1888: Memoirs of an Unconfirmed Creature Hunter

Chapter 115: Lin Jie’s “Script”

Julian's eyes reflected the gloomy yet poetic street scenes of Dublin flashing past outside the window, but his attention was not fixed on the ancient buildings.

His mind was still immersed in the "script" Lin Jie had outlined.

Using a farce to prevent an impending bloody tragedy—this plan touched his French soul, which was both rebellious and rich in romanticism.

"But, my dear friend, a perfect stage play requires two key elements: perfect props and a perfect actor who can fully utilize the functions of those props."

"The problem we currently face is," he looked at Lin Jie, his gaze regaining the rigor of a scholar, "although our script is written, we lack the most crucial prop in our hands—the one capable of making the harp go out of tune."

He was right.

The concept was good, but it ultimately needed to be put into practice.

What they were up against was no ordinary instrument, but a living "cursed armament" infused with Druid bloodline and soul power.

To precisely interfere with its song during that sacred assembly, right in front of hundreds of fanatical believers, without being detected—making it transform from a tragic epic that awakens the "Spirit of the Gael" into a laughable cacophony—the technical sophistication and spiritual interference capability required for such a prop were far beyond what conventional methods could achieve.

"I have considered it before."Lin Jie's voice was calm and methodical, showing he had already given this deep thought.

"Using my [Cursebreaker Vambrace], its 'Curse Storm' ability can indeed cause catastrophic damage to orderly mechanical devices."

"Theoretically, its 'chaos' law-based power should also be able to interfere with the harp's melody to a certain extent."

"But," he pivoted, negating his initial idea, "this kind of interference is too crude and uncontrollable."

"The [Cursebreaker Vambrace] releases an indiscriminate interference field."

"It might make the harp go out of tune, but there's also a high probability that, due to the malevolent nature of its 'chaos curse,' it could unexpectedly create an unpredictable malignant resonance with the harp's own 'vengeance curse,' thereby birthing an even more terrifying and uncontrollable disaster."

"So, we need a more delicate, gentler prop, one more focused on the laws of sound itself."

Lin Jie explained methodically, his gaze piercing through the carriage's narrow window towards the gloomy sky in the distance.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

An image surfaced from the depths of his vast memory palace: that hellish workshop of madness and sin beneath Paris, the "Catacomb Nightingale" bound by countless evil conduits and forcibly drained of its spiritual power, and finally, those few gray-black fragments obtained from the Catacomb Nightingale.

"The Catacomb Nightingale fragments!"

Lin Jie blurted out unconsciously;

the name instantly jolted his stalled train of thought.

"What?!"

Julian's body jolted, his azure eyes widening instantly.

"You mean... those materials we liberated from the singer's body in Paris?!"

"Yes, precisely that!"

Lin Jie felt he had found the key piece to fit into this puzzle.

"Julian, do you remember the disturbances caused by the Catacomb Nightingale's singing?"

Lin Jie's speech quickened with excitement.

"That was the condensed state of pure sound laws, the perfect carrier for emotional resonance!"

"And the core fragments that fell from its body must retain some of its characteristics!"

"And the 'Silver-Stringed Harp' we now face—isn't the core of its curse also built upon those two foundations of sound and emotion?!"

Lin Jie's logical chain became clear and complete at this moment.

"Blind Tarlough infused his sorrow and vengeance into the harp through Druid bloodline magic, and the medium for releasing this emotional curse is the specific lament named 'The Blood-Tear Dirge'!"

Lin Jie's voice was filled with irrepressible excitement.

"We don't need to confront that powerful curse head-on. We just need to use the 'Catacomb Nightingale fragments,' which are also related to sound, to perform a frequency overlay and information tampering!"

"Just like in a grand symphony performance," Lin Jie gave a vivid analogy, "we don't smash the instruments. At the most critical moment, we forcibly broadcast a noise advertisement that clashes completely with the concert's style, using a more powerful transmitter!"

This crude yet accurate metaphor made Julian grasp the core of Lin Jie's plan.

An expression of sudden understanding appeared on his face.

"Tampering with information, overlaying frequencies."

Julian chewed over these two somewhat unfamiliar terms repeatedly, feeling as if the door to an unknown realm in his mind had been forced open by Lin Jie's words.

"Exactly! This is the true way of fighting that belongs to scholars! Not destroying with more brutal force, but elegantly deconstructing and rewriting with higher knowledge and laws!"

However, after the immense excitement, a more realistic and fatal problem immediately confronted them.

"But," Julian's expression turned grave again, "we left the 'Catacomb Nightingale fragments' in London. I gave part to the Association, and part to you at the time."

"And we are currently in Dublin!"

"Returning to London from here and bringing it back, even using the Association's fastest channels, would take at least two days, and we have less than twenty-four hours left!"

The perfect prop was found, but the prop was far away.

A deadlock seemed to have descended once more.

The flame of hope that had just ignited was about to be extinguished by cruel reality.

"No, wait..." Julian murmured repeatedly. His brain, filled with knowledge and Association regulations, conducted a high-speed search and reached a conclusion: "Perhaps there's still one more way!"

He grabbed Lin Jie's arm. "Lin! Have you forgotten our current identity?!"

"We are the 'Special Investigation Team for the Emerald Isle,' personally authorized by Sir Henderson with operational priority! Our mission rating is 'Level Two Alert'!"

"And according to the top-secret appendix of the I.A.R.C. internal operations regulations, the 'Pandora Protocol,' Chapter Three, Clause Seven, clearly stipulates," Julian's words came out fast as machine-gun fire, "any special operations team rated 'Level Two Alert' or above has the right to request a 'Messenger' emergency airdrop service from the nearest branch or large safehouse with 'Grade-A Transit Station' qualifications, bypassing conventional procedures!"

Although Lin Jie did not have the clearance to read the full text of the "Pandora Protocol," he immediately grasped the hope implied by Julian's words.

"The Messenger!" Flames burned in Julian's eyes. "It doesn't refer to a person, but a high-speed alchemical transmission channel jointly controlled by the Equipment R&

D Department and the Mysticism Department within the Association. It's said to use technology related to spatial-type UMAs to accurately deliver items of small volume."

"Of course," a pained expression appeared on Julian's face, "the cost of activating the Messenger service is astronomical. The Association points consumed are enough to instantly bankrupt an ordinary hunter team, and it also requires personal authorization signed by a Council member. But we currently have that qualification!"

This news of a last-minute reprieve made Lin Jie's silent heart beat faster.

They immediately turned the carriage around and returned at top speed to the underground secret safehouse at Trinity College provided by Professor O'Donoghue.

Julian, with superhuman efficiency, used the "Hermes Ether Communication Array" to directly bypass the chain of command and send an urgent communication request to Sir Henderson himself, far away in Geneva.

After briefly reporting the crisis they faced and their only plan to break it to the elder, the executive director known for his dignified and steady demeanor readily gave his reply.

"I approve your request. Barton Chris from the London side will be responsible for executing this delivery."

"Good luck to you."

After the communication ended, the light in the crystal ball dimmed.

"Alright, Julian." Lin Jie turned around.

"Then only one last problem remains."

He looked at Julian and asked, word by word: "How do we, with just the two of us and without the aid of precision instruments or alchemical materials, turn the fragments into a disposable noise generator?"