World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 193 New Developments of the Three Major Factions

The concrete and steel buildings stand tall, and the lights dispel the darkness.

"Beep beep—!"

The horn blared, the car spewed out thick gray smoke, and the tires left black tracks and the smell of rubber.

The streets of Dietrich at night are crowded with carefree pedestrians who don’t care how the world spins because their only concern is when they will get their next paycheck or what they will eat right now.

The city was too cold, everyone was in a hurry, under great pressure, and moving at a fast pace. Many strange quirks were conceived like rotting flesh growing in the night, reflected in Doris's eyes behind the car window.

A clicking sound came from beside her, and she saw Adria fiddling with the air freshener in the back seat.

“I don’t like this half-dead smell.” She smiled slightly at Doris. “Since it’s perfume, why not make it stronger?”

“Professor Hughes, it’s strange that you’re not surprised at all.” Doris thought for a moment and added, “You have a natural confidence, a keen interest in everything, and a touch of sassy superiority.”

“As it happens, I have Hermès’ new Terre d'Hermès perfume in my handbag.” Adria leaned closer to Doris, propping herself up on one arm on the seat between them. “Try it, Miss Wood.”

A powerful sense of oppression accompanied the shadows that fell upon her. Doris stared at the ever-enlarging, noble face, her heart pounding.

Although Adria was an ordinary person, she instilled an uncontrollable fear in this source-level mystic.

Why aren't you panicking?

"It's just witnessing 21st-century kids playing around, what's so surprising?" Adria rolled up Doris's sleeve without further ado and lightly sprayed perfume on her wrist. "Does it smell good?"

"Children's...playing around?" Doris's eyes widened suddenly. "So you really are connected to the infamous Lost Paradise—[The Dark City], Professor Hughes!"

"Hehehe..."

Adria lifted Doris's pale wrist with her long, slender fingers. The veins flowed slowly beneath the almost transparent skin, their owner clearly visible in her blue eyes.

"The Hughes family was a vampire branch under the Black City. They declined and eventually perished due to the conflict between the Demon Party and the Camarilla... This is the information you investigated, right? After all, the rumors about that duke easily bring to mind immortal vampires."

"You mean Duke Vasily Hughes?"

Doris was so shocked that she dropped the honorific and tried to pull her arm back, but found that she could no longer do so.

"The cute little white rabbit, [Black Capital] is just a bunch of grooms, servants and butlers who guard the Hughes family. As for the vampires, they are just one of the failed creations of that duke's 'writing' hundreds of years ago."

"What do you mean?"

Adria took Doris's trembling wrist in her hands and kissed it. An electric shock-like sensation immediately spread throughout the short-haired woman's body, leaving her mind blank.

"Want to know why Duke Hughes, the 'last vampire,' lived so long? It wasn't because of some lowly trick like 'vampire,' but because of an ancient curse and tradition, to protect a secret that no one knows."

"What the founder of the Hughes family could manipulate was 'memory'. When the time was right, he would pass his memories on to his eldest son, thus achieving immortality."

"Therefore, that duke is not a relative of the Impaler at all; he... comes from more than four thousand years ago."

Adria kissed Doris's throbbing pulse like a she-wolf licking a lamb, revealing her ambitious fangs in that moment.

“And I killed him and became the heir to the ‘secret’.”

…………

"Without a doubt, [Ghost] is the most dangerous, terrifying, and cruel free spirit the St. Anilov Foundation has encountered in the past two years."

Reagan stomped the documents in his hand and announced the key points of the meeting to all his colleagues.

"Based on my experience dealing with him last time, even if we gathered the entire Michigan direct confrontation department, we would not only be unable to control him, but we might even be wiped out by him. Therefore, I requested personnel transfers from the inspection team at the San Francisco headquarters."

"And then?" Caroline asked curiously.

“I received an email that said, ‘Your suggestion is being actively considered.’”

"Uh, does this mean... there will be reinforcements soon?" A member of the southern disciplinary squad twitched at the corner of his mouth, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

Reagan gave a wry smile: "No, it means headquarters will have to wait seven business days to process our request. Until then, we'll have to rely on ourselves."

“This is absurd!” Caroline couldn’t help but exclaim. “The Ghost is the most powerful mystic I’ve ever seen! And he’s incredibly evil! Yet headquarters just told us to wait around and let him roam Dietrich, wreaking havoc in the city?”

"Although the new inspection team no longer restricts our freedom and has even opened up the Mysterious Ones Act... their efficiency is simply too low!"

"Former team leader Joshua could provide results in less than half an hour!"

"I heard that the new head of the inspection team has shortened the working hours from 12 hours to 5 hours a day."

"Everyone, please calm down," Vanessa interrupted calmly. "Headquarters is implementing a new bill and is indeed facing a shortage of manpower. Lord Arthur Williams has not ignored this matter either; he presented an analysis in a letter."

"How come I didn't notice?"

Reagan flipped through the printed paper in his hand, and Vanessa sighed helplessly before continuing.

"The Ghost will never harm ordinary people. As long as we stay in the facility during this time, with the Chairman and Mr. Lloyd's protection, the Ghost cannot pose a danger to the Foundation. It can even help us eliminate other hidden free agents—if they offend him."

“But isn’t he the leader of the mysterious free faction and a companion of the Witch of Bavomet? Why would he attack a free mystic?” “They’ve only just started working together. Given the Ghost’s personality, she might part ways with the Witch in the future because of the slaughter of mystics.” Vanessa paused and said, “That’s what the Guild Master told me.”

“Even a witch can’t control a ghost…” Caroline gasped. “What a terrifying creature! Luckily, we have Chairman Emmanuel and Mr. Lloyd here!”

“Speaking of Simon Lloyd,” Reagan’s gaze fell on the two empty seats next to Mishi and Barry, “Ever since Captain Lin went missing, he’s been staying indoors and refusing to receive psychological treatment from the Foundation. Do you know what’s going on?”

Mishi silently shook her head, and Barry spoke.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's best not to bother him for now."

"is it?"

Their attitude was ambiguous, and the matter was dropped.

After the meeting, Vanessa organized the documents and walked towards Simon's office.

Mishi and Barry quickly followed her.

“Are you afraid I’ll provoke your captain?” Vanessa sensed their intentions. “I’ve worked with Mr. Lloyd for almost 20 years, and I know how to deal with him.”

"R-really?" Mishi swallowed hard. "But unlike before, the captain isn't young anymore. Is the Foundation really going to force him to face Lin—and [Ghost]—again?"

“You should let him rest for a while,” Barry added.

"Don't worry, he won't collapse because of this. His work will actually keep him alive. He used to be in the DEA, and now he's in the foundation."

Vanessa said somewhat coldly, then raised her hand and knocked on the door.

“Mr. Lloyd, this is the new plan.”

After a moment, the door was opened under the tense gazes of Mishi and Barry.

The young angel stood in the unlit room, still as handsome as ever, but his body was hunched; still as serious as ever, but his eyes held a sorrowful look; his expression was serene, but he walked with a swaying gait.

“Thank you for your help, Ms. Miller.” Simon took the heavy plan. “Is this the next step in our operation against [Ghost]?”

“Yes, Mr. Lloyd, I hope you will cooperate.”

"That's always been the case."

Vanessa confirmed a few things with him, then turned and left.

While Simon was methodically processing the documents, Mishi and Barry took the opportunity to sneak into the office, turning on the lights, pouring coffee, and playing music, making the place lively.

Simon had been frightening them these past few days. He would often sit alone in his chair, neither asleep nor making any unnecessary movements, lost in thought for hours on end without uttering a sound or showing any awareness.

Simon placed the file on his desk and looked up to see two team members sitting upright, looking like they were in a precarious situation. The latter immediately gave him an unnatural smile, trying to dispel the oppressive atmosphere between the three of them.

"I...I made you double the concentration, Captain," Mishi said, raising her mug ingratiatingly.

“Today the coffee machine is using Colombian coffee beans,” Barry added.

"Thank you." Simon accepted the steaming coffee. "There's no need to be so careful. Once a person has experienced youth, love, honor, wealth, and friendship, and then lost them, all that's left is faith to support him."

He took a sip of coffee and spoke in a deep, gentle voice.

“Keep moving forward until death. Then God will tell me, as He says to others, in His mercy: ‘You have used all that I have given you.’”

…………

Lin An sat on the edge of the cabin.

The lobby, resembling a five-star hotel, was filled with the scent of incense. The floor was paved with gold and silver mosaic tiles, warm steam rose from the clean and clear swimming pool, and the magnificent walls were covered with pale gold patterns.

A sun, both real and unreal, hangs in the already dark sky, casting endless light from the semi-circular dome, bringing the warmth of spring and eternal daylight.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The scene of ecstasy vanished in an instant, leaving only a dilapidated, abandoned boat, its paint peeling, its planks damp and creaking, slowly drifting along the river, barely clinging to life.

This is a space created by a "visionary".

"Boom!"

Familiar footsteps came from behind, and someone punched Lin An in the back without hesitation, shouting impatiently.

"You idiot, are you deaf? It's so hard to get you to come eat."

"I want an Ice Eagle, senior."

"We don't have the iced eagle style, but would you like the iced Cantonese style?" Zhou Qingqing held a cup of herbal tea close to Lin An's burning cheek. "Sigh, I told you to go home earlier after get off work."

(End of this chapter)