1888: Memoirs of an Unconfirmed Creature Hunter-Chapter 57: The Paris Summons

The aftershocks from Scotland created far more lasting tremors within the Underground City than Lin Jie had initially anticipated.
Three days later.
The figure of Top Hat Barton appeared at the door of Lin Jie's new apartment.
This typically composed and elegant elite investigator now wore a grave expression on his face, skipping all polite pleasantries as he directly conveyed new information to Lin Jie.
"Pack all your equipment. Analyst Phillips is waiting for you in his office. The highest-ranking official of the London branch—Sir Henderson—will personally communicate with you and Sergeant William from the Geneva Headquarters via 'Ether Remote Communication.'"
When Lin Jie and William arrived again at the Intelligence Assessment and Crisis Response Center, the atmosphere was completely different from three days prior.
All non-essential personnel had been cleared out, with several senior analysts and scholars moving about with hurried steps, their faces bearing the tense expression of an impending storm.
They were directly led into a circular "strategic conference room" located at the deepest part of the entire department, its walls constructed from heavy lead panels.
At the room's center stood an immensely complex apparatus composed of countless brass coils, crystal prisms, and gurgling alchemical reagent pipes.
Atop the device, a specially polished crystal screen flickered with unstable static and electrical arcs.
This was the Association's top-tier creation for international remote communication, a fusion of technology and mysticism—the "Hermes Ether Communication Array."
Analyst Phillips stood before the device, nervously conducting final adjustments.
Upon seeing their arrival, he merely gave them a solemn nod.
Moments later, accompanied by a violent hum of energy, the static pattern on the crystal screen gradually coalesced into the face of an elderly European man with white hair and beard.
Those profound eyes that seemed to perceive everything transmitted through this distorted image alone brought Lin Jie an immense pressure, as if being gazed upon by a mountain.
"Mr. Lin, Sergeant William. I am Henderson, one of the three executive directors of I.A.R.C.'s European Affairs Department."
The old man's voice carried a hint of radio static through the communication array. "First, on behalf of the Geneva High Council, I extend our highest respect for your outstanding performance during the Loch Ness incident in Scotland."
"You not only protected a great ancient being, but more importantly, you brought back for us a key that can unlock a massive conspiracy."
Sir Henderson's image wavered slightly.
"Over the past seventy-two hours, the headquarters' top mysticism and ancient linguistics experts, working jointly with Scholar Alistair, have conducted continuous interpretation of this stone tablet."
Henderson's tone grew heavy. "The conclusion we've reached is singular—the Eternal Serpent, this malignant tumor that has lurked beneath Europe for centuries, is finally about to commence their long-planned mad ritual."
"As you suspected," he continued, "the ritual's final location is Paris, and they have scheduled it for the very day the Paris World Exposition officially opens."
"That astral stone tablet is actually a precise 'celestial timetable.' It indicates that on that day, due to the rare alignment of several stars, Earth's ether field will experience an extremely faint yet fatal window of vulnerability."
"At that moment, the 'Veil' between our 'material world' and the 'inner world' will become unprecedentedly thin."
"And the Eternal Serpent cult plans to use that moment, leveraging the 'dragon blood' gathered from various locations, along with what our latest intelligence shows—the human 'Memory Essence' they are frantically plundering beneath Paris—supplemented by the enormous 'collective unconscious psychic energy' emitted by the millions of revelers at the World Exposition's opening ceremony, energy sufficient to distort reality, to forcibly tear open that 'Veil'!"
"Although you thwarted their operation at Loch Ness, you cannot completely halt their plans."
Every word from Sir Henderson struck heavily against Lin Jie's heart.
"Their ultimate goal is not simple 'atavism' or 'evolution.'"
"They intend to use the instantaneous influx of the most primitive spiritual energy from the deepest parts of the inner world to transform the entire city of Paris from a material city into a... 'mad divine kingdom' belonging to their mysterious Mentor's descent upon the earthly realm!"
A apocalyptic vision capable of instantly vaporizing millions or transforming them into unspeakable horrors exploded in everyone's minds.
"Given that the complexity and lethality of this crisis event far exceed what any single branch can handle independently."
Sir Henderson's voice pulled everyone back from their shock, "the Geneva High Council has formally approved the establishment of a Paris Emergency Task Force codenamed 'Serpent Breaker,' with the sole objective of crushing all Eternal Serpent schemes in Paris before the exposition opens, at any cost."
"And you will become members of this task force's frontline squad."
Henderson's tone became solemn.
"Sergeant William Keane. Your rock-solid reliability and combat skills, honed through countless bloody battles, will serve as this squad's sturdiest shield."
"We need your experience to deal with the cult's fanatics."
"And you, Mr. Lin."
Henderson's gaze lingered on Lin Jie for a long while. "Your emergence was an 'anomaly' none of us anticipated."
"Your tactical thinking that transcends conventional logic, along with your interpretive abilities that enable communication with the 'past,' will become this squad's spear capable of piercing through all obscuring mists."
"We need your wisdom to uncover the deep secrets hidden beneath the cult's layers of disguise."
"But a spear and shield alone are insufficient. We also need a 'library' that can provide the most solid theoretical foundation and historical coordinates for this spear and shield."
Sir Henderson paused, then announced the name of the squad's final member.
"Your partner in Paris will be the Association's top mysticism and historical documents expert across the entire European continent, the man known as the [Curator] who permanently resides in the secret archives beneath the Louvre—Julian Belloc."
Phillips took the opportunity to supplement Lin Jie with intelligence about this new partner: "Mr. Julian Belloc is a lifetime academician of the French Academy and one of the few scholars within the Underground City who holds the title of 'Master.'"
"He has mastered seventeen ancient, long-lost languages. It's said there isn't a single script that has ever existed in human history that he cannot interpret."
"Nearly all Association archives concerning European medieval and earlier UMAs and mysterious organizations have been organized and compiled by him alone."
"But..." Phillips added, "he is also... one of the Association's most notoriously socially inept 'eccentrics.'"
"His only hobby is dealing with piles of silent paper and forbidden books. I hope you can get along well with him."
The image of a top-tier scholar brimming with wisdom and secrets yet extremely difficult to communicate with vividly formed in Lin Jie's mind.
"Your mission will officially commence in one week. The Association will arrange the most secure travel channels and new official identities for you in Paris."
With that, the authoritative old man's face vanished from the crystal screen into static and electrical arcs.