World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 169 Donated Items
I briefly explained the process of becoming a full-fledged employee to Sang Sang, and the clock in the coffee shop announced the time at just the right moment.

"It's getting late, we should go find Professor Emmett and meet up." Lin An stood up.

"Can I come along?" Mike asked.

"As long as you're not afraid of getting a severe scolding from the professor."

"How could that be! What's the deal with the professor? We're practically family!"

About an hour later, the professor first gave Mike a severe dressing-down for his constant absences, and then led the three of them into the university museum.

The museum's entrance consists of three semi-arched doorways, and its snow-white exterior walls are inscribed with Latin text.

seculo seculorum (something that never fades).

The spacious hall is covered with brightly colored patterns from the traditions of the Lower East Side, while the high ceiling is adorned with exquisite chandeliers that reflect the aesthetics of the West Side. The fusion of these contrasting cultures creates a novel visual experience, rooted in the Calvinist spirit of the Eagle Nation.

The hall leads to rows of exhibition halls on both sides, which extend forward in chronological order; the second floor is the modern art exhibition area.

The professor headed straight to the ancient exhibit area and began his field visit for the day.

"Velvet panel, from the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 15th century, made of silk and metal-wrapped threads, donated by Mr. Mustafa Omar on October 2, 2016..."

"A peacock-shaped brass incense burner, from the Lotus Kingdom in the mid-11th century, donated by the Ernest and Rosemary Canzel Foundation on February 40, 1998..."

"A wool rug with a large octagon and four smaller octagons, from the early 16th century Bourbon dynasty, donated by Mr. and Mrs. Fouquet on May 21, 2008..."

Not every item is inextricably linked to the world of "Commerx," and Lin An also noticed some unusual things.

He saw that when several people passed by a certain item in the exhibition area, the mysterious tree diagram extended new branches.

These individuals are a tiny minority and may not necessarily attract corresponding media in the future, but they still illustrate that the proportion of ancient and mysterious artifacts in university museums is ridiculously high.

This might explain why the free mystics in Dietrich are far more dangerous than in other areas.

Lin An followed several people who had given birth to new awakening seeds and recorded the items they passed by.

It is certain that the museum has at least four artifacts that are suspected to be relics left over from the first three overlaps of the "Comermes" star trails. Three of these artifacts date back to the Middle Ages, while the age of one artifact is unknown.

As for the donors of the items, only one was an individual, while the other three were from the same organization.

The Ask and Embla Heritage Foundation.

Aske and Embraer Heritage Foundation?

In Viking mythology, the male Aske and the female Embra were the first two humans created by the gods, similar to Adam and Eve in the Old Testament.

An organization from the Northwest is sending packages to Eagle State University every day.
Lin An quickly searched online and found that the foundation was a charity established by the Norwegian government in 1995, with the joint support of the five Northwestern countries. The foundation is dedicated to supporting heritage protection and fundraising activities around the world.

This answered half of his questions, but Lin An still wanted to ask a few more.

"Professor, what is the relationship between the 'Aske and Embra Heritage Foundation' and our university?"

“Its founder and I were classmates,” the professor replied. “We both earned our master’s degrees from the University of Köppenhagen. Later, when he visited the University of Ann Arbor, he thought our school was doing a good job in the preservation of antiquities, so he often donated items from donors to our school.”

"Professor, your connections are truly all over the world."

"Sigh, that's all in the past. Now I just hope you can graduate from university smoothly."

The trail went cold, but with the professor's help, Aske and the Embra Heritage Foundation collaborated with the University of Ann Arbor. Through their connections, the origins of these antiques remained a mystery.

Lin An guessed that it was either a coincidence or that someone had sent these items to the University of Ann Arbor through a heritage foundation.

But why?

What's so special about our university?

As the professor's introduction drew to a close, the surrounding exhibits gradually became more modern.

Just as Lin An was about to concentrate on taking notes, suddenly, all the mysterious tree diagrams of the visitors grew a branch.

How?

He quickly looked ahead and saw a circle of strange exhibits. They were all very similar. Behind the glass case was a box with strange decorations. The lid was opened by the staff, revealing a scroll of parchment covered with strange writing inside.

Even Lin An didn't know what language it was; just by looking at it, he was reminded of cuneiform script.

There are 11 quirky exhibits in total. Many people are initially attracted by the neat and orderly display and stop to look, but they quickly lose interest.

Lin An took a closer look and understood the reason for the phenomenon.

The exhibits are simply described as "a scroll of scripture from ancient times," and even the donor at the bottom is listed as "anonymous."

These parchments of unknown origin are located in the most remote part of the exhibition hall, but as soon as you pass by them or glance at them casually, the mysterious tree diagram of all visitors will grow, and several prototypes that Lin An has not yet witnessed will appear.

“Professor, what are these exhibits? Do you know who donated them to the university?” Lin An gestured for Professor Emmett to come closer.

“They seem to be… ancient manuscripts from the Arab world. I wasn’t the one responsible for researching and exhibiting them.” The professor adjusted his thick glasses, his brows furrowing deeply. “As for the donors, there’s no record of them… and I have absolutely no recollection of them.”

"The professor's memory only comes back when he records our attendance," Mike whispered to Sang Sang.

"Don't do that, it's so impolite," Sangsang said, giving him a "yes" gesture.

Lin An was still carefully reading the descriptions of the exhibits. Although no specific names were written, the records showed that these items were all donated to the University of Ann Arbor on January 30, 2038.

He then asked other staff members, and strangely, they did not have a unified story about the donors. Some said it was a wealthy foreigner, some said it was a domestic auction house, and others said it was a wealthy alumnus from the Persian region.

As for who is in charge of exhibiting them, there are many conflicting opinions among the staff.

Lin An couldn't help but frown, feeling that the secrets hidden behind this might be beyond his ability to investigate.

The "unknown" data appearing in the tree diagram was particularly unsettling. Even though the headquarters' efficiency was absurdly poor, Lin An still had to send an email to Lord Arthur to report it.

Stop slacking off!

Send someone to investigate immediately!
After all, only powerful families can defeat powerful families.

Someone nudged Lin An with their elbow, interrupting his thoughts; it was Mike, who was standing next to him.

"Hey buddy, what are you spacing out for?"

"Thinking about someone's concert starting next Monday, but still no lead singer, I can't help but worry about him." Lin An casually tossed the topic to Sang Sang.

"Ah!" Sang Sang snapped out of her reverie, "Two directions—I have to be responsible for my band! Lin Dou..."

“I only studied bel canto at the art school, I can’t sing rock, at most I can belt out a couple of lines of Black Panther’s ‘No Place to Hide.’ Instead of fixating on me, why not ask this handsome football team captain?” “Right! But Mike, can you sing?” Sang Sang’s eyes sparkled.

Mike patted his chest confidently: "That's what I've been waiting for! Me? Three-time prom king in high school, how could I not sing! As the undisputed king of parties, of course I have to be good at singing, dancing, and rapping!"

"It's settled then. But are you free to come to our training room for rehearsal this weekend? You seem to be a full-time employee of the Foundation's logistics department, right?"

"That depends on whether the boss approves the leave." Mike punched Lin An with his fist. "Right, boss?"

"Sing as long as you want, don't interfere with my recruitment."

Lin An waved his hand dismissively, but the two bright-eyed college students immediately misunderstood and gave him a high five, making a loud "slap slap" sound, which made Professor Emmett turn around in exasperation.

"No loud noises allowed inside the museum!"

"Okay, okay, Professor."

This peaceful and pleasant life had once bored Lin An to the point of utter boredom. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a long-lost sense of melancholy. He had once wanted to be one of Mike and Sang Sang, but the past 21 years of experience proved that he couldn't do it.

Only by finding "Comers" can he find his true home.

…………

It was a blurry, pictorial scene, the churning chaos losing its concrete edges and outlines, but Lin An knew that it was more than just imagination.

A hazy mist, swaying reeds, a boatman wearing a bird-beak mask...

Ineffable images surrounded Lin An, striving to transform themselves into symbols that his brain could understand, narrating their undeniable existence.

After an unknown amount of time, the blurry scene floating in front of Lin An gradually showed signs of movement. The soft, living creatures maintained very neat postures, raising their slender arms high above their heads; they were performing a sacrifice.

The moonlight grew dimmer, and the light fell in a scattering pattern from the indescribable sky and the broken mirror, lingering as if it were sentient on the raised palm of a human figure.

The object began to display a different color and radiance, slowly stabilizing the surrounding hazy scene.

The figures performing the sacrifices made new movements, without making a sound, yet they were in excruciating pain. Lin An remained unmoved by their suffering until they died.

As they lay dying, the figures clutched tightly the glowing light in their hands, which took the shape of cylinders.

Lin An recognized them; they were candles, one after another.

As the candlelight rose, an indescribable ethereal singing voice filled the air, rising and falling at regular intervals, like a certain melody.

The music swirled and permeated, gradually transforming into a cold light of indescribable color. Lin An saw them leap and fly upwards into the unfathomable starry sky.

The dark clouds rippled like water, forming swirling patterns.

"Ring ring ring!"

The ringtone startled Lin An from his deep sleep, and he sat up abruptly from the sofa.

Recently, he's been studying the Philosopher's Stone, writing papers, and translating the fifth volume of "The Complete Book of Magic," which has left him mentally exhausted, and he fell asleep without realizing it.

I never expected to dream about these things again, things that have been recurring since he arrived in Dietrich...

During the journey of transporting the Thunderbird, Lin An got rid of the persistent nightmares, which he thought were just illusions caused by boredom.

But whenever he returned to Dietrich or the state of Michigan, Lin An would constantly dream of those scenes.

It was bizarre, but Lin An was no stranger to it.

Why do I keep having these recurring dreams that I can't remember?

What do they represent?
Lin An vaguely felt that this dream was the key to unlocking the "Lady with the Lamp" that inexplicably existed within him, rather than a desire arising from his excessive idleness.

The question is, how do I explore my "dream"?
After calming his chaotic thoughts, Lin An picked up his incessantly ringing phone, and the microphone's loud voice rang out.

"Hey, Lin! Guess where we are?"

"concert?"

"It's already over! Look at the campus social media, it's all our recordings! Tons of positive reviews! But that's not the point of my call, it's—guess where I am?"

Lin An glanced at the time; it was already 4:30 PM.

"Eating too late and going to bars too early—Star Nine?"

"Wrong, wrong, wrong." Mike lowered his voice, deliberately creating an intriguing atmosphere, but Lin An didn't respond, so he had to take the initiative and say, "I'm in the university's newly built planetarium!"

The familiar name stirred Lin An's memory. He glanced at the date on his phone; today was March 1st, the day Doris had invited him to a "date" at the planetarium.

"Where did Doris Wood take you?"

They promised to book the whole place for me.

“That’s right, she actually listened to the concert from both directions! That’s amazing!” Mike exclaimed excitedly. “Afterwards, Doris invited me to be among the first visitors to the planetarium. It’s beautiful here; I’ll send you some photos.”

Taking photos? You're practically committing suicide.

Lin An thought for a moment, perhaps Doris thought he wouldn't keep the appointment, so she "kidnapped" Mike as a hostage. So he typed on the keyboard and created a new email:
To the foundation's administrative department, I need a new secretary.

"Miss Wood invited you too!" Sangsang's voice interrupted, "Lin Dou, when are you arriving here?"

Alright, one more person added to the list of social recruits.

"Wait, I'm not talking to you anymore." Mike suddenly stopped. "A super beautiful woman is coming over there!"

"April will cry."

"Oh my god, not the kind of stunning beauty I'd like to see! It's more like... how should I describe it?" Mike racked his brains, "a woman who looks and acts exactly like you. You know what I mean?"

April was in tears.

“Upon closer inspection, isn’t that the visiting professor from the School of Humanities?” Sangsang explained to Mike, “The one who’s been incredibly popular lately, the aristocratic professor from the University of Edinburgh, Adria Hughes.”

Lin An's pupils contracted; he hadn't expected Doris to invite his mother.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up his ticket stub and decided to go to the planetarium.

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(End of this chapter)