My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 14 One more person
Yuleben thought he had arrived early enough, but when he stepped into the police station, several detectives from the Anti-Suppression Bureau were already waiting inside.

As soon as he came in, he heard something very earthy:

"Damn it, why is it only seven o'clock?"

"Hey, let me show you what I can do... God of Steam, why am I only at four?"

Yule looked at the people playing dice in a daze and couldn't help but ask Officer Fate beside him:
"Are they from the Anti-Suppression Bureau?"

Although he didn't know them, he keenly sensed a dangerous aura from these people.

"Yes."

Officer Fate nodded and said:

"My Lords, the survivor has arrived."

Hearing that the person they were waiting for had arrived, everyone stopped rolling the two dice in their hands and turned their eyes to Jules.

Among them was someone Jules was familiar with - the middle-aged man who had interrogated him before.

"Jules, huh? I've been waiting for you for ages."

The middle-aged man felt in his pocket, took out a holy emblem of the Steam Church, and handed it to Jules.

Holy emblem? Jules was stunned. He wasn't a Christian either.

However, he did not hesitate much, but quickly took it - since the other party gave it to him, there must be a purpose.

When you pick it up, it doesn't feel the cold metal texture you'd imagine, but rather warm like something just taken out of the fire.

He looked carefully at the peculiarly shaped holy emblem.

Because he had scoffed at things like faith in the past, he had little contact with the Steam Church and knew very little about it, but now it is different. After all, there is a true God in this world.

Then, something like a holy emblem becomes extremely symbolic.

The gear-shaped edge wraps around the round interior, while the metal lines inside outline the shape of a spark, and in the spark, there is an image of a hammer embedded.

The sparks from the cast iron seemed to have real temperature, warming up Jules's slightly cold hands.

At the same time, information about this holy emblem unfolded before his eyes.

[Holy Emblem of Casting]

[Quality: First-class rare item]

[Effect: Wearing it on a mechanical creation can embed the power of destruction into it.]

[Introduction: Fire is the one with which we forge all things, and steel is the key by which we can knock on the door of heaven.]

Just as Jules was pondering the meaning of "zhu", the middle-aged man's voice sounded again:

"Didn't I get you a gun? You should have brought it with you, right?"

Seeing Jules nod, he continued:
"Take it out and find a place to stick the holy emblem."

After Yule put the holy emblem in place, he felt that the cold gun in his hand had become a little warmer.

At the same time, although he had not yet entered the extraordinary realm, he already felt that the gun in his hand seemed to be surging with a sense of destruction, and even had a feeling of being out of control.

But it was just a feeling, and he still held it firmly.

"How's the control going?"

Jules played with the pistol for a moment and said with a smile:

"It should be fine."

The middle-aged man nodded with satisfaction:

"Indeed, you do have potential. You were able to control the violent destructive power from the Forging Code so easily."

He did not explain the casting rules, but took out a few strings of tags and showed them to Jules.

"Now, choose a code name. To prevent retaliation from the esotericists, we in the Anti-Suppression Bureau all call each other by code names."

Jules looked at it silently for a while and then took out a tag.

"That's it."

The name on it is "Dark Raven".

"Dark Raven...I hope you can survive this mission."

The middle-aged man smiled and said:
"You can call me 'Steel', and these three are..."

Under his leadership, the crowd and Jules greeted each other.

……

Sitting in the rocking carriage, Jules held the tag with his eyes slightly closed.

Dark Raven?
Middle-aged man - or "steel".

He said he hoped he could survive this mission, and the underlying meaning was quite clear.

This mission is likely to be a life-or-death one.

Besides Steel, the four people around him all looked at him with different expressions, some with pity, some with indifference, and some with veiled ridicule. He took it all in.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the heavy sound of steel was heard:
"Okay, we're here. Get out of the car and I'll tell you the objectives of this mission."

After they had settled down, he glanced at them all, pausing for a moment on Yule in particular, and said:

"Half of the Titanic has been swept ashore. It's unclear whether it was man-made, but things like fish with human teeth have appeared. If we delay, things will get worse, so we've been sent to deal with it quickly."

"It's speculated that there's at least a first-order level of 'influence' at work. Our mission this time is to completely eliminate that influence."

He paused, took out a compass from his bosom, handed it to Yule, and said:

"Dark Crow, given your special status, you will be responsible for holding the compass and guiding us. The wreckage of the Titanic is enormous, so even if it's only half of the hull, we must proceed with caution."

The other people's eyes focused on him, and questions followed:

"Captain, can he really do it?"

"Why don't we do it? We've been on at least two missions before."

Seeing this, Yule hurried down the slope with his donkey:

"Well, I'm just a newcomer after all, so this kind of mission is..."

Steel interrupted Yule and shook his head.

"You are a survivor of the ritual, and this 'influence' is most likely a remnant of the ritual. There will definitely be a closer connection between you."

It seems that he cannot escape the fate of fishing in a nest... Jules couldn't help laughing at himself.

He could only sigh helplessly, took the compass, and said:
"Yes, Captain."

From the way other people addressed him just now, he could already judge the position of Steel in the team.

Steel smiled and said:
"Any more questions? If not, then let's go."

Yule stroked the compass in his hand and asked doubtfully:
"Captain, I have another question. What is 'influence'?"

The other party mentioned this word frequently, but he had no idea what it was.

Steel patiently answered:

"This is a term from mysticism, you can simply understand it as something like 'aura' or 'atmosphere'.

The book I read defines it as 'a kind of reaction, resonance, harmony. It will soon disappear.'"

Yule frowned slightly, feeling as if he understood, but it seemed as if there was a layer of mist between them and he couldn't see clearly.

Seeing that Yule was still a little confused, Gangtie shook his head helplessly and said in a deep voice:

"Okay, no need to think anymore. Once you complete this mission, you will naturally have the opportunity to come into contact with the true mysticism."

……

The cold wind at the seaside is already chilling, and the night makes it even colder.

Under the starry night, Jules walked along the coastline in silence.

The other five people also remained surprisingly silent, and no one tried to chat.

As the distance got closer, the wreckage in the distance gradually revealed its majestic outline.

The mighty power of nature cannot conceal the grandeur of this ingenious man-made creation. Even though it has been broken and become dilapidated, its figure is still shocking.

"Titanic..." Jules looked at the wreckage of the giant ship with extremely complicated feelings.

There is melancholy, confusion and regret.

But more importantly, be vigilant.

How could it appear here when it should have sunk to the bottom of the sea?

The waves on the seashore were getting more and more violent, as if they were about to swallow up the wreckage of the Titanic at any time.

At this time, Steel had found a window big enough to break in and shouted:
"Come, you can go in here!"

After saying that, he went in first.

The remaining few people, including Jules, also filed in.

What comes into view is the hall that was once magnificent but now dull.

"Dark Crow, now it's your turn to lead the way for the four of us." Steel's voice sounded at the right time.

Jules was just about to raise the compass to lead the way when he heard the sound of steel and turned back in surprise:

"Captain, aren't there six of us in total? Where's the other one?"

He clearly remembered that when he was walking along the coastline, he counted five people, and including himself, there should be six people.

Steel was stunned and said strangely:
"Where did the extra person come from? We are a team of five. Did you remember it wrong?"

Hearing this response, Yule felt a chill instantly envelop his whole body.

Why are there six people in his memory?

Is there one missing since coming here?
Or... one more?
(End of this chapter)