novelraw Chapter 195: The Shadow Over Alexandria
Chapter 195: The Shadow Over Alexandria
When Lin Jie and the other two returned to the underground fortress of the Cairo Second Branch from the secret sanctuary in Alexandria with the Tear of Apophis overnight, dawn was nearly upon them.
An urgent remote meeting involving four parties—the Geneva Headquarters, the London Branch, the Paris Branch, and the Cairo Branch—was tensely convened in this operations room located on the African continent, facilitated by the "Hermes Ether Communication Array."
After Lin Jie calmly finished reporting all the intelligence revealed by the gray-robed man concerning the "Humboldt's Sealed Colossus" and the "Patriarch God of the Descendants of Apophis."
Following a closed-door meeting that lasted a full hour of heated debate and careful deliberation, the Geneva Supreme Council finally issued that correct yet helpless final order.
"That colossus must be eliminated!"
Sir Henderson's voice came through the communication array.
"We cannot allow an unknown giant UMA to hide beneath a city;
this ticking time bomb is far too dangerous for the Mediterranean region."
"No one knows how much longer the seal left by Humboldt can hold."
"At the same time," the knight's voice paused, "the legacy that Humboldt, that great pioneer, left behind in that underground labyrinth—I.A.R.C. must provide an answer for him and for history."
"Therefore...""The plan has changed."
"Investigator Lin," Sir Henderson addressed Lin Jie for the first time with a formal, official title, "your team and Mr. Ethan Redgrave will serve as the core assault squad for this 'Serapeum Temple' exploration operation."
"Headquarters will provide you with logistical support."
"And your mission is to take the key, enter that City of Gold, find that slumbering prisoner, and eradicate it before it is awakened!"
Thus, after a brief single day of rest and preparation.
A river steam passenger ship, flying the flag of a local Egyptian trading company and having undergone simple modifications, once again departed from the docks of Cairo.
Before boarding, Ethan refused Old Ab's proposal to store the Tear of Apophis in the branch's highest-level vault.
Driven by a paranoid distrust of anyone but himself, he insisted on strapping the sealing box, crafted from spiritually inert lead, to his person with a special belt, refusing to be parted from it for even a moment.
The steam passenger ship sailed upstream along the Nile River, which had nurtured ancient Egyptian civilization for millennia, heading towards that legendary ancient city that was about to become the eye of the storm.
On the ship's top deck, within a luxurious private cabin guarded by several elite protectors, a detailed tactical planning meeting for this "Restricted Zone Exploration" operation was underway in a tense atmosphere.
The participants included not only the three core members of the Iron Triangle Team and Ethan—whose mental state was agitated by vengeance achieved yet silenced by ideological shock—but also a special "intelligence consultant."
That was Nephthys, the "Holy Sand Scarabs," who had been successfully captured and suffered a mental breakdown during the previous raid.
Her wrists and ankles were still bound by spiritual shackles engraved with the I.A.R.C. emblem, but the fanaticism and arrogance she displayed in the interrogation room were long gone from her face, replaced only by numbness and emptiness.
In exchange for a chance to survive, she had ultimately chosen to "cooperate" fully with the Association.
She spilled all the information she knew about the "City of Gold," the Serapeum, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.
"That place is not a 'city' in the true sense..."
Nephthys's voice was weak, her beautiful obsidian eyes filled with awe and fear for that underground labyrinth.
"According to the cult's secret scriptures, it was designed and built by a genius architect from ancient Greece for Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the second pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Dynasty—a massive, complex underground water control hub and sacred sacrificial system."
"Its main structure lies dozens of meters beneath Alexandria, directly connected to the Nile's underground water channels and the Mediterranean's subsurface currents."
"Its internal waterways crisscross, with countless sluice gates, hidden passages, and camouflaged tomb chambers filled with deadly traps forming a labyrinth."
"For centuries, countless tomb raiders, explorers, and our cult's predecessors have attempted to enter. But in the end, they either got lost in the endless dark waterways or were electrocuted to a crisp by the guardian in the temple's core area!"
"Guardian?" Julian seized this keyword and immediately pressed, "Is that the colossus..."
"I don't know..." Nephthys slowly shook her head, genuine fear flashing in her eyes.
"...The secret scriptures only mention that to prevent tomb raider invasions and to maintain the energy cycle of the entire underground water system, that great Greek architect placed a sacred 'guardian beast' in the temple's innermost core area, one that the pharaoh himself had brought back from the distant, legendary 'Land of Punt'."
"It is said that 'guardian beast' can absorb the earth's power and release 'thunder' potent enough to purify all filth!"
"Thunder?" Lin Jie's brow furrowed slightly. He translated this seemingly mythical term into another word more aligned with his industrial-era understanding. "...Electricity?"
A giant UMA living in underground rivers, capable of generating and releasing high-voltage electricity through unknown means?
Instantly, a UMA designation that was only briefly mentioned in the appendices of the Black Book and never personally confirmed by any hunter—one marked with uncertainty—flashed into Lin Jie's mind.
"The Subterranean Giant Eel"!
Threat level: Town-class, but possessing Kingdom-class potential!
After a half-day voyage, the steam passenger ship sailed into the Nile Delta region.
The Mediterranean's salty, humid sea breeze began to carry the clamor and vitality of a port city as it blew towards them.
The team concluded this information-heavy tactical meeting and each returned to their rooms for final preparations before disembarkation.
Lin Jie stood alone by the small porthole in his room, quietly gazing at the city skyline he hadn't had time to examine closely last night.
He raised the Holy Sand Scarab amulet, which continuously emitted a gentle, warm current, to his eyes.
He could feel that as the ship drew closer to that ancient city, the resonance between this amulet and his spirit was growing increasingly stronger.
Just as he was immersed in this wondrous sensation.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
A very soft, polite knock suddenly sounded from outside his cabin door.
Lin Jie's brow instantly furrowed. He put away the amulet and placed his hand on the Serene Heart at his waist.
"Who is it?" he asked in low English.
"Good evening, sir." A young, humble Egyptian local attendant's voice came from outside the door. "My apologies for disturbing you. An anonymous gentleman entrusted me to deliver this letter to you personally."
An anonymous letter?
A flash of wariness crossed Lin Jie's eyes, but he ultimately walked over and opened the door.
Outside stood a slender young Egyptian attendant, a professional, humble smile on his face as he respectfully handed Lin Jie a plain white envelope with no signature or markings.
Lin Jie took the envelope, lightly rubbing it with his fingertips to confirm it contained no dangerous mechanisms like "poison-coated steel needles" or "alchemical explosives" before slowly opening it.
There was no letter inside the envelope.
Only a palm-sized, tattered fragment of ancient papyrus.
On that yellowed papyrus, written in elegant, classically styled Ancient Greek handwriting, was a mysterious and warning-laden maxim.
"Beware, what the scarab awakens is not wealth."