Chapter 58: “Director” Julian

One week later, Paris, this great city hailed as the "Capital of the World" and "City of Light," was currently immersed in the vibrant clamor generated in preparation for the approaching World's Fair.On the wide boulevards, carriages flowed in an endless stream, while the half-completed Eiffel Tower stood tall over the Champ de Mars, displaying to the entire world the powerful industrial might and unparalleled artistic ambition of the French Second Empire.

Countless tourists, merchants, and artists from around the world flooded into the city like a tidal wave, packing its already crowded streets to the point of being completely jammed.

Yet beneath this light and prosperity representing the pinnacle of human civilization, a darkness potent enough to completely overturn it was quietly spreading and breeding within the city's underground.

Lin Jie and William had come here precisely to pursue and sever this very darkness.

They hadn't taken public trains or steamships, but rather, via an extremely covert smuggling channel arranged by I.A.R.C., they boarded a cargo ship flying the Portuguese flag and quietly landed under cover of night at the port of Le Havre.

Afterwards, they changed into outfits befitting small merchants from central France, boarded an inconspicuous third-class train crammed with country folk, and finally merged silently into Paris's massive human tide.

The Association had arranged a safe house for them in the Le Marais district, a neighborhood rich with ancient aristocratic mansions and artistic ambiance, which similarly hung a signboard for "Ancient Books and Art Restoration."

But their first stop on this trip wasn't here.

Led by a contact from the Paris branch disguised as a coachman, they traveled by carriage across the Seine, eventually stopping before that world-renowned, magnificent architectural complex which was once the French royal palace and now one of the world's greatest art palaces—the Louvre.

Unlike the solemn, dignified neoclassicism of the British Museum, the Louvre, with its long history and the splendid, stylistically mixed architectural complex formed through continuous expansions, displayed a grace and confidence unique to France.

Looking at the ancient courtyard before the glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei in the future would appear, Lin Jie once again felt that wondrous sensation of traversing the long river of history.

Their carriage likewise didn't enter through any public entrance, but instead used a private driveway reserved for royal descendants and high-ranking government officials, driving directly into the labyrinthine interior of the Louvre's massive complex.

Finally, the carriage stopped before a side door located in a corner of a secluded courtyard.

The contact whispered a code phrase to the guard dressed in an old-style Royal Guard uniform about "restoring the invisible bridge in the background of the Mona Lisa." The guard immediately understood and opened the door to another world for them.

Behind the door was a long corridor, utterly different from the resplendent public exhibition areas of the Louvre, filled with an academic atmosphere and the heavy weight of history.

Lining the corridor weren't tourists, but rows upon rows of massive bookshelves crafted from dark oak.

This was clearly I.A.R.C.'s most important and largest "knowledge hub" on the entire European continent—the Paris Secret Archives.

"Mr. Belloc is waiting for you in the 'Restricted Section' at the very end." The contact led them to a silver door engraved with complex sigils, then respectfully withdrew.

"He dislikes having any unrelated persons present while working. Good luck, gentlemen. I hope you... can tolerate his temper."

William maintained his expression of unruffled composure, but Lin Jie could sense that this battle-hardened veteran's spirit seemed more tense facing the impending "Curator" than when confronting a UMA.

Lin Jie took a deep breath and pushed open the solid silver door.

The scene within the "Restricted Section" made Lin Jie feel for a moment as if he had stepped into a maze constructed from books.

It was a massive domed circular space. Countless bookshelves grew from the floor like gigantic trees, reaching up under the dome over ten meters high, forming a vast, boundless "forest of knowledge."

Soft light spilled down from a specially treated luminous crystal at the center of the dome, illuminating every book on each row of shelves clearly.

And at the very center of this "forest," beside a massive desk as large as a billiard table, a slender figure sat with his back to them, completely immersed in an ancient tome thicker than a fortress wall brick lying open before him.

He wore a well-tailored but clearly unironed-for-some-time grey linen suit, evident from its distinct wrinkles.

A head of thick, brown, curly hair fell somewhat untidily onto his shoulders.

In one hand, he held a magnifying glass with an ivory handle, while his other hand swiftly recorded something with a quill on a notebook beside him, producing a soft rustling sound.

He paid no attention whatsoever to the sound of the heavy door opening behind him;his entire world had melted into the restricted book before him.

Exchanging a glance with William, Lin Jie could only wait patiently where they stood for this "Curator" gentleman to conclude his sacred reading ritual.

After an unknowable length of time, the scholar finally closed the heavy restricted book with satisfaction.

He stretched with a comfortable groan, and then, as if just remembering he had visitors, picked up a cup of long-cold black tea beside him and slowly swiveled the armchair around.

This was the "Curator," Julian Belloc.

He appeared to be in his thirties, possessing the typically well-defined features of a French scholar, tinged with a thread of neurasthenic sensitivity.

His skin seemed somewhat pale from years spent out of the sun, and his azure eyes, hidden behind gold-rimmed spectacles, sparkled with curiosity.

He didn't resemble a combatant, but more like a graceful, slightly bookish tenured professor one might find lecturing at the Sorbonne.

"Aha, the 'cowboy' from London and the 'miracle kid' from the East, you've finally arrived." Julian's voice was as elegant as his person, but the content of his words carried a French-style acerbity and mockery. "Henderson that old fossil's emergency summons was written like a declaration of imminent war. I thought you'd come galloping on horseback through the night."

William's brow furrowed slightly at the "cowboy" remark, but he ultimately didn't react.

Lin Jie, however, found this "Curator's" unique communication style intriguing.

He smiled and replied neither subserviently nor arrogantly, "Good day, Mr. Belloc. I believe even the most urgent war requires time to temper the swords with lethal poison. We were merely making some necessary preparations along the way."

Lin Jie's response, full of metaphor and sharp wit, made Julian's eyes instantly brighten!

He looked Lin Jie up and down as if appraising a newly unearthed antique.

"Oh, fascinating!" he applauded. "It seems the rumors hold true. Your mind is indeed far more interesting than those muscle-bound dolts who only know how to solve problems with brute force."

As he said this, he meaningfully glanced at the silent Sergeant William beside them.

"Alright, chit-chat time is over." Julian immediately reverted to his scholarly rigor. "Before you start complaining about how terrible Parisian food is, or get lost in the spiderweb-like streets of our great city, let's talk about our 'neighbors' who are currently holding a 'filthy rat gathering' beneath the city."

He cleared a space on the huge desk before him, then pulled out several scrolls of ancient Parisian maps drawn on yellowed parchment from a nearby shelf.

"The Eternal Serpent cult, those Gnosticism-believing idiots. Their history is almost as ancient and filthy as the sewers of Paris itself."

Julian's voice was full of disdain. "I've been tracking them for nearly ten years. I know the name of every single one of their 'Mentors.' I even know that their never-seen 'Supreme Deity' likely originated from nothing more than some second-century, hallucinogenic-mushroom-addled, half-mad hack poet from Alexandria."

He began fluently recounting the Eternal Serpent's long and insane history to Lin Jie and William, from the cult's origins to the core of their beliefs, to the several failed "Ascension" rituals they had orchestrated throughout history.

He was like a massive, self-aware database.

The depth and breadth of the intelligence he provided far surpassed that found in the Cartographer Karl's precious diary.

After a full hour of thorough "background briefing," Julian finally brought the topic back to the task at hand.

"Henderson's report mentioned you encountered their capture team in Scotland and even witnessed firsthand their alchemical weapons that can disable elementals?" He looked at Lin Jie, his eyes filled with intense research interest.

Lin Jie nodded.

"That fits." A look of somewhat comprehending excitement appeared on Julian's face. "This aligns perfectly with my most recent discoveries. Before you arrived, I had already conducted preliminary investigations into several recent mysterious disappearance cases in the Paris catacombs."

"I found the situation there is far more complex than we imagined. It seems it's not just the Eternal Serpent active there..."

He paused, then slowly uttered a sentence in a tone both mysterious and enticing, one that sent a chill down even Lin Jie's spine.

"There also appears to dwell another UMA, one never before recorded by our Association, that feeds on human memories."