World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 17 Doris Wood

"Ding dong."

A new message popped up, and Caroline clicked on the shortcut. The page redirected to a forum with a black background, where eerie golden tree-like patterns radiated out like a spiderweb.

World Tree Forum.

In the past few days, the foundation has been investigating the history of the website.

Its predecessor was founded in 2012, with its terminal located in Northwest Continent. No matter how you investigate, you can't hack into the system, as if it exists in another dimension outside of Titan.

The forum became incredibly popular just as topics of superpowers, special abilities, and extraterrestrial civilizations were trending and the internet was booming, attracting a large number of mystery enthusiasts from all over the world.

With increased information transparency, materialism has become the mainstream ideology. In addition, the website's design, functions, and code have stopped being updated, and it has gradually become outdated.

Most users abandoned it and turned to other popular culture.

Only a small group of loyal users remained loyal, and after more than a decade, the website suddenly received a long-awaited major update.

The World Tree logo hangs prominently in the center, like a rising black sun.

Due to the radiation from "Commerx", mysterious phenomena have occurred frequently, and people are filled with curiosity about another world, eager to find online communication platforms.

At this time, the World Tree Forum came into the public eye.

It not only retains various high-quality posts from 2012, but also has many "experts" who are still active, enthusiastically answering questions everywhere. As users spread the word, this website has become popular again on the Internet.

In just two years, it became one of the most famous websites for exchanging occult ideas on the internet.

Unlike some forums that focus on "high-quality" content and only accept academic papers, users from all over the world can post any kind of thread on the World Tree Forum.

Questions, experiences, requests for help, sharing...

The posts are a mix of true and false, with many being sensationalist and attention-grabbing, but as the orbit of "Comers" approaches, the forum's credibility is increasing.

Because it embodies the myriad aspects of the "masses".

The logistics department at St. Anilov began tracking posts from nearby users and forwarding suspicious posts to the direct response department for verification.

Caroline clicked on the details of the new post.

twelve_reganr: A quick snapshot at a swimsuit party, and what the heck?! [Image]
twelve_reganr: Here's what happened. The poster is an ordinary college student who was invited to a winter festival pre-party. He got a little drunk and was enjoying the breeze on the balcony when he accidentally clicked the camera button, which resulted in this scene being recorded.

The image shows a group of men and women in swimsuits partying, some drinking, some eating barbecue, in a chaotic and decadent scene.

ArTooDeeToo2036: You didn't invite me to your silver party, did you?

Huffapuff_123: I'm blind! This is a real-life "Where's Willie?"

SaltlicoL: What's strange about this picture?

[This user has been permanently banned]: Taking photos of girls in bikinis without their consent?

[This user has been permanently banned]: Does anyone understand this?! This is outrageous! Where are the administrators? Get to work!

Heviaaaa: The poster's ID looks familiar. Have I replied to your post recently?

FeelingBlue3: There seems to be a white dot in the upper right corner.

The last reply caught Caroline's attention. She took off her glasses, zoomed in on the upper right corner of the photo, and examined it closely. Sure enough, she noticed the oddity of only having one pixel.

It was an out-of-season pool party, yet one person stubbornly wore a thick, long dress.

And the style of the dress is somewhat like... a wedding dress?
and many more!

Caroline put on her glasses, and her vision returned to its "normal" blurry state.

The pixels in the same location reverted to the outline of a bikini, and the girl sat in the crowd, completely unaffected.

Oh no, it's an awakened mystic!
And it's on the verge of a surge in pollution levels!
If it's a killing ability, once it gets out of control, the lives of hundreds of young men and women in the photo will be in danger!
"Wow!"

Caroline sat up abruptly, grabbed her tablet, and while contacting the poster named "twelve_reganr," she hurriedly found her other companions.

"Something terrible has happened!" she said urgently. "Quickly locate this photo! Now!"

…………

Pushing through the crowd, Lin An found the parasol "Mike" had specified. There, a woman in a bikini lay lazily on a bench, acting like a guardian spirit, blocking the view of a young couple arguing not far away.

As soon as Lin An approached, the woman seemed to sense something, removed the two slices of cucumber covering her eyes, and propped herself up.

"Ah, you've finally arrived."

"You know me?" Lin An narrowed his eyes slightly.

“There aren’t many Chinese students at the university, and even fewer handsome guys, especially a mixed-race heartthrob that Mike and April often mention. It’s hard for me not to notice.” The girl tossed her fluffy, gray-blonde hair and smiled charmingly. “Can I call you by your name, An’an?”

“Unless I call you 'Lily,' Miss Wood.”

The short-haired woman looked at Lin An properly for the first time, giving him a generous once-over.

"Okay."

Her voice was as light as a floating cloud, and her smile was sweet. To be fair, Doris wasn't a stunning beauty, but wherever she was, she was always the center of attention, firmly drawing everyone's gaze.

Dignified, gentle, pure, noble, cute, frivolous...

Her completely different temperament changes unpredictably with every expression, every interjection, and every glance, making her impossible to fathom.

If this woman pours out the wine of love, every drop will poison a man's heart.

“Don’t make fun of me, Miss Wood.” Lin An changed the subject. “Although I’m quite happy to meet you in person, may I say a few words to Mike first? He asked me to come here.”

“Hehe, you’ve been fooled. I sent that text message.” Doris pointed to the two of them. “Look, they’re over there. They’re arguing so loudly, it’s so annoying. You should persuade them to make up as soon as possible. Don’t ruin my party.”

Wish me luck.

Lin bypassed the bench where Doris was lying, and heard the argument between the tall, burly Mike and a wheat-skinned girl.

"This is to protect your health and future, April!"

"No, I won't listen! You just don't want to marry me! You scumbag!"

"April, I usually do as you say. But on this matter, let me tell you clearly, it's utter bullshit!"

"The Aztecs and their gods were bound together by blood, and only by experiencing birth can one take control of one's own destiny. Don't you want salvation, Michael?"

"You're completely unreasonable, April!"

"Waaaaah, you don't love me anymore!"

"Honey, don't be stubborn. Wouldn't it be better to wait until we graduate and our finances are more stable before starting a family? Have you thought about how we'll raise a living, breathing child after we're born?"

"Like all apathetic modern people, you believe that when life is at its most vulnerable, it can be ruthlessly abandoned! You believe that when someone hinders you from achieving your goals, it is justifiable to let them leave our lives!"

"Damn it, are you from ancient times?"

"I have found my purpose in life: to give birth to new life, to teach newborn flesh and bones to become whole persons, and to pursue the meaning of the soul," the girl declared emphatically. "Hmph, you don't understand my faith, Mike."

"Yeah, it's so damn baffling."

"Cough cough cough."

Lin An cleared his throat.

The two turned around at the same time, and the moment Mike saw Lin An, he cheered and strode over, grabbing Lin An's arm with a look of relief on his face.

"Dude, tell this crazy woman right now that those outdated junk items aren't real at all."

It will soon come true.

Lin An shook his head helplessly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at April, who was clenching her fists, staring with teary eyes, looking like a little hedgehog full of defensiveness.

To be honest, he didn't want to get involved in his roommate's messy affairs, but he felt it necessary to point out one of April's reading errors.

After a moment's hesitation, Lin An spoke up: "Apple, thank you for returning the book for me the other day."

"Huh?" April was taken aback, then subconsciously replied, "You're welcome. The book is quite good, I like it."

"...That book was written by an author from the Lower East Asia."

"So?"

"Hablas espaol (Do you understand Spanish?)?"

"Don't speak Chinese, Lin, you know I can't understand it."

Lin An remained silent.

This guy probably used machine translation software, no wonder he finished scanning it in one night and returned it to the library so quickly.

He said gently, “I’m glad you’re pursuing some spiritual goals. But I suggest you start with modern books. Some myths are too old; they were reasonable when they were written, but they no longer fit modern values.”

“It’s absolutely right.” April crossed her arms. “Mike, once you have such disrespectful thoughts, doesn’t that prove you don’t respect me enough?”

"Damn, is this a matter of respect? You don't understand..."

Lin An stopped the furious Mike.

“Appel, you may not have read the whole book. The Aztecs of the Highlands never considered life sacred; they believed in ‘sacrifice.’”

"What do you mean? Can't the act of 'gestation' elevate the creator's soul?"

"On the contrary, the Aztecs believed that 'fate controls the formation of personality,' and they would hand over newborn babies to a diviner who would perform a ceremony to determine the child's future."

Lin An picked up his coat from the back of the chair and tossed it to April, speaking earnestly.

"Next, the soothsayer will perform a series of rituals, including piercing, presenting, treating, and bandaging, before returning the child to the parents—whether dead or alive. All Aztecs would offer their first drop of blood to the gods to show their piety."

"Because in Aztec mythology, the gods sacrificed themselves many times to create the world and humankind. Therefore, they believed that human sacrifice and blood sacrifice were equally necessary, and that everyone should pay their due to the gods to maintain the balance of the natural world."

"This relationship is called tlatlatlaqualiliztli, meaning 'nourishing the gods with the blood of sacrifice.' Now... do you still think it's suitable as your introductory text?"

(End of this chapter)