World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 19 The Foundation's Four Members
The distance was too far for Lin An to see the faces of the four people clearly.

"System, use [100% Accuracy]."

"Consume—"

"No consumption."

The shooting interface appeared, aiming at the figure in the lead. The camera zoomed in, and Caroline's sweet features were clearly visible.

Unlike her polite demeanor when investigating Lin An, she completely entered battle mode.

With sunglasses hanging around her neck, Caroline's eyes shone with a bright red light, like two sparkling rubies. Moreover, she had three "tear moles" at the corners of each eye.

Using the magnifying lens, Lin An discovered that the protrusion resembled an insect's compound eye.

They reflect an overflowing rainbow of colors, never blinking.

As Caroline slightly bent her knees, assuming a poised stance, two pure white, speckled wings unfurled from her back, shaped like cranes but made of the material of some kind of insect, covered with a layer of fine down.

Soft downy fur extended down to her skin, covering her waist and chest, trembling gently in the wind.

When she was talking to Lin An, she was wearing a bodysuit that tightly bound her contaminated and mutated body, maintaining the curves of a normal person, with only a normal "face" showing.

Ugh, it must be so uncomfortable to have such big wings crammed into a bodysuit.

Winter is fine, but what about summer?
To prevent the public from accessing the mystery, everyone in the foundation must have made enormous sacrifices; aside from anything else, their spirit of discipline is truly awe-inspiring.

Standing beside Caroline was an unfamiliar member of the control team.

He was quite strong, over two meters tall.

Blinking, Lin An was surprised to find that the man's appearance had changed.

In an instant, he lost his human characteristics, crawling on all fours and transforming into a beast-like creature with gleaming sharp nails and fangs, skin as smooth as a reptile's, and porcupine quills growing from his back.

Deformation?

There's also this type of mystery.

Lin An guessed that the man was the one among the four who rarely spoke to each other.

With the locked perspective of "100% accuracy," Lin An could only carefully examine the two people in the front row.

As Caroline moves, the perspective shifts, and the "camera" occasionally pans across the other members. In the pieced-together fragments, Lin An catches a glimpse of what they look like.

One was a slender black silhouette, like a wisp of drifting mist, wearing an elegant hat with black shavings constantly falling from the edge, making a sizzling sound.

Judging from their conversation, this person was none other than the "captain".

The identity of the remaining person is obvious: the calm, rational, and erudite "coroner".

She maintained her human form, and her appearance showed almost no signs of deformity—except that her design was a high-tech version of the Fire Keeper.

The coroner wore a huge cloak made of a special material, the nanotechnology surface reflecting a strange fluorescence, and a titanium alloy eye mask covered most of his face, revealing only his thin blue lips.

Her rating was the highest among the four.

Lin An made his conclusion.

Because no one else was paying attention to him, only the coroner looked around, searching for the source of his gaze.

Unfortunately, Lin An hid behind the curtains on the balcony and secretly observed the area using the "100% Accuracy" aiming interface. The area within her sight had been cleared clean by the rescue team.

"Any discoveries, Vanessa?"

The coroner shook his head and said calmly, "Perhaps it was my imagination, Captain. How is the situation?"

"Fortunately, it hasn't gotten any worse," the captain replied. "The Mystic has only recently awakened, so you don't need to intervene. After you take control, check her detailed stats and conduct a level assessment."

"clear."

The captain turned to the other two team members: "Hector, control the Mystic, don't give her a chance to activate her abilities; Caroline, find the angle and start the hypnosis."

"No problem, Captain!"

Caroline spoke crisply, flapping her enormous wings as she glided low into the air; the man responded almost imperceptibly, shooting out like an arrow and diving into the water with a "plop".

The elusive black mist disappeared into the darkness, distorting space for a moment before returning to normal.

Teleport?

Lin An seemed to be deep in thought.

The four-person team each performed their duties efficiently and worked together effectively.

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream came from the silent battlefield, attracting the attention of Lin An and the four-person team.

"What do you want to do? Don't hurt her!"

Mike!

He didn't retreat with the main force?!
Lin An was eager to check the situation, but he couldn't exit the "100% Accuracy" perspective, so he had to continue following Caroline as she flew, observing from a 45-degree angle in the air.

I'll have to think twice before using this ability to gain free vision in the future.

Otherwise, if you lose your first-person perspective during a major battle and can't get back to it quickly, you're doomed.

As the fog cleared, the "monster" finally came into view.

She was a tall, thin woman with snow-white hair that floated on the water like a flowing yet tattered wedding dress.

Her face resembled a skeleton, her chin devoid of flesh, and two bright red tears streamed down her dark eye sockets, dripping into the pool and staining it with an ominous hue.

Nevertheless, Lin An could still find April's shadow in her.

However, she is now thinner and taller, and her skin has changed from a healthy wheat color to a bluish-white.

It really was her... Based on his experience over the past few days, Lin An figured out a rule for awakening the mystery.

Since the orbits of "Comerth" and Titan have not yet overlapped, mystics can generally only gain the favor of the twelve gods in advance if they meet three conditions.

First, they are either enthusiasts of mysticism or have recently come across information about "Commerz".

Myths, urban legends, internet tales, local customs...

However, with the advancement of information and technology, mainstream society has long abandoned unrealistic beliefs, and people have embraced science and logical thinking.

Mysticism?
It's all a lie!
Fortunately, the awakened are only a minority, and the situation around the world is currently under control, preventing the bizarre from running rampant, order from collapsing, and panic from sweeping the globe.

Titan has five years left.

Secondly, these people share a common characteristic: inner emptiness.

Whether their lives are not going well, they can't see hope or a future, or they are living a mediocre life and their spirits are not satisfied, their motivation to live is imagination, and they can only find solace in false fantasies.

The higher the proportion of "Commerx" knowledge contained in this imagination, the easier it is to attract media and awaken the mysticism.

April was originally a member of the materialist army, but only recently began studying the mythology of the Lower East.

This fulfills the first condition—"learning about the mystery".

Following this, she was triggered in her life by believing that her boyfriend was unwilling to start a family. In order to escape reality, April couldn't help but believe some things that suited her tastes and made herself feel better.

In this way, she fulfilled the second condition—"belief in mystery".

She just needs a trigger to awaken.

As for what exactly this "opportunity" was, perhaps it contained all sorts of stimuli, Lin An had no idea.

When Mike told Lin An about his girlfriend's situation, he had a premonition that April might awaken her mystic powers soon.

So he casually took a picture and posted it on the World Tree Forum, hoping the foundation would be able to find out something.

As Lin An spoke with April, his premonition grew stronger.

He tried to calm her down and avoid the inevitable "opportunity," but the moment he didn't keep an eye on April, she immediately became aware of the mystery.

This is so weird.

In the darkness, everything seemed like a preordained script.

When Sasaki mentioned borrowing books from April to Lin An, he never imagined things would develop to this point.

It was as if an unseen hand was pushing this series of events from behind, gradually controlling April's actions and thoughts, leading her into an unavoidable trap—and upon waking up, her level of contamination was already moderate, almost causing her to lose control.

The foundation has no way to reduce the level of pollution.

Once April's value exceeds 60%, she will face relentless and coercive "control," or even elimination.

So, who is the person who sparked April's curiosity about that world, making her deeply immersed in it and unable to extricate herself, ultimately attracting the medium and being irradiated by "Commerx"?

What's his purpose?
What benefits will April gain after she awakens?

With questions in mind, Lin An continued to watch the performance of the four-person team from the foundation.

Hector, like a slippery dolphin, approached April in the blink of an eye. Just as he was about to restrain the crying woman, Mike picked up a bottle and smashed it over his head with a "ping".

"I told you to stay away from her, you monster!"

"Click!"

With a strong arm, Hector grabbed the bottle and crushed it expressionlessly. Glass shards scattered like a kaleidoscope, grazing the man's smooth skin without causing any harm.

"Uh-huh!"

Mike immediately groaned, covered his face with his hands, and fell into the pool, losing his balance.

Hector punched him with his other hand, right between his chin and Adam's apple. Mike rolled his eyes and lost consciousness.

After getting rid of the troublesome guy, Hector grabbed April's arms tightly and pulled them back with his hands.

"Giggle!"

The vibrations from the colliding bones churned the surface of the swimming pool. Blood gushed from April's empty eyes, and her skull-like mouth gaped open, letting out a shrill, piercing scream.

“Aaaaaa——!”

The high-frequency sound waves rolled in, striking straight to the soul. Even Lin Anye, who was hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but feel a strong dizziness. His vision went black, his stomach churned, and he almost vomited.

He was momentarily distracted, but quickly returned to Caroline's perspective.

She flapped her wings and flew, gliding lightly across the sky, and stopped in front of April, who was being controlled.

Before the latter could react, Caroline's eight eyes widened, and an invisible beam of light shot out from them.

The moment April was hit, her screams stopped abruptly, and she froze on the spot, her whole body stiff.

Hypnosis?

Similar to "Songs on the Other Side of the Mountain," but unlike Pishtako's delayed effect, Caroline's ability is triggered "instantly."

The next moment, the scene distorted, and black mist, accompanied by the crackling sound of electricity, enveloped April. The captain's figure appeared behind her like a ghost.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, April immediately lost consciousness.

As a new author with a new book, the support of every reader is my motivation.

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(End of this chapter)