1888: Memoirs of an Unconfirmed Creature Hunter-Chapter 46: Join the glorious evolution!

When that locked black logbook in the corner of the cellar entered Lin Jie's field of vision, it immediately became the priority target of this silent infiltration operation.
This written record, the only one carefully preserved in the underground workshop, must contain a significant amount of important information.
However, crossing nearly fifteen meters under the watchful eyes of those seven or eight vigilant organization members to stealthily retrieve that logbook from the desk was almost an impossible mission.
Because although the workshop was extremely noisy, the lighting was bright, leaving virtually no visual blind spots—any unusual movement would immediately attract everyone's attention.
Not to mention these members were mostly distributed around the work desk, blocking all feasible paths.
Lin Jie's gaze began rapidly analyzing every element within the workshop, searching for "variables" that could be exploited.
"If the ground route won't work, then..."
His eyes swept over the followers manufacturing alchemical explosives and that large cauldron emitting green steam, finally settling on the complex ventilation system composed of pipes and valves at the cellar's ceiling.
It was the castle's original ancient system used for wine cellar air exchange, now repurposed by this organization, emitting faint "whooshing" sounds as it expelled toxic gases produced in the workshop outside the castle.
And Lin Jie noticed that one of the thickest main pipes happened to run directly above that desk not far away.
An extremely bold and dangerous plan formed in his mind.
He turned and quickly conveyed his plan to William and the scholar beside him using whispered tones and simple tactical hand signals.
"...create chaos...feint...we need three minutes, maybe less, William, you take action."
After hearing his complete plan, a flash of madness appeared in Veteran William's eyes. Although he knew any mistake in this plan would mean all three of them dying here, he ultimately chose unconditional trust.
He pulled out a modified alchemical flashbang that could produce sound and light upon impact, handed it to Lin Jie, and nodded.
As for Alistair the scholar, his face turned deathly pale after hearing Lin Jie's fantastical plan, but seeing the determined looks in Lin Jie and William's eyes, he could only tightly grip his oak walking stick and nod as well.
The operation began in an instant!
The scholar took the lead, throwing a small cloth bag containing dried plant specimens that he carried with him toward a shelf piled high with empty glass bottles in the distant part of the workshop!
"Crash—!"
The crisp sound of shattering glass immediately disrupted the workshop's regular noise pattern, drawing all members' attention simultaneously toward the source of the sound!
A man who appeared to be a minor leader immediately shouted loudly, "Who's there?!", while raising his steam weapon.
Just as they all looked in that direction, Lin Jie moved, throwing the special flashbang William had given him at an extremely tricky angle toward the area where members were concentrated around the desk!
"BOOM—!!!"
An explosion far more intense and shocking than the glass breaking sounded, and a blinding white flash instantly illuminated that area, causing temporary blindness in the organization members' retinas!
Meanwhile, Veteran William had already leaped out from the dark staircase three seconds before the explosion, climbing onto a storage shelf over two people tall against the wall!
Amid the absolute chaos caused by the bright light and loud noise, his figure climbed from the storage shelf onto the ventilation pipe running across the cellar ceiling.
While the members waved their weapons around wildly in their blinded and deafened state, they completely failed to realize the real intruder was above their heads.
William held his breath, his hands and feet clinging tightly to the pipe like a gecko. He could feel the metal's coldness and vibration, and smell the faint stench leaking from the pipe's seams, while below him was that desk with the black logbook.
He patiently waited for the perfect moment.
When all organization members fell into complete chaos, William released his arms, using only his leg strength to swing himself down silently like a pendulum!
His body traced a graceful arc through the air, his fingers ultimately making precise contact with the black logbook's leather cover.
Success!
Without any hesitation, the moment he obtained the logbook, he used his core strength to swing back onto the ventilation pipe, then retreated along the original route at maximum speed, finally slipping back into the staircase shadows where they had initially hidden.
The entire process flowed smoothly without interruption.
Seeing William's successful return, Lin Jie immediately gave the retreat order. He and the scholar provided alternating cover as they quickly and orderly withdrew toward the cellar exit.
Meanwhile, the thoroughly fooled members found nothing after their futile search. They cursed a few times, eventually sending some members to continue searching the castle while others remained guarding their positions.
They completely failed to notice that the confidential operation log had already disappeared.
When the three of them hid again in a remote, concealed corner of the castle, they all felt a sense of fortunate exhaustion, with the scholar's legs giving way as he collapsed sitting on the ground.
But they had no time to rest. William immediately began working on breaking the logbook's copper lock. It was a somewhat structurally complex combination lock, but for a professional veteran skilled in everything, the difficulty wasn't particularly high.
After more than ten minutes of manipulation using a metal hairpin borrowed from the scholar, accompanied by a "click" sound, the logbook finally opened before them.
The logbook's pages were made of high-quality parchment, with handwriting in a mystical Latin script font.
To Lin Jie and William, this was practically incomprehensible.
But they had a living "decoder" sitting beside them—Scholar Alistair.
When he saw that handwriting, his pale face was immediately replaced by fervor. Trembling, he took the logbook and began softly interpreting it word by word under the light of Lin Jie's carbide lamp.
"...The seventh demolition test has been completed. The 'inert spiritual field' at the lake bottom has been successfully activated. The target is that creature the local ignorant villagers call 'Guardian Deity,' which we call...'Primordial Dragon Species.' Its vital signs are more vigorous than we anticipated..."
Lin Jie and William exchanged glances, both seeing immense shock in each other's eyes, asking simultaneously: "Primordial Dragon Species?"
Scholar Alistair's voice grew increasingly tremulous with excitement as he continued reading:
"...According to our order's most ancient 'Gnostic Arcana,' the Primordial Dragon Species are the last primordial creatures on this planet that remain unpolluted by the material world, possessing pure 'divinity.'"
"Their blood flows with the most primitive life force from the creation of the world, and our 'Eternal Serpent's' ultimate goal is to reimplant this 'divinity' into our fallen mortal bodies imprisoned by 'matter' through a great ancestral regression ritual, thereby achieving the ultimate spiritual evolution of the human species!"
"To accomplish this great goal, we must capture this Primordial Dragon Species alive, restrain its body using the 'Giant's Net' and 'Dragon-Binding Chains,' then extract its dragon blood."
"Using the dragon blood as the core, supplemented by the 'memory essence' extracted from those 'hollow' mortals in the Paris Catacombs and the vast spiritual energy emitted by millions of 'non-believers' at the World Exposition as fuel, we will surely be able to ignite the eternal sacred flame of human evolution in Paris, the heart of the world!"
When he saw mention of the Paris World Exposition, Lin Jie suddenly remembered the Black Lotus organization that Karl and he had unintentionally thwarted according to the diary translation. Such unprecedented gatherings were indeed easy targets for those with ill intentions.
The logbook's final few pages appeared incomplete because they had been torn out, but the remaining text was enough to plunge Lin Jie, William, and Alistair into terror!
These madmen, these fanatics of the "Eternal Serpent"—their goal wasn't simply hunting UMA, nor was it acquiring wealth or power.
What they wanted was to capture an ancient creature.
Then, at the Paris World Exposition, humanity's highest temple of civilization that was about to gather worldwide attention, use "divine blood" to conduct an evil ritual that would be enough to overturn the entire history of human civilization!