The Truth of the Diary and a New Mission

After obtaining his desired Grotesque Armament, Lin Jie spent two days resting in his room.

Until his mental energy had fully recovered, he did not step back into the Underground City to plan his next move.

Just as Lin Jie stood before that massive task board, browsing through bizarre commissions from all over the world, a familiar voice rang out behind him.

Lin Jie turned around to see that it was indeed Barton.

A meaningful smile played on the face of this shrewd Elite Investigator.

"Your performance far exceeded the headquarters' expectations. As your guide, I also take pride in it," Barton said. "Moreover, the 'chain reaction' you brought about has also exceeded our imagination."

"What do you mean?" Lin Jie asked.

"Because of the high-quality Chaos Brass you submitted, as well as your revolutionary design blueprints, that madman Arthur has fallen into a sort of fanatical creative period."

Barton's tone was filled with helplessness. "Yesterday, he worked through the night to submit a thirty-page research report to headquarters regarding 'improving the utilization rate of low-tier spiritual materials.' It is said that it has drawn high attention from those veteran masters in the Geneva Equipment Department."

"A technological revolution regarding the manufacturing concepts of 'Grotesque Armament' seems to have already begun ahead of schedule because of your appearance."

"And the more direct benefit is this," Barton took a document smelling of fresh ink from his coat and handed it to Lin Jie. "This is what you wanted. Headquarters mobilized three linguistic masters proficient in archaic German to translate the diary copy of the Cartographer, Karl, for you overnight. Given the immense contribution you have made, headquarters has granted special approval: this copy... is the complete, unedited version."

Lin Jie took the diary translation, which condensed knowledge and secrets, his hands trembling slightly with excitement.

This was the greatest harvest he had gained!

He quickly returned home, locked his door, brewed himself a steaming cup of black tea, and then, under the gaslight, like a devout believer, slowly opened this "bible" that led to the truth of the Underworld.

The font of the translation was an elegant English cursive, clear and beautiful, clearly the work of a learned master of translation.

Lin Jie's gaze fell immediately on the final pages of the diary, which recorded the final journey in the life of the Cartographer, Karl von Stein, that rigorous German investigator.

Through his account, a far larger and more bizarre conspiracy hidden behind the shipwreck of the Sea Witch emerged before Lin Jie's eyes.

"May 11, 1888, Singapore." Karl wrote in his diary, "I have finally tracked the trail of that 'cargo.' An ancient, mysterious organization from the Qing Empire called the 'White Lotus' is using British merchant ships to secretly transport something they call a 'Living Holy Fetus' to Europe."

"According to informant intelligence, these so-called holy fetuses appear to be the 'eggs' of a UMA that the White Lotus worships as a god, processed through some kind of special ritual."

"Their goal for this trip is to utilize the massive mental energy field generated by the gathering of millions of tourists at the upcoming World's Fair in Paris to complete a horrific, large-scale hatching and deity-descending ritual."

Lin Jie's heart constricted violently.

White Lotus, Paris World's Fair, UMA eggs!

These words strung together formed a picture of madness and disaster.

"May 18, Strait of Malacca." The diary continued, "I successfully disguised myself as a botanist and boarded the cargo ship responsible for transporting the 'Living Holy Fetus'—the Sea Witch."

"The captain and first mate have clearly been bought off by the White Lotus. They intentionally deviated from the main shipping lane and sailed into a forbidden stretch of water known to the locals as the 'Sea of Resentful Women'."

"I understand their intent now. They want to use the powerful mental energy field of the 'Deep Sea Resentful Woman' inhabiting that sea area to 'force-ripen' those eggs ahead of time. These madmen, they have no idea what kind of dangerous power they are toying with."

"May 22, Indian Ocean." Karl's handwriting began to grow somewhat scrawled here; the situation at the time must have been extremely critical. "The Deep Sea Resentful Woman has been enraged. The aura emitted by that batch of 'Living Holy Fetus' is suspected to be highly toxic to them, or perhaps a form of blasphemy. A bloody hunt has begun."

"I hope I can stop this impending disaster..."

The diary ended abruptly there.

Lin Jie closed the translation for a long time, his heart filled with the highest respect for this German investigator he had never met.

Karl had used his own life to try and stop a massive disaster that could have shocked the world.

And he, by a stroke of fate, had become the successor to this final testament.

He spent an entire day reading the rest of the translation with insatiable hunger, greedily absorbing the knowledge of various UMAs, the manufacturing experience of Grotesque Armament, and the insights into various mysterious phenomena of the Underworld that the Cartographer Karl had accumulated throughout his life, converting them into the most precious knowledge reserve in his mind.

The next day, when Lin Jie stepped into the Underground City again, full of spirit, his temperament was completely different from a few days ago.

He habitually walked to that massive Elite Investigator Directory.

Just as he was studying the Hunter List, a hand gently patted his shoulder.

It was Barton.

"It seems you have recovered," Barton said with a smile. "As it happens, I have a new commission here that headquarters has specifically suggested you take on."

"Oh?" Lin Jie was somewhat surprised.

Barton handed him a new commission marked as "Caution Rank."

[Commission Number: S-1888-C004]

[Commission Rank: Caution Rank/Special Attention]

[Commission Location: Scotland, Inverness, Loch Ness Region]

[Event Overview: Recently, multiple fishermen and local residents have claimed to have witnessed an unknown aquatic creature that is "long-necked, humped, and as massive as a whale" in the waters near Urquhart Bay in Loch Ness.

The local Inverness Courier has reported on this matter, causing a small amount of attention. At the same time, the "Aether Fluctuation" monitoring station set up by the Association in the lake area has also recorded several weak but highly regular energy anomalies.]

[Mission Objectives: 1. Travel to the Loch Ness region to conduct a field investigation and confirm whether the unknown creature truly exists. 2. If it exists, evaluate whether it is a UMA, and collect as much visual data (sketches, photographs) and ecological samples (water samples, scales, secretions, etc.) as possible. 3. The creature has not yet shown aggression; it is strictly forbidden to hunt it proactively without being threatened. "Observation and Research" is the highest priority.]

[Commission Reward: Base bounty of 30 pounds, 30 points. Any valuable visual data and ecological samples will receive additional point rewards.]

The Loch Ness Monster!

A wave of ripples stirred in Lin Jie's heart.

Could this famous legend, known to almost everyone in his past life, actually exist in this world as well?

And its threat level is merely Caution Rank?

"Why specifically me?" Lin Jie asked.

The core of this mission is "observation and research," which doesn't seem to require particularly high combat power.

"Because the two traits you have demonstrated fit this mission perfectly."

Barton explained, "First, your interpretation ability might allow you to perceive Afterimage remnants from that ancient lake that we cannot detect with our instruments. Second,"

Barton's gaze became somewhat playful, "your first creation, the Spellbreaker Bracer, has made the masters in the Equipment Department very interested in its modular concept."

"They are very eager to know what kind of effects this equipment will show once 'aquatic environment adaptation' or other environmental modules are added. Therefore, this mission can also be seen as an opportunity the Association is providing for you to conduct... 'field testing of new equipment'."

"Of course," Barton added at the end, "the Loch Ness region is vast and sparsely populated, with a complex environment. For your safety, the Association will still assign a partner to you."

"Sergeant William speaks very highly of you, and he personally requested the opportunity to accompany you on this trip."