World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 135 People of the Past

At this point, Efron seemed perfectly normal.

Lin An recalled his mysterious name, The Rereader - Kodashim.

The system didn't have a panel, but Efron's atmosphere was out of place with the others. Lin An had seen this situation with one person before—April, who was about to awaken.

As expected, he will soon become Reuben's butler.

Aside from this former enemy, Lin An didn't recognize any other faces; Guy, Hill, and the others weren't there.

Upon hearing the greeting, Efron replied, puzzled, "What does 'Euler' mean?"

"that is……"

Lin An walked to his side, raised his wand and tapped him on the shoulder. Efron couldn't dodge in time and frowned.

"The way people greet each other in the Kingdom of Isbani."

After making up a casual remark, Lin An picked up the uniform from the back of the chair, draped it over his shoulders, and sat down.

"what?"

Efron touched his wound, thankfully it didn't hurt much, and secretly vowed that he would definitely learn Spanish if he had the chance, to verify whether this statement was nonsense or popular science.

This is an experiment by Lin An. He just hit Efron with the [Worm Curtain] and is waiting for 72 hours to pass.

However, Efron in the real timeline is already dead; this version of him is merely a remnant of time. Therefore, Lin An wonders if it's still possible to include the entry.

The crowd cautiously observed the newcomer. After a few seconds of silence, a slender young man spoke.

"Did you come to the wrong group?"

"Why do you ask?"

“Because I haven’t seen you at all during the previous training.” The boy smiled kindly. “Are you a transfer student? Do you also have to pass the final hurdle of ‘Compassion and Choice,’ the ‘White Dove Certification’?”

"what is this?"

Seeing that Lin An's suspicions were not genuine, the young man kindly offered an explanation.

"Compassion and Choice" is a superpower development program initiated by a company and several charitable organizations. Participants will travel to Dom Tondo, Canada, and live in a closed training camp for three months.

The organizations that recommend these individuals receive a hefty referral fee.

The company promised that participants would receive a high-paying job overseas after the program ended.

This company is probably the Wood Group, Lin An thought.

No wonder when Doris's party went wrong, a bunch of reports repeatedly mentioned "human experimentation." It seems that this wasn't the first time the Wood Group had kidnapped people.

The reason the impact did not expand was because all those involved in the program were "marginalized individuals," and the experimental site was not located within the territory of the United Kingdom.

From Efron Ruben's inner thoughts, Lin An learned that he was born in an orphanage and had no relatives; the backgrounds of the other deacons were unknown, but he guessed they were all similar.

Lin An initially thought his painting style was out of place, but after thinking about it, he realized that he was no different from these people—he was not a citizen of the United Kingdom and was practically alone in this unfamiliar country.

After his background was investigated, he was assigned to the inspection team.

Since Lin An was suspected of awakening, Joshua believed that there was no need to bother teaching him the basics of mysticism or training his spirit, as it was more suitable for him to accommodate the medium of the "Comers".

The boy told Lin An not to panic. He had previously thought he had been kidnapped to a lawless place and would have to work illegally for the rest of his life. Little did he know that the company was just developing their "superpower potential".

For the past three months, they have been spending their days in three different classes.

First, they learn about mysticism. Guided by artificial intelligence, they read all sorts of Canaanite magic books, such as "The Root of the Tree of Life" and "The Covenant with God at Mount Sinai," and regularly attend courses similar to university lectures.

Secondly, there is immersive mental training, where they wear VR glasses to experience various realistic scenarios, constantly strengthening their memory, willpower, and reaction speed.

The third option is the study of the Mishnah. Based on their performance in the first month, they are divided into six different groups who do not see each other. Each group focuses on studying one book of the Mishnah.

A few days ago, the head of the organization told them that the training was over and that as long as they passed a test called "White Dove Certification," they could officially get a high-paying job and start a brand new life.

"Cuckoo..."

A strange noise came from the ceiling, interrupting the boy's words.

It turned out that there was a projection screen above, which was now activated, displaying a holy scene of golden clouds, lilies, and a church. A pure white dove flew by, parting the clouds, and then a bust of Joshua appeared.

"Hello everyone, I'm happy to inform you that someone has touched the edge of awakening the mystery."

"Who...who are you?" someone asked tremblingly.

"Don't interrupt, listen to me."

Joshua's gaze swept across the bewildered faces, his brown eyes sparkling with the enthusiastic light of an idealist.

“Not everyone attracts the projection of ‘Commerx,’ and individuals who are a good fit for a high rating are even rarer. After three months of rigorous training, I have only found one outstanding individual among you who is worth investing in—Efron Ruben.”

All eyes turned to Efron, who pointed to himself incredulously.

“Yes, it’s you,” Joshua said. “A disaster is about to strike, and I need the power to control the situation. To get on the right path, you must learn to obey my will and carry out my orders.”

"What orders?" Efron couldn't help but ask.

“You are one final, crucial step away from becoming my follower. You need blood, slaughter, and the supreme conviction of the ‘Judge’ to overcome weakness and sentimentality.” The next moment, the side door of the room swung open, and the clanging sound of metal joints clashing echoed through the room.

Two fully armed robots, each about two meters tall, emerged from the passage. Their skins gleamed and appeared incredibly tough.

Then, with a few more clicks, several mechanisms suddenly emerged from the chairs where the others were sitting, locking their ankles, calves, waists, arms, and wrists with lightning speed, immobilizing them completely.

Only Lin An and Efron's chairs remained unchanged.

"What do you want to do!" the bound man shouted immediately.

“Efron, I’m giving you a pistol. Use it to kill these people. Lin, watch what’s going on here. If you don’t want to die, pledge your loyalty to me. I need more men to send to branches all over the country.”

Efron was stunned by Joshua's words and had no time to take the gun the robot offered him. Lin An hesitated for a moment and then asked a question.

"Is killing one of the conditions for awakening?"

"Pretty much. With the groundwork laid, Efron only needs the right mindset for the medium and my approval," Joshua replied briefly. "The quickest way to get under his control."

With some of his questions answered, Lin An gathered his thoughts and asked, "What is a medium?"

Joshua's lips curled into a slight smile; he was quite satisfied with Joshua's reaction.

During their conversation, the others realized the disparity in strength between them, and their hoarse, shrill, and incoherent pleas for mercy rose and fell, drowning out Joshua's voice.

The noise lasted for less than a second before abruptly stopping.

A faint smell of burning gas and urine filled the air, and white smoke rose from the person sitting in the chair, who was then electrocuted and passed out.

Joshua turned to the pale-faced Efron and began to give him earnest advice.

"Do you see? Disobedience leads to chaos! Think of pitiful Athens, think of how Athens was conquered by Sparta. Sentiment made Athens weak, and caused its citizens to betray their most outstanding general, Alcibiades."

The robot forcibly shoved the gun into Efron's hand, only to be thrown away in terror. Seeing this, Joshua shook his head helplessly and said a warning.

“The seed of ‘Judge’ is in your heart. Among so many people, only you and ‘Kordahim’ have resonated with it, proving that your talent, bloodline, understanding and subconscious identification are very well suited to it! Now I will let it sprout.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a robot grabbed Efron's arm and dragged him off his seat, while another robot punched him in the stomach.

"vomit!"

Efron gagged, then a second punch landed, followed by a third and fourth, before the robots finally threw him to the ground and waited for him to vomit everything out of his stomach.

The vomit made him feel suffocated. He gasped for breath, coughing and thrashing about, struggling to get away.

The high-performance robot moved nimbly, grabbed Efron by the hair, and threw him against the wall.

"Boom!"

A loud thud was heard, blood streamed down Efron's forehead, and his body collapsed to the ground.

The robot picked up the gun from the ground again and pointed it at those who had lost consciousness due to the electric shocks.

“If you can’t bring yourself to harm humans…” Joshua’s voice echoed eerily, “you might as well imagine them as animals, like pigs, cows, or sheep.”

This thing has started guiding.

The fifth book, the Cordahim, was the law of Missina, which governed sacrifices and the slaughter of animals. Lin An thought to himself.

Despite the heavy blow, Efron couldn't cross the moral threshold. He trembled as he raised his gun and aimed for a long time, but was powerless to pull the final trigger.

It's not hard to understand that after spending three months with these people day and night, even the hardest heart would develop emotional cracks.

So Joshua forced Efron to kill his former roommate and classmate, so that once he started killing, he could control Missina without any scruples.

After becoming the "judge," if one still harbors wavering and pity, the level of corruption will inevitably increase. Thus, Joshua simply and brutally reshaped Efron's character and perception.

Rather than letting mystery serve an individual, it would be better to let a person live solely to master that mystery.

Lin An glanced at the enthusiastic Joshua.

By casting a wide net across society, through observation, research, and targeted training and education, individuals are identified who fit the corresponding mysterious archetype. Ultimately, they are provoked with bloody and ruthless methods to obtain the pawns they desire.

Is this how powerful families control mysterious species?

If that's the case, why can't mythical-level items be mass-produced?

And what does Joshua mean by "my approval"?
Lin An had no interest in the Romans' refined tastes. Since there was no point in watching any longer, he feigned fear and declared his loyalty to the team leader on the screen. The latter was very satisfied and operated the robot to move aside, indicating that Lin An should enter the passage they had come from.

Before they left, gunshots suddenly rang out.

"Ping——!"

Lin An looked back.

Efron rushed toward the boy who had been shot, covering his chest with his hand as he tried to stop the blood gushing out.

The future Deacon Ruben collapsed to the ground, shaking his first victim as if cradling a baby, tears streaming down his face as he called out the deceased's name repeatedly.

Thank you to Yaodao Qixuegui, HAL2000, Huanjing Waizhi, Fenghua Juedai Meng Xiaoxiao, Xiyang AA, and Zhixing233 for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for the recommendation tickets and subscriptions.

Yesterday, I was criticized by a friend who felt that there was too much unnecessary plot development ahead, so I revised the plot of chapter 132, removed the plot twists, and went straight to the main storyline.

I'm so sorry for the unpleasant reading experience. As a new author, I have many shortcomings. Thank you all for your understanding and patience (Ｔ▽Ｔ)
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(End of this chapter)