World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 6 Offline Chase
Lin An sensed murderous intent in the man's mutterings.

Given Sasaki's social skills, let alone being sought out by others, even college students in his year might not know of his existence.

After thinking for a moment, Lin An followed him.

It was the back view of an obese man with sparse blond hair. His face was pale due to lack of sunlight, and his thin skin had a rosy tint. The grease from junk food was almost bursting his blood vessels.

Strangely, he had a long lower body, and although his legs were slightly limping, they were very strong.

The man looked at the university map handed out by the library and kept cursing, "It's fucking hard to find."

Lin An casually moved closer.

“Sir, what are you looking for? Maybe I can help you.” He flashed the yellow “A” badge on his chest. “I’m a student at this university.”

The man took two steps back, his small eyes flashing with hostility.

“Oh, a student.” He pointed to the student dormitories on the map. “Tell me how to get here. This place is huge. I’m dying to find my way.”

"Turn left at the next intersection, then turn right twice, and you'll be there."

The man nodded, put away the map, and left.

As he rounded the first intersection, he felt someone was following him. He turned around abruptly and saw Lin An suddenly appear out of the way, beaming with smiles.

The man was taken aback at first, then said impatiently, "What? Do you think I look like this because I want to do bad things?"

"Uh, I forgot my computer, and I need to go back to my dorm to get it." Lin An scratched his head. "Excuse me, sir, if I have offended you. Are you a student's parent or relative? Winter festival is coming soon, and there are many visitors on campus."

Upon hearing his words, the man's expression softened.

"Who are you looking for? Maybe I know him." Lin An pressed on while the iron was hot. "The second dormitory houses more than 400 people. Not to mention others, sometimes I don't even know which dormitory to get to."

A hint of hesitation flashed across the man's face. After a long while, he exhaled.

“A student named ‘Sasaki Haruto’, uh, a student.” He pulled out a printed photo and handed it to Lin An, looking him up and down. “Well, have you seen him before? You look a lot like Sakura.”

Keep cursing.

Lin An maintained his friendly smile: "Of course, he lives upstairs from me. I'll take you there in a bit."

The two walked side by side for a while, when the man, not wanting to be left out, broke the silence.

"What's your name?"

"Kana-gako".

“Um… my name is Haida Steiner.”

Lin An's eyelid twitched imperceptibly.

Haida Steiner?
DerTodesstern of the World Tree Forum?

He actually tracked him down to the offline level.

The man hesitated, his words evasive, and said, "This university is good. But once you get to society, forget about helping each other; sometimes, even if you're just standing in front of a store, security guards will chase you away."

"How could this be? Standing there won't cause any problems, and besides, the shop isn't run by security guards."

“Exactly!” The man exclaimed as if he had found a kindred spirit. “Listen to me, kid, the outside world is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak. There are plenty of bullies who take advantage of their power. It’s okay if they bully someone who has no money, because no one dares to do anything to them. But when they meet someone rich, they bow and scrape.”

"I can't understand it. Everyone has their low points in life."

"The key issue is that my mom forced me to join them," the man continued, "to obey like a dog, going to work and coming home, all for a little money. Life should have bigger goals!"

"What's your plan?"

"Ha, I want to change the world." The man declared confidently. "People like me are born to give orders. Alas, I was born at the wrong time; many paths have already been taken. Take Einstein, for example, wasn't it just E=mc²? I could have figured that out too."

As expected of a super abstract person, there are at least four or five flaws in a single sentence.

Lin An swallowed the sarcasm and went along with it, saying, "Mr. Steiner, if anyone else had said that, I would have scoffed. But for some reason, you give me a strange feeling, like... well, it's hard to describe, anyway, you're not quite like other people."

The man immediately stopped in his tracks and stared intently into Lin An's eyes.

Lin An felt a chill run down his spine from the glare, but he forced himself to maintain the image of a sincere college student, his face stiffening.

“I didn’t expect you to see through me.” The man raised a hand; his skull-patterned leather glove looked slightly worn. “Indeed, I am one of a kind.”

You idiot! You idiot!

Lin An swallowed the roar of reason and looked curiously at the man's hand, but just as he was about to see it clearly, the man covered it with his other hand.

"what is this?"

Before the man could make a move, Lin An took the initiative to ask.

"The power to change the world." The man clenched his radish-like fingers into a fist. "Anyway, all you need to know is that I'm awesome, Kana Kako."

"..."

As they turned the second corner, the man started a new conversation.

Is Haruto Sasaki your friend?

Lin An smiled meaningfully and said firmly, "No, we met a few times at the admissions meeting, but we haven't been in touch since." He added, "Unlike you, Mr. Steiner, that guy... is a coward. Sorry for saying that about your relative."

"Pah, that scum has nothing to do with me," the man cursed, but his face was beaming with joy.

"What do you want with him, Mr. Steiner? Since it's on my way, should I pass on the message?"

“No need, I have to see him with my own eyes.” The man shrugged. “This guy really annoyed me. I can’t swallow this anger without teaching him a lesson.” “You mean you’re going to beat him up?” Lin An’s eyes widened. “To be honest, this guy isn’t popular in our grade. Mike just gave him a few hard blows a few days ago.”

"Perfect, I'll just send him on his way."

Lin An feigned shock and froze on the spot. The man glanced at him.

"Just kidding, I just came out of the library. There are metal detectors at the entrance and exit over there. If I had a gun, how could they not detect it?"

Based on this person's replies and private messages, Lin An figured out the general outline of what happened.

The man, originally an idle internet troll, was awakened to "mystery" by the influence of Comors.

Without any explanation from the system or foundation, and influenced by some movies and TV shows, he believed that he was the only chosen one in the world with superpowers.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he attempted to completely break free from the past and live a life in the public eye.

Unfortunately, having been out of touch with society for too long, he didn't know where to start or how to showcase his abilities, so he resorted to spamming various websites to seek attention and highlight his uniqueness.

While arguing with people and constantly changing his battleground, Haida followed the clues and registered an account on World Tree.

Looking at the screen full of occult enthusiasts, he thought he would finally be popular, but he was disappointed and was permanently banned by Lin An.

Outraged, Haida somehow found Sasaki, who had participated in the "World Tree Project," through a few keywords. Mistaking him for the founder, she dug up his photos on social media and stormed off to the University of Ann Arbor.

He wanted to kill Sasaki?

Just because the forum account was banned?

Or... just because he's now capable of doing so?

Now is not the time to study psychology. If I kill Fatty Wang, who will fix my code?

Lin An calmed down.

Upon closer reflection, Haida mentioned guns.

If I remember correctly, he also made a similar statement on the forum—"I'll kill you"—Haidah always had the word "kill" on his lips.

The more you care about something, the more likely you are to associate it with related words.

Haida kept emphasizing "guns," appearing completely fearless. Could his mystery be related to guns?

The mysterious forces are silent and undetectable. Unless one possesses the special abilities of the Foundation's four members, ordinary people cannot detect the influence of supernatural factors and will ultimately only conduct investigations based on "logical" conclusions.

Even if a school shooting occurs, Haida, who is unarmed, will be easily cleared of suspicion.

In particular, the "mysterious" abilities are varied and unpredictable, and can be activated silently. Haida may be able to take down a target from an "ultra-long distance".

Think, think deeply.

DerTodesstern.

In Gremanian, it means "star of death".

Guns, Gremania, death...

A flash of inspiration struck Lin An, and he jogged a few steps to catch up with Hai Da, turning at the third and final intersection.

"Mr. Steiner, judging from your accent, you're not a native of the United States, are you?"

"What, are you checking my household registration?"

The question seemed to strike a nerve with Haida, and he immediately lost all patience.

"Actually, I'm a military enthusiast. Apart from the United States and Japan, I've always been interested in firearms from all over the world. Which country are you from? Could you tell me about the guns there?"

"I'm a Gromanian. Frankly, modern guns are just a pile of junk," Haida said dismissively. "No matter how much research and development they undergo, they can't do—"

What can be done?

"none of your business!"

“You seem to know a lot about guns, sir.”

Haida spat, his initial goodwill and liking for Lin An completely exhausted by a few aggressive questions, turning him vicious.

"Damn it, stay away from me! Or I'll kill you!"

At this point, Lin An was convinced that Haida had awakened a mystery, and that it was related to guns.

The road ahead suddenly opened up, the trees on both sides became sparse, and the winter wind, no longer hindered by branches and leaves, howled past without restraint, making the hems of their clothes flutter.

“Mr. Steiner, have you ever heard of a folk tale from Gromania?” Lin An said quietly, “It’s called ‘The Magic Bullet Shooter’.”

"What's with all this showing off your knowledge? What's so great about being a college student? You'll just end up being a dog for the rich!" Haida finally lost his temper, and veins bulged on his forehead.

Lin An's tone seemed to have changed, which made him extremely unhappy.

"So far, five shots have been fired."

The words struck like thunder, leaving Haida pale and prompting her to blurt out, "You know?!"

"Radiation level 1.8%, pollution level 58.2%. The period of awakening from mystique should not be long."

Haida gripped her gloved right hand with her left and suddenly pointed behind her. On the lush green grass, a dark-haired young man stood with his hands in his pockets and a victor's smile on his lips.

"Hedda Steiner, dare you fire a sixth shot at me?"

(End of this chapter)