World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 161 Beware of Internet Fraud
Ranger_12: Ahem, the title is just to grab attention.

Ranger_12: I have a friend who's recently become obsessed with a certain kind of occultism, sending me 99+ messages every night. Although she's a good friend of mine, the content is just too gory and primal; my heart can't take it.

Crymson_Ghost: Wow, that's intense! Where are all the innocent female college students? And why isn't your GIF moving?

Ranger_12: I'd like to ask if anyone has any social groups or offline communities that specifically research this game, anywhere within the Dietrich area.

ChamomileBrownies: I can't answer if you don't tell me the specific theme.

Ranger_12: Doesn't understand special terminology, keywords are hallucination, control, soul, bloodletting, mysterious rituals - by the way, last time I saw her post a picture of washing her hair in the toilet.

EdHot6173: Ugh, I shouldn't have been using my phone while eating.

i_have___milk: Washing hair in the toilet? ? ? What kind of occult practice would include something like this?

Schindlers: Clickbait headlines, trending topics, and vulgar content. I've reported you. Let's see if the administrator bans you.

FRENZY!!!: Don't be so extreme. The poster did ask a question related to the occult, which is correct.

FRENZY!!!: OP, how about we chat privately first?
arctanx: Add a keyword—"Eagle Country." That way, you can use a massive influx of immigrants to expand your target area worldwide.

arctanx: But I can actually glean something from this kind of nonsensical vocabulary...

arctanx: Is your friend a bit dark-skinned?

foexa~: It's the Hu Poison Cult!
Heviaaaa: I object! Washing your hair in the toilet alone is already a disqualification!

Graustrak: Santiria? The one in Dietrich that's been holding a lot of offline events lately?
zquizzicul: I've never heard of this term before, no wonder the poster couldn't explain it clearly either.

pecuchet02: I don't even know how to pronounce it, San...Te Li Ya? Where is the retroflex consonant and stress?
29thIflux: If I'm not mistaken, the translation of this term is Santería, which is a mixture of Yoruba, Bantu and Spanish.

Pastadseven: I desperately need an expert to explain this.

Luculumi_77: This follower came uninvited. First of all, the Way of the Holy Ones originated in the Caribbean Gulf, a unified religion that combines the Western Saviour Bishops, the Greek Pantheon, and the Yoruba religion of the South.

Luculumi_77: The supreme deity here is called Orisha, and there are seven different saints, orishas, ​​who are similar to angels and act as messengers between the human world and the divine. Believers can connect with the deities through spiritual practice, and the latter will then bless their followers.

Luculumi_77: Through sacrifice, believers can draw closer to the divine. If He accepts the sacrifice, He will put the believer into a trance and grant them one of the seven saints' spells.

Luculumi_77: The more times the sacrifices are performed, the more powerful the aché becomes—a word that means soul or aura—and the stronger the witchcraft attached to it.

Luculumi_77: These offerings, known as ebbó, include fruits and wine, flowers, or slaughtered animals—especially chickens and pigeons—that need to have their throats cut to bleed them; for more important ceremonies, the offerings are usually large animals such as cattle and sheep.

Luculumi_77: After "consuming" the blood of the sacrifice, the latter's life force can be transferred to the believer, thereby enhancing their aura.

Luculumi_77: But we don't kill people! We only use four-legged animals instead of sacrifices, although that means we can't create "spiritual portraits"... since they're not real. Faith, in the end, is about providing solace.

Luculumi_77: By the way, during the preparation for the sacrifice, the head of the offering was bathed in the water of the washroom. This location was chosen so that the ancestors could travel between the world of the living and the world of the dead through the water in the pipes.

Luculumi_77: Is this probably the origin of the so-called "toilet shampoo"? Although we use the sink most of the time.

Vgerfox233: Oh my god, I don't dare to speak while you're typing!

Vgerfox233: Forgive my bluntness, but isn't this just a variant of the Hu Du cult?

SharpSoda: Blood sacrifice is still necessary! And I've heard that children are often sacrificed in the Caribbean!

Luculumi_77: No, no, no, the doctrines of the Holy Way have long been modified... well, there's still a tiny bit of gore occasionally, so it's often reported by international animal rights groups.

salad-poison: I gasped in shock. If this is true, I hope it's false, and I suggest the poster get away from this friend immediately!
Trampusdog: Yeah, it doesn't sound like a proper religion! I'm still a staunch spiritualist!
ColonelOfSka: There is indeed a church activity center in Dietrich. Don't be a keyboard warrior online, go and see for yourself. My personal experience is good. At least they only accept supplies, and there's no forced donation.

Dungeon: Opinions vary...

ScottsBrix: I cannot accept blood sacrifice! Even from animals! Aren't chickens and pigeons living beings?

12Siege: Well said. You're banned from attending Crazy Thursdays from now on.

Lin An deliberately set the post to be visible only in Dietrich, but unexpectedly, in addition to getting someone to message him privately, he also unexpectedly obtained some local religious information.

As the number of forum members increased, in addition to the discussion on "The Way of the Saints", the post also contained all sorts of speculations, and in just a few tens of minutes, it was filled with more than a hundred posts, including but not limited to Tantric Buddhism, mythology of the Lower East, Southern Continent, and fusion folklore, etc.

After much brainstorming among netizens, Lin An became increasingly convinced that Unit 2 was a follower of the Holy Way.

This religion seems to have become unexpectedly popular in Dietrich, and its spread is so widespread that many people have heard of it in real life to some extent.

"Bang bang bang."

Lin An raised his hand and knocked on the dormitory door.

“Sasaki, it’s me, Lin An.”

"crunch..."

The doorknob turned, revealing a pair of narrow, dark eyes. After confirming Lin An's figure, the door was opened.

As the weather gets warmer, Sasaki's T-shirt features a picture of a cute girl in a swimsuit eating a watermelon.

"Lin Sang, long time no see. Where have you been picking up girls lately? I've been messaging you every day but you haven't replied, which has prevented me from completing several tasks to invite new users to register."

Have you seen JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5?

"Of course, why?"

"Uh, I probably did something similar to Giorno." Lin An walked into Sasaki's dorm room and put a plastic bag on his desk. "Can I borrow your computer for twenty minutes? Here's the payment."

Sasaki impatiently rummaged through the bag full of snacks, making a rustling sound, then grabbed a bag of persimmon seeds, jumped back onto the bed, and lay on his side to continue playing games. "How have you been lately?"

Lin An logged into the administrator account of "Two Ravens" and chatted with the fat man casually.

"The sunken ship guarantees a bottom line by eating well water."

Lin An originally wanted to remind Sasaki to stay off campus less lately, but then he thought that for him, even leaving the dormitory would be as difficult as climbing to the sky.

As long as I stay home enough, death can't catch me.

Recalling Sasaki's words, Lin An actually realized a bit of truth in them. The radiation from "Commons" was about to spread, and his lifestyle was one way to avoid being killed.

Lin An entered a line of code and opened the World Tree Forum's administrator interface, while also continuing his chat with the uninvited user using a secondary account.

FRENZY!!!: Are you there? What are you doing right now?
Ranger_12: Is there something you need?
FRENZY!!!: It's just chatting between netizens. The post only says your friend is interested in the occult; do you have any hobbies?

Ranger_12: I love traveling. I enjoy the natural beauty of mountains and rivers.

FRENZY!!!: Really, beautiful? I also love traveling! It gives you a very relaxing experience, like your soul is cleansed.

Ranger_12: Yeah.

FRENZY!!!: Looking at the post's address, are you from Dietrich?
FRENZY!!!: What a very inclusive city. I'm not a native, but the integration process was surprisingly smooth.

Ranger_12: I'm not a local either.

FRENZY!!!: Oh? Are you here to work or study? Sigh, I came here once in pursuit of love, but unfortunately, things haven't been going well for me... How are you doing? Want to chat sometime?

Ranger_12: Studying abroad. Although Dietrich is a great city, I still miss the blue skies and white clouds of my hometown, and the leisurely days I spent with my grandfather.

FRENZY!!!: You are such a filial girl.

Ranger_12: Hehe...

Ranger_12: My grandfather is a tea farmer, and I used to help him pick tea leaves on the mountain. Every time I think about how he will have to work hard all by himself after I leave, I feel very sorry for him.

FRENZY!!!: Oh, I see.

FRENZY!!!: I'm also an international student. Which university are you attending? Maybe our campuses are very close.

Ranger_12: I still have some tea from my hometown. If you have time to meet me, I'll bring some for you to try.

FRENZY!!!: No need, I feel kind of embarrassed.

Ranger_12: 5 grams for $199, how much do you want?

FRENZY!!!: ! ! !
FRENZY!!!: Damn it, you're trying to screw me over!

Ranger_12: Twenty catties of tea, right? Thank you for your order. It will be delivered to your doorstep immediately.

After typing the last sentence, Lin An blocked him and dragged the person's IP address to the notes app.

Dietrich, Ann Arbor University Campus, 72 Ivy Street, Blue Fantasy Dormitory, 5th Floor, 29B-02.

After finishing his work, Lin An leaned back in his chair and entered a state of relaxation.

He wanted to check if there were any hidden mysterious figures in the dormitory building; perhaps Ghost Unit 2 was hiding there.

Countless points of light appeared, but there was no eye-opening new discovery. Lin An casually turned to the one representing Sasaki, and was about to bring up the mysterious tree diagram when he was surprised to find that the data did not exist.

Sasaki is... a mysterious figure?
Upon closer inspection, its light spot was only half a speck, shaped like a comma, and shimmered lazily.

Once out of the transparent view, Lin An stared at Sasaki, who remained indifferent, engrossed in his game, and fell into thought.

According to the rules, he had to report Sasaki's situation and recruit him into the direct confrontation department. However, if he forcibly dragged Sasaki out of the dormitory, he would suffocate from social anxiety like a goldfish jumping out of a water tank.

The dim light likely indicates that Sasaki's rating is very low, with almost no radiation levels.

Lin An considered a few guesses, but the system did not display a panel.

Is it the prototype of modern Japan?

Sasaki seemed to have never used any energy. It is estimated that he was the future human that Joshua had been looking forward to. Although he had awakened the mystery, he was completely unaware of it and continued to live his life in a daze until the orbit of "Comers" shifted.

He would need Wang Pangzi's support if anything happened to the World Tree Forum in the future.

"All done."

"Take care, Mr. Lin." Sasaki took a moment from his busy schedule to make a gesture.

Lin An spent the night in Mike's empty dormitory and met up with Barry on time the next day.

"The planned patrol route is..."

Barry pulled out a map with a red line drawn on it.

Since losing X, the tech tree has plummeted, and employee cards and roadmaps have become paper documents.

“Before that, there’s a place I want to go.” Lin An pressed his hand and smiled warmly. “A classmate is waiting for us to bring him warmth.”

Thank you Fengxun77 for the monthly pass, and thank you everyone for your recommendations and subscriptions.
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(End of this chapter)