Chapter 16: Reluctant Cooperation

The black crystal formed from the condensed core energy of the Mist Walker emitted an ominous glow on the ground.Three figures formed a delicate yet tense triangular standoff on this bizarre stage, silently confronting each other.

Barton stared intently at Lin Jie, and at the diary in Lin Jie's hand that belonged to his companion Karl - a diary he knew all too well.

Lin Jie's declaration, "I know far more than you imagine," had pierced deep into his heart.

As an elite investigator of I.A.R.C. accustomed to controlling everything, he hadn't experienced this feeling of being led by the nose by an "amateur" for a very long time.

"Aren't you curious." Lin Jie met Barton's gaze, his tone surprisingly calm.

He didn't rush to explain anything, but slowly crouched down and picked up the black crystal that still carried a trace of residual warmth.

The moment his fingers touched the crystal, an extremely pure reverberation of resentment and fear transmitted through his fingertips, making him frown involuntarily.

This was the trophy.

The "spiritual material" containing supernatural power obtained after hunting UMA.

Seeing Lin Jie's practiced movements, Barton's eyes grew even more profound.

He waved his hand, signaling to Marcus beside him who was still on alert that he could relax a bit.

"I think, before we discuss the question of who you are, you should perhaps first explain how you managed to read Karl's diary?" Barton's voice broke the silence as he chose the most direct and core question to address.

He emphasized the word "read," clearly not believing Lin Jie had the ability to decipher the encrypted Germanic ancient script in such a short time.

"I can't read it." Lin Jie's answer once again took Barton by surprise.

He admitted this frankly, then raised the diary in his hand and flipped to the page with the sketch of the "Mist Walker."

"I don't need to understand every word. I only need to understand these." He pointed to the UMA's distorted form in the drawing, and some symbols beside it that he could recognize -

The simple building drawing representing "city," the moon representing "night," and that skull symbol repeatedly marked to indicate "danger."

"I saw its appearance, and remembered the unique symbols beside this drawing. Then," Lin Jie raised his head, his gaze turning to the dirty roof, "I went to the places where it had appeared, using my own methods to feel, to verify. When facts perfectly corresponded with the drawings, the truth naturally surfaced."

This half-true, half-false explanation was practically flawless.

He cleverly packaged his incredible ability as a kind of extraordinary observation and associative ability based on "intuition" and "field investigation."

This both explained how he could identify the UMA's true form, and perfectly concealed his greatest secret.

Marcus listened in confusion, feeling this Eastern kid was just being deliberately mysterious.

But Barton understood.

He understood the chilling way of thinking implied in Lin Jie's words.

This was a completely insane yet highly efficient logic that discarded common sense, directly deduced the process from the result, and dared to use one's own safety for experimentation.

In some aspects, this kind of thinking was even more terrifying than I.A.R.C.'s top intelligence analysts.

"Remarkable intuition." Barton finally nodded slowly, reluctantly accepting this explanation. He then immediately asked: "Then, what about the 'mirror' weakness? As far as I know, Karl's diary doesn't have clear records about this point. Did you 'feel' this out, or..."

"Guessed it." Lin Jie's answer remained watertight.

"This thing's essence is activated shadow, the opposite of light. Therefore, what most counters it must inevitably be something related to light. Ordinary firelight can dispel it, but cannot truly harm it."

"I bet that there's a purer, more concentrated light that could cause fundamental damage to it. And the simplest, cheapest tool that can produce this kind of light is a mirror."

This was an answer based on basic physics and logical reasoning.

Although Barton knew the truth couldn't possibly be this simple, he couldn't find any flaws to refute.

Silence fell once more.

This time, it was Barton weighing, considering.

His original assessment of Lin Jie was as a "murderer who killed companion Karl and stole association assets."

But everything that happened tonight had shattered this preconceived conclusion to pieces.

A real murderer's first choice when being pursued by them should be to flee far away, not instead venture into the tiger's den and actively investigate a Town-class UMA that even they found challenging.

An ordinary thief absolutely couldn't possess such a calm mind, such meticulous planning, and even less possible to find a fatal weakness in a life-and-death struggle with a UMA that even the association hadn't recorded.

Most importantly, someone who killed an I.A.R.C. agent should show fear, hatred, or despair upon seeing them appear, not remain calm and composed like now, even subtly carrying an attitude wanting equal dialogue.

Lin Jie's performance was completely incompatible with the profile of a "murderer."

"One last question." Barton looked at Lin Jie, asking word by word, "What exactly happened on the Sea Witch? Karl... how did he die?"

This was the core of all questions.

Lin Jie understood this was his best opportunity to completely clear his suspicion.

He didn't embellish anything, only used an extremely calm, objective tone to narrate everything that happened on that ship exactly as it occurred.

From the eerie singing, to the Deep Sea Siren siege;from Karl's heroic fight, to his eventual death in battle;to how he managed to survive in desperate circumstances, ultimately surviving.

His narration was plain, yet filled with power because of that immersive sense of reality.

Especially his descriptions of the Deep Sea Siren's form and attack methods completely matched I.A.R.C.'s internal archive data - these details absolutely couldn't be fabricated.

When Lin Jie finished speaking the last word, even Marcus, who had always held hostility toward him, saw the suspicion and animosity on his face unconsciously fade away, leaving behind a complex silence.

He believed it.

Any I.A.R.C. investigator facing that grade of UMA siege would find death in battle an extremely likely outcome.

Karl's sacrifice wasn't due to conspiracy, but died fulfilling a hunter's destiny.

Barton let out a long breath, the air turning into a white mist in London's cold night.

He took off his top hat and gave Lin Jie, this young man he had once regarded as prey and murderer, a solemn hat salute.

"It seems we misunderstood you, sir." Barton's voice carried apology.

"For the pursuit conducted against you earlier, on behalf of the International Anomaly Research and Containment federation, I extend my apologies to you. And thank you for finding the true culprit behind the London citizens' deaths, and for preserving Karl's remains."

At this moment, Lin Jie knew he had won.

The greatest crisis looming over his head had finally been resolved.

This immense sense of security and achievement gained after safely stepping down from the knife's edge was something no amount of money could compare to.

"Then..." Lin Jie's mood also relaxed, as he raised the German diary in his hand, "Can we now discuss the matter of its ownership, and... the 'reward' for my help in resolving this matter?"

Barton looked at his expression that instantly switched modes like a little fox, first stunned, then chuckled involuntarily.

He put his hat back on, returning to that sharp and capable appearance.

"Of course. But before that, I'd still like to know..." Barton's eyes flashed with irrepressible curiosity, "Just who are you?"