World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 44 Before the First Mission

"Lin, Happy New Year!"

"Lin, welcome back to the facility. How about we play pool tonight?"

"Lin, when will you have time to teach us Baduanjin?"

"Ha ha……"

As he entered the St. Anilof Foundation, staff members along the way greeted Lin An. Familiar figures flashed by and disappeared, and Lin An's eyes lit up as he took a few steps forward.

Good morning, Minister.

"Oh my God."

“Rise, it’s just me,” Lin An said. “Although I am flattered that you acknowledge the similarity between me and God.”

"Mr. Lin, turn left on the right side of the corridor and take the elevator to the department directly in front of you. Thank you for your cooperation." The minister gestured "This way, please" with a forced smile.

Lin An took two steps forward, then stopped again.

"Minister, is there an employee in the foundation named 'Cardenas'?"

“Cardenas? What do you need the Minister of Logistics for?” The minister frowned. “Even if you do, he doesn’t see people without an appointment. You’d better email his secretary a few days in advance.”

"Okay, I understand." Lin An pondered for a moment. "Thank you, Minister. If you were to become artificial intelligence, you would be much more useful than X."

"Get out of here right now, just seeing your face is giving me a heart attack."

"Don't worry, when technology advances, even just the brain can continue to create value."

"..."

"Minister, Happy 2038."

After saying goodbye to the unhappy Minister of Civil Service, Lin An walked into the office of the department he was in direct contact with, using the familiar X and card-swiping mechanism.

He arrived at just the right time; the other two members of the team had just arrived. When they saw Lin An come in, Mi Xi waved enthusiastically.

"Hey Lin! What kind of coffee would you like?"

"Mocha, thank you." Lin An greeted the two with a smile. "Where's Captain Simon?"

“He said the chairman needed to see him and would meet us in about fifteen minutes,” Barry replied.

Lin An chatted with his two colleagues about their recent situations. The door slid up, revealing the handsome face of the young angel, and Simon's deep, gentle voice rang out.

"Everyone, thank you for waiting. Lin, you've arrived."

"Hello, Captain."

"Would you like some coffee?" Mishi eagerly rushed to the coffee machine.

"Double concentration, thank you. We will be on our first mission next Monday, which is two days from now. Before that, let me first introduce the division of labor within the direct-department."

Simon sat cross-legged on the desk, a stark contrast to his usual gentle demeanor; he was quite used to this roguish posture.

"The Direct Response Department consists of five teams, totaling 21 Mysteries. Three of these teams are divided into 'four-four' groups. The first is 'Control Team 1,' which is responsible for the area south of Michigan. They are rarely in this facility and are known as the 'Field Team.'"

"Secondly, there's Control Team 2, which is responsible for the area north of Michigan. Since the most incidents occur in Dietrich, the northern part of Michigan, they are stationed at facilities year-round and are also known as the 'local team.' You should have heard of them by now."

“Oh, their captain is Reagan Modicridge, and there’s a very pretty lady named Carolyn Jones,” Mish added, “although I’ve never seen them in person.”

“You’re quite good at getting information out of other people,” Simon praised. “Reading people’s expressions and demeanor is very important.”

“I used to work at a newspaper, so I had to practice my interpersonal skills.” Mishi handed him the double espresso. “Captain, here’s your coffee.”

"Thank you for your hard work." Simon took the mug. "The third one is our Control Team 3, which is temporarily considered a 'reserve team' to share some of the easier, less dangerous, and less clue-based tasks with the two official control teams."

Mishi and Barry visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and Simon, seeing this, added discreetly.

"You are all very promising newcomers, and the president has high hopes for my team. Once you and Barry pass the remaining two tests and become official members, the Foundation will assign a challenging task to Control Team 3."

"How difficult is it?"

"Search for 'Ghost,' one of the most enigmatic and ruthless free agents in Dietrich, who controls the Beta level," Simon said solemnly.

The three looked at each other in dismay. Finally, Lin An concluded, "This guy sounds terrifying."

"Not only terrible, but also cruel."

"Are we really going to have to go?" Mishi blinked rapidly. "This is like going straight from the starting area to fighting a boss!" "Heh, I'm just telling you in advance so you can be mentally prepared." Simon took a sip of coffee. "Currently, 'Control Team 2' is responsible for tracking 'Ghost's' whereabouts. In addition, the 'Punishment Team' is also keeping an eye on his movements while patrolling."

"Punishment Squad?"

"The second type of branch team of the Direct Confrontation Department consists of 6 people, namely the Punishment Team 1 and Team 2. Unlike the Control Team, they are a 'Kill Team' responsible for eliminating those vicious and mysterious individuals."

"Like a 'ghost'?"

“The Foundation cannot confirm the identity of ‘Ghost,’ and the investigation remains the responsibility of the control team,” Simon said. “Recent cases indicate that he has joined forces with Dietrich’s most wanted criminal—the Witch of Bavomet.”

"Does the witch have such a person under her command?" Lin An raised an eyebrow.

“Like the control team, the two punishment squads are also responsible for one in the south and one in the north,” Simon continued.

"Then what do we do?" Mishi asked, her face showing worry.

Simon gave a subtle twitch of his lips: "Request reinforcements based on the location where the enemy was discovered."

"Is the third branch the 'Defense Line Squad,' Captain?"

“You’re very perceptive, Lin,” Simon said approvingly. “That’s right. The last three employees belong to the ‘Defense Line Squad,’ which is stationed at this facility year-round to deal with the mysterious entities controlled within it.”

“I feel like there are too few people directly facing the department,” Mish whispered. “Including the three of us, there are only 21 employees. We also have to ‘serve’ the entire state of Michigan. We probably don’t work 007 all the time.”

"Originally, the number of people was even smaller, but it was more than enough to handle mysterious events. However, recently, mysterious events have occurred frequently, far exceeding the capacity. Therefore, the Foundation recently added a disciplinary team and recently formed a new control team."

"Does that mean there are more and more mysterious people?" Barry rarely spoke up.

Simon nodded and said, "A year ago, data from Michigan showed that there was one mystery man among approximately 200,000 people. However, the data has continued to rise. After analysis, the ratio of mystery men to ordinary people reached about 1 in 10,000 in December of last year."

"Based on Michigan's population, there are at least a thousand Mysteries?"

“Subtract the number we killed, and add the number that hasn’t been discovered and recorded yet, it’s about right,” Simon said. “Some mystics are unaware that their abilities have awakened; they are ‘potential mystics,’ just like the two of you.”

Mishi and Barry remained silent. Facing a formidable enemy and still being unarmed, they felt somewhat anxious. However, St. Anilov had signed an "overbearing contract" with them, and the two could not refuse the foundation's arrangements.

“Take it slow,” Simon comforted gently. “Sometimes, activating mysticism requires a little stimulation—of course, I will try my best to keep you out of danger. This time, I have deliberately chosen a relatively simple task to help you get familiar with the attendance process.”

"What's the mission?"

"A few dozen kilometers away from Dietrich, there was a small town that was frequently burglarized. The entire town's police force was mobilized but could not find any trace of the thieves, so they suspected that a supernatural event had occurred and notified the St. Anilov Foundation."

Phantom thief?

Lin An became interested and asked, "Captain, is there anything else we need to prepare?"

“St. Anilof will issue a set of self-defense equipment, which I recall includes a fully automatic pistol, magazines, a rifle, a bulletproof vest, and some miscellaneous items,” Simon explained. “Do you know how to use these two guns?”

"Yes."

"I've known it since I was little."

"Uh, well..." Lin An hesitated, "Reporting to the captain, I'm not that skilled..."

"It's okay, it's just for deterrence. Police officers usually accompany officers when they carry out these missions."

Lin An recalled his recent experiences. The energy of "Comers" distorted the laws of physics, making it difficult to harm the mysterious person with bullets alone. The two did not belong to the same dimension.

“It’s okay, Lin, we’ll teach you these next couple of days.” Mi Xi nudged him with her elbow.

“You’re the second Mystic besides the captain, so I’d like to ask you what it feels like to use ‘Mystic Arts’,” Barry said meaningfully.

“No need. There will be dedicated coaches to train you. We’ll just touch on the techniques, I won’t force you to learn overnight. It’s more important for you to bond with each other.” Simon smiled. “We’ll depart promptly at 9 a.m. on Monday.”

"Captain, are we going by helicopter, or by horse..."

The four-person team from the foundation quickly arrived at their destination by helicopter. Relying on the captain's "Shadow Teleportation," they made a powerful entrance, leaving Lin An with many thoughts.

Our captain doesn't have teleportation abilities, but he does have a pair of large wings.

How many people are carried on the angel's back?

Simon was both amused and exasperated by Lin An's probing gaze.

“You have quite the imagination, Lin. We have a dedicated car for this mission. This matter isn’t urgent, so there’s no need to use a helicopter. It would attract attention and cause unnecessary commotion.”

Thank you to Li Shuangxu for the reward! Thank you to all the readers for your recommendation votes and continued reading!
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(End of this chapter)