CHAPTER 985: CHAPTER 178: THE RISING DEEP DIVER

The drizzle descended like a prelude to a storm.

The locals loved the rain; they stepped out of their dim, cramped dwellings to wander around the rain-cloaked Insmouth Town, gathering in twos and threes to pray or chant as if hosting a celebration.

This made Lu Li, dressed in a black coat and covering his body with a hat and scarf, appear even stranger.

Although Lu Li was no longer met with hostility by the locals, they still glanced at him with attention and curiosity.

Facing eyes that were utterly different from when he arrived, Lu Li approached a coast no outsider dared to tread.

The stone-paved road divided the residential area from the port.

There were few residents here, and apart from the workers at the processing plant, most townsfolk avoided the bay, their reverence keeping them at a distance.

Passing by the coastal processing plant, Lu Li saw hundreds of pounds of fish hoisted on poles, waiting to be processed into food. As he ventured further in, the locals guarding the entrance stopped him, telling him that up ahead was the gold processing plant, off-limits to outsiders.

Lu Li left the processing plant and approached the center of tonight’s Revival Festival, the port square.

A relief-carved pillar, reminiscent of another civilization, stood at the wooden square’s edge. The indescribable patterns depicted the blasphemous half-fish, half-frog creatures Lu Li had seen before; vivid and horrifying. If one ignored the alluring power of the relief, it might be seen as a fine piece of art carrying history.

Gazing towards the square’s edge near the bay, one could see the incline of wooden planks mysteriously extending into the sea, as if awaiting visitors from the ocean depths.

The townsfolk surrounding the square did not prevent Lu Li from approaching, even inviting him to pray with them.

Lu Li asked a few questions, and the enthusiastic townsfolk answered with near clerical responses. Yet every time Lu Li mentioned the sealed houses, these townsfolk fell silent.

Not out of dread or the attitude towards offerings, but a complex emotion filled them.

Before drawing attention, Lu Li left the square, heading towards the northern part of town.

Zadok Allen was still leaning against the stone wall, snoring, and Lu Li woke him up.

"Where is the town’s kerosene stored?"

"Wha...t..."

Zadok Allen’s unfocused eyes drooped, and a strong scent of alcohol wafted out.

Lu Li removed his hat and scarf.

The alcohol-induced drowsiness in Zadok Allen’s eyes dispersed somewhat as he glared at Lu Li like an enemy: "Even an outsider can—"

"Where is the town’s kerosene stored?" Lu Li asked again.

Zadok Allen, who resented everything here, was the only person in this town who wouldn’t betray Lu Li, even if it was hard for the old man to guarantee.

"You want to..."

Zadok Allen froze his anger, suddenly shaking his mad head, letting chaos retake his mind: "I won’t tell you, I could never betray..."

"The shop?"

"No kerosene... They can’t get it; we all use fish oil..."

Surrendering to madness, Zadok Allen drunkenly spoke.

"Where is it?"

"The factory... by the bay..."

Zadok Allen muttered incoherently and fell back asleep, yet this time, an indescribable unease wrapped him.

Having discovered the fish oil storage location, Lu Li returned to the town’s port.

The coastal processing plant’s chimneys no longer emitted black smoke; as evening approached, the entire Insmouth Town was preparing for the biannual Revival Festival.

This gave Lu Li the opportunity to slip into the fish processing plant.

The main entrance was locked with chains, but the windows were still open. Lu Li climbed through an opened window into the dim factory.

A floral-like aroma filled the factory’s interior; Lu Li knew this scent was the smell of fish before cognitive distortion.

Piles of unprocessed fish and processed fillets lay within the processing plant; they should have attracted swarms of flies and maggots.

The sticky, moist dripping and splattering sounds echoed emptily.

Lu Li walked past these "blooms," searching for barrels containing fish oil.

No hidden grotesque twisted limbs, nor oppressive terrifying whispers; if not for its location in Insmouth Town, this was just an ordinary fish processing plant.

Soon, Lu Li found five barrels of fish oil near the main door, yet to be transported.

Its burning point was a bit lower than kerosene, but nearly a thousand pounds of fish oil was enough to set the wooden bay-side structures ablaze.

But Lu Li would be facing the Deep Divers from the sea; flames might only slightly hinder them—

The fish processing plant was upstream from the port square, so Lu Li easily transported them around the square and hid them, just in case the fish oil needed to flow to the square.

In any case, hopefully, he wouldn’t have to use them.

Finding the key to the chains, restoring everything to its original state, Lu Li exited the fish processing plant.

The sky began to darken, clouds roiling like turbulent waves.

The torchlight at the port square drove away the gloom, and from afar, townsfolk converged on the square like stars.

The Revival Day ritual was about to begin.

Lu Li quietly joined the townsfolk, heading with them to the square. But before that, he stuffed shredded cloth strips into his ears to prevent everything about to happen from twisting his mind.

This had no effect. As the priest with the towering golden crown came before the hundreds of townsfolk and they prayed in unison, Lu Li struggled to resist the desire to join them in prayer.

Lu Li tightly gripped a slender key, taking it from his pocket and placing it by his ear.

He took a deep breath and stabbed into the ear canal.

The right side of the world quickly withdrew from his ear, and Lu Li similarly pierced through the right eardrum, the world fell into silence.

The desire to follow the priest’s prayer was quickly suppressed by burgeoning rationality and the desolate world.

In the silent stillness, Lu Li silently searched for Katerina’s silhouette among the crowd.

The prayer continued for a dozen minutes, and even at its end, Lu Li hadn’t found Katerina.

With an odd grace, the priest led the pastors in a loud call, and a dozen sacrifices were brought to the square.

They were young women in their teens to twenties, dressed in exquisite yet revealing outfits, escorted by the believers of Daqi Esotericism to the sculpted pillars and bound there.

Among them was still no sign of Katerina.

Watching silently in the silent world, Lu Li’s brow furrowed slightly.

The sacrifices, displaying the same fervor as the townsfolk, dissuaded Lu Li from the plan to retreat to the fish processing plant, continuing to watch quietly.

The priest, pastors, townsfolk, and sacrifices raised their arms, fervently, repeatedly, and continuously chanting the same phrase.

Lu Li suddenly looked towards the sea, as if something were rising from the deep ocean.

Every entity simultaneously glimpsed a scene, where countless Deep Divers conducted horrific prayers between the majestic colonnades and the sea’s palace.

Amidst the surging waves, outlines emerged, stepping onto the wooden planks extending into the bay, surfacing.

They had gray-green slippery skin, bulging eyes that seemed never to close, and emitted a cacophonous, barking-like language.

As the townsfolk prostrated in worship, Lu Li’s eyes focused on one of the Deep Divers.

The trophy hanging from its waist was a black stinger and the Doomsday Apocalypse.

They should have been with Katerina.