novelraw Chapter 179: Descendant of Apophis
Chapter 179: Descendant of Apophis
Lin Jie did not choose to pursue.
In this unfamiliar environment with complex terrain shrouded in thick fog, rashly chasing into pitch-black woods after an enemy of unknown identity who might be carrying unknown weapons was an unwise and impulsive act.
More importantly, his primary mission here tonight was not annihilation but expulsion and evidence collection.
Both of those objectives had now been achieved.
Lin Jie walked over to the fully automatic combine harvester that was still emitting black smoke.
He paid no mind to the Devon farmers cautiously gathering towards him from the distant field ridges.
His entire world was immersed in the few piles of spoils before his eyes.
He crouched down, extended his right hand, and gently touched the harvester's metal shell, which still carried a faint residual electric current.
[Reverberation Touch] quietly activated.
A stream of information, not particularly powerful but quite complex, flooded into his mind.He saw the man-made "parasites," cleverly hidden inside the machine by the black-clad man, resembling earthworms in form.
He saw how these "parasites" used a higher frequency of spiritual resonance to receive commands from the "controller" in the hands of the black-clad man in the distant forest.
He also saw how these "parasites" converted the received commands into targeted curses capable of inducing metal fatigue at the microscopic level.
"So that's how it is..."
Lin Jie opened his eyes, letting out a sigh of admiration and a heavy mutter to himself.
"This is a new science that has already achieved a preliminary fusion between the esoteric concept of spirituality and physics!"
He stood up, pried open the shell of one of the harvesters.
Then, he carefully extracted a batch of "parasites," whose core circuits had been burnt out by the impact of the Curse Storm, completely detaching them from the gear structure contaminated by engine oil.
He wrapped these epoch-making "scientific samples" carefully in a piece of lead cloth specifically designed to block spiritual signals.
The true home for this spoils of war should be in the hands of a genius capable of understanding its revolutionary significance.
Early the next morning, as Lin Jie was conducting the final handover with a bleary-eyed William on the slow train back to London.
A mysterious package, personally packed by Lin Jie with no sender's name or return address, had already been placed by a local Devon post office mail carrier onto the fastest postal express train bound for the capital.
The package had only one destination.
I.A.R.C. London Branch, Fourth Equipment Laboratory, For the personal attention of Mr. Arthur Conan.
"I've checked all the damaged tractors. All the faults have disappeared by themselves. Old Man Hanson says his old buddy now has more horsepower than when it was first bought."
Lin Jie smiled without offering an explanation.
"Those merchants and their broken machines also all vanished before dawn," William continued. "As if they never appeared at all."
"But we all know they'll be back."
His gaze grew solemn.
"Lin Jie, that 'Brotherhood of Light' you mentioned yesterday..."
"An opponent even more troublesome than the Eternal Serpent," Lin Jie's expression also turned serious. "They believe in neither gods nor devils, only in the science and progress as defined by themselves."
"They won't perform ritualistic bloody sacrifices like cultists. They will only use efficient and ruthless methods to physically erase all remnants of the old era blocking their path of progress, along with their users."
Lin Jie looked out the window at the green fields speeding past. "Their reach extends farther than we imagined. Remind your neighbors that if they encounter such 'pie falling from the sky' good deals in the future, they'd better first consider whether they have teeth strong enough to digest an 'iron pie'."
William nodded.
At that moment, the door to their first-class carriage was suddenly pulled open from the outside.
A young gentleman in an expensive black wool overcoat walked in from the doorway.
His presence made this carriage, tinged with rustic charm, feel as if it had been injected with the luxury and aloofness originating from high society.
It was Ethan, but he was different from the disheveled figure who visited Baker Street late at night a few days ago.
He had transformed back into the elite hunter Lin Jie was familiar with, always impeccably dressed and with an arrogant expression.
His golden curls were meticulously groomed, and his handsome face bore traces of fatigue and pallor that couldn't be completely concealed.
But the innate pride and confidence in his pupils had been rekindled.
He appeared to have been waiting on this train for some time, clearly having specifically waited for Lin Jie's appearance.
"Your 'exorcism' ritual in the countryside went quite smoothly, I see."
Lin Jie ignored the teasing in his words, simply looking at him calmly.
"It seems you've also recovered from the 'diamond' scare."
The feigned ease on Ethan's face froze. An uncontrollable flicker of fear flashed deep in his eyes.
He sat down in the seat opposite Lin Jie and remained silent for a long time.
"The night after I went to find you, the Association experts made a new discovery. The thieves had specifically left something in the interlayer of the glass display case."
A look of deep-seated hatred flashed in Ethan's eyes.
"A hastily scribbled word written in blood, in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs."
"Apophis."
If Julian were present, he would immediately recognize this name.
In the ancient Egyptian mythological system, "Apophis" is the ultimate evil god representing darkness, chaos, and destruction.
It is a giant venomous serpent that attempts to devour the sun god Ra every day at sunset.
"Descendants of Apophis. A secret cult active and ancient within Egypt itself, also worshipping the 'Serpent God'. Our Association's Egyptian branch has been locked in open and covert struggle with them for a century."
"We have reason to believe they are an important branch, or perhaps an ally, of the Eternal Serpent cult in the Middle East and North Africa."
Lin Jie's heart sank heavily. The Eternal Serpent again.
This persistent organization's evil reach had actually extended from Europe all the way to the distant banks of the Nile.
"Why did they steal that diamond?" Lin Jie pressed.
"Because the diamond itself is their holy relic," Ethan's face revealed a bitter smile. "According to the secret lore passed down through generations of my Redgrave family, that blue diamond known to the world as the 'Hope Diamond,' its true name should be..."
"The Tear of Apophis."
"Legend says it was formed from the left eye of that giant serpent severed by the divine power of the sun god Ra."
"It can absorb all light and hope, transforming them into the purest darkness and curse."
"And the reason my family was able to leap from an obscure minor nobility to a commercial giant controlling half of the British Empire's colonial trade within just a few centuries..."
"Was because one of my ancestors, during an expedition to a Crusader-era ruin, unintentionally 'stole' this holy relic that rightfully belonged to the Descendants of Apophis."
Ethan laid bare his family's darkest original sin, concealed beneath a glamorous exterior, before Lin Jie.
"I need to retrieve it."
Ethan raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on Lin Jie.
"Lin, I need your help. I need your wisdom to help me find those thieves and retrieve that diamond."
"And to settle that... inner demon that has haunted me for years, originating from that Egyptian tomb."
Lin Jie did not agree on the spot. In his view, this was Ethan's family matter, and the diamond's origins were indeed somewhat unsavory. He needed to discuss it with William and Julian before making a decision.
On the second day after Lin Jie returned to London.
A red letter with the highest level of authority, personally issued by the Supreme Executive Council from Geneva, Switzerland, was personally delivered by an Association Messenger to the door of 221B Baker Street.
On the envelope's cover was the signature of Sir Henderson, written in golden ink.
Harboring a sense of foreboding, Lin Jie opened the envelope. The letter's content was as he expected, yet still exceeded his imagination.
At the beginning of the letter, Sir Henderson first, in the tone of an elder praising a junior, commended the wisdom Lin Jie displayed during his trip to Germany and the "brilliant impromptu performance" in the Devon countryside.
"...Your handling of those Brotherhood of Light tricks was clean, neat, and quite innovative. Arthur has locked himself in his laboratory for three days and nights straight."
This high-level decision-maker of I.A.R.C., stationed in Geneva, possessed a grasp over everything happening in the inner world of Europe far more terrifying than Lin Jie had imagined.
The content of the letter then took a sharp turn.
Sir Henderson did not issue a direct order as usual.
He merely gave the Iron Triangle Team an "invitation" in the tone of a friend making casual conversation.
An "academic exchange" invitation issued on behalf of the I.A.R.C. Supreme Academic Committee.
"...In light of your team's outstanding talents demonstrated in the fields of 'Anomalous Historical Sites' and 'Ancient Curse Breaking,' the Council unanimously decided to invite you as official representatives of our Association to immediately depart for Cairo, Egypt."
"To assist our increasingly beleaguered Cairo Branch in conducting a preliminary academic survey of a recently discovered anomalous ancient tomb on the Giza Plateau, which has direct connections to the 'Apophis' myth and the 'Cursed Diamond' legend."
At the end of the letter, Sir Henderson also appended a meaningful sentence in a tone of "mischievous interest."
"That perpetually troubled young gentleman from the Redgrave family will also be waiting for you there."
"Wishing you a pleasant journey on the banks of the Nile."
Lin Jie put down the letter in his hand, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"That guy Ethan, he actually leveraged the higher-ups directly..."