World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 52 Wanted List
On the way to the squad office, Barry brought up his mystery—the Michigan Dogman.

[Name]: Michigan Dogman

[Rating]: Disaster Level E

Radiation level: 5.2%
[Pollution Level]: 2.5%
[Medium]: Lord of the Earth
This is a "werewolf" native to the United States, a creature found in Michigan, with blue eyes and standing on two legs.

Werewolf is a human being who can transform into a wolf, a concept that has been hinted at in ancient Greek literature.

Herodotus wrote in Histories that the Nuri people, located in northeastern Scythia, would transform into wolves every year for several days before reverting to human form.

In the Middle Ages, Augustine of Hippo defined werewolves and witches in "The City of God": "Anyone who believes that anything has the power to transform into another species, except God... can be treated as a heretic without a doubt."

Werewolf legends spread to the New World with the conquerors and were part of the folk "witch hunt" phenomenon.

Unlike the pagan beliefs of the West, the natives of the East, such as the Nazcapi people of Maple Leaf Country and northern Eagle Country, believed that giant wolves were the guardians of the reindeer's spirits and messengers of the forest, and that they would kill those unskilled and careless hunters.

When the Westerners migrated to the Lower East, the settlers brought with them their own image of werewolves, which, influenced by the natives, formed a unique "werewolf legend."

In retrospect, the "werewolfs" may have been warriors from an ancient dynasty during the last "Comerth" radiation, a group of mysterious beings with shapeshifting abilities. Their stories were recorded and passed down orally, evolving into different versions of legends in various regions.

Disaster Level E...

The rating doesn't have much potential for growth, Lin An thought.

Aside from urban legends, immigrants from various places, and natives, the people of the Eagle Nation have only one extremely fanatical pantheon.

The Cthulhu Mythos.

This modern mystery novel is likely inspired by lost family texts from the modern era, and is filled with fantasies and speculations about the power of "Commerx".

According to the Foundation's records, awakened Cthulhu mystics have extremely high first-level ratings and extremely low second-level ratings, such as "Legendary E-level", "Mythical E-level", and even "Source E-level".

This is undoubtedly very dangerous because their radiation levels have a low upper limit, but their pollution levels have an extremely high upper limit.

Once awakened, most of these mysterious beings quickly enter a state of high-speed pollution, transforming into indescribable monsters that indiscriminately slaughter those around them.

Therefore, the appearance of each Cthulhu Mystic signifies a difficult battle for control.

Fortunately, the Foundation Road doesn't have much information on the Cthulhu universe, probably because the orbit of "Comerth" is still five years away from being fully close. In short, there aren't many Mystics who have awakened to high ratings at present.

However, star trails will eventually overlap.

It's hard to imagine what kind of chaotic mess the Eagle Nation will become five years from now.

This is a hellish national instance...

Simon pushed open the office door, sipping black coffee while working on his computer. When the two men entered, he gave them a slight nod.

"Mishi hasn't arrived yet. We got some new Colombian beans today, so you might want to try some while you wait for her."

Lin An made himself a cappuccino and sat down across from the captain's desk.

They actually have their own desks now, but they've only been "on the job" for a short time, so apart from computers and basic equipment, there's nothing else. It's quite boring to just sit there.

Lin An tentatively pointed to the documents on Simon's desk.

"Captain, may I take a look at these?"

“Those are the Foundation’s ‘wanted list’.” Simon turned halfway around. “Take a look if you want. Some of them will be our targets in the future.”

Lin An picked up a stack of documents, the first one of which was a Beta-level document, "The Witch of Bavomet".

Codenamed Beta-001, a female mystic active within the city of Dietrich, whose mysterious prototype is "Baphomet" or an unknown species of goat demon. The medium is speculated to be 80% "Dreamer" and 20% "Mother of Desire".

Strong leadership and appeal, high ability, high rating, and high influence.

Her stronghold has been largely identified as being located near a transboundary river, but the exact location of the entrance is still unknown.

Her goal is to gather all the mystics in Dietrich to form a rebellious force against the authorities.

She committed her first crime on April 20, 2037, massacring a mental hospital. According to the missing persons list, the witch's real name is "Yulari Ida Isor," one of the patients at the hospital, diagnosed with paranoia, dramatic personality disorder, and drug withdrawal disorder.

First witnessed on April 23, 2037, planning a large-scale mysterious event at a bar in the city center. Three people awakened after experiencing the event.

One of the bartenders, Carolyn Jones, has been recruited as a foundation employee, while the whereabouts of the latter two are unknown.

On April 28, 2037, he committed his second crime, attacking an ordinary family in Dietrich and slaughtering all five members of the family, dismembering them in a brutal manner.

It has been verified that the victims are Beta-001's stepfather, biological mother, and two stepbrothers.

2037年4月31号第三次犯案……基金会将其正式归于Beta级别的通缉犯。2037年5月……

Since June, the witch has rarely participated in mysterious events herself. It is mostly her subordinates, who are bewitched by her, who commit crimes everywhere. Because their methods of killing are similar to the witch's, and they are protected by the witch afterward, the Foundation attributes them all to her orders.

Having learned more about the witch, Lin An seemed thoughtful.

According to the description, she seems to want to create a world where "everyone is a mystery and everyone can do whatever they want." In her ideal world, everyone has equal freedom, and any uniform rules must be abolished.

This is clearly contrary to the foundation's principles.

Continuing to browse the wanted list, Lin An saw many mysterious figures not active in Dietrich: the Deer Woman, Bigfoot, the Tooth Fairy, the Navajo Pi Walker...

Just when Lin An thought these were all the wanted criminals in Michigan, another Beta rating came into view.

Codenamed Beta-003, [Ghost], a mysterious individual active within the city of Dietrich. Gender is yet to be confirmed, and the individual remains enigmatic. The medium is speculated to be "50% of the Lord of Dreams", "20% of the Mother of Desire", "20% of the Chief Judge", and "10% of the Emperor of War".

The villain the captain mentioned last time?
Driven by curiosity, Lin An continued reading.

On December 6, 2037, he committed his first crime, killing the "Dwarf Demon" that the Foundation was investigating in a slum in the city center. He shattered the demon's soul with swift and decisive action, and then left without anyone noticing.

Wait a minute, this record looks familiar...

On December 14, 2037, she committed her second crime, killing a mysterious figure known as the Mother of Desire in the city center. She cruelly tortured her soul, toying with her until she died in extreme agony. The Foundation officially classified her as a Beta.

Holy crap, isn't that me?!

On December 25, 2037, he committed his third crime, killing a prophetic medium in Chinatown. He tore the soul apart in the same bizarre and unpredictable way, causing the victim great suffering before his death.

Based on the traces at the scene, it is inferred that the [Ghost] and the [Witch] have collaborated.

Lin An raised his head expressionlessly.

"Captain, I have a question. Why is [Ghost] listed as a Beta? I feel like his—or her—file is not at all on the same level as [Witch's]."

How could I be so vicious!

How could I have been so utterly depraved!

You're saying this is me? This isn't me at all!

“If ranked by the number of murders, many wanted criminals have far more lives on their hands than [Ghost],” Simon said in a deep voice. “However, the Foundation classified it as a Beta-level criminal mainly because of one thing—its arcane magic can directly shatter souls.”

"Is it... dangerous?" Lin An asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes, apart from the [ghost], none of the currently recorded mystics can do it—they may be able to influence the soul, but they can't directly shatter it."

Based on this ridiculous conclusion alone, you're going to label me a Beta-level wanted criminal?!
So what if I'm strong? Is it my fault that I'm capable?
If you want to add guilt, there is no excuse!

When Lin An first heard the four-person group shouting that they were listed as Beta level through the wall, he thought Beta was a relatively low wanted level. Later, after learning about the foundation's operating model, he realized that those people were just joking.

I didn't expect you guys to be serious!
Seeing Lin An's puzzled expression, Simon pondered for a moment.

"Lin, you may not understand how terrifying a Soul Killer is. Not to mention that soul shattering is the most extreme form of torture in the world... Soul Killers not only act mysteriously, but they also only need 'one move to decide the outcome,' and it takes less than a few seconds from encounter to the killing by their mysterious magic."

Well, I can't argue with that.

Lin An roughly understood the reason for classifying him as a Beta: it wasn't because he was a "ruthless killer," but because his mystery was too terrifying and uncontrollable, posing a great threat to the Foundation.

"The research team unanimously agrees that the nature of the mystic who shatters souls must be evil, otherwise he couldn't awaken such an anti-human mystery." Simon rested his chin on his hand. "From now on, when we investigate the [Ghost], we must be extremely careful."

I'm catching myself, right?

[The Ghost] feels that there will never be a day when we confront each other.

Lin An read his bounty information again and raised his eyebrows.

It's one thing for the quartet to be investigating the "Dwarf Demon," but why does the Foundation assume that Carmen and Kim Ji-eun are also innocent "newcomers"?
Even if the aristocratic families have ways to hide their identities, Kim Ji-eun's dojo left behind many demon statues. Didn't they pay attention to them?

And why did you conclude that I had cooperated with the witch?
Because Carmen and Kim Ji-eun act differently from the witch? Then why don't they suspect that another faction in Dietrich—the Foundation—is investigating the aristocratic families?

Could it be something within their ranks...?

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Lin An turned to the last page, where a name stood out.

Code name Alpha-001, [Thunderbird].

Thank you to Whispering Time and Book Friend 20170819133739475 for the monthly tickets, and thank you everyone for the recommendation tickets and for following the story!
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(End of this chapter)