Lin Jie didn't waste time contemplating those two options.
The "formal member" status bound by complex rules and regulations held little appeal for him.
He reached out and solemnly signed his name—"Lin Jie"—at the bottom of the parchment document.
As he finished the final stroke, the wax seal on the agreement spontaneously ignited without any flame, transforming into a wisp of blue smoke that dissolved into the air.
An emblem composed of the letters "I.A.R.C." flashed briefly beneath his signature.
The contract had been formally established through this supernatural method.
"A wise choice." Barton collected the agreement, a knowing smile appearing on his face. "Welcome to our ranks, Mr. Lin. Though you're not a formal employee, from this moment forward, you are a 'colleague' walking within the inner world."
"By tradition, as your guide, I'm obliged to show you the Association's true headquarters in London."
The mysterious pride in Barton's tone immediately made Lin Jie realize that the safe house beneath the clock shop was merely an insignificant outpost of this vast organization.
A black four-horse carriage already waited at the street corner. After they boarded, the carriage smoothly departed from the dirty, chaotic alleys of White Church District, merging into London's bustling main traffic flow.
The carriage traveled westward, passing through the financial elite's London City, eventually stopping before a magnificent building filled with ancient Greek architectural style.
The tall Ionic column porch, broad stone steps, and massive triangular pediment all demonstrated the building's solemnity and dignity.
This was... the British Museum.
Lin Jie's mind was struck by overwhelming waves of astonishment.
In his previous life, he had seen this world-renowned art palace countless times in pictures and documentaries, but he never imagined that one day he would stand before it in person through such a bizarre method.
What made it even more unbelievable was that I.A.R.C.'s true headquarters in London would be established in such a globally prominent, heavily trafficked location?
This was practically the perfect example of "hiding in plain sight."
Barton didn't lead them through the tourist-crowded main entrance, but instead circled to a non-public area on the museum's side wing marked "Egyptian Artifact Restoration Department."
He showed a metal badge to the guard at the door, who immediately stood at respectful attention and opened a heavy oak door.
After passing through several corridors stacked with artifact crates and restoration tools, they arrived at a circular exhibition hall with an extremely high dome.
At the center of the hall stood a black stone stele covered in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
"The Rosetta Stone." Lin Jie blurted out.
Barton gave him an approving look. "It seems Mr. Lin not only has sharp intuition, but also considerable scholarly knowledge. Correct, this is it. The entire world believes the genuine Rosetta Stone is displayed in the public exhibition area upstairs, but that's actually just an accurate replica."
"The true original has been under the Association's custody since the moment it was discovered. Because it is itself a powerful 'spiritual medium.'"
Barton walked before the stele, reached out, and pressed several hieroglyphs on the stone surface in a specific sequence.
"Hum—"
A low resonant sound emerged.
The entire circular hall's floor, paved with marble tiles, slowly slid apart to reveal an elevator platform composed of metal gears.
Lin Jie's breath caught again.
This scene surpassing nineteenth-century technological levels made him truly feel the profound foundation of this mysterious organization.
The descent was lengthy—Lin Jie estimated they descended at least a hundred meters underground.
When the platform finally stopped, a massive circular gate made of pure brass and crystal, filled with steampunk aesthetic, opened before them.
A world far more grand and breathtaking than Lin Jie had imagined unfolded before his eyes.
This was an incredibly vast underground dome space, large enough to accommodate several railway stations.
Soft, bright light spilled down from luminescent crystals of unknown composition on the dome ceiling, illuminating the entire space as bright as daylight.
The air held no underground stuffiness or dampness—instead, through a ventilation system filled with brass pipes and pressure valves, it maintained freshness and dryness.
Personnel wearing various uniforms busily moved through the space.
Among them were scholars in white lab coats rushing about; field agents in combat uniforms carrying various peculiar weapons at their waists; and logistics staff pushing carts transporting "items" covered with heavy canvas.
"Welcome to the International Anomaly Research and Containment London Branch. We prefer to call it 'The Underground City.'" Barton's voice brimmed with pride.
He led Lin Jie forward along a main thoroughfare.
Lin Jie's eyes could hardly take in everything as he greedily observed his surroundings, striving to etch this world's appearance into his memory.
He saw a "mission board" occupying an entire wall.
It was covered with parchment scrolls bearing various commissions, from "Investigate vampire rumors in Glasgow area" to "Retrieve stolen 'Solomon's Ring'" to "Hunt Yeti occupying Himalayan mountains." Beneath each commission, corresponding difficulty levels and reward points were marked.
Directly opposite this wall, two massive books enshrined in crystal display cases emanated powerful oppressive presence.
One of them was entirely black, its cover made of fine-scaled leather, with a ferocious monster head embossed in crimson gold on the cover.
"This is the 'Record of Anomalous Creatures,' commonly called the 'Black Book' internally." Barton introduced. "It contains detailed information about all confirmed UMA encounters since the Association's establishment."
"Each year, the Association's evaluation committee reassesses the threat levels of UMAs on the list based on latest intelligence and releases new editions."
He pointed to several plaques above the display case, clearly marking the UMA classification levels:
Calamity-class > Kingdom-class > Town-class > Alert-class.
Lin Jie noticed Mist Walker's name was recorded among the densely packed list under "Town-class."
Beside the "Black Book" stood another massive volume bound in brown leather, its cover bearing an emblem of a crossed sword and quill pen.
"And this is the 'Record of Elite Investigators,' which we call the 'Hunter Ranking.'" Barton's tone carried traces of yearning and respect. "It exists paired with the 'Black Book,' representing the peak of honor for all investigators in the inner world."
"Its rankings don't consider background or seniority—only one thing matters: actual achievements." Barton's gaze swept across the ranking, each shining name representing a legend.
"Successfully hunting high-risk UMAs, submitting critical intelligence, recovering powerful spiritual mediums... everything is quantified into points."
"Your points determine your position in this record. Those who make the list not only gain enormous wealth and glory, but also receive the Association's highest-level resource allocation and priority rights to select commissions."
Lin Jie's attention was also deeply captivated by the "Hunter Ranking."
He saw that beside the most radiant names at the top of the ranking followed legendary epithets.
First Place: 【The Immortal】Nicholas Flamel
Second Place: 【The Clock Hand】Duke of Wellington
Third Place: 【The Ouroboros】Helena Blavatsky
...
Each name had left profound marks in the history of the surface world.
And in this unknown inner world, they actually possessed another, even more illustrious identity!
This discovery filled Lin Jie with profound astonishment.
How many unknown truths remained hidden beneath history's mist?