The Alchemical Workshop in the Old Castle

The faint scent of alchemical potions that didn't belong in this deathly old castle was an invisible trail, guiding Lin Jie and the others in the right direction through the vast ruins.

Sergeant William, a seasoned veteran, immediately took command of the group. In such a complex environment, where stealth and reconnaissance were paramount, his instincts—sharp as a leopard's—were far more reliable than Lin Jie's tactical mind.

He didn't choose the broad main roads, long since buried beneath weeds and rubble. Instead, he led Lin Jie and the scholar along the shadows inside the castle walls, keeping them melded with the darkness as they silently made their way toward the heart of the castle: the main tower, half of which had long since collapsed.

Every one of William's movements had a textbook elegance. His footsteps made no sound on the rubble, his body always found the best angle for cover, and his sharp eyes swept warily over every corner. Not a single rustle escaped his notice.

Lin Jie followed close behind, striving to imitate William's rhythm and footsteps. He eagerly absorbed the veteran's stealth techniques, turning them into knowledge of his own.

They soon reached the foot of the ruined main tower. The once-magnificent building, a symbol of the Urquhart Family's glory and power, had been reduced to a broken foundation and a lone stone wall covered in ivy.

A huge, pitch-black opening yawned where the tower's cellar entrance should have been. The scent of alchemical potions drifted steadily out from within.

William motioned for them to stop. Then he took a small silver mirror from the leather pouch at his waist. Its angle could be adjusted at the handle. Carefully, he slipped it into the opening, quickly scanning the interior with reflected moonlight before drawing it back.

In a near-silent whisper, William relayed what he'd seen to Lin Jie and the scholar. "There's a spiral staircase leading down. At least two people are guarding the turn in the stairs. They haven't lit any lamps, but they're armed with the same Steam Weapons we saw before. They seem alert."

A direct assault was out of the question. If they were discovered in such a narrow passage, they'd have nowhere to dodge and would be riddled with shots from the Steam Weapons, whatever their power.

The scholar looked nervous. He was beginning to regret not staying on the ship.

Lin Jie's mind was already racing as he tried to figure out a way out of this impasse.

But this time, before he could come up with a perfect plan, William had already taken matters into his own hands.

The veteran picked up a fist-sized stone and weighed it in his hand. Then he listened for a moment, as if calculating the wind direction and the way sound would echo inside the tower ruins.

With a sudden swing of his arm, he sent the stone flying. It made a faint whistle as it landed several meters away, amid another stretch of collapsed wall.

"Clatter!" The sharp crack of stone striking stone rang out through the night.

The two guards at the cellar entrance were drawn to the unexpected noise. Wary, they raised their weapons and leaned halfway out toward the sound, trying to see what had happened.

That was the moment!

William's body tensed like a drawn bow, then sprang forward. He made barely a sound. His huge feet landed as lightly as a cat's as he surged toward the opening at an incredible speed.

By the time the two guards realized the noise had been a feint and turned their attention back, William's deathly figure was already upon them!

Lin Jie heard only two brief, muffled sounds, like watermelons bursting under a heavy blow, followed by the soft thud of two bodies hitting the ground. Then silence fell once more.

It was swift and clean, without a hint of hesitation. The guards hadn't had a chance to raise the alarm. This was the terrifying assassination skill of a true veteran who had survived bloody colonial wars.

When Lin Jie and the scholar followed him down the moss-covered, slippery spiral staircase, they saw that the two guards in the organization's uniforms lay in pools of blood.

William had cut their throats with his military knife, the blade gleaming coldly as it sliced through them at a vicious angle.

William showed no expression as he calmly wiped the blood from his blade with a piece of cloth, as if he'd merely slaughtered two troublesome chickens.

This was the truest and cruelest side of hunting in the Underworld. There were no flashy, exaggerated fights—only the most efficient, lethal strikes.

With the guards at the entrance dealt with, a huge secret base, converted from the castle's old underground wine cellar, finally revealed itself to them.

The scent of alchemical potions was stronger here, mingling with the pungent smell of nitroglycerin. Dozens of steady Carbide Lamps lit the entire cellar as brightly as day. It was like a bustling secret factory, with seven or eight other uniformed members busy at their stations in different areas.

Some carefully mixed a yellow, greasy substance—nitroglycerin—with the powder of rune-inscribed stones, making the powerful "alchemical explosives" they had seen on the lake.

Others were gathered around a copper cauldron belching green steam, apparently boiling something. Lin Jie noticed that every now and then, they tossed processed pieces of enormous fish skin into it.

What made Lin Jie and William most wary was the far end of the cellar. Several enormous nets, woven from the sinews of some unknown creature, hung there. Each one was covered in tightly packed ancient runes painted in gold.

Beside them lay several neatly arranged iron chains, each thicker than an arm and carved with runes. At the end of every chain was a massive anchor head, fitted with three barbs like a harpoon.

There was no doubt about it: these were the real "cage" the organization had prepared for their godlike prey—the guardian of Loch Ness!

The core idea behind these devices was not to kill, but to capture. The runes on the nets and chains likely had some special effect that could suppress the spirituality of large UMAs and keep them from using their power.

"They're blaspheming against the gods... They really intend to capture that great being like some beast, with chains and nets!" Alistair trembled with rage at the sight. All scholarly decorum forgotten, he wanted nothing more than to charge in and fight those damned heretics.

Lin Jie grabbed him and signaled for him to calm down. Now was not the time to act on impulse. There were many enemies here, and they were well-equipped. If the three of them raised the alarm, they'd never make it out of the cellar alive.

He needed more information.

His gaze swept quickly across the cluttered alchemical workshop.

At last, his eyes settled on a desk by itself in the corner of the workshop.

Along with some blueprints and alchemical tools, a thick journal lay open on the desk. It had a black leather cover and was locked.