Chapter 60: First Exploration of the Catacombs

Lin Jie's newly formed "Iron Triangle" team did not recklessly charge into that unknown darkness immediately.For the entire next day, they remained in Julian's "fortress of knowledge" beneath the Louvre, conducting the most crucial and meticulous pre-mission preparations.

Julian, this living "database," pushed his formidable knowledge reserves to their absolute limit.

From tens of thousands of collections, he retrieved all ancient texts and association records potentially related to "sound-based UMA" and "mental seduction" for the team.

Together they studied the Greek myth of Sirens luring sailors with song, analyzed curses in the Egyptian Book of the Dead about "stealing souls' true names," and examined a medieval alchemist's mad manuscript on using "harmonic scales" to counter "chaos sounds."

Lin Jie systematically integrated and analyzed all these seemingly chaotic information fragments from different civilizations and eras using his powerful tactical mind.

He discovered all such "intangible" attacks shared a common core weakness—they required a medium for transmission and heavily relied on the victim's own "mental state."

A person with firm willpower and a mind free of distractions could resist such mental temptations far better than someone filled with desires and regrets.

William immersed himself completely in physical preparations.

He meticulously inspected everyone's weapons and equipment, replacing their revolver ammunition with "purified" gunpowder he personally mixed with trace silver powder and consecrated oil.

He also prepared numerous phosphorescent glow sticks usable in damp environments, and an alchemical ointment that effectively masked living human scent when applied—though it smelled absolutely foul.

By the time all preparations were complete, night had once again fallen over Paris.

They chose not to enter through the crowded main entrance on Rue Denfert-Rochereau, which might attract the Eternal Serpent cult's attention.

Julian, leveraging his intimate knowledge of Paris's underworld, led them to an ancient monastery in Saint-Germain-des-Prés that had been abandoned for decades.

In a spiderweb-covered wine cellar underground, Julian moved a wine rack aside, revealing a hidden door nearly fused with the wall.

"This is a secret emergency escape passage built by the Knights Templar in the 13th century to evade Philip IV's persecution," Julian's voice carried a historian's pride and respect for predecessors.

"Forgotten for over five centuries, it will let us bypass all known entrances, like three cunning mice burrowing directly into the heart of Paris this great cheese."

When the heavy stone door slowly opened, a cold breath spilled out—mingling millennia of dust, bone decay, and pure "death."

This atmosphere felt purer than London's sewer filth, more soul-crushingly oppressive.

Their first team investigation officially began along this death shortcut forgotten by history.

The passage interior was absolute darkness.

Julian took the lead, carrying a specially modified "focused" carbide lamp with extremely concentrated light that cut through the darkness ahead without disturbing distant presences.

His other hand held a parchment route map he personally drew, integrating countless ancient maps, with fluorescent ink marking every branching path and potential danger zone—he was the team's most reliable "navigator."

Sergeant William brought up the rear, his Winchester rifle muzzle perpetually alert, pointing into the equally bottomless darkness behind them. His steady footsteps provided the team's firmest security—he was their most trustworthy "guardian."

The Cursebreaker Vambrace rested quietly on his arm, while his other hand gently gripped the Serene Heart revolver.

He could feel a faint forcefield woven from "guardian" and "zen" energies emanating from the gun, like a thin eggshell isolating his mind from the surrounding negative atmosphere.

He was the team's most sensitive "detection radar."

This was the Iron Triangle's first display of perfect teamwork.

No excess words or even eye contact needed—each member understood their role with absolute clarity and performed to their utmost.

They traveled through the catacombs for nearly an hour.

The surrounding walls gradually shifted from hand-carved rock to "bone walls" neatly stacked from human skulls and leg bones with a Gothic horror aesthetic.

These dead, silent for centuries, watched the three intruders disturbing their rest through hollow eye sockets.

Just then, Lin Jie—who had been silently perceiving their surroundings—suddenly raised his hand in a "stop" gesture.

"What is it?" Julian immediately halted, whispering.

"Something..." Lin Jie's brow furrowed tightly. Though his Reverberation Touch hadn't directly contacted anything, his extraordinary perception had caught an extremely faint spiritual fluctuation that didn't belong here.

Julian immediately cast his focused carbide lamp's beam toward the branching path Lin Jie indicated.

It was a narrower, terrifying passage stacked with countless skulls, with a small chamber resembling a shrine at its end.

William instantly raised his rifle, muzzle aimed into that unknown darkness, ready to fire at any moment.

In an instant, the trio's formation shifted from "travel" mode to "combat alert" mode—so fluidly and seamlessly it seemed they'd fought together for years.

When they finally reached the end and cast light into the small "shrine," even accustomed to bizarre scenes, they collectively gasped.

At the chamber's center lay a long-cold corpse dressed in homeless clothing.

His death was peculiar—no visible wounds, face showing no pain or fear, instead bearing a serene smile as if peacefully asleep in the sweetest dream.

Around this corpse and across the shrine's walls, densely packed evil-reeking symbols were drawn in mysterious liquid flowing like silver mercury!

These symbols emitted faint light, forming a slowly rotating "alchemical array" with the smiling corpse at its center.

"This is... a 'Memory Stripping Array'!" Julian the living database instantly recognized the array's origin, his voice furious. "An ancient, vicious black magic!"

"Just as I suspected—the Eternal Serpent bastards are using this place as their temporary workshop for 'raw material processing.'"

Then Lin Jie's sharp perception caught another anomaly!

"Watch out! Above!" he shouted, simultaneously shoving Julian aside with force!

As he yelled, the ceiling above them—stacked with countless bones—actually "melted"!