World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 253 The Forest Ranger

The experiment was not entirely successful; the rating of "God's One-Eyed IV" was too low to "see" Zai's entire body.

This result was barely satisfactory to Lin An.

Zai returned to the shadows, clearly separated from the world of the living. As long as he did not reveal himself or attack, Lin An could not cross the boundary between the two and enter the area where Zai was.

Although the Philosopher's Stone temporarily confined him to the tent, Lin An couldn't keep the space locked indefinitely, staring blankly at Zai and the six Ancestral Spirits.

After trying [God's One-Eyed IV] again and confirming that he couldn't see through Zai, Lin An slightly rotated [Philosopher's Stone], and a corner of the metal tent turned back into canvas.

The fireflies quickly darted into it and flew into the night sky in a flash.

Like a gecko shedding its tail, Zai left behind a part of the mystery. Lin An took out the [Little Man in the Bottle], which displayed a data panel with a faint glow.

[Title]: The Person in the Shadow, The Person in the Mirror, The Soul Repeated Countless Times
[Rating]: Legendary C-grade

Radiation level: 54.5%
[Pollution Level]: 63.6%
[Media]: Dreamer

Having not returned to the planet for four months, the upper limit of radiation levels has increased considerably.

After retrieving the Philosopher's Stone, Lin An deactivated his invisibility and sat in the center of the six Ancestral Spirits.

Green data emits a cold, mechanical light that shines brighter than fireflies and moonlight.

Zai was one of the stronger mystics Lin An had encountered. The remaining ancestral spirits were different, as could be seen from their attitude towards Zai.

A legendary figure could subdue them completely, let alone Lin An, who was at the source level.

“I am the main character you’re all talking about, the [Forest Ranger].” Lin An looked around and preemptively spoke up, “Want to continue discussing the old topic? I’ll give you thirty seconds.”

The group looked at each other, none of them daring to mention the destruction of the spotted lion tribe again.

The lean man who had spoken first mustered his courage and asked, half fear and half wariness, "What do you want?"

"Friendly exchanges."

Lin An could easily kill everyone and throw the ancestral spirit's head into their tribe, but he came to the rainforest to digest the "Lady with the Lamp," not to fight the Third Bantu War.

Lin An took out the flat, engraved stone, placed it on the ground, and gave a polite smile.

"Didn't you invite me? I'm new here, so let me hear what you usually talk about."

With you sitting in the center, how dare we discuss anything... The ancestral spirits silently cried out.

After another silence, Susumi, the Karu mermaid who had met Lin An once before, spoke weakly.

"Spotted Lion Ancestral Spirit, beware of Zai! Even though he's not here, if we say anything wrong, he'll sneak into our dreams and drive us crazy!"

"Thank you for reminding me, but we've already chatted."

Lin An placed the little figure in the bottle in front of him, held its head with one finger, and spun it around 360 degrees like a top.

Everyone saw a terrifying, murky gaze in the tiny android's eyes, the gaze that belonged to the old blind man.

"Za...Zai?"

"That's right. After discussing it, we've decided that from now on, I'll take his place hosting each totem gathering," Lin An said without batting an eye. "How often do you two gather?"

discuss?

You've turned our former leader into a toy!

It turns out that Lin An had been frozen in place, motionless, because he had been attacked by Zai...

The outcome of their battle was clear: Lin An was unharmed, while Zai was reduced to a puppet less than an arm's length long, completely at their mercy. The winner and loser were obvious.

Even Zhai was no match for Lin An, so who else present would dare to resist?
Nobody's a fool. The hunting life in the rainforest instilled in the ancestral spirits an innate fear of prey they couldn't defeat.

After the initial shock, they lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact with Lin An, and could only watch the fluctuating green data to ease their tension.

"About thirty days. The intervals are longer during the rainy season." Only Susumi answered calmly.

"It will be changed to once a week, and the location will be the Lion Village."

“We don’t know where the Lion Tribe is,” the short boy said hesitantly.

"Then how did you find Zai's tent in such a vast rainforest?"

"Sometimes he appears to us in our dreams, and sometimes he sends a yellow butterfly to lead us."

Well, that's a privilege of dreamers.

Zay Navigation, you deserve it...

Lin An's lips twitched. The use of mystery instead of GPS reminded him of the witch on the banks of the Eagle Country who also didn't know how to use electronic devices.

All dreamers are truly one family.

"Does everyone know the way to the Tigerfish Tribe?" Susumi quickly came to the rescue. "How about I take you to the Spotted Lion Tribe? We're not far from there. Is that alright, Spotted Lion Ancestral Spirit?"

"good idea."

Lin An then asked the group some questions about their usual gatherings. Seeing that he didn't intend to pursue the responsibility of the group for claiming they wanted to slaughter the spotted lion tribe, the group secretly breathed a sigh of relief and gradually relaxed.

They told Lin An that Zai had two purposes in creating the totem: one was to unite the tribes and resist the invasion of outsiders, whether it was resources, goods or food, or ideas or theories. Unfortunately, he was too idealistic.

The Tigerfish Tribe has long cooperated with the Red Poppy Merchant Guild. The clothes, tools, and even the tents of the tribe members must be imported from outside. Cutting off the trade link is simply impossible.

Zai was not good at fighting and was all alone, so he was powerless to do anything about it.

The second point relates to Zai himself. He summoned the mystics of the rainforest to discuss how to properly manage "Comers" without increasing the level of pollution.

According to Susumi, Zai shared some tips on using the Davao, which greatly benefited them.

This is why everyone still comes to the gathering, even though they are afraid of Zai's occasional madness.

In return, Zai would ask them for food and clothing.

In fact, the people at the gathering would also discuss some things. They came from different large or medium-sized tribes, and the rainforest was constantly in conflict. Therefore, the ancestral spirits often took advantage of the gathering to discuss whether to unite and attack a certain tribe.

This time, they wanted to join forces to wipe out the spotted lion tribe.

Therefore, tribes without ancestral spirits dare not provoke those tribes that possess them, otherwise they will face not only attacks from one large tribe but also attacks from multiple large tribes.

Over time, the ancestral spirit totem became renowned and feared by other tribes.

Zai disregarded the wars between tribes, believing them to be part of the Bantu's "natural ecosystem." He killed the hyenas because he thought they were cooperating with Lin An, an "outsider," and their behavior was simply too erratic.

Lin An listened and nodded slightly.

“Now that Mr. Zai has handed the totem over to me, most of the previous activities can continue as usual, such as discussing mysticism and the use of Dava, but I want to change a few rules.”

"What do you want to change?" the female ancestral spirit asked. "First is your name. According to my research, most people feel fear and unease when they hear the word 'ancestral spirit totem,' which is not good. The first thing we need to do is change your name."

"Change your name!?"

"The so-called ancestral spirits are the souls of our ancestors. How can you harm your own descendants?" Lin An raised his finger and shook it. "The totem is history. Under the leadership of the [Forest Rangers], you will begin a new chapter in protecting the 'World Tree'."

"World Tree..." The crowd chewed on the strange word, some savoring the meaning, others twitching with surprise.

“Secondly, in addition to ‘how to fight,’ ‘who to fight today,’ and ‘how to divide the spoils,’ we’ll add a few more topics,” Lin An said. “For example, next week’s topics will be ‘developing rainforest resources’ and ‘expanding the influence of forest rangers.’”

"what?"

Everyone instantly turned into six confused emojis. Lin An found it amusing and continued talking.

"After you go home today, either observe and think about it yourself, or talk to your respective chiefs and elders. In short, at the next gathering, I want to hear each of you give a detailed answer to these two questions for a total of 10 minutes."

After a moment's thought, he added.

"I will tell the rangers with the best answers a secret to mastering Dava, just like Zai did."

…………

It was already the next morning when we returned to the Lion Tribe.

After the group survived the crisis with the yellow butterfly, they discovered that Lin An was missing, and were immediately terrified.

If Misuru hadn't repeatedly said that Lin An had left with a unicorn and must have had his own plans, they would have almost ventured deep into the rainforest to search for the whereabouts of the ancestral spirit.

When Lin An returned, the spotted lion tribesmen, who hadn't slept well all night, cheered with huge dark circles under their eyes, and about two hundred men, women, and children rushed towards him.

This enthusiasm forced Lin An to manipulate air currents and escape into the sky.

Unexpectedly, Mvias, who had black wings, caught up and blocked Lin An's path.

"Lord Ancestral Spirit, you are safe and sound!"

"I went to deliver a package, so you don't need to worry."

As Lin An spoke, he looked around at the bustling scene below, which resembled a Cainiao Post Station during Double Twelve. Suddenly, he noticed that there were a few more people next to the big tree where prisoners had been tied up before.

"What's going on over there?"

“Lord Ancestral Spirit, it’s like this…” Mvias’s expression darkened as he reluctantly explained.

It turns out that nearly a hundred people from other tribes who came to the Spotted Lion Tribe to learn "Dawa" couldn't help but have some ulterior motives when they saw Lin An disappear.

They wanted to take advantage of the chaos in the tribe to steal the [Bone of the Tooth Grinder].

Fortunately, before their plan could succeed, their little trick was discovered by Maye, who was standing by. She immediately called Ap and they subdued the group of thieves.

However, the lion tribe did not know what to do with them, so they tied them up and awaited Lin An's judgment.

Lin An landed at the location of the prisoners and surprisingly spotted a familiar face among the group of strangers.

This person was one of the hunting team leaders who initially made things difficult for Lin An. Later, during the "Editing Mystery" event, he was used as an experimental subject by Lin An, suffering mental damage that took a long time to recover.

If it weren't for this theft, Lin An would have almost forgotten about him.

"Are you going to kill them?"

Mvias asked this question, but his expression showed a hint of reluctance. Despite the man's constant opposition to Lin An, he was still a member of the Lion Clan, and the bald leader was still somewhat reluctant to part with him.

"No need. Cut off their thumbs and throw them into the jungle to fend for themselves."

Lin An's principle is not to lay a hand on ordinary people. He didn't know why he always insisted on this before, but now he understands.

Because of the alien's soul, his subconscious believed that he had no right to harm the intelligent life on this planet, and that only when they awakened their mysteries would they be on the same level as Lin An.

"it is good!"

Mvias breathed a sigh of relief; at least he didn't have to kill his childhood friend with his own hands.

The thumb is one of the most important joints in the human body, accounting for 40% of the function of the entire finger, and it is also an advantage that sets primates apart from other species.

In modern society, losing a thumb can be very inconvenient, let alone in the rainforest where the lifestyle is more primitive.

Mvias knew very well that without food and weapons, it would be difficult for a person to survive in the jungle unless he was accepted by another tribe, but who would accept a useless cripple for nothing?

The other foreigners who came here to study stood in a row on the riverbank, watching the prisoners' gruesome sight of their thumbs being cut off, and were extremely grateful that they had not listened to the instigation and gone to steal the magical goat bone.

The man glanced at the lion tribe with a mixture of grief and indignation, and then, urged by Mvias, headed into the unknown rainforest.

Perhaps he will become the next hyena man, or perhaps he will become a corpse.

In short, Lin An believed that this little incident was harmless and actually made the Lion Tribe more united.

Lin An's deviation value also decreased by 0.3%.

Not only love and faith, but also "hatred" seems to be an aid in the fusion of the "Lady with the Lamp".

After noting down his new discovery, Lin An went to the Elder's hut.

Frumpy was chatting with a beautiful young woman with thick eyebrows and big eyes; she was Maye, one of the two sisters.

Unlike her sister Mezzo, Maye is capable and efficient, almost like a city white-collar worker, but she often has a stern face, making her seem unapproachable.

Compared to Misuru's adoration and Mezo's scatterbrained nature, she rarely took the initiative to talk to Lin An. Even when she had to contact him for work, she always had a stern and unapproachable demeanor.

Upon seeing Lin An, Meyer immediately stopped talking, stood tall and proud behind the Grand Elder, her thick black hair falling with her movements, looking just like a queen's bodyguard.

"Bonjour!" The elder blinked. "I knew you'd be alright. You slept soundly while they were vying for a spot in the night watch squad and just woke up. How was your night?"

"Most of them are on the road."

Even with the Philosopher's Stone, it still took Lin An a full half-day to travel to and from Zai's tent.

"No wonder my father works on the railway here every day; Bantu needs a better road system."

“Bantu is 75 times the size of the Kingdom of Flanders,” the elder said with a smile. “Do you know where the world has the largest French-speaking population? It’s not Paris, it’s Kinsacha.”

"Sigh, I've even seen language selection systems that draw the Brasilian flag next to Portuguese."

After chatting for a few minutes, Lin An took out the [Little Man in a Bottle]. One-third of Zai's essence mysteriously swirled, giving the pure and flawless alchemical product a touch of gloom.

“Ms. Formami, I think we should discuss education.”

Thank you to 挥剑如骨雨, 易隐春秋, and 剑の破 for the monthly tickets, and thank you to everyone for the recommendation tickets and subscriptions.

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(End of this chapter)