The pale light of morning drifted down through the snowflakes onto the city of Geneva. Despite the snowdrifts covering the roads from the previous night's storm, the city's activities had not ceased.

  "It's time... let's go," Professor Novem Arcana said. He was as impeccably dressed in a black suit as the day before, his golden hair gleaming even brighter under the morning sun.

  They all descended to the headquarters' underground parking lot. Marcus had his black Audi A8 ready. As they got into the car, Alister looked at the elderly Alice standing by the vehicle.

  "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything works out," he said, and then they headed towards the Art and History Museum.

  The car left the headquarters compound and drove towards the "Painting Conservation and Research Institute," located near Geneva's landmark, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire. The tires crunched over the snow on the road.

  "Marcus... we need your friend Wagner to be unsuspecting about the documents we're bringing," Novem Arcana said from the back seat. He was reviewing the special authorization documents from the German Historical Research Institute, which he had meticulously prepared himself overnight.

  Marcus glanced at Novem Arcana through the rearview mirror. "Don't worry, Professor. Wagner is crazy about art. Your German accent and these documents will easily convince him. But will that antique you gave him for a bribe actually work?"

  Novem Arcana smiled enigmatically. "Human greed never changes, Marcus. Especially if they can get something they covet for free, they won't hesitate to turn a blind eye to the rules for a moment. Even the seals on these documents you see are from forgery techniques I've studied for the past 50 years."

  The car stopped in front of a magnificent classical-style building. It was the Painting Conservation Department. As they stepped out, the cold air greeted them.

  Inside the department, Wagner was waiting for them with a worried expression. Marcus immediately took the lead.

  "Wagner... this is Professor Dr. Novem Arcana from Germany, and Alister, whom I told you about. They've come from the University of Munich on a special mission to study the original infrared scans of the Mona Lisa. Here are their credentials."

  Novem Arcana opened his briefcase in front of Wagner. The documents were so systematically arranged that Wagner nodded slowly as he read through them. Seizing the opportunity, Novem Arcana took a small leather pouch from his pocket and gently placed it into Wagner's hand. It was an antique German clock.

  "This is a small souvenir from us. Part of an 18th-century German clockwork piece for your collection. Our work won't take more than an hour."

  Seeing the item in his hand, Wagner's eyes lit up, and he broke into a wide smile. "Oh... Professor... this is truly valuable. Well then... since Marcus vouches for you, I'll permit it. Come this way... let's go to the scanner room."

  They all followed Wagner. Alister watched in amazement at their tricks and bargaining. This was the "human world" he was entirely unfamiliar with.

  "Arthur... want some coffee?" Marcus asked, getting coffee from a nearby machine.

  "Sure..." Alister replied, but his eyes were on Novem Arcana. Novem Arcana took out a cigarette and asked Wagner for permission.

  "Mr. Wagner... may I smoke? My brain only works with a little smoke."

  Wagner seemed reluctant, but remembering the bribe in his hand, he nodded. "Alright, Professor... but please be quick. It wouldn't be good if my superiors found out."

  Novem Arcana lit his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke. A deep, thoughtful expression crossed his face. "You asked if living is good, didn't you, Marcus? Look... we have to deceive the whole world just to find a code within a single painting. Our longevity is, in truth, an 'Eternal Service.' We no longer have lives of our own... we've become puppets dancing to the will of history."

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  His words were even more bitter than the bitter coffee. Alister looked at Novem Arcana, wondering if his own future would be the same, as he stood before the massive digital image of the Mona Lisa, full of enigmas.

  The early morning light, just beginning to brighten, streamed through the large glass panels of the "Painting Conservation and Research Institute" into the examination room inside. The room was filled with the faint hum of machinery and dust-free, purified air.

  Mr. Wagner, seemingly in high spirits thanks to the antique he had received as a bribe, led Professor Dr. Novem and Alister to the state-of-the-art Spectro-Imaging Scanner.

  "Professor... this is one of the most advanced systems in the world. It can separate and examine over 30 of da Vinci's paint layers, one by one," Wagner explained proudly.

  Novem Arcana adjusted his black suit cuff and sat down in a chair. He turned to Alister and said quietly, "Arthur... place your bronze plate on the optical sensor."

  As soon as Alister placed the plate with the lion and tiger images on it, blue laser beams from within the machine rapidly scanned across it. On the monitor, the mysterious symbols on the plate began to flash, appearing in 3D.

  Code (1) - The Pupil of Wisdom

  "Magnify the right eye of the Mona Lisa 800 times," Novem Arcana instructed Wagner.

  On the large screen appeared the captivating eye of the Mona Lisa. To the naked eye, it was merely paint, but when Novem Arcana activated the infrared macro-photography layer...

  "Look there!" Marcus exclaimed in astonishment.

  At the very edge of the Mona Lisa's pupil were two extremely tiny letters. They were "L" and "V". But Novem Arcana was not interested. "That's just da Vinci's signature. Now... let's look at the left eye."

  When they magnified the left eye, a chill ran down Alister's spine. Inside that eye was not a letter, but a tiny image that matched the "first symbol of the ten mysterious symbols on the bronze plate."

  "That's Code Number 1," Novem Arcana said, flicking his cigarette ash. "It's confirmed now. Da Vinci was in contact with the group guarding Emperor Ashoka's books. This symbol means 'the ability to see the truth'."

  Code (2) - The Geography of the Ancients

  "Now... let's do a spectral analysis of the landscape in the background of the painting."

  Novem Arcana digitally processed the images of 'mountain, sea, and stupa' from the bronze plate and superimposed them onto the background landscape of the Mona Lisa. Wagner watched from the side, his eyes wide.

  "Unbelievable..." Wagner muttered. "The proportions of that little old bridge in the painting exactly match the base proportions of the 'stupa' image on the plate."

  Novem Arcana nodded. "Da Vinci didn't paint an Italian landscape behind the Mona Lisa. He encoded a topographic map leading to a secret valley in the Himalayan mountains of India. The number 72 on the pillar of this bridge indicates the longitude north of the Ganges River in India."

  When Alister heard this, his heart pounded. "So... the 'Fourth Book' is in India?"

  "Yes, Arthur," Novem Arcana said gravely. "But we can't just go and get it. To handle that book, an 'antidote' or 'protection' is required. He hid that in the painting's lips."

  Code (3) - The Alchemical Secret

  Novem Arcana instructed them to extremely magnify the corner of the painting's lips. Using X-ray fluorescence to analyze the chemical composition of the paint there, strange data emerged.

  "Look here... the proportion of lead and copper is three times higher than in ordinary paintings. This is no accident," Novem Arcana explained. "The images of the 'lotus' and the 'vine' on the bronze plate indicate the atomic weights of these elements (207.2 and 63.5). This is the formula for a nanotech-alloy that the body needs to withstand the energies within the 'Fourth Book' of metallurgy."

  Marcus took a sip of his coffee and looked at Novem Arcana. "Professor... how do you know all this? Did you ever meet da Vinci?"

  Novem Arcana fell silent amidst the smoke. After a moment, he replied philosophically. "Marcus... for those of us who exist outside of time, 'understanding' is more important than 'having met.' Da Vinci didn't want the secrets he knew to be destroyed by human greed. That's why he hid codes in this painting, intended only for the 'Guardians.' We have a duty to uncover these codes."

  Just then, the phone on Wagner's desk began to ring incessantly. As soon as Wagner answered, his face turned ashen.

  "Professor... Marcus... this is bad! Director Stuart is coming here with security forces! They've issued an order to arrest me too for accessing data without authorization!"

  Novem Arcana quickly produced a chip and connected it to the computer. Then, with incredibly swift fingers, he tapped the screen and prepared to copy the data from the painting. In moments, the data from the computer had been rapidly transferred onto his personal chip. "Arthur... put away the plate! Marcus... we need to leave now!"

  Emergency red lights started flashing in the office, and the sound of heavy boots echoed from the corridor outside.