Reluctant Cooperation

The black crystal, condensed from the final core energy of the Mist Walker, emitted an ominous, ghostly glow on the ground.

Three figures formed a subtle and tense triangle on this eerie stage, confronting each other in silence.

Barton stared fixedly at Lin Jie, and at the diary in Lin Jie's hand—a diary that belonged to his companion, Karl, and one he knew all too well.

Lin Jie's declaration, "I know far more than you imagine," had struck deep into his heart.

As an elite I.A.R.C. investigator accustomed to controlling every situation, he hadn't felt this sense of being led by the nose by an "outsider" in a very long time.

"Are you curious?" Lin Jie met Barton's gaze, his tone unexpectedly calm.

He did not rush to explain anything, instead slowly crouching down to pick up the black crystal, which still held a trace of residual warmth.

The moment his fingers touched the crystal, an afterimage of pure resentment and fear surged through his fingertips, causing him to frown involuntarily.

This was the spoils of war.

A "spiritual material" containing supernatural power obtained after hunting a UMA.

Seeing Lin Jie's practiced movements, Barton's eyes deepened.

He waved his hand, signaling Marcus, who remained in a defensive stance, to relax.

"I think, before we discuss the question of who you are, you should perhaps first explain how you were able to read Karl's diary?" Barton's voice broke the silence; he chose to cut straight to the most direct and core issue.

He emphasized the word "read," clearly not believing that Lin Jie had the ability to decipher the encrypted Old German script in such a short time.

"I can't read it." Lin Jie's answer once again exceeded Barton's expectations.

He admitted this frankly, then held up the diary and flipped to the page featuring the sketch of the Mist Walker.

"I don't need to understand every word. I only need to understand these." He pointed to the distorted form of the UMA in the drawing, along with the symbols he could recognize marked beside it—

A simple sketch of a building representing a "city," a moon representing "night," and the skull repeatedly marked to represent "danger."

"I saw what it looked like, and I remembered the unique symbols next to the drawing. Then," Lin Jie looked up, his gaze shifting to the filthy roof, "I went to the places where it had appeared, using my own methods to feel and verify. When the facts and the drawings aligned perfectly, the truth naturally surfaced."

This half-truthful explanation was seamless.

He had cleverly packaged his incredible [Afterimage] ability into a form of extraordinary observation and associative power based on "intuition" and "field investigation."

This explained why he could lock onto the true form of the UMA while perfectly hiding his greatest secret.

Marcus listened, completely bewildered, feeling only that this Eastern kid was being pretentious.

But Barton understood.

He understood the chilling way of thinking hidden behind Lin Jie's words.

It was a logic that completely discarded common sense, working backward from the result to the process, and possessing the madness and efficiency to experiment while risking one's own safety.

In some respects, this way of thinking was even more terrifying than that of the top intelligence analysts within the I.A.R.C.

"Remarkable intuition." Barton finally nodded slowly, barely accepting the explanation. He immediately asked: "Then, what about the weakness of the 'mirror'? As far as I know, there is no clear record of this in Karl's diary. Did you 'feel' this out, or..."

"I guessed it." Lin Jie's answer remained airtight.

"The essence of this thing is an animated shadow, the opposite of light. Therefore, what restrains it most must also be related to light. Ordinary firelight can disperse it, but it cannot truly kill it."

"I gambled that there was a purer, more concentrated light that could cause it fundamental harm. And the simplest, cheapest tool to create such light is a mirror."

This was an answer based on basic physics and logical reasoning.

Although Barton knew the truth could not be that simple, he could not find any flaws to refute it.

Silence descended once more.

This time, it was Barton who was weighing and thinking.

He had originally pegged Lin Jie as a murderer who "killed his companion Karl and stole the association's assets."

But everything that happened tonight had shattered that preconceived conclusion.

A true murderer, when hunted by them, would choose to flee far away rather than go deep into the tiger's den, taking the initiative to investigate a Town Rank UMA that even they found troublesome.

An ordinary thief could never possess such a calm mind and such meticulous planning, nor could they find a fatal weakness that the association hadn't even recorded while locked in a life-or-death struggle with a UMA.

Most importantly, someone who had killed an I.A.R.C. agent should show fear, hatred, or despair upon seeing them, not be as calm and composed as he was now, even faintly carrying an attitude of wanting an equal dialogue.

Lin Jie's performance was completely incompatible with the profile of a "murderer."

"One last question." Barton looked at Lin Jie and asked, word for word, "What exactly happened on the Sea Witch? Karl... how did he die?"

This was the core of all questions.

Lin Jie understood that this was his best chance to completely clear his name.

He did not embellish, but instead used an extremely calm and objective tone to recount everything that had happened on that ship.

From the eerie singing to the siege by the Deep Sea Resentful Woman; from Karl's heroic battle to his eventual death in combat; and finally, how he himself struggled to survive in a desperate situation.

His narration was plain, yet filled with power due to the immersive sense of reality.

In particular, his description of the Deep Sea Resentful Woman's form and attack patterns matched the I.A.R.C.'s internal files perfectly; these details could not possibly have been fabricated.

When Lin Jie finished the last word, even Marcus, who had been hostile toward him, felt his suspicion and hatred dissipate significantly, leaving behind a complex silence.

He believed him.

For any investigator of the I.A.R.C., death in battle was a highly probable outcome when facing a siege by a UMA of that caliber.

Karl's sacrifice was not the result of a conspiracy, but the inevitable fate of a hunter.

Barton let out a long sigh, the breath turning into a cloud of white mist in the cold London night.

He took off his top hat and, facing Lin Jie—the young man he had once viewed as both prey and murderer—solemnly performed a hat-tipping salute.

"It seems we misunderstood you, sir." There was an apologetic tone in Barton's voice.

"On behalf of the International Anomalous Research and Containment Association, I offer you my apologies for the pursuit we conducted against you. I also thank you for identifying the true culprit behind the murders of London citizens and for preserving Karl's remains."

At this moment, Lin Jie knew he had won.

Using his own wit and courage, he had forcibly transformed himself from a "target of pursuit" into a "collaborator" worthy of a salute from an elite investigator.

The greatest crisis looming over his head had finally been lifted.

The immense sense of security and accomplishment gained from walking away unscathed from the edge of a blade was something no amount of money could compare to.

"So..." Lin Jie's mood also relaxed, and he brandished the German diary in his hand. "Can we now discuss its ownership, as well as... the matter of my 'compensation' for helping resolve this affair?"

Barton looked at the expression on his face, which had switched modes in an instant like a little fox, and was stunned for a moment before bursting into a silent laugh.

He put his hat back on, returning to his sharp and capable demeanor.

"Of course. But before that, I still want to know..." A glimmer of irrepressible curiosity shone in Barton's eyes. "Who exactly are you?"