The mysterious figure that appeared deep within the Heidelberg cetery beca an unresolved mystery.
Lin Jie described the scene he had witnessed to William and Professor Schmidt, but they found no traces of human activity in that area.
There were no footprints, no broken branches, not even any scents that didn't belong to the forest.
All of this made the incident seem like a vivid hallucination born from Lin Jie's ntal exhaustion and empathy for Karl, but Lin Jie himself knew it was not an illusion.
The sensation of being watched by a pair of eyes was too real, and that figure seed to have been observing everything in so unknown way all along.
The journey to Germany officially concluded in a complex atmosphere of sorrow, purification, and a massive unsolved mystery.
Just before boarding the Orient Express back to Paris, the Iron Triangle and Professor Schmidt held a final eting in a café with a farewell atmosphere at Heidelberg's central train station.
The old scholar's ntal state appeared much improved, though the sorrow in his eyes still hadn't dissipated.
"I don't know how to thank you."
Professor Schmidt pushed a cup of warm coffee toward Lin Jie with his slightly trembling hand.
"You not only sought justice for my student Max, for Mr. Karl and his sister. You also saved the soul of an old academic like , who was nearly consud by regret and a sense of powerlessness."
Lin Jie responded calmly, "It is our duty."
"And you also provided us with the most crucial 'key.' Without you, we might never have been able to touch that sealed truth."
Professor Schmidt shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I am rely a cowardly 'locksmith.' You are the true warriors who dared to step through that dark door."
His gaze slowly swept over Lin Jie, William, and Julian.
"In my report to the Royal Geographical Society, I will attribute the centuries-long mystery of 'abnormal population loss' in the Oberamrgau region to a localized plague that has been completely eradicated."
He paused, then looked at Lin Jie with expectant eyes.
"And what about you? After concluding this German fairy tale adventure, where will your next stop be?"
Lin Jie exchanged a glance with his two partners and replied with a smile, "I think it's ti we went ho."
When the Iron Triangle, dragging their bodies exhausted by the high-intensity mission schedule, set foot again on London soil, Sir Henderson generously approved a one-month "special recuperation period" for them.
During this recuperation period, William and Julian, as Association hunters, were exempt from mandatory missions. This was both a reward for their achievents during the Germany trip and an arrangent to allow this "sharp blade," severely worn by continuous operations, ti to be "tempered" and "maintained" anew.
As for Lin Jie, the freelance hunter, he received a monetary reward.
The team temporarily disbanded.
The three mbers, like salmon returning to their respective habitats after a long migration, chose three different ways to spend this hard-won period of peace.
William returned to the Underground City and submitted to the logistics departnt a list of weapon wear and ammunition resupply so long it made Quartermaster Old Tom gasp in astonishnt.
After that, he was the first to bid farewell to his comrades. He did not stay in London to enjoy city life, but instead boarded a steam train alone bound for the countryside of southwestern England.
He was going to visit his daughter and his adorable little grandson, whom he hadn't seen for over half a year. The little grandson must have grown quite a bit more.
For this warrior who disregarded life and death, the warmth of family bonds was far more comforting to the heart than dals or bonuses.
Julian plunged headlong into the British Museum's library, vast as an ocean of knowledge.
Although the experiences in Oberamrgau and the Black Forest dealt a heavy blow to his "Enlightennt" beliefs, they also opened a new door for this scholar with a voracious appetite for knowledge, leading to the realm of older, more ancient mysticism.
He was no longer satisfied with official docunts and histories recognized by mainstream academia. He began using his extrely high "Master-level scholar" privileges to frantically consult manuscripts sealed within the Underground City.
Those manuscripts originated from the very founding of the Association;
they were the oldest and most heretical records.
He attempted to find clues from the textual fragnts personally recorded by the first generation of hunters. He sought any trace about the "Mysterious ntor" and the "Druidic faction" he represented, which had vanished into the long river of history.
As for Lin Jie, he chose the most mundane yet most luxurious way to spend his vacation. He returned to his apartnt at 221B Baker Street, which had accumulated a thin layer of dust.
He did not go to the Underground City, did not contact his Association friends, and did not think any more about the troubleso matters of UMAs or the inner world.
He imrsed himself in the "daily routine" like an ordinary London gentleman who had just concluded a long business trip.
He would put on a respectable three-piece suit, a top hat, take his cane, and go to Hyde Park to feed the swans alongside other equally idle gentlen.
He also received the formal shareholder report and quarterly dividend from the "London City Electric Lighting Company."
When he looked at the check issued by the bank, its amount far exceeding the total rewards from all his previous missions, a strange sense of stability quietly took root in the heart of this "stranger" from the 21st century.
It wasn't the joy brought by money itself, but rather the feeling that he had built a safety net for himself through knowledge and foresight.
However, the peace Lin Jie thought would last a month was broken during the third week of his recuperation period by an uninvited visitor.
It was a night seemingly no different from any other, shrouded in mist.
That evening, Lin Jie had just attended a lecture. The lecture content was a whimsical idea about "how to infer from the form of a single drop of water whether it ca from the Atlantic Ocean or the Thas."
He dragged his sowhat fatigued body back to his apartnt. Just as he was preparing to enjoy a cup of hot milk before bed as usual.
A series of urgent yet restrained knocks sounded from outside the heavy oak door.
Lin Jie's brow instantly furrowed. Who could it be at this hour?
His maid had already left for the day.
William was in the countryside and Julian was at the library.
As for the Association, if there were an ergency mission, they would only contact him through the secret channels of the Underground City.
His hand instinctively grasped the [Serene Heart].
"Who is it?" His voice regained the vigilance and coldness befitting a hunter.
From outside the door ca a young voice he recognized, yet found sowhat unexpected. That voice carried an elegance and magnetism characteristic of the British nobility.
But at this mont, clear suppression and anxiety could be heard within it.
"It's , Lin."
"Ethan. Ethan Redgrave."
Lin Jie was montarily stunned. He hadn't expected this proud noble hunter to co knocking in person.
He released his grip on the gun handle, stepped forward, and opened the door. Standing outside was indeed Ethan.
But the man before him now was completely different from the image of the "playboy" in Lin Jie's mory—the one always impeccably dressed and haughty in deanor.
He wore a black traveling coat soaked with dew and dust, the coat covered in wrinkles.
His ticulously grood golden curls were disheveled, plastered against his handso yet pale face.
He wasn't carrying his two grotesque armants that resembled works of art—[Morning Star] and [Evening Star]. The entire man looked less like a noble visiting a friend and more like a defeated dog who had just suffered a crushing defeat and fled in panic.
And those eyes, always brimming with confidence and pride, were now filled with deep fear and despair.
"Ethan? You..." Lin Jie was so shocked by his appearance he didn't know what to say.
Ethan didn't answer his question. He just stared fixedly at Lin Jie with bloodshot eyes, his two lips, cracked from dehydration, trembling violently a few tis.
Then he spoke a sentence in a hoarse, dreamlike whisper.
"Lin..."
"I need your help."
"That 'cursed diamond' from Egypt, the one our Redgrave family has guarded for nearly half a century."
"It... sothing has happened to it."
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