World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 25 The Foundation's Interview (Part 2)

Having understood the intention behind the test question, Lin An thought for a moment, then shook his head again.

"I still can't tell."

"The answer has been recorded. Please don't be discouraged..."

X repeated what he had just said, and the captain's model changed again.

He and Lin An locked eyes. A layer of black mist obscured his eyes, gradually spreading and engulfing his entire face, leaving only a pair of incandescent bright spots.

"This, this is!" Lin An exclaimed, feigning surprise, "Dark Watchers!"

"drop!"

The image of X blurred for a moment, accompanied by static and a mosaic effect that lasted for three seconds before becoming clear, except that the model it was holding up with its hands had disappeared.

"Is the test over?" Lin An asked.

"Yes, sir. We are about to move to the next phase. Loading..."

Little did they know that the monitoring staff behind the scenes were dumbfounded and looking at each other in disbelief.

"You recognized him immediately?"

"I warned you guys long ago not to use Captain Reagan's image; at least change some parameters. Now look what happened, a temporary staff member has revealed the secret name of the straight-faced member!"

"He doesn't have the corresponding access level, what should we do?"

"Since he already has radiation levels, he'll join the direct confrontation department sooner or later. Getting to know a full member of it now isn't a major leak."

"The minister means..."

“There’s no need for any further testing; it’s pointless except for nearly giving me a heart attack,” the Minister of Civil Service said. “Move him to the final room.”

"What should he do while we wait? The others haven't finished the second big question yet."

"It's a good opportunity to test the 'personality test' developed by headquarters. This young man is a born enigma. I dare not speak for the headquarters, but at least in the past year, I have never seen anyone who is so compatible with 'that world'."

The minister clenched his fist, staring at Lin An's lamp, his breathing becoming rapid.

"His answer will be valuable data from St. Anilov."

…………

X's expression was blank, as if something had gone wrong, as he repeated incessant ramblings.

Lin An's lips twitched.

Foundation, are you backed by any powerful figures?

In fact, Lin An couldn't guess the captain's mystery just from the short animation, but combined with the previous battles, a name surfaced.

The Dark Watchers are creatures of Calgary folklore, shrouded in mist and shadow, that observe travelers along the St. Lucia Mountains, like a pair of shadows in the darkness.

If anyone approaches, they will disappear and reappear in another place.

The Dark Watchers are most active at dawn and dusk, and are said to use human shadows to teleport.

Since the task was to assess the test subject's radiation level and potential for development, Lin An did not want to reveal the fact that he already had a high radiation level, but he also did not want the foundation to think that he had no potential.

He achieved his goal: the surveillance personnel were thrown into chaos, the minister initiated a "personality test" to stall for time, and even zoomed in on the surveillance footage of Lin An while picking up a communication device.

“Mr. Lloyd…yes, you need to take a look at this…”

With the VR device malfunctioning, Lin An's attention wandered, and a gust of wind slipped through his fingers.

He paused, then listened intently to what was happening outside.

Deliberately ignoring the AI-generated nonsense, a faint squeaking sound seemed to come from all around?

Is my chair moving?

Originally, the initial room was just a hall. Based on the test subjects' results, the curtain slowly opened, and the walls transformed into a network of doors. Each person was moved to a designated new room by a chair connected to a track for the next stage of testing.

There's something there.

But your AI technology is really bad.

Is X still talking nonsense?
...What is it saying?

Lin An was thinking in a daze when suddenly, a mechanical voice rang out in his mind. Unlike the gentle voices of the past, this time the system roared deafeningly.

"Wake up, wake up!"

"what?"

"You were a little disoriented just now, so I woke you up." Seeing that Lin An had responded, the system said calmly, "It's time to answer the questions."

Lin An suddenly woke up with a start.

X's words were clearly a radio wave of a specific frequency. Not only that, Lin An's hands were slightly numb, and a current entered from the left side and returned to the right electrode of the VR device, hypnotizing him in two ways.

Something big is coming.

Lin An was too lazy to condemn the foundation's actions and focused on X's next topic.

"This test contains 120 statements. There is no time limit for answering. Please respond to all statements in order."

Please do not use 'neutral' terms. Below is a reference list; please choose the words that best represent your viewpoint:

Strongly Disagree: You strongly disagree; this statement is absolutely false.

Disagree: You disagree that the statement is mostly false. Neutral: You are neutral on the statement and cannot determine whether it is true or false.

Agree: You agree that the statement is largely true.

Strongly agree: You strongly agree that this statement is absolutely correct.

Psychological test questions?
Lin An narrowed his eyes. He was right. The medium a person attracts is strongly related to their personality.

The twelve “Commons” mediators represent different personality types, as well as their corresponding behaviors, stances, and thoughts.

According to modern moral standards, some of them are "dangerous," some are "weird," some are "harmless," and some are "correct."

Although my perspective as a "knowledge seeker" is relatively neutral, it's always good to be clear-headed when doing the test; who knows how accurate this test might be?

Moreover, it would be terrible if the foundation discovered what I had done through questioning, or if they jumped to the “judge” medium that I had recently attracted.

Based on experience, the "presiding judge" can be considered antisocial.

Try to align the answer with that of a "seeker of knowledge," as both Western alchemy and the Taoist arts of the Dragon Kingdom are mysteries categorized as "seekers of knowledge."

“You find things sweeter when you lose them. Because you once wanted something and got it—even though it was the only thing you really wanted—and when you got it, it turned to dust in your hands.”

Does this statement describe your current thoughts?

"I strongly disagree."

This must be the medium of the mother of desire; it's so explosive right from the start.

"Anything you can imagine is real."

"neutral."

Dreamer's Medium?
"You want to break free from the chains of mediocrity that bind you. Although you are below average at the beginning, you believe that as long as you work hard and dare to be enterprising, you can cross the river gloriously."

"agree."

Is diligence and hard work the medium of the god of agriculture?

"In your life..."

Lin An answered half-truthfully until X brought up the topic of "seekers of knowledge".

"When you pursue something unexpected, you're not satisfying yourself, but rather being surprised and puzzled by the behavior of others. In order to fit in with them and to understand how others are different from you, you develop an interest in world cultures."

"Strongly agree."

"You follow and cultivate your curiosity, believing that curiosity is one of the most important human traits, and that frequently pursuing the unknown allows you to make better decisions."

"...I strongly agree."

Wait, is this the statement that represents the medium of the "seeker of knowledge"?

Which medium did the previous questions correspond to?
To avoid making further mistakes, Lin An answered with increasing caution.

Finally, after a total of 120 statements, X bowed to him with a smile.

"Thank you for your reply, sir. Now please follow the instructions to remove the device and place it in the recycling bin next to you. Please wait 5 to 10 minutes. The St. Anilov Foundation is processing your evaluation results. Have a nice day."

Stepping out of the VR view, you are greeted by a completely new room.

Lin An looked around. Unlike the hall, this room was much smaller, only about 40 square meters. It also had a pure white and minimalist decor, with three walls covered with fluorescent circuits, arranged in a pattern like blood vessels.

The wall facing Lin An was a one-way glass panel, and in the darkness, a row of prison-like bars faintly lit up, imprisoning some kind of creature.

Or rather, objects.

It remained quietly in the darkness, motionless, like a still stone.

Confronting the mystery?

Is this the last test question?
At least I have passed the foundation's test and have been assigned to the core "Face-to-Face" department.

Besides Lin An, two other people moved into the room. They were still wearing VR equipment, their heads drooping, sitting blankly in their chairs.

One was a man around thirty years old, and the other was a woman around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Hey teammates.

Lin An stretched and waited listlessly for his two companions to wake up.

Backstage at the foundation, everyone stared at the data displayed on the large screen, and the minister murmured Lin An's test results.

"Nature worshippers 3%, prophets 5%, earth gods 8%, dreamers 12%, gods of truth 19%, goddesses of the lamp 20%, seekers of knowledge 33%."

"Minister, what's your assessment of his data?"

"This means that this 'personality test' is not accurate enough." The minister frowned. "Logically speaking, his personality is full of 'positive factors,' none of which pose a danger of causing social unrest, but... why is the 'Lady with the Lamp' tendency so high?"

Is there anything special about this medium?

"Its peculiarity lies in the fact that no one can detect it." The minister gave a wry smile. "Of all the mysterious individuals recorded in the United States, there are only three suspected cases of the 'Lady with the Lamp' medium, and all of them were already dead when they were discovered."

“Thankfully, the ‘Seeker of Knowledge’ outpaced the ‘Lady with the Lamp.’ However, the information about the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ is far too limited; perhaps the question itself is flawed.” The minister shook his head. “Truly worthy of being ranked alongside the ‘Lord of Dreams’ as one of the two strongest mediums.”

"Drip."

The black card opened the door, and someone walked in, a deep and magnetic male voice reaching everyone's ears.

"Minister, what brings you here?"

(End of this chapter)