novelraw Chapter 281: The Solo Plan
Chapter 281: The Solo Plan
"...The treatment plan for Sergeant William Keane has been temporarily declared a failure."
After Phineas read out the telegram from Saigon word for word, the triumphant atmosphere in the New York safe house that had followed the foiling of the Brotherhood of Light's plot dissipated completely.
The air was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Although Hawk had no connection to William, he could sense from Lin Jie and Ethan's grim expressions the weight this old soldier carried in their hearts.
Evelyn stood silently to the side, unsure of what to say.
Ethan slammed his fist hard onto the conference table.
His eyes now burned with fury and a deep sense of helplessness.
"Black Lotus..."
Ethan ground out the name between his teeth, each syllable dripping with searing hatred.
It was that organization again.That organization moved like a ghost, always appearing at the most critical moment to shatter all their hopes in the most precise and vicious way possible.
Lin Jie remained silent.
He sat in his chair with his head lowered, allowing shadows to cover most of his face.
No one could see Lin Jie's expression, but everyone felt a pressure radiating from him—a pressure deeper and more dangerous than Ethan's rage, like the deathly stillness before a volcanic eruption.
Self-blame.
The feeling of self-blame stabbed into his heart like needles, one after another.
It was he who had made the decision to split their forces.
It was he who had pushed Julian alone onto that perilous and unfamiliar Eastern battlefield.
Not only had he failed to bring back an antidote for William, but he had also plunged Julian into danger.
"This isn't your fault, Lin."
Ethan's voice pulled Lin Jie back from his self-recrimination.
He didn't know when Ethan had walked over to Lin Jie's side, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"This isn't your mistake." Ethan's eyes had regained the resilience befitting the heir of the Redgrave family. "None of us could have predicted this. We're facing a madman who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice an entire city. This isn't a tactical error, but... a failure of humanity."
"That's right, kid." Hawk's voice, deep as thunder, chimed in. "In our tribe, against a venomous snake like this, any clever plan is useless. We only use the most direct way: find its nest, then cut off its head. You just... don't know your enemy well enough yet."
Evelyn also approached, handing Lin Jie a cup of steaming hot black tea.
"We all did our best." Her voice was soft. "Now isn't the time for blame. We should be thinking about what to do next."
The comfort from his comrades was like a warm current, slowly melting the ice in Lin Jie's heart.
A glimmer of light reignited in his dark eyes, which had momentarily dimmed.
They were right.
Wallowing in past failures was the behavior of the weak.
He had to stand up. He had to find a new path.
"Thank you," he said quietly, accepting the tea Evelyn offered.
That night, Lin Jie locked himself alone in the safe house's archive room.
He didn't look at any more intelligence on the Brotherhood of Light, nor did he study the neural toxin sac of the Ghost Jellyfish.
He spread out a large, latest-version map of the United States of America on the table.
Then, using red ink, he meticulously marked every known I.A.R.C. branch outpost on the North American continent, as well as the locations of all major UMA incidents.
Lin Jie stared at this vast map, woven with both opportunity and danger, sinking into a long and profound contemplation.
The Eastern path for Julian was temporarily blocked.
Old Abacus's words, though harsh, were the cruelest reality.
Forcing Julian to search for divine artifacts to counter the River Jiao in the mysterious lands of the Qing Dynasty was like searching for a needle in a haystack. It might even plunge him into a situation more dangerous than Saigon.
But this didn't mean all hope was lost.
If the East offered no path, what about the West?
On this land known as the "New World," teeming with countless unknowns and legends, might there also be hidden UMAs possessing powerful vitality or regenerative abilities similar to the Tai Sui?
For example, the myths among Native American tribes about the "Life Spring."
And the Voodoo secrets deep in the Louisiana swamps concerning the "Undying."
Or even the rumors among gold prospectors in the Western wilderness about the "Miracle Stone" that could revive withered wood.
In the past, these might have been recorded as mere absurd tales.
But after witnessing a rule-defying life form like the Tai Sui, Lin Jie realized that any legend could be a distorted fragment of real history.
He needed to search.
Rather than passively waiting for news from the East, or pinning all his hopes on Julian's black market bounty, he would rather take the initiative!
Early the next morning, Lin Jie tidied his appearance and, alone, returned to the top floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the luxurious office belonging to Mr. Morgan.
"I'm surprised, Mr. Lin," Morgan said, looking at the Eastern youth before him who, though slightly weary, had regained a sharp glint in his eyes. He smiled. "I thought after receiving that bad news, you would immediately choose to return to Europe, or set off directly for the East."
"Running away is meaningless until the problem is solved," Lin Jie replied simply and directly. "I'm here to apply for a new mission."
"Oh?" Morgan's face showed an interested expression.
"I want to take on official commissions for the North American branch as an 'Independent Free Hunter,'" Lin Jie stated his plan. "I need a legitimate identity that allows me to move freely across the North American continent. At the same time, I also need the North American branch's most complete and highest-priority intelligence support."
"In return, all spoils I obtain from completing missions, except for a small portion of samples I personally designate as needed, can belong entirely to the North American branch."
This was a proposal offering nothing but benefits to the North American branch.
They would essentially only need to expend some intelligence resources to gain a hunter of strategic value to solve their thorny problems.
"May I ask your purpose for doing this?" Morgan inquired, his sharp eyes seeming to want to see through Lin Jie's heart.
"I need to find a new antidote for my comrade," Lin Jie did not hide his intent. "To search across this vast continent for any UMA that might possess 'healing' or 'potent life force' properties. And also..."
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"...I need to better understand the rules of this land, accumulate more resources and experience, and make thorough preparations for dealing with the Brotherhood of Light in the future."
It was a plan encompassing foresight and determination.
Morgan looked at Lin Jie's resolute eyes and remained silent for a moment.
Shortly after, he walked up to Lin Jie and extended his hand.
"I admire your resolve, Mr. Lin," said this strategist known as the "Raven," a genuine smile of approval appearing on his face. "The doors of the North American branch are always open to you. From now on, you have... independent selection rights for all UMA commission task lists below S-rank in North America."
Lin Jie reached out and shook his hand firmly.
Morgan then turned and activated a hidden mechanism within his massive bookshelf.
An entire wall of bookshelves slowly slid aside, revealing behind it a central intelligence room composed of instrument panels with blinking signal lights and vacuum tubes.
"This is the true brain of the North American branch," Morgan introduced. "All eyewitness reports, historical documents, and mission archives concerning known and unknown UMAs on this continent are gathered here."
He led Lin Jie before a huge information wall made up of countless small cards.
Each card represented an unresolved "commission."
The color of the cards indicated the mission's danger level, ranging from the lowest white to the deepest, blood-like crimson.
"Go and choose your first prey, Mr. Lin," Morgan made a "please" gesture, a thread of anticipation in his tone. "Let me see what kind of waves you, this sharpest of scalpels, can stir up on this wild land."
Lin Jie's gaze slowly swept across that information wall, interwoven with death and opportunity.
Finally, his attention was drawn to an orange-colored B-rank commission card located in the Appalachian Mountains region.
The mission's codename was a single, simple word.
"Escort."