World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 260 Reporter Edward
They're from the Western Continent?

Lin An was slightly surprised when he saw the reporter's appearance.

“Alright, Mr. Roberts, don’t make a fuss,” the captain at the helm said. “This is the ‘great hero’ you’ve been talking about, the wizard who defeated those soldiers.”

"you……"

The young reporter opened one eye, looked at Lin An who was smiling, and slowly lowered his fist.

"Is he a wizard?"

“That’s right, the guardian of the rainforest, the ancestral spirit of the spotted lion tribe, the embodiment of the Kalenga Line [Raider]. The wind has carried your deeds to my ears, and I am determined not to let a protector of nature die an unnatural death.”

As Lin An spoke, he picked up the map from the captain's cabin, ran his fingertip along it, and the tattered paper turned into gold. The reporters and sailors gasped, and the former exclaimed.

"Philosopher's Stone!"

"Bingdog."

The reporter fell into a daze of thought. After a while, he said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, I was rude. Thank you for saving me. I've been being chased by people lately, and I get scared whenever there's a whiff of wind."

"I understand, as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up," Lin An said.

"Mr. Forest Ranger, what can I do for you?" The young reporter was still a little nervous, his heart pounding.

Lin An expressed his concerns to the reporter: since the ship's features had already been exposed to the Red Poppy Merchant Guild, he would likely face relentless pursuit and it would be best to find another route.

“Well, I think you’re right, Ranger.” The young reporter stammered, “Please let me discuss this with my companions.”

He lowered his voice and whispered to the sailor captain for a moment, discussing things like "future route planning," "whether he is trustworthy," and "the powerlessness of the Chamber of Commerce."

Edward then straightened his wrinkled collar and bowed solemnly to Lin An.

“My name is Edward David Roberts, Ranger. Thank you again for your rescue.”

Hello, nice to meet you.

The two had been speaking French, but Lin An deduced from the reporter's name and the way he pronounced "forest ranger" that he came from an English-speaking country.

“Ah, you…” Edward was suddenly struck by the familiar accent and felt a surge of warmth. He blurted out, “Are we from the same hometown? No, you’re speaking Eagle English…”

"Edward, the ship is about to leave this rainforest."

Lin An tapped his wrist with his fingers, a Western sign language phrase meaning "Time is limited, stop dawdling."

You have to understand, they're on a ship that's constantly moving forward!

Edward hesitated for a few more hours, and then they arrived in Mbanbuka.

Upon hearing Lin An's reminder, the reporter suddenly realized what was happening and quickly said, "If you don't mind, could you please take me in for a few weeks?"

"OK."

After Lin An nodded in agreement, Edward Roberts reluctantly bid farewell to the captain, who patted him on the shoulder and whispered to him that he would sail back to the riverbank to pick him up in a few weeks.

"You have received a message from user Ranger_10. Do you want to check the user's status immediately?"

While waiting, Lin An dealt with Maye's contacts.

Because of Mezzo's "constellation story," the two sisters were numbered 5 and 10, corresponding to the number of stars in the sky at the time of their birth.

"Lord Ancestral Spirit, we've unknowingly become separated from you. We just saw you exchange fire with the enemy on the other side and then board that ship. I didn't dare disturb you, but you've drifted further and further away, and I just want to check on your situation..."

Her message floated in the air. Lin An's consciousness stirred, and the green data flew to the side, making room for a blank column.

He replied: “I’m fine and will meet you soon; you should rent a few boats on the shore and row to the other side, where you can wait for me next to those incapacitated prisoners and their weapons.”

"Okay, we will act strictly according to your instructions."

Putting her message aside, Lin An looked around. The ship was about to enter the next river basin, and if they didn't leave now, it would be too late.

The reporter held down his hat with one hand to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, and carried a leather briefcase with the other, quickly catching up with Lin An.

Then, his body felt light, and Lin An used his airflow technique to carry the two of them into the air.

"Ah!" the reporter exclaimed in alarm.

Using the "One Eye of God," Lin An found Fu Bin, who had regained some strength. He discovered that Fu Bin had quickly gathered his brothers, and the group was overjoyed at the prospect of escaping their suffering.

Lin An used the red envelope given to him by the human trafficker to exchange with the merchant for a small boat, and let them ride on it.

Besides Fu Bin and other trafficked Chinese, the traffickers also captured many people from the Southern Continent. They regained their freedom and expressed their desire to come along, so Lin An also took them along.

For him, it was just a casual thing to do, but it could change a person's destiny.

“Before, I wasn’t sure if my decision was right because I didn’t know who you were. Now I’m relieved, Ranger, at least you won’t harm the weak.”

Edward adjusted his levitation position and watched this scene, his eyes shining brightly.

"Honesty, kindness, compassion, and tolerance—these qualities define a person as human, and sometimes propel them toward greatness," Lin An said.

"Oh, that's so true!"

“A friend once advised me like this. Although I can’t completely follow it, why make things difficult for a group of unrelated ordinary people?”

“Unfortunately, most people cannot suppress their nature to bully the weak and always succumb to the temptations of Satan.” Edward’s expression darkened.

"Is this why you came to Bantu specifically to become a reporter?" Lin An asked.

“Yes, the world needs to hear the truth, and people need to recognize the errors of the mainstream media. I am happy to dedicate my life to a cause higher than myself, and a divine power supports me in fulfilling my mission.”

He looked at Lin An, his brown eyes gleaming with determination.

"Even if life is short, it has meaning as long as we recognize that God sent us into the world to give us a merciful mission. By redeeming others, we walk on the path of thought and miracles, illuminating the dim afterglow of each day."

“You’re from Lion Country, aren’t you, Edward?” Lin An said with certainty.

“Cornell, Your Excellency, I graduated from the University of Cambridge.” Edward smiled shyly.

"Undergraduate degree?"

"master."

Although Edward was looking at Lin An with admiration and awe, he didn't know that the "great wizard" who had forged the Philosopher's Stone was experiencing a mix of emotions.

Wow, an Oxford or Cambridge graduate!

How come everyone I've met since leaving the University of Ann Arbor has such impressive academic backgrounds?

What surprised Lin An even more was that when he opened the mysterious tree diagram, Edward's most suitable medium was actually the "Judge", and he seemed to have legendary potential.

This is the first time I've seen such a frail-looking judge. Also, Edward actually had contact with an antique containing "Commerx" energy?

Was it because he had infiltrated the Red Poppy Merchant Guild?

That chamber of commerce...

"Then you're alumni of Newton and Darwin, no wonder you have such extensive knowledge of theology and alchemy." On the surface, Lin An said slowly and deliberately, "and you also maintained your gentlemanly demeanor when you saw me."

A hint of embarrassment crossed Edward's face as he recalled his initial panic upon meeting Lin An.

“Don’t make fun of me, Ranger. The word ‘gentleman’ has long since disappeared from my life, sinking forever like the Titanic.” He waved his hand. “To be honest, before I met you, I had heard of wizards from all over the world.”

"Wizards from various places?"

"Yes, those who communicate with the spirits of their ancestors through special languages ​​and incantations are also called 'nganga' in some places."

The Bantu mysticism revolves around the four regions of the Kalenga Line, and they are largely similar, believing that mysticism originates from the wisdom of their ancestors.

The rainforest refers to the mysterious beings as "ancestral spirits," believing them to be their ancestors who returned to the mortal world from the Kalenga Line, while the city seems to call them "wizards" or "Enganga."

After four months of chakra expansion, the number of people who awakened their mystical powers has increased many times over compared to when Lin An was in the Eagle Kingdom.

Based on the ratio of about 50,000 to 10 people in the rainforest, there are at least 20,000 Mystics in the entire Bantu.

This is by no means a small amount.

“About a year ago, wizards with magical powers appeared in Bantu, no, throughout the entire Southern Continent, but they are not like you, Ranger. These wizards either staged a coup and declared themselves kings, or they cooperated with warlords.”

Edward sighed deeply.

"War, chaos, and poverty—nothing has changed except that the shotguns carried by child soldiers have become witchcraft, and the cannons have become spells."

No wonder the cargo ship passengers were scrambling to give Lin An red envelopes; it turns out these people had heard the legends of the mysterious figures to some extent, and their actions were very much in line with the main theme of the Southern Continent: corruption, wanton slaughter, kidnapping women, and exploitation of labor.

Lin An's displayed power was simply too overwhelming, deeply shocking them.

After asking Edward a few more questions, Lin An understood.

This journalist was an ordinary, law-abiding person. He didn't work in his home country for long after graduation before heading to Bantu to gather information on the ground.

The only thing he came into contact with during this time that was related to mystery could only come from the Red Poppy Merchant Guild, because he had been undercover in their factory for three years.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Chamber of Commerce is an established family.

Or rather, it is a secular organization established by aristocratic families to survive in the absence of "Commerx" radiation, similar to the relationship between [Xi Yong] and the Wood Group.

Lin An didn't know much about the Western Continent families, and the Duke, who should have been an all-knowing man, had lost his memory.

The Duke only remembered that the Black Capital was the strongest mystical organization in the Western Continent. In addition, there was another organization with a long history and a large size called the One-Skill Society, which was the "Enochistan" to which the former president of the Foundation, Jericho, belonged.

He knew nothing else.

If the Red Poppy Merchant Guild is indeed a powerful family, they are likely to have some dealings with the Black Capital. Lin An frowned slightly, feeling that a conflict between the two was about to erupt.

The outline of the Mazuz market appeared, and the noisy, bustling sounds filled the air.

Lin An put Edward on Fu Bin's small boat and told the group to land in a different place to avoid any unforeseen complications.

"Forest rangers! Forest rangers! Forest rangers!"

Compared to the crowded ships, the people of Mazuz market saw Lin An operating the Philosopher's Stone more clearly. As soon as he approached, they immediately started shouting and pulling each other along.

The loudest sound was surprisingly familiar.

Lin An glanced at the shore and met the eyes of the herbalist from afar. He was startled, suddenly knelt down, raised his hands together above his head, and muttered to himself.

"May you bless the rainforest, may you bless this land of suffering, may you bless the children born from the Almighty Tree. Kalenga Mpongu, glorious and great ranger, please accept me, that the crushed bones may leap, and that people may be saved from the abyss."

Upon hearing the herbalist's words, Lin An hesitated for a moment.

The other person's prayer didn't quite match my own.

First, Lin An is not a Bantu, and second, he has no ambition to revitalize the Bantu; rescuing journalist Edward Roberts was simply something Lin An felt was worth doing.

Won't this raise my deviation score too much, since my personal actions have been misinterpreted as "saving all living beings"?

Lin An opened the panel, and sure enough, the deviation value had risen to 74.1%.

However, before he could think of a solution, suddenly, the previously high value dropped to a full 60%, while the measured value suddenly increased by 13.

what happened?

A flash of inspiration struck Lin An, and he understood.

The mistress of the Red Poppy Merchants' Guild, Countess Mariette van Hofwegen, learned of his deeds!

Lin An licked his lips. Based on the magnitude of the data changes, he deduced that Mariette was at least legendary level, and very likely a mythical level mystic with high radiation.

Four months later, "Comers" chakra expanded. Just from fighting the legendary Zai, Lin An discovered that as the radiation level increased, the power of each mysterious person became more and more unpredictable.

If the legendary level is already like this, I wonder how far the mythical level has evolved.

After glancing at the fact that the fusion level had increased by 0.2% due to the decrease in deviation value, Lin An suddenly felt that there was no harm in accepting the herbalist's prayer.

In any case, my future will inevitably clash with the aristocratic families, and they are high-level mystics. It would be better to let the love of ordinary people and the hatred of the aristocratic families cancel each other out and form a delicate balance.

And... the captain also wants me to do this.

Will this make me a "just and kind" person?

After thinking it over, Lin An made up his mind. He nodded slightly to the herbalist, as if in response to his prayer.

A bright light shone, instantly illuminating the herbalist's face.

The young man with black hair and black eyes was like a mysterious wind, drifting ethereally across the riverbank, as if the light of the Bantu was slowly blooming.

This scene was deeply etched in his heart and he could never forget it.

"You have received a message from user Ranger_10. Do you want to check the user's status immediately?"

The system's cold notification tone drew Lin An's attention back.

"Check."

"Lord Ancestral Spirit, the ship... the ship is leaking! We're sinking!" Meyer's usually meticulous tone became incoherent. "We're in the very center of the Kuba River—please—Mezo!"

(End of this chapter)