Calamity Star Tablet

After Lin Jie finished sending the false report that would be enough to temporarily deceive the headquarters of the Eternal Serpent Cult, he slid down from the blood-stained alchemical telegraph machine.

This experience of directly touching a corpse to read the memories of the deceased was even more filthy and mentally corrupting than his previous encounters with Afterimages.

The contradictory emotions of the black-clad leader—his fanatical faith in the cult versus his terror of impending death—lingered in Lin Jie's mental world like fragments of a potent poison.

William hurried forward to help him up.

The silent veteran did not say much, simply taking a small silver medicine bottle from his coat and shaking out two pills that emitted a cool, minty scent, which he then stuffed into Lin Jie's mouth.

"These are Sedative and Mental Purification Tablets issued by the Association. The raw materials include powdered tears from an Asian South Sea Merman. Swallow them and get some rest; you'll be fine."

Lin Jie nodded gratefully and swallowed the pills dry.

A cool sensation immediately rose from his stomach, gently washing over his nerves, which were burning and aching from overexertion, providing some relief to his headache.

"We must leave here completely before dawn."

William's tone was firm as he glanced out the window. "This ship won't last much longer. Once it sinks completely, all traces will be dragged to the bottom of the lake."

Their primary objective had been achieved; now was the time to safely withdraw from this chaotic game of chess.

"We have one last thing to do before we leave."

Lin Jie's gaze fell once again upon the headless corpse in black, which had triggered a self-destruct mechanism. "This person's status within the cult is clearly not low."

"He must be carrying something of more value than those ordinary members."

William nodded, as he had the same intention.

Looting the spoils of war was an indispensable part of any victory.

The two men did not hesitate and began a final, meticulous search of this most valuable "relic."

They quickly discovered that the black-clad leader's equipment was indeed far superior to that of the other ordinary members.

His seemingly ordinary black uniform had a lining made of a type of extremely tough UMA leather, capable of effectively resisting blade strikes.

The Steam Weapon holstered at his waist also had unknown alchemical runes engraved upon its frame.

In his inner pocket, besides several obsidian snake-shaped badges representing his rank within the cult, Lin Jie's fingers brushed against a hard, cold object the size of a palm, its surface seemingly carved with complex patterns.

He carefully extracted the object.

It was a dark gray slab, its material neither stone nor jade, feeling cold and heavy in his hand.

The shape of the slab was irregular, appearing to be a fragment forcibly broken off from a larger stele.

Its surface was polished to an extreme smoothness, and it was engraved with ancient linear script that Lin Jie had never seen before, along with complex astronomical symbols, forming a star map overflowing with a sense of calamity.

In the center of this star map, a massive and evil "Calamity Star" radiated lines of ominous light.

Several "stars" representing major European capitals—London, Berlin, Rome, and others—appeared dim under the radiance of this Calamity Star, presenting a sign of imminent downfall.

Only one star was not suppressed by the Calamity Star; instead, it echoed it from afar, forming a bizarre energy connection.

Next to that star was clearly engraved a Latin word that Lin Jie knew all too well: "PARIS."

Lin Jie's expression changed!

He immediately realized that this slab was by no means a mere decoration or identity token!

This was likely a sacred relic used by the Eternal Serpent Cult to conduct astrological rituals, predict heavenly secrets, or even something related to the mysterious "Mentor" mentioned by the black-clad leader!

The "Paris Calamity Star Descent Map" depicted on it was essentially a divine revelation, nakedly exposing the final location and core purpose of that insane "Atavism Ritual" right before their eyes!

"Sergeant William, look at this."

Lin Jie's voice carried irrepressible excitement.

William leaned in.

Although he could not understand the complex symbols, he could feel that as his gaze fell upon the slab, a malicious spirituality radiated from it, causing even a battle-hardened veteran like him to feel a sense of visceral discomfort.

"What a wicked thing."

William cursed under his breath. "This item is extraordinary."

"Take it, we're leaving now!"

Lin Jie nodded solemnly.

He wrapped the slab carefully in several layers of oilcloth and placed it into his innermost pocket.

The intelligence value of this slab was immense.

With it, the top scholars and occultists at I.A.R.C. headquarters might be able to decipher the Eternal Serpent Cult's massive conspiracy regarding the Paris World's Fair.

After completing the final search, they did not linger for a moment.

The two men slipped back into the cold lake water.

This return journey was far more difficult than the trip there.

Although the massive whirlpool stirred up by the "Guardian Deity" had subsided, the undercurrents and turbulence it created at the bottom of the lake had not yet fully dissipated.

The lake water constantly battered their exhausted bodies.

When the two of them finally, with their last ounce of strength, climbed back onto the fishing boat that had been hiding in the darkness, the scholar who had been anxiously waiting on board for nearly an hour rushed over, practically in tears.

"Thank God! Thank the holy spirits of the lake!" The old scholar used his trembling hands to drape dry blankets over the two of them, then shoved a pot of hot tea, already prepared with a generous splash of whiskey, into their hands.

"Just now... I was on the shore and saw those fleeing cultists! They scurried out of another hidden path by the lake like a group of frightened rats, then bolted deep into the mountains without once looking back! I was so worried they would discover this place!"

When William gave Alistair a brief account of everything he had discovered on the shipwreck, including the stone tablet, the scholar's face was shrouded in fear.

"Those madmen..." the scholar muttered to himself, "We must return to Inverness immediately and use the fastest telegraph to notify your organization of this news!"

"No, quite the contrary, sir." Lin Jie took a sip of the scalding hot tea and calmly vetoed the proposal that seemed most logical.

His gaze turned toward the direction of the town of Inverness.

"We cannot be certain yet whether the organization known as the Eternal Serpent has planted its own 'eyes' in a major Highland hub like Inverness."

"Every encrypted telegram sent to London from the telegraph office there could potentially be monitored by them. We cannot take any risks."

"Furthermore," William added, his cautious mindset perfectly in sync with Lin Jie's, "the survivors who didn't participate in the operation will surely have the immediate instinct to find any way possible to leave Scotland to avoid official investigation."

"And the fastest way to leave here is to take the train from Inverness heading south. If we go back now, we are very likely to run head-on into them at the train station."

Alistair immediately understood the danger involved.

With all of them in a state of exhaustion, an encounter with those desperate fugitives in the narrow confines of the station would inevitably trigger a bloody shootout.

"Then... then what should we do?" The scholar fell into a state of helplessness.

Lin Jie's gaze shifted to the detailed map in his hands.

His finger traced the long, narrow waters of Loch Ness all the way to the south.

"Sergeant William is right; we cannot take the conventional route. But what they can think of, we can too. What we must do is be one step faster than them."

His finger tapped on an inconspicuous little town located at the southernmost tip of Loch Ness.

"Fort Augustus. It also has a train platform. It is smaller and far less conspicuous than Inverness."

"We will sail this boat south along the waterways of Loch Ness overnight and arrive directly there. We will board the train back to London before they do."

"Additionally, Mr. Alistair, I must trouble you to come back with us. Beyond ensuring your safety, we need your help to provide more professional insights regarding this incident."

This meticulous "race against time" plan immediately received the unanimous agreement of William and the scholar.

And so, the little fishing boat that had witnessed too many secrets did not turn back north toward the bustling Inverness, but instead turned its bow and began its final voyage along the vast, deathly silent lake toward the unknown south.

They arrived safely at the tranquil lakeside town of Fort Augustus before dawn.

In the end, as the first rays of morning sunlight illuminated the Victorian-style train platform of Fort Augustus, three travelers who looked slightly weary but were in exceptionally high spirits boarded the first steam train returning to London.