their return — in my opinion, it’s all nonsense.” Hades showed disdain for such talk, like a stubborn old man who firmly believes there are no ghosts and scorns their existence: “Apart from a few unlucky ones who suffered shipwrecks or hit reefs, most sailors return safely. Why didn’t these Evil Gods and Divinities deal with these little guys back then, and now they are causing trouble afterwards? Just found some free time?” Lu Li remained silent, not making any judgments with his limited understanding. However, Lu Li noticed that Hades, always greedy for money, showed no inclination to save the Illusion-Breaking Candle as it continued to burn and grow shorter. It was burning quickly, consuming more than half of its length in under five minutes. Perhaps one Illusion-Breaking Candle wasn’t even enough to burn for 10 minutes. “I thought you would be heartbroken and blow out the candle just seconds after I saw it light up.” “It can only burn out completely, it cannot be extinguished,” Hades said with some regret. “If it is extinguished, it would ignite in the Inner World, and then...” Hades didn’t finish his sentence, but Lu Li understood what he meant. Then the properties of the Illusion-Breaking Candle would manifest in the Inner World, and instead of humans being able to observe the black silhouettes, the black silhouettes would become able to observe humans. Lu Li asked, “What if it inadvertently goes out?” “Then pray you run far enough before they react,” Hades said with a grin, revealing his gold teeth. But at the very moment his words fell, an incident occurred. It wasn’t that the flame of the Illusion-Breaking Candle suddenly went out, but the silhouette that Lu Li had been watching, previously sitting in the corner of the bar, turned its head as if facing Lu Li. Lu Li and Hades both took note of the change nearby. Hades waved his hand dismissively, “Don’t be tense, it can’t see us.” No sooner had he finished his words, the black silhouette suddenly stood up and left its seat. Something with an irregular circular shape that it had been holding in its hand was carelessly tossed onto the floor as the black silhouette took steps... towards Lu Li. “Don’t worry, it can’t touch us,” Hades added. The black silhouette came to the front of Lu Li’s stool, its head hanging down, and it seemed to look at Lu Li across a layer of space. Lu Li calmly looked up, and after a few seconds, the dark silhouette suddenly made a new movement. It raised its arm and reached for Lu Li’s neck. Hades continued to speak from the side, “Don’t be afraid, it can’t hurt us.” Lu Li couldn’t possibly wait until the dark silhouette touched him to determine whether it would harm him. At the same time it extended its arm, Lu Li reached back to his waist and drew the Spirit-Calling Gun. The moment the Spirit-Calling Gun left its holster, Lu Li felt an indescribable malice emanating from the body of the dark silhouette inside the Detective Agency. As if something had been triggered, they immediately stopped all actions, shifted their bodies, and turned towards Lu Li’s position. The scene was chilling, but Lu Li didn’t care. He held the Spirit-Calling Gun, aimed it a few dozen centimeters from the dark silhouette’s head, and pulled the trigger. Bang! The sound of a dragon’s roar exploded in the confined space of the Detective Agency, dust trickled down from the ceiling gaps, and the terrible noise caused Hades to grimace in pain and cover his ears. The dark silhouette’s head burst instantly, and the headless torso remained standing with its arm outstretched, then suddenly shattered and vanished without a trace. After the dark silhouette exploded, Lu Li quickly retracted the Spirit-Calling Gun and turned his attention to his surroundings. The entities of the Inner World seemed to shift their attention away once the aura of the Spirit-Calling Gun dissipated, returning to their previous state. “That’s why I said not to be scared, it’s just an ordinary ghost.” Hades put down his hands covering his ears and complained, “It’s likely that your staring earlier made it aware of you, projecting itself into the Surface World.” He didn’t have the chance to say much more before he walked around from behind the bar, carrying a slight breeze with him to the door. Ding-a-ling-a-ling— Hades left the Detective Agency, seemingly going to explain the gunshot to the neighbors. The wind and rain entering the hall gradually dissipated, and the flame of the Illusion-Breaking Candle stabilized once again. Lu Li picked up the spent casing on the floor, loaded a new silver-plated bullet into the Spirit-Calling Gun inside the holster, and then quietly observed the barrel. The first rose on the gun body had fully bloomed, its elegant petals spreading over a small section of the barrel. Lu Li wasn’t sure what the blooming of the first rose meant, but it certainly wasn’t just for record-keeping. Ding-a-ling— The door was pushed open, and Hades, having finished explaining, returned. He came back behind the bar, slightly dampened by the weather. “That dark silhouette seemed very weak,” Lu Li said. “Isn’t that normal? The ghosts we usually encounter are in the Inner World.” “Don’t they attack each other?” “They might, they might not. The Illusion-Breaking Candle is very precious, nobody would use it just to observe the Inner World.” Hades sat down and answered, shivering slightly. “So, do you have any other questions?” Lu Li nodded, about to speak, but a voice in the Detective Agency sounded before he could. “Where are you?” A stiff and indifferent voice, similar to that of a woman, emerged from the void.

Chapter 75 - 75 Seventy-five

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