World Occult Usage Guide

As a secular power, the Gilgood family wields considerable influence in Lacono.

Weapons, fighter jets, tanks, private armies, and Ule and francs—they quickly completed the cleanup work Lin An had requested, even more proactively than expected.

During the past few months of anarchy, the Gilgood family ruthlessly plundered various warlords and conglomerates, eliminating many "landlords." Now, cooperating with Lin An is an opportunity to get out of the mire and return to the right path.

Moreover, with the World Tree now taking shape, they no longer need to fear the free mystics who awakened after the arrival of "Comers".

The Gilgood family seems to have wanted to join the Mystic Organization for a long time, but they just haven't found a suitable partner yet.

Under their manipulation, a new president for Lacono was chosen, although everyone in the presidential palace knew that the candidate was a puppet and that the real decision-makers were the Gilgood family and the World Tree.

The pirates from Poisca took over the position of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild.

Speaking of the Chamber of Commerce, Lin An spent three whole days in La Cono on the Ivory Coast without receiving any news from them.

The remaining employees of the Red Poppy Chamber of Commerce voluntarily relayed the current situation to Lin An.

“Our initial resistance was due to the uncertainty surrounding the Chamber of Commerce President’s fate,” he said. “No offense intended, Ranger, you are merely an unknown and mysterious figure…we are unaware of your true strength.”

The employee who spoke was a mysterious figure. Lin An did not show himself to prevent the other party from playing tricks. Just like when he met Gilgood, he used "God's One Eye" and data to represent him.

After the man finished speaking, green-glowing text appeared in the cell.

"I wonder if I can send Jacob van Hofwegen to hell?"

"Uh, you're so funny."

Lin An understood what the other party was talking about. The Chamber of Commerce President's "Picardiix" was a "prophet" medium. It was not strong in direct combat, but as a source-level medium, it must have the means of resurrection.

As long as the chamber of commerce president is alive, these chamber members feel there is still a chance for things to turn around.

In fact, based on the rumors and hearsay, Lin An believed that the Chamber of Commerce president had indeed survived, but due to considerations, he abandoned the plans in the Southern Continent. It was suspected that he had been expelled and punished by the Black Capital, and was temporarily unable to come and pick up his employees.

In other words, these people were abandoned by their organization.

"Haven't you received any contact from our chamber of commerce yet?" a member of the chamber of commerce asked, unwilling to give up.

“No.” Lin An observed his shifty eyes. “Do you think I’m lying to you? I wish the Chamber of Commerce president would contact me and exchange you for intelligence, mysterious items, or worldly power.”

“Sir, well…” the member’s eyelids twitched, “We have no choice but to obey your orders.”

"This is your World Tree ID card."

As the green data appeared, the employee scanned his own data and nervously swallowed.

"You not only found my name and mysterious prototype, but also assigned me a new code name—Tool_01? Tool No. 1? And this negative number ash leaf... I don't understand."

"Please use the snake icon to click the question mark next to each proper noun, and the system will automatically redirect you to the corresponding data page."

After saying that, Lin An looked away, leaving him to figure it out and think for himself.

Storage and tool are code names for the World Tree exchange system. The former refers to mysterious items, while the latter refers to other forces or free mystics under the World Tree's supervision.

Official employees of the six departments can spend Ash Leaves to borrow mysterious items in the exchange system and hire all sorts of mysterious individuals.

The Burning Mirror is the first inventory-code mystery item because it has virtually no capacity for thought.

Members of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild belong to the tool category. Each time they help the World Tree's employees complete a task, they can obtain ash leaves to offset the initial negative value.

A true "tool".

When the "ash leaf count" column of the "tool people" reaches zero, Lin An outwardly wrote that he would set them free, but in reality, he hadn't figured out how to deal with these people. At present, these deducted ash leaves are just a pie in the sky.

The distribution of the "tool" ID cards was limited to the Chamber of Commerce's mysterious members. The ordinary people were sent by Lin An to the Gilgood family, as the World Tree, which was already nearing saturation, could not accept any more outsiders.

After dealing with the Chamber of Commerce, Lin An was only slightly uneasy because the Western Continent was eerily quiet since the press conference incident. There were hardly any reports mentioning the group of reporters who were resurrected by the voodoo priest and then devoured by Mother Kum.

Newspapers were eerily quiet, with only a few obituaries posted in the corners of their web pages announcing the deaths of reporters in "accidental combat."

Just as Lin An told Edward, these unfortunate souls had no chance of survival; Mama Koum had simply made their deaths quicker and "cleaner."

If she doesn't intervene, Lin An will either have to find someone to end these people's lives one by one, or wait for them to completely lose their minds, their bodies and souls becoming mysterious objects—and subduing this group of out-of-control mysterious beings will definitely be a troublesome matter.

The mysterious being is bound by divine mediums; recklessly killing so many people will inevitably cause his own level of contamination to skyrocket.

Although Edward is a "judge" skilled in killing, his time rating is far too low.

Before he learned how to harness his own mystique, Lin An instructed him to focus more on the medium's tendencies and less on manipulating the energy of "Commons".

The reporter could only manage a wry smile.

Even without Lin An's warning, he would now be a half-statue, only able to be moved around by others, having lost the ability to move freely.

Lin An settled him in the ship's cabin. To prevent Edward from getting too bored and starting to overthink, he assigned him an easy task—registering the expatriates stranded at the port.

Besides the journalists killed by voodoo, many other staff members also arrived at Ivory Coast in Lacono with them, but did not enter the press conference building and escaped with their lives. After the Red Poppy Merchant Guild surrendered, apart from a ship that sailed from international waters and took away the Lion-people and Airlans from Ivory Coast, the remaining stranded personnel, like the remaining members of the guild, became unsupervised "vagrants".

After repeatedly contacting their own country and company without receiving any response, Lin An extended an olive branch to them.

This group of expatriates are all highly educated, college graduates, and are well-suited to go back with him to build Bantu.

Given the choice between joining the World Tree and becoming a pirate roaming the high seas, or a stowaway struggling on the Ivory Coast, all the expatriates unhesitatingly chose the former.

Lin An also told them that not everyone could become a full-time employee of the World Tree. Soon after returning to Bantu by boat, the World Tree would hold a recruitment event, and they could apply enthusiastically.

After finishing with the miscellaneous items, it was time to leave Ivory Coast.

Lin An took out the engraved seashell that Kum's mother had given him; its coordinates pointed to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

"I have to go now."

At noon, he stood on the beautiful Ivory Coast, which was as beautiful as jade, and spoke to the translucent Noon Lady beside him. She gracefully clasped her hands together and smiled faintly.

"May your future prosper, and may you remain cunning."

What a blessing with distinct regional characteristics...

In the Baltic cultural region, people praise a person's cunning, believing that only a "slippery person" knows how to handle various challenges.

“Mrs. Adamek, do you really not need me to tell your brother that you are still alive?” Lin An asked.

The lady gathered her thick, bundled hair, revealing a small sun on the back of her head, its radiant light giving her a definite shape.

The equatorial midday heat made her image incredibly clear, and her power was stronger than ever before.

Once the sun sets, she falls into a coma and loses consciousness.

“No, our family prefers the dead.” Mrs. Adamek covered her mouth. “That way we can convince ourselves to live on and spend the rest of our lives seeking revenge. That’s how the Gilgoods adapt to death.”

"So, what are your plans to avenge your husband?"

The recording from the presidential office was leaked by Mrs. Adamek, but to this day, the origin of the video remains unknown.

Lin An was unsure who had given it to Mrs. Adamek, or what the message "a gift from me" meant.

Does the "you" refer to the lady, or... me?

“Initially, I played that videotape over and over again, staring at the killer’s face, gritting my teeth as I observed his every movement, every expression, every muscle movement, thinking about how he would react if I held a gun to his temple one day.”

"When I watched it for the fiftieth time, I suddenly noticed some subtle movements of my husband. Between the time he was shot and the time he died, he lay prone on the ground, his shoulders twitching."

"I initially thought he was convulsing from the pain, but upon closer inspection, I noticed he had a pen and seemed to be writing something. So I 'floated' to the scene and found a piece of paper under the carpet in the president's office."

Mrs. Adamek pulled a blood-stained piece of paper from her chest and handed it to Lin An. The trembling, distorted handwriting contained the doctor's dying words.

To Mary:
I don't know if you'll ever see this letter.

For the past thirty-five years, I have strived for the internationalism that my family believes in, and whether this death is the ending I envisioned, it will not change the main theme of my life.

My belief in the future of an international community is no less than it was when I was young, and is even stronger.

Now, I also want to tell you that in addition to the happiness of my career success, fate has also given me the happiness of being your husband.

Weep for me, but do not seek revenge for me, Mary.

I walked from the courtyard to the window, opened it wider to let the air flow more freely into the room, and looked at the lush green grass below the wall, the midday blue sky, and the sunshine everywhere.

Life is beautiful.

I believe that evil, oppression, and violence will eventually be eradicated from the world, so please enjoy it to the fullest.

Forever loyal to you
Alexander.

“I don’t believe in the world my husband described, at least not by waiting.” Mrs. Adamek retracted the paper. “His death brought me into contact with ‘Comers.’ So, I’m prepared to use the extra time that planet has given me to take action.”

"action?"

"For example, we could find a way to keep our clinic running, resume the free Sunday consultations, and help you monitor the Gilgood family. You don't want the World Tree to become the next Red Poppy Merchant Guild, do you?"

“I’m glad you have a new goal.” Lin An curled his finger, and a line of data appeared. “And, welcome to World Tree.”

Name: Mary Gilgud Adamek
[Mysterious Prototype]: Prispornica
[Department]: Consultant
[ID Number]: Firewatch_58
[Access Level]: Pine Green

【Number of ash leaves】: 5
[Code Name]: Noon Lady
Through the data, Madame Adamek watched Lin An leave, lifting her skirt with both hands and giving a noble farewell.

Pusipolnica's white skirt, like a newlywed wedding dress, washed away the somber and sorrowful hues from the woman's appearance. (End of Chapter)