novelraw Chapter 177: The Tentacles of the Brotherhood of Light
Chapter 177: The Tentacles of the Brotherhood of Light
The hands of time need to be wound back three days, to that fog-shrouded Baker Street night.
When Lin Jie opened the oak door that evening and saw the disheveled Ethan on his doorstep, he thought he was hallucinating.
He ushered this noble hunter, whose spirit and body were on the verge of collapse, into his apartment.
He didn't ask any questions, simply silently pouring the other man a glass of high-proof brandy, the kind of liquor that could make even a freezing man feel like he was burning up again.
Then he waited quietly.
Only under the dual soothing effects of the life-giving warmth of the alcohol and the sense of security provided by the flickering fireplace light in the Baker Street apartment did Ethan's trembling body gradually settle.
"It... it wasn't 'stolen'. It was more like it was 'summoned' away."
According to Ethan's account, that very night, the heavily guarded exhibition hall was suddenly flooded with dense yellow sand of unknown origin, without any alarms being triggered or locks being broken.
When the guards and association field personnel who rushed to the scene forced their way into the sand-sealed hall, they found only five desiccated corpses. The other seven guards had vanished.
And the bulletproof glass display case that had held the "cursed diamond" was completely empty.Deep helplessness filled Ethan's eyes. "No footprints of any intruder were left at the scene. Only an extremely faint 'spiritual residue' from some kind of desert creature remained."
Ethan closed his eyes in pain. "I know they've come. Those 'vultures' who have haunted our family for centuries. They've finally found a way to reclaim their holy relic."
Lin Jie didn't disturb him, just silently refilled the empty glass with brandy, which could numb the pain.
Ethan lifted his head and looked at Lin Jie with an expression that held a sense of entrustment. "I need to return to Redgrave Manor. I need to persuade my stubborn father to hand over the family's last remaining 'private archaeological notes' concerning that nameless ancient tomb from back then."
"I will come find you again, Lin."
With that, he took his leave hastily, arriving suddenly and departing with equal resolve.
After seeing Ethan off, before Lin Jie could return to his post-mission daily routine, he was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone.
"Ring ring ring—!!"
Lin Jie's brow furrowed slightly as he set down the economics tome in his hand about "How to Use Leverage Principles for Arbitrage in Financial Markets."
He was somewhat surprised.
Since this "novelty" invented by Mr. Bell had been installed in his apartment, aside from the first few times he and Marcus had curiously called each other, it had never rung again.
Before it had fully entered the public consciousness, it was more like an expensive ornament symbolizing "modernity."
He slowly walked over and picked up the heavy receiver made of brass and wood.
"Hello?"
From the other end of the receiver came the faint crackle of static mixed with weak electrical noise.
Then, a voice he knew all too well struggled through the noisy interference.
"Lin Jie, it's me."
"William."
"Sergeant?" Lin Jie was surprised. "Aren't you in Devon? How did you... manage to use a telephone?"
He was well aware that in 1888 England, telephone lines were far from reaching the remote villages of Devon.
"...It's the only one in the town post office. I wanted to send a telegram originally, but that thing is too slow." William's voice sounded distorted by the interference. "I've run into a bit of... trouble I can't understand."
"Trouble?" Lin Jie's heart instantly tightened. "Is it a UMA? Or an enemy of the Association?"
"Neither." William's tone sounded awkward. "There's no spiritual fluctuation here, no anomalous energy. I've checked everywhere, and [Zulu's Gaze] can't see anything either."
"But..."
"Something just isn't right here."
William then proceeded to relay, in objective and detailed terms, a series of recent "ghostly" strange occurrences in his peaceful hometown to Lin Jie.
He spoke of mysterious merchants appearing out of nowhere in strange internal combustion engine vehicles.
He also spoke of the various unexpected malfunctions that had befallen the town's old steam tractors, which had worked for decades, after these merchants arrived.
The malfunctions included gearbox jams, unexplained cracks in steam valves, and precise failures of boiler pressure valves.
All the malfunctions occurred suddenly, without warning.
And all pointed to the most core, most difficult-to-repair critical parts of the machines.
"I used all the repair knowledge I learned in the Royal Engineers to take apart every single component and inspect them carefully."
"Every part, from material to craftsmanship, is perfectly fine."
"They just broke down on their own."
"The old folks in town say it's a 'curse of the machines.' That it's the 'grudges' of the old machines discarded by the new era causing trouble."
"But I know it's not some 'grudge.' There's a taste of the inner world behind this."
Lin Jie listened quietly, his mind deconstructing, analyzing, and reassembling all the clues William provided at an astonishing speed.
Mysterious merchants...
Internal combustion engine technology ahead of its time...
Physical sabotage targeting the specific category of steam engines...
He unconsciously uttered the words "Brotherhood of Light."
"What?" William's puzzled inquiry came from the other end of the line.
"William, don't hang up yet." Lin Jie's voice grew grave. "I need you to try your best to recall one more detail for me right now."
"The accents of those merchants... what were they like?"
"Accents...?" William clearly hadn't expected Lin Jie to ask a question seemingly unrelated to the case.
He thought hard for a moment.
"...Not an accent from anywhere in Britain. Not German or French either. Actually, it was quite similar to those cowboy hunters we met drinking at the 'Old Captain' last time."
"I understand. William, don't go home yet. Wait for me at the post office for an hour. I need to confirm some things."
Without giving William any further chance to ask questions, he hung up the phone directly.
Then he immediately put on his coat and hat, tucking [Serene Heart] into his inner pocket as well.
He rushed downstairs at top speed and hired a hansom cab.
"To the back entrance of the British Museum!"
Half an hour later, in a remote corner of the Underground City, Wang Qingnian, the Chinese liaison officer specifically in charge of North American affairs, looked perplexed at the "important person" who had hurriedly visited him late at night.
"Mr. Lin." Wang Qingnian's tone held curiosity. "Seeing me so late, does Geneva have some new instructions regarding 'alternating current'?"
"No, Mr. Wang." Lin Jie got straight to the point without unnecessary pleasantries. "I came to consult you about the latest movements of your North American branch's 'old rivals.'"
"The Brotherhood of Light... do they have any new 'trans-oceanic' business ventures recently?"
When Wang Qingnian heard the five words "Brotherhood of Light," a cold glint filled with vigilance and disgust flashed in his eyes.
"Those 'scientific cult' followers reeking of money and worshipping cash and violence?" His tone was disdainful. "They're constantly thinking about bringing their dirty business to Europe."
He lowered his voice, leaning close to Lin Jie's ear and speaking rapidly.
"Just half a month ago, we intercepted an encrypted telegram signed by Edison himself. He dispatched an elite team composed of his most trusted 'sabotage squad' to infiltrate Britain secretly."
"Their target was the 'Royal Agricultural Machinery Exhibition of the British Empire' being held in Birmingham at the time."
"They seemed to want to use the 'miniature spiritual interference device' that we still haven't fully deciphered to secretly sabotage all the steam-powered agricultural tools on display, forcibly opening the market for their own more efficient and 'cleaner' internal combustion engine products!"
Wang Qingnian's words instantly laid bare the inner workings of the "mechanical ghost" incident in the Devon countryside!
"This isn't the first time they've done this." A bitter, helpless smile appeared on Wang Qingnian's face. "Last year in New York, to suppress Mr. Tesla's 'alternating current,' they went mad and publicly electrocuted an elephant bought from a circus on Wall Street using AC! Then they had the unscrupulous newspapers they'd bribed widely publicize the 'dangers of alternating current'!"
"Those guys are a bunch of unprincipled maniacs who will stop at nothing for victory and profit."
Lin Jie listened to all of this quietly.
He gave Wang Qingnian, who had provided the crucial intelligence, a solemn nod.
"Thank you, Mr. Wang. You've done me a great favor."
With that, he didn't linger any longer, turning around and striding toward the exit.
He left Wang Qingnian alone, utterly bewildered, guessing what kind of operation this "compatriot" was planning next.
Returning home, Lin Jie once again dialed the long-distance telephone line to the post office in the Devon countryside.
"William, listen. You don't need to do anything, and you don't need to ask anything. You just need to believe me that it's not some 'mechanical ghost,' but a bunch of 'rats' who are greedier than ghosts and also much more cowardly."
"I'm taking the fastest train there right now." Lin Jie glanced out the window at the fog-shrouded Baker Street. "I should arrive at your town around midnight tonight."
"Before I get there, you only need to do one thing."
The corner of his mouth curled into a mischievous smile.
"Go tell your neighbors to start up all their tractors tonight, whether they still work or not."
"The bigger the commotion, the better."
"Just tell them it's ancient Eastern wisdom, a ritual of fighting poison with poison to dispel 'Mechanical Wraiths.'"
"Lin Jie...?" William's voice held even deeper confusion.
But Lin Jie offered no further explanation.
"William, don't worry."
"The ghost will be caught tonight."