One hundred and seventy-seven. The sacrifice of the revival day
The drizzle that fell was like the prelude to a storm.
The locals like rain. They walk out of their dark and cramped houses and wander around the rain-shrouded town of Innsmouth. They gather in twos and threes to pray or sing, as if a celebration is being held.
This made Lu Li, who was wearing a black windbreaker and covering his body with a hat and scarf, look even more strange.
Although Lu Li is no longer hostile to the locals, they still pay attention and curiosity to him.
Facing a completely opposite look than when he arrived, Lu Li approached the coast that outsiders would never dare to set foot on.
Stone-paved roads mark the boundary between residential areas and the port.
There are very few residents here. Except for workers in processing plants, most of the townspeople will not go near the bay and respectfully keep their distance.
Passing by the processing factory along the coast, Lu Li saw hundreds of pounds of fish in fishing nets on wooden poles waiting to be processed into food. As he continued to go deeper, the locals guarding the gate stopped him and told him that there was a gold processing factory ahead and outsiders were not allowed to enter.
Lu Li left the processing factory and approached the port square, the center of tonight's Renaissance Festival.
Like a relief stone pillar from another civilization, it stands on the edge of the wooden square. The indescribable pattern depicts a blasphemous half-fish, half-frog creature that Lu Li had seen before. It is vivid and terrifying. If you ignore the power of the relief to induce people to sink,
, perhaps it can be regarded as a beautiful work of art carrying history.
Looking at the edge of the square near the bay, you can see sloping wooden boards extending incomprehensibly into the sea water, as if visitors from the sea are about to land on land.
The townspeople surrounding the square did not prohibit Lu Li from approaching, and even invited him to pray with them.
Lu Li asked some questions, and the enthusiastic townspeople told them everything they knew, and got answers similar to those given by the priests. However, whenever Lu Li mentioned the sealed house, these townspeople would remain silent.
It's not a fear or attitude towards the sacrifice, but a complex emotion.
Attracting attention, Qian Luli left the square and headed to the north of the town.
Zadok Allen was still snoring against the stone wall, and Lu Li woke him up.
“Where is town kerosene stored.”
"What……"
Zadok Allen's eyes drooped and lost focus, and the strong smell of alcohol filled the air.
Lu Li took off his hat and scarf.
Zadok Allen's drunkenness and sleepiness dissipated, and Lu Li's scarlet eyes widened like an enemy: "Even an outsider can do it."
"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 would not betray Lu Li. Even the old man could not guarantee that.
"You want..."
Zadok Allen froze his resentment, suddenly shook his crazy head, and let chaos take over his mind again: "I won't tell you, I can't betray..."
"Shop?"
"There is no kerosene... they can't burp it, we are all using fish oil..."
Zadok Allen said drunkenly, breaking away from reason and giving in to madness.
"Where."
"The factory by the bay..."
Zadok Allen muttered vague words and fell asleep again, but this time, an indescribable feeling of uneasiness enveloped him.
After finding out where the fish oil was stored, Lu Li returned to the town port.
The chimneys of the processing plants along the coast no longer emit black smoke. As evening approaches, the entire town of Innsmouth is preparing for its revival festival, which is held only twice a year.
This gave Lu Li the opportunity to sneak into the fish processing factory.
The front door was locked with iron chains, but the window was still open. Lu Li climbed through the open window and entered the dark factory.
A rich floral-like fragrance filled the inside of the processing plant, and Lu Li knew that this smell was the fishy smell before cognitive distortion.
Piles of unprocessed fish and processed fish meat piled in processing plants should attract swarms of flies and maggots.
Sticky, wet ticks and snaps echoed in the void.
Lu Li walked through these "flower clusters" and looked for barrels containing fish oil.
There are no weird and twisted limbs hidden, nor are there suppressed whispers of horror. Regardless of the fact that it is in the small town of India, this is just an ordinary fish processing factory.
Soon, Lu Li found five barrels of fish oil that had not been transported away at the edge of the gate.
The flammability is lower than that of kerosene, but nearly a thousand pounds of fish oil is enough to set wooden buildings on the bay ablaze.
It's just that Lu Li will face deep divers from the bottom of the sea, and the flames may only be able to hinder them weakly.
The fish processing factory was upstream of the port square. Lu Li didn't have to work hard to move them around the square and hide them, as long as the fish oil could flow to the square when needed.
Anyway, hope there's no chance of using them.
After finding the key to the chain and restoring everything to their original appearance, Lu Li exited the fish processing factory.
The sky began to become dark, and the dark clouds were like rough waves.
The brazier in the port square dispersed the darkness, and the townspeople of the distant town gathered towards the square like stars.
The Restoration Day Festival is about to begin.
Lu Li quietly joined the townspeople and headed to the square with them. Before doing so, he stuffed torn strips of cloth into his ears to prevent what was about to happen from distorting his consciousness.
This did not help at all. When the priest wearing a tall golden crown came to hundreds of townspeople and prayed in unison, Lu Li could not restrain his desire to pray with them.
Lu Li held the slender key tightly, took it out of his pocket and put it next to his ear.
He took a deep breath and penetrated his ear canal.
The world on the right was quickly withdrawn from his ears. Lu Li followed the same method and pierced the right eardrum again, and the world became lonely.
The desire to follow the priest in prayer was quickly suppressed by the expansion of reason and the lonely world.
In the silence, Lu Li silently searched for Catalina's silhouette in the crowd.
The prayer lasted for more than ten minutes, and until it was over, Lu Li still couldn't find Catalina.
The priest with a strange sense of beauty led the priests in chanting, and more than a dozen sacrifices were brought to the square.
They were young women in their teens to twenties, dressed in exquisite and revealing costumes, who were escorted by followers of the Dagon Secret Cult to the relief stone pillars and tied to them.
There is still no sign of Catalina among them.
Lu Li frowned slightly as he stared at the silent world.
The sacrifices showed the same enthusiasm as the townspeople, which made Lu Li give up his intention of retreating to the fish processing factory and continued to watch silently.
The priests, pastors, townspeople and sacrifices raised their arms and shouted the same language frequently, repeatedly and continuously.
Lu Li suddenly looked towards the sea, and in a daze, he saw something rising from the deep seabed.
All beings glimpsed a scene at the same time, in which countless deep divers performed terrifying prayers among the majestic colonnades and underwater palaces.
In the rolling waves, silhouettes emerged one after another. They stepped on the wooden planks extending into the bay and surfaced.
They have grey-green smooth skin, bulging eyes that never seem to close, and make a noisy, bark-like language.
When the surrounding townspeople were prostrate on the ground and kowtowed, Lu Li's black eyes focused on one of the deep divers.
The trophy hanging on its waist is a black bee needle and the Doomsday Apocalypse Book.
