World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 46 The Hanging Invisible Man
Through the gaps in the books, Lin An saw that the person speaking was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old.

He had bright, piercing eyes, thick dreadlocks that looked like a bunch of black vines, and a nose and lips that were much smaller than those of the Southern Continent people, meaning that he might have Western Continent blood flowing through his veins, a product of the combination of two continents.

"You wrote this?" Lin An asked casually as they walked. "You're quite the promising young writer."

"It's no big deal. I have plenty of time. Besides schoolwork, I spend it reading and writing."

Has it been published?

"Like this library, it's deserted." The boy flashed a set of pearly white teeth, which gleamed in the dim light. "You are my first reader."

"Based on the description on the notice board, I feel this is a very interesting novel. Could you tell me your name? Maybe we can find it in a publishing house someday."

"Thank you for your kind words. I really hope that one day I can be like you, making something of myself in a big city." The boy waved his hand shyly. "My name is Jim. What's yours?"

Simon Lloyd.

Walking to a blind spot in front of the bookshelf, Lin An touched the Bluetooth communication device by his ear and called out the name without leaving a trace. The captain's deep voice rang out.

"What's wrong, Lin?"

Jim pulled out a chair for Lin An, and on the scratched wooden table sat a notebook with neat handwriting.

"Come on, I hope you like the story I wrote."

"The person you were talking to..." Simon hesitated for a moment, then quickly grasped the situation. "You've encountered someone who seems to be a mysterious figure, haven't you? I'm coming right away."

"Thank you."

Lin An sat down, and Jim leaned against him, turning to the first page of his book.

The story of the boy's delusions leaps off the page.

It was the town square, with flowerbeds, benches, a fountain, and a lone lamppost. He walked over from a distance, and the closer he got, the more he felt that something was wrong.

He stopped in his tracks; something was hanging on the lamppost.

It was a dark, noisy mass with an oval shape, swaying back and forth.

Initially, he thought it was an advertisement for some kind of product; tire factories and grocery stores liked to hang brightly colored signs to show off their individuality.

But he gradually realized something was wrong. The thing had a ring of blurry hair around its edge, and it had a head and limbs.

It was a corpse.

"My God!" he exclaimed, jumping up in surprise. "Come quick! There's a person hanging from the lamppost!"

His shout attracted two people, the coffee shop owner and a candy store employee. The former straightened his burgundy plaid tie and asked in confusion.

"What happened?"

“Look there! There’s a corpse there!” He pointed to a lamppost jutting out into the sky, the corpse’s feet dangling and swaying in the wind. “How long has he been hanging on that lamppost?”

There are quite a few people coming and going in the square, so it's impossible that no one has noticed by now.

The candy store employee took the opportunity to light a cigarette and said unhurriedly, "Don't rush, kid. I think there must be a reasonable reason for him to be there, otherwise he wouldn't exist."

"Reason? What reason do you think it is? There's a corpse hanging there!"

The employee exhaled a puff of smoke: "It's like sometimes when there's a car accident, the owner leaves the car, which can't be driven on the road, at the scene. Maybe they go to the insurance company, maybe they buy a new one. I don't know anything about these kinds of rumors."

The clothing store manager was alarmed and opened half a window to join the conversation.

"What's the noise outside?"

He persistently raised his hand, gesturing for the three of them to look up at the corpse hanging on the lamppost.

"Did you see that? We should call the police right away!"

“I think the police already know,” the coffee shop owner said. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept it hanging there.”

"Keep your voice down, boy. I'm sewing clothes for someone else," the clothing store owner said with a disgruntled grumble, before closing the window.

The other two returned to their respective shops. He looked around in disbelief, then rushed toward a customer who was leaving the bakery and screamed hysterically.

"Can you see that? There's a corpse hanging there! There's a dead person at your doorstep!"

“Of course, I’m not blind. I saw it when I bought the bread,” the customer replied. “Today is my daughter’s birthday.”

"You mean that corpse has been hanging there for quite some time? Don't you find that strange?!"

"To be precise, he probably stayed there for an afternoon." The guest raised his wrist to check the time. "My daughter's party is about to start. See you later, kid."

Clutching a bag of fragrant bread, the guest strode away, joining the flow of people moving around the square. Men and women alike passed through the central square, resting on benches and taking pictures of the flowerbeds and fountains, but no one stopped to pay attention to the swaying corpse.

"I'm going crazy! Can't you really see anything?!" he cried out, clutching his head in his hands.

"Oh, are you alright?" a woman holding an umbrella asked with concern. "Child, are you sick?"

"A corpse! Can't you see a corpse?!"

"Relax, don't be nervous." The woman took a handful of candy out of her bag. "You'll be fine soon."

"What's wrong with him?" her male companion asked. "The child isn't feeling well."

He shoved the woman aside, scattering candy all over the floor: "For God's sake! How can you be so calm! There's a person hanging over there!"

"What are you talking about?" the man asked uneasily.

"A body! A body! There's a body!" he shouted with all his might, "hanging there!"

More people gathered around.

"Is he ill?"

"Are you alright, child?"

"A body! The lamppost's body!" he screamed, trying to push through the crowd, but someone grabbed him. "Let me go! I'm going to find the police!"

"He probably has an epileptic seizure or something similar; he should see a doctor."

He struggled for a moment, and the man released his grip, letting him fall to the ground. Before him lay rows of blurry faces; passersby stopped, craning their necks to see what had caused the commotion.

He shouted frantically at the crowd, his voice drowned out by the roar of vehicles and whispers.

"Do something!" he shouted. "Don't just stand there! Look at the lamppost, there's a corpse hanging above your heads! Someone's dead, do something now!"

The crowd parted to both sides, and two policemen walked towards him.

"Are you ok?"

“There’s a body there, hanging on the lamppost, swinging back and forth for ages,” he repeated wearily. “You should take care of it, shouldn’t you?”

“You’re going a bit too far, kid,” the police officer reprimanded. “Please don’t disrupt the peace; we have other things to do.”

After they finished speaking, they left, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

Because the lamppost was indeed completely empty.

So he climbed up the lamppost, hoisted himself up with a rope, and swayed back and forth in the wind.

He saw himself walking towards him from a distance.

The story ends here, with Simon's words echoing in Lin An's ears.

“I know who you are. James Nacher. After his biological father ran away, his mother gave him to his sister and brother-in-law who lived in Farmington. They were forced to adopt him, even though the couple already had two daughters.”

Simon's calm tone carried a hint of complexity.

"Upon comparison, several victims had something in common: on the day of the theft, each of them happened to walk along James's usual route to and from school. However, for some reason, no matter how many times they repeated their testimonies, they never mentioned this point."

“I had already notified Jim’s adoptive parents and asked them to cooperate with the control operation early this morning, but I never expected that you would run into this mysterious person.”

"Although it's a bit rushed, your safety is the top priority. Don't act rashly, Lin."

Lin An closed the book and slowly looked into Jim's eyes.

"Why can't others see it? Has this corpse been enchanted with invisibility magic?"

“No, there’s no magic involved; it’s simply because they refuse to see. When they approach the lamppost, all they see is their surroundings, or fabricated and self-created illusions,” Jim said. “In fact, they’re just habitually ignoring me.”

Simon continued his analysis on the other side of the communication equipment.

“His mystery isn’t invisibility—I think James’s real ability is related to ‘theft.’ He seems to be able to learn about other people’s most valuable possessions through conversation and then steal them by some means.”

“Perhaps…” Lin An thought for a moment, “it was because the light wasn’t strong enough at the time.”

“The light confirmed my reality and gave rise to my form,” Jim said with a bitter smile. “But I’ve discovered that I’ll never see strong sunlight again because I’m too dark. So I turned to the light on the other side, hoping that perhaps they would notice me, even if it was with contempt, disgust, or even hatred.”

“Say less to him, Lin,” Simon said. “Is there anyone else in the library besides the two of you?”

"Are you referring to the moonlight?" Lin An pulled back a corner of the curtains. "It's already so late... When does the library close? That old man looks like he needs to rest."

“Don’t worry, he lives in this library, and like me and these books, he’s been forced to ‘hide’ in town.” Jim picked up the novel. “Although we’ve only known each other for a short time, I think we get along very well… Simon, how about we become friends?”

“I see your shadow. If possible, have James go to the window as well. I’ll try not to alert anyone and make this quick,” Simon instructed.

"Okay."

Lin An turned to the side and stretched out one hand.

The night sky outside the window was like a painting. The winter moon shone with a yellowish-white light, creating a gradient from pitch black to navy blue across the horizon, with millions of stars scattered around it.

The gentle moonlight reflected in Jim's pupils.

"Dangdang!"

In the next instant, the glass shattered, black feathers scattered, and the moon angel descended from the sky.

Thank you to Yunyoushanyin and Weichenanbai for the monthly tickets, and thank you to all the readers for the recommendation tickets!
Jim's novel was based on "Philip K. Dick's Electronic Dream: The Seventh Dream".



(End of this chapter)