World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 130 A Small Gathering of Materials

"Humph!"

The angels bathed in holy light vanished, and the man snorted coldly, closing an ancient scripture made of energy. On either side of him, an old man and a short woman made similar gestures.

"Boom..."

Large swathes of blood seeped into the cracks in the floor, and the Moon Angel's body fell heavily to the ground, its wings like two thin blankets covering his bloodied and mangled body.

The man still seemed unsatisfied. He took a few steps forward, and the guardian angel that purifies evil floated beside him. With his movement, the angel raised its longsword, about to sever the man's head.

“That’s enough, Deacon Nadav. Killing him will displease Avia Emmanuel,” the gaunt old man said, trying to stop him.

“I know, it’s just dislocating one of his arms,” the man sneered. “This little bit of physical torture is nothing compared to one-thousandth of that bastard’s usual tricks.”

With that, the guardian angel brandished its weapon and slashed down at Simon's arm.

"Dangdang!"

The energy sword suddenly missed its target, striking the Foundation's floor. Even with the use of special materials, the floor cracked like a spiderweb in the frenzy of the attack, revealing the powerless circuitry and fiber optics inside.

The attack missed, and the man was taken aback.

Right before his eyes, a slippery tentacle wrapped around Simon's trouser leg and dragged him backward.

"Gululu..."

The Virtue Zone, which should have been empty, had inexplicably been transformed into a luminous humanoid figure surrounded by layers of green data. The energy shimmered, and the fluctuating code, like special effects from The Matrix, cast shimmering, fish-scale-like reflections on the faces of the group.

Tentacles emerged from behind the unknown creature, deftly wrapping around the unconscious Simon and slowly dragging him to a corner, leaving a shocking trail of blood on the ground.

The uninvited guest's face and any facial features are hidden behind code, making them invisible to the naked eye.

The three deacons were stunned. They did not recall having such an employee in the Foundation, and the files in the isolation room had never recorded such a mysterious person!
Could it be that this person was watching the entire battle from the sidelines?
"who are you?"

The man took a step back and asked the question first.

This person was none other than Lin An. With the help of beavers and moose, he descended upon the Virtue Zone like a god, arriving just in time for the final battle between the Inspectorate and Simon.

Seeing that the captain was about to transform into Yang Guo, Lin An greeted the two local gods and deliberately covered his true form with a ring of code so that no one would recognize him.

At the last second, he used the Lusca tentacles he had recently acquired to drag Simon away.

Lin An had only seen three deacons' lights just now, but when he looked closer with his naked eye, apart from the arrogant man who had hijacked the car earlier, the other two were completely unfamiliar faces.

The system affixed panels to them, identifying the two as the Agricultural Lawyer Zeraim and the Festival Lawyer Moed.

Is Guy Agnimo not here?
The deacons' information was kept extremely confidential. Apart from the foundation's senior management and the internal oversight team, ordinary employees did not even know the real names and appearances of the deacons and team leaders. They only knew that there were a few people who had been "guiding" the operation of St. Anilov.

But Guy's mysterious prototype is the best proof of his identity, and it is from his words and actions that Lin An learned about the cooperation between the inspection team and the aristocratic family.

Since entering headquarters, he has been eager to see Guy in person and check his current status and panel.

Ignoring the carjacker's question, Lin An spoke coldly.

"A ghost."

ghost……

A pleasant, calm, and indifferent voice entered their ears, and the three deacons' faces turned solemn, their muscles tense, and they were extremely nervous, because they suddenly remembered what had happened not long ago.

Guy Agnimo was brutally murdered in a heavily guarded headquarters, and the identity and methods of the killer have yet to be determined.

Combined with the mysterious person's silent appearance, their thoughts raced.

Could it be that after killing Guy, he has been lurking in the St. Anilov headquarters, like an eye hidden in the darkness, quietly watching their every move?
Moreover, an even more frightening speculation is that this person might be able to come and go freely within what they consider to be a flawless defense system.

Otherwise, how could he suddenly appear in the Virtue Zone occupied by the three and silently save Simon?
Who is this guy who calls himself a "ghost" and whose true identity is unknown?

What is his purpose?
After a brief silence, unsure of Lin An's origins, the old man cautiously asked, "Hello, Lord Ghost. May I ask if you are a passing friend, or perhaps an indifferent bystander?"

He subconsciously omitted the word "enemy," not wanting to mislead the other party's thoughts, and also wanting to express his own friendliness.

After all, the deacons could see a hint of his personal stance from Lin An's act of saving Simon.

What if they are the enemy...?

The youngest, quiet, and short deacon shivered. She was a reader of agricultural law and, like her colleagues, a medium for presiding judges, but unlike them, she was not adept at killing.

Under her wary yet slightly fearful gaze, the unknown "ghost" spoke softly in a voice as melodious as an organ.

"You can be friends or bystanders. As long as you cooperate with me to complete a small research trip."

"Find materials?" the short deacon asked, puzzled.

The next moment, the mysterious visitor casually waved his hand, and more code shot into the sky, like a tornado of data.

In their eyes, the green glow was the only light source in the Virtue Zone. The characters gradually became clear, and the deacons were shocked to see all of their "panels".

[Title]: The Rereader - Moed, Ancient Wisdom II
[Rating]: Mythical B-level

Radiation level: 23.7%
[Pollution Level]: 21.5%
[Media]: Presiding Judge

Six different illuminated areas display information about the six officers of the inspection team.

This made them stare wide-eyed in disbelief. The panel Lin An displayed not only included the three of them, but also Hill Catherine and Efron Ruben, who had already died!
The data is even accurate to the decimal point, clearer than the archives kept by the research department!
To put it bluntly, Lin An's understanding of their mysterious state almost surpassed their own! The group instantly felt a sense of dread, as if every part of their bodies had been laid bare before a ghost.

To be able to conduct such a detailed investigation into a mythical level, to single-handedly break into the Foundation's headquarters, and to nonchalantly present the data to them, "Ghost" is at least at the source level—or higher!

Could it really be the legendary statue?

Why did he appear in this place at this sensitive time?
What on earth does he want to do?
Guy Agnimo's bizarre, incomprehensible, and agonizing corpse surfaced in his mind.

The short deacon was terrified, his legs trembling; the proud man clenched his fists, and even the most composed and experienced old man hesitated.

Thinking of their deceased colleague, the three of them looked at the panel that read "Reader - Nazheqin". They were surprised to find that the radiation level and pollution level were displayed as two squares of random characters, without any specific numbers.

Does this mysterious person not know Guy's data?

As the panic subsided somewhat, another guess began to surface in the minds of the deacons.

Perhaps the Ghost is backed by some ancient power and has access to a vast database. It has learned about the Inspectorate's intelligence and is now showing it to them as a deterrent.

Before the steward could think further, Lin An continued speaking in a completely emotionless voice.

"As you can see, I still need to complete the data one more step."

With just the phrase "source material," the true backgrounds of five mythical figures were completely exposed...

The deacon was highly focused and his emotions remained unsettled for a long time.

Regardless of whether it's an envoy from a powerful force or, as this person himself claims, an experiment conducted "out of interest," the guy who calls himself a ghost is definitely not a good person!

“We roughly understand what you mean, sir,” the old man said shrewdly. “We apologize for not welcoming you properly, but now is not a good time for conversation. Unless you also want to get involved in tonight’s mess.”

He turned meaningfully to the unconscious Simon.

"If you are a curious seeker of knowledge, we are always willing to receive you with the highest courtesy, but the premise is that your words and actions are consistent and you only want to 'gather information'."

Lin An ignored his hints, put away all the data, and the light dimmed again, with only the sound echoing.

“The complete Missina has six chapters, and I don’t want to read a half-baked interest book in my spare time.”

Unsure who the "ghost" was, or how much he knew about the inspection team and the foundation, the old man continued to entangle with him tentatively.

"Even just five chapters are incredibly brilliant, filled with the wisdom God gave to Moses. You have already mastered many of the philosophies of the Hebrew people."

“As a perfectionist, I don’t like your answer.” Lin An’s gaze peeked out from the gap in the code covering his face, slowly sweeping over the group. The short butler trembled with fear. “Could it be that the inspection team doesn’t actually have the ‘Property Law’ in their possession?”

The three of them were all startled.

Does the Ghost already know Guy Agnimo's fate?

In order to protect the deterrent power and reputation of the inspection team, the higher-ups blocked the news of Guy's death, and even those within the organization knew very little about it.

Just who is this guy?!
Fear stems from the unknown. At this moment, the inspectors' fear was completely ignited by Lin An's unpredictable appearance and ambiguous words, making it difficult for them to maintain their usual composure.

Observing their micro-expressions, Lin An became increasingly convinced that Guy Agnimo was really dead.

Even though the "God of Truth" cannot influence the timeline...

Forcibly gathering his thoughts, Lin An listened intently to the natural sounds coming from all directions, thankfully the beaver did not react to them.

"Sir, your behavior has crossed the line!" The arrogant man, unable to bear the humiliation of being suppressed by Lin An, spoke up, "You're doing things that are secretive and want to pry into the secrets of other organizations. I can only say that I have no comment!"

The old man, who had no time to stop him, was stunned for a moment, then swallowed his words helplessly, glancing at Lin An across from him out of the corner of his eye.

Throughout the conversation, "Ghost" never revealed its true power.

If they are statue-level beings, why waste words with them? Wouldn't it be faster to just use force to suppress them and obtain information?
While men may be impulsive, this is also a good opportunity to test the depths of this mysterious person's background.

No prominent figure could remain indifferent to such an offense.

"Huh?" Lin An narrowed his eyes slightly. "So you're not cooperating with my little 'research' this time."

"I'm sorry, Ghost, we're very busy with work," the man said, forcing himself to speak clearly.

"Then, I'll have to ask you to cooperate with another experiment."

"What experiment?"

Amid the inspectors' bewildered gazes, "Ghost" raised his arm, the code dissipated, and they saw him snap his long middle finger and thumb together, making a "snap" gesture.

…………

The San Francisco coast, the closest seaside town to the foundation's headquarters facilities.

In an inconspicuous corner café, tourists and locals come and go. Unnoticed by the busy staff, a young man with dark hair appears out of nowhere as he walks out of the restroom. He looks around and frowns slightly.

"When, when, when..."

An antique-style grandfather clock chimed the time, and Lin An looked in the direction from which the sound came from.

2036年11月04号，上午11点30分。

Thank you to Guguzhong, A Grain of Boat in the Book, Changjue_, Charlin, Yuluomenghai, shrmu, Dongfangfeixiangtianze, luiyeliuye, Cuihuan, Yeshengbin, Book Friend 2021071021395923, Thirty-Eight Years of Cicada, Book Friend 20191214192233556, Deputy Director Chen of the Psychiatric Department of QD Sanatorium, Yuemingzhiyu, Shanyinlinjing, Xiayufeng, Book Friend 20190921160605169, Fengxuejuan, Nianpingshuixiangfeng, and Huiyuanzi for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for the recommendation tickets and subscriptions.

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(End of this chapter)