World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 223 The Second Great Flood
New York, a neighborhood at the southern end of Manhattan.

The area is home to the world’s largest financial institutions, employing hundreds of thousands of people. It is also home to the famous New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Stock Exchange, and companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and ExxonMobil are listed here.

Before five in the morning, people in suits and ties, carrying briefcases, waited to enter 18 and 20 Broad Street, and 11 Wall Street.

These three major stock exchanges occupy a block stretching from Wall Street in the north to Broad Street in the east, from Exchange Square in the south to New Street in the west, where hundreds of billions of dollars are traded day and night in the form of data.

Unlike the commercialized negotiation space inside, the building's exterior is primarily a neoclassical white marble structure, with reliefs and columns paying homage to the Roman Pantheon, while the hanging Stars and Stripes exude a free and democratic style.

The trading hall is about to be filled with all sorts of buzzing sounds; the conversation in the early morning can only be considered the prologue.

"AA has been established for a year and a half. Let's calculate how much revenue attribution equity has contributed?"

“I agree with your concerns, but I’ve heard that their management has studied these issues and concluded that they are manageable.”

"So it's about balancing?"

Such conversations flew back and forth. A nervous young trader clutched his briefcase, huddled in a corner. He wanted to expand his network but dared not discuss any professional knowledge, for fear of revealing his own level of expertise.

Until one of them got tired of complaining, he started talking about his recent trip.

"I recently visited the museum at the University of Ann Arbor in Dietrich, and it's a truly impressive place, on par with the Metropolitan Museum of Art," the man said confidently.

“Good morning, sir,” the young trader interjected. “You seem quite interested in my alma mater.”

"You're actually an alumnus from there?" The man didn't criticize his somewhat naive behavior, and continued the conversation in a refined manner, "We were just talking about how interesting the university museum was, although some of the exhibits disappointed me a bit."

What kind of exhibits?

“Several rolls of parchment of unknown origin were donated by an unknown person on January 30th of this year. They were displayed boldly in the center of the exhibition hall with almost no detailed information.” The man pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. “They always remind me of Miskatonic University.”

"Ha, ha..." the young trader chuckled. "Our school is generally quite reputable."

He couldn't respond because he hadn't been back to his alma mater for several years.

Suddenly, a strange feeling crept up his body. The slightly chilly and damp wind of the early morning blew through the trader's thin suit, causing an uncontrollable shiver.

His thoughts became somewhat strange; he pressed down on the brim of his wool hat and inadvertently looked up at the sky.

The pale moonlight slanted across the still-dawn sky, stretching the bustling buildings of New York into long, thin black silhouettes. The lifeless sculptures of the Stock Exchange, paying homage to mythology, were reflected on the lush green grass, casting fragmented shadows.

A foul, sulfurous odor wafted towards him, as if blowing from hell, mingling with distant barking, sending chills down his spine.

Just as he was about to talk to the person next to him to dispel the sudden fear, the trader looked down and saw that the person he had spoken to had turned into a complete monster.

"Roar!"

A nauseating odor emanated from it, blending with the swirling night wind.

Once human, it extended its sharp claws, maintaining a demonic, furious, tearing posture, its lower body now a skeleton, and lunged at the people around it.

"Ahhh!"

Ever since that indescribable sensation brushed against his body, an unspeakable monster instantly spread throughout New York, sweeping everything away like a rampant plague.

"Crunch, crunch..."

The sound of bones being torn apart echoed throughout the three major stock exchanges. The hideous monsters roared aimlessly, like the final scene of an apocalyptic movie, as hordes of zombies swarmed towards the unarmed civilians.

They are not monsters, but mysterious beings who have suddenly awakened.

Initially, these monstrous individuals who preyed on people shared only one characteristic: they had recently visited the University of Ann Arbor museum and viewed the parchment scriptures.

However, as other bewildered mystics rebelled in an attempt to survive, their level of contamination skyrocketed before the widespread implementation of "Commes" education.

Since most of the mysterious prototypes in the Eagle Kingdom only have an E-level upper limit, and many others have a threshold exceeding 60%, they have gone mad and joined the chaotic situation of either destroying, attacking the still weak ordinary people, or fighting each other with other mysterious beings.

In just a few hours, the bustling international metropolis of New York was transformed into a living hell, littered with corpses, and the groans of the dying could be heard everywhere.

The young trader hid in a corner of the exchange, listening to all sorts of sounds coming from outside.

Wailing, roaring, gunshots, screams—but all of this was drowned out by the clattering of footsteps approaching him relentlessly, until a large, slippery hand reached out to him.

The trader gritted his teeth, grabbed his briefcase, and rushed out, bumping right into the mysterious figure.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a round, soft-bodied creature resembling a mouse, with a head like a sticky slime.

The next moment, the soft-bodied creature opened its gel-like head, its gaping maw engulfing the trader.

Through its transparent body, he could vaguely see the Bloomberg screen in the distance, displaying flashing, pixelated numbers.

The stock he bought today is in the green, and the increase is...

Unfortunately, he wouldn't live to see the day he could sell it and get cash...

Although money will no longer matter in the future, the green Knife Music will soon become worthless paper, the stock price will collapse, and the order of modern civilization has already crumbled in this country.

The chaos on Wal Street quickly spread globally, and stocks in all financial markets plummeted the following day.

…………

Not only in New York, but in cities closer to Dietrich, the impact of the madness was greater.

Above the capital of Iowa, a chaotic, viscous mass enveloped the entire city, bubbling and gurgling incessantly, accompanied by a low, maddening, sinister drumbeat and the faint, monotonous lament of a flute echoing in everyone's hearts.

“We can’t stop that thing,” the operator at the St. Anilov Foundation told the government, who had called for help, in despair.

"Because its level of contamination has reached 100%... The source is a mysterious item of grade E, which will exist forever if no one destroys it."

In Wisconsin, a stream suddenly hurled tendrils that reached a thousand meters high, and in an instant, thick smoke blotted out the sun, while a foul stench quietly enveloped everyone's feet.

The tangled smoke seemed to burst forth from a cage sealed for millions of years, flapping its thin, cicada-wing-like wings as it soared into the dark, sunless sky.

"That thing is beyond description—no language can adequately depict such a screaming, mind-numbing scene, such a terrifying thing that defies all the laws of physics... God! Why have you abandoned us!"

After writing that sentence, the governor of Wisconsin went into a frenzy and jumped from his fifth-floor office.

Although English may seem peaceful, people here sleep very restlessly.

An endless darkness descended upon the dream, from the depths of which came a sharp, hoarse laugh, mixed with horns that drove people mad.

The wailing seemed to pour all the terror and pain that had tormented a lifetime into a horrifying moment.

Then, some people opened their mad eyes and wandered out of their respective bedrooms.

"Gada."

The moment the door closed, the family members who once belonged to the family turned into a pool of pus, slowly seeping out from the cracks in the door, completely unaware of what was happening.

…………

The television station in Dietrich was still broadcasting news of the Tower of Babel being destroyed in the early hours of the morning.

"The recent chaos near the international bridge has largely subsided. We can see rescue workers evacuating people who will soon receive first aid and treatment. We believe they will recover soon—"

Abruptly, a "buzzing" sound rang out, and the reporter's face suddenly turned extremely terrified.

"What do you want to do?! Don't come any closer!"

"Dangdang!"

The camera fell to the ground with a dull thud. The director switched back to the final reversed view in the anchor room, where a dog-like creature lunged at the reporter. The two of them were thrown out of the helicopter cabin and plummeted to the ground.

This is not the end of the chaos, but only the beginning of panic.

Inside the broadcasting studio, hundreds of thousands of viewers watched as a monster with cockroach-like tentacles devoured another monster whose arm had turned into a worm's nest.

"what--!"

Exclamations erupted from viewers in front of the television. Those with better mental fortitude were still trying to figure out if they had switched to a science fiction channel, while those with weaker mental fortitude broke down emotionally. Looking down, they discovered that organ deformities were also quietly growing on their arms.

Such tragedies occurred in every household in Dietrich.

This is not an invasion, but a dimensional crushing.

The madness of planets at relatively low stages is not malicious, but in the eyes of humans, their laws deviate from the path of their own rational and spiritual development.

The effects of the Comors radiation on Titan cannot be described with simple words like madness and depravity; however, the barren language allows only humans to say such things.

That is, the shadow of "Commerx" is superhuman madness, the deepest distortion of reason.

When such a "crazy" world encounters a "rational" world, perhaps madness only wants to express reasonable and friendly wishes; it only wants cultural exchange, or even cooperation. But its resonance could completely destroy another planet in its early stages of development.

A beam of light rose from the basement of the New Tower of Babylon, piercing the starry sky. Colorful nebulae, exceeding the spectrum of the solar system, swirled, casting large, indifferent shadows that expanded relentlessly.

Five thousand years ago, aliens used fragments of the moon from their own civilization to initiate a ritual to call upon their home planet.

When the flood came and killed tens of thousands of people, he could only regretfully conclude that humanity was far too slow to recognize the laws and regulations of their home planet.

Although the aliens may have some respect and affection for this place, they would not regret that they destroyed this planet or wiped out the alien race.

Because he never belonged to Titan.

Therefore, humanity sealed him away at all costs.

But to this day, the second ceremony is being held under the control of a group of humans.

As the new Tower of Babylon collapsed, the true interstellar chakras emerged above it, the energy magnetic field matrix churned, ethereal songs spread in all directions, and wispy, willow-leaf-like cracks descended.

With the two-way channel open, the energy flows more purely.

Inside the University of Ann Arbor's museum, Siglo organizes the relics of the Aske and Embra Heritage Foundation. These relics have absorbed the purest substances from the chakras in the air, and have all been upgraded in rank, making them suitable for use in more advanced rituals.

Several figures flashed by and disappeared, heading towards the culprits of this disaster that swept across the Eagle Nation—the ancient scriptures covered with what looked like cuneiform script.

“【Black City】, why did you go to such lengths?” Siglo pretended to talk to himself. “This time, at least 1% of the human population has been reduced.”

"It's all to activate more Mystics ahead of time and further open their Chakras. Once the ritual is successful, the shadow of 'Comers' will forever radiate across Titan."

The people in the dark city responded casually: "We are helping humanity overthrow the old order and adapt to the new era ahead of time."

“I think she’s just acting out of hatred,” Siglo said.

“Only when the winds rise will the mystic be the leader of the era.” The man made a shushing gesture. “Even you, deep down, wouldn’t want ‘Comers’ to last only ten years, right?”

Siglo remained silent, took the items from the Human Heritage Foundation, and soon left the country with Rocky.

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(End of this chapter)