World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 54 Cardenas is an unlucky fellow

Lin An had been somewhat concerned about this logistics minister, especially after learning that his surname was also Cardenas.

Kim Ji-eun's dojo once belonged to his family group.

Lin An specifically looked up information online. Cardenas is a family business in Dietrich with some history. The founder started from scratch and developed it from a handicraft workshop into a world-class equipment manufacturer, and finally went public on New York Stock Exchange.

At its peak, the entire country of Eagle had five factories and more than a dozen affiliated industries.

This was more than forty years ago. Jorna Cardenas inherited the group from his grandfather and father, wanting to take shortcuts while also expanding the company's scale.

His insatiable greed led him to attempt to swallow an elephant, and a few years later his company fell into a debt crisis. He mortgaged several projects, and his stock holdings continued to decrease, causing investors to withdraw their funds.

Just then, the chief engineer of the Cardenas Group jumped ship overseas, taking a group of core technical talents with him. The group was also dragged down by intellectual property lawsuits and eventually went bankrupt.

Although the chairman made many wrong decisions, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse. After his bankruptcy, the foundation recruited Cardenas as the logistics minister of the Dietrich City branch, responsible for raising donations for "researching superpowers".

After giving the system instructions, the energy transformed into a series of interconnected pentagrams, which descended from above Cardenas's head.

The five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were placed at the five ends of the pentagram, rotating counterclockwise, like a chain around his neck, constantly rotating and tightening, finally transforming into the character "凶" (ominous), firmly enveloping the field operations minister, Cardenas.

He was completely unaware of what was happening. He chatted with the security guard for a few minutes and then left the elevator with the two investigators.

It doesn't seem to have any immediate effect...

Lin An followed behind Cardenas, and he crossed the lobby smoothly, his figure disappearing into another elevator.

I wasn't tripped by an employee who was limping, nor was I spilled coffee by an employee holding a coffee, and I even avoided an employee who was on the phone and holding a stack of documents.

It feels about the same as usual.

Lin An recalled the battle at the dojo. Jin Zhien did use the "Blood Calamity" on him, but the initial divination he cast was still a neutral one, indicating that this mysterious technique gradually reduced a person's luck to below average.

As a long-lasting mystical spell, the longer the [Blood Calamity] lasts, the worse the individual's luck becomes.

The effects aren't immediately apparent; for now, Cardenas is still experiencing the same fortune as an ordinary person.

"Your passion for occult knowledge and practice has attracted the medium 'Seeker' x1."

The system's voice echoed in my mind.

After a moment's hesitation, Lin An left the building with Mi Xi.

The reason for conducting the "Bloodshed" experiment on Cardenas was because Lin An suspected that he was hiding something. The Foundation's intelligence system was too strange; it could always accurately bypass or ignore clues from the aristocratic families and obtain a seemingly reasonable record.

The logistics department serves as a bridge between the foundation and the outside world, and is responsible for investigating incidents.

Whenever the mysterious figures under the control of a powerful family are involved, there always seems to be an inside agent deliberately obfuscating the truth by submitting false reports to the administrative department and shielding relevant clues.

As for who this person is, Lin An dares not make a conclusion for the time being, but the logistics minister who allowed the mole to go is somewhat problematic.

If he accidentally slips up, the foundation might discover something on its own.

Lin An believes that some internal members may have already noticed the suspicious activity in the logistics department, but they just don't want to alert them for the time being.

It wasn't for the sake of the foundation; it was simply that they didn't want the aristocratic families to live too comfortably.

…………

Jonah Cadenas believed that God had been unfair to him.

Otherwise, why would he fail at everything he does, and have bad luck no matter what he invests in?
He sought help from the family rabbi, a wise man who told him that Kadenas was not unlucky, because what he possessed and obtained far exceeded the limits that most ordinary people could achieve in their entire lives, yet he never took it seriously.

Cardenas dismissed this with disdain.

With just a bit of luck, anyone can make a fortune in modern society, Cardenas always thought, and his failure could only be attributed to bad luck.

Why is he always so unlucky?

This is really annoying...

"Jingle Bell."

A special telephone rang, and Cardenas connected the wire to a special device. A processed, crackling female voice came from the transmitter.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, miss, the order has been carried out."

"Do whatever your job requires tonight. Don't worry about interfering with those free spirits' 'prison break plan.' I've spoken to the witch; her men know who you are and will avoid you during the melee, as long as you don't provoke them."

Wait, something's wrong.

Hearing the muffled electronic voice on the other end of the phone, Cardenas felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

"Tonight?"

“That’s right. On Winter Solstice, the witch told me she’d moved the ‘prison break plan’ forward by a day, and it would be carried out tonight.” The muffled electronic voice turned somewhat cold. “I emailed you that day.”

"Oh, an email..."

On Winter Solstice, Cardenas remembered that he and his secretaries had gone to the hot springs, and before leaving, he set up automatic updates for his private email system.

Did the automatic update swallow this email?

"Hehe, I received your reply very quickly." The voice carried a hint of schadenfreude. "You wished me a happy Winter Solstice."

Damn auto-reply!
Artificial stupidity!

“Miss, we’ve discussed the progress since then, haven’t we?” Cardenas asked, clinging to his last glimmer of hope.

“I made two phone calls a few days ago, and you told me there was nothing I had missed.” “Well…” Cardenas seemed a little guilty.

Memories flooded back. Perhaps the administrative department was trying to boost performance in the new year, because they had recently set the monitoring level to an exceptionally high level, making it difficult for special equipment to connect. Cardenas could only hear the gist of what was being said.

He thought everything was going perfectly and confidently answered the questions that were difficult to connect and kept breaking down, completely unaware that the young lady had moved the plan forward by a day.

"Judging from your tone, is there some difficulty?" The gloating voice was mixed with a hint of gentle warmth, but Cardenas knew that this was the most terrifying side of the young lady. "If you can't do it, you don't have to force yourself anymore."

Five thunderstorms hit the top.

Cardenas got goosebumps, as if he could see the gallows beckoning him, and quickly said, "No problem, Miss, I guarantee I'll complete the order."

"I await your good news, my loyal subordinate."

"Beep beep..."

After hanging up the phone, Cardenas sat at his desk and pondered quietly.

He had basically finished all the preparations and had just completed the last step on the second basement floor.

Tonight's operation is fine, but my identity could easily be exposed to the foundation.

Cardenas entered the second basement level today under the pretext of "collecting data," without avoiding any surveillance cameras. If a mass loss of control occurs tonight, it's hard to guarantee that the administrative department won't suspect him.

The device was supposed to activate automatically when the time was up, but the current situation means he has to find someone on short notice...

Go yourself.

An idea flashed through his mind, which Cardenas quickly banished, but as he continued to consider the selection of investigators, the idea became clearer.

Do I have to go to the second basement level to activate it myself?
Hmm, that makes sense. After all, there's a one-day time difference from the plan, so it's more accurate for me to operate those devices.

At least ensure the plan goes perfectly.

If I can't clear my name and the mission goes wrong, I'll not only be hunted down by the Foundation, but the Free Mystics faction and Miss's side might not welcome me either.

Although he didn't understand why he had this risky idea, Cardenas found it increasingly reasonable.

I'll go to the second basement level myself later!

I don't believe this bad luck will continue!
As night fell, the foundation building gradually emptied, except for the night shift members. Cardenas put on his coat, picked up his black card, and left his office.

Akae Oath, a vow made under an assumed name.

With his index and middle fingers together, the "Comers" energy enveloped Cardenas's entire body. As he passed through the tea room, his figure vanished from physical space, becoming invisible to the naked eye.

Apart from the Direct Confrontation Department, the other three departments of the Foundation are all staffed by ordinary people. Once someone awakens, they will be sent to the Direct Confrontation Department for screening, then to the Research Department for file entry, and finally become a member of one of the three types of teams.

However, no one in St. Anilov discovered that Cardenas was a mystery man!
He stood in front of the security guard, the gun pointed at his Adam's apple.

"Ping!"

Blood splattered onto Cardenas's face, and before the other security guard could react, he was also shot dead by Cardenas with a second pistol.

Cardenas wiped the blood away, his index finger on the trigger, and fired both guns, shattering glass and destroying surveillance cameras one after another.

"Didi-di-!"

The alarm immediately blared throughout the entire building.

However, Cardenas ignored the warnings, and the minister's authority allowed him to proceed without hindrance.

The elevator doors open, and X appears simultaneously.

"Hello, welcome back. Scan complete, identity verification... Recognition unsuccessful, initiating second verification..."

Maintaining the gesture of bringing the index and middle fingers together, Cardenas swept past the X projection, while the artificial intelligence stood still, continuously scanning the empty elevator.

A divine white light emanated from Cardenas's fingertips.

"Crench."

A hidden stone slab, visible only to him, shone brightly, revealing a faint blue pentagram pattern, and an invisible energy, like a tsunami, suddenly spread outwards.

In an instant, all the mysterious figures controlled by the Foundation opened their eyes.

"Crackling, crackling..."

These weren't firecrackers, but the sounds of straps snapping, one after another, never ceasing.

Immediately afterwards, muffled thuds of frantic impact echoed from each wall.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As if struck by a typhoon or earthquake, the foundation building shook violently, the alarms grew increasingly shrill, and Cardenas picked up a stone slab and ran away.

The witch's followers recognized him; these out-of-control mystics were not so kind!
Unexpectedly, just a few meters away from the elevator, the doors suddenly closed from both sides.

The numbers on the display screen jumped to the basement level.

"Dangdang!"

Cardenas slammed his fist down on the button.

"Damn it, who would hogging the elevator at a time like this?!" he yelled in despair.

Thank you to Ilya for the monthly tickets, Limitless Decay, Truly Superficial, You, and Book Friend 20180413215101531, and thank you to all the readers for the recommendation tickets and for following the story!
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(End of this chapter)