World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 64 Lowering the Flag to Half-Mast

After saying this, Lin An and Simon remained silent for half a minute, tacitly understanding each other.

Simon then calmly dialed the communication device and contacted the other two team leaders. After a brief exchange, he nodded slightly to Lin An.

“I’ll search the perimeter of the Foundation’s facilities for any possible escapees. Lin, you go to the basement and meet up with Melissa. Use her communication devices to contact the others.”

"Okay, Captain."

Lin An threw himself into his work, assisting others until dawn, when the sun was high in the sky, illuminating the ruins of the foundation.

Besides Simon, who continued his search for the mysterious figure using his flying advantage, Reagan summoned the Direct Confrontation Department to his office on the third basement level, where he and the head of the research department announced the end of the riot.

Reading the report hastily compiled by the administrative department, the full-scale conflict between the Foundation and the Free Mystics was presented to Lin An in written form.

First, there are the escaped mysterious creatures. The St. Anne's Michigan branch currently has 6 Level 1 controlled creatures. Through the tireless efforts of the Direct-to-Department, 2 have been recovered, 1 has died, and 3 are missing.

Of the 28 animals under secondary control, 18 were recovered, 4 died, and 6 went missing.

The missing persons were taken away by the free spirits. As for the deceased, the report recorded the general cause of death, with some asterisks indicating that the cause of death is still under further investigation.

As for the Level 1 control occultists who remained conscious, they evacuated to a safe area with other staff members at the start of the riot. Except for one occultist who went missing in the chaos, everyone has now returned to their wards safely.

Affected by the battle, the two level-three controlled mystics have become more corrupted and have been upgraded to level-two controlled.

Fortunately, April was not one of them.

In addition, all the mysterious items in the exchange warehouse were looted by the witch. Looking at the names of each item listed in the report, Lin An felt his heart bleed.

Several of these were items he planned to redeem using points!

On the next page, the civilian department listed a string of exorbitant figures, roughly calculating the repair costs for the buildings, equipment, and facilities damaged in the riots.

This intrusion was a devastating loss for the Foundation.

Not only did the controlled mysterious beings suffer heavy casualties, but the subsequent reconstruction of the facilities also incurred considerable expenses.

This was not Lin An's concern. His office was on the third basement level, while the battle was taking place on the first basement level and in the lobby, having no impact on the direct-deployment departments at the bottom.

"Wow."

The last few pages prominently record the number of people who died for the foundation.

23 people died in the civilian department, 15 in the logistics department, 27 in the research department, and 4 in the direct confrontation department; all of them were members of the disciplinary team.

Faced with the combined attack of the sea monster, the basilisk, and the free mystic, the disciplinary squad was overwhelmed and ultimately wiped out. They were also unable to stop the sea monster from leaving the Foundation with its companions, leaving the basilisk to cover their retreat.

If it weren't for Sariel being an archangel with continuous self-healing abilities, Simon might have perished along with the basilisk.

The foundation has a total of 375 registered staff in its ground departments, which is the total number of clerical and logistical personnel. The research department has about 100 people, while the frontline departments have only 21 people. This casualty rate is quite high.

Tonight's situation is far too unfavorable for the Foundation; only half of the direct confrontation teams remain at the facility, while the other two teams are far away in southern Michigan and unable to come to their aid.

The traitorous Cardenas used the family's methods to break free of the restraints, causing all the Mystics to lose control and diverting the Foundation's forces.

Even so, the Department of Direct Encounters left behind the corpses of more than four Free Mystics, including two of the witches' trusted henchmen, Wendigo and Basilisk, whom Lin An witnessed.

As Lin An tapped his fingers on the report, he estimated the overall strength of the three major factions.

The Free Mystics, centered around a witch, have a lax internal structure and members of varying strengths. The weak are almost powerless to protect themselves, while the strong are extremely powerful, such as the sea monster that wiped out the entire Punishment Squad.

This faction is more like a group of like-minded friends who meet regularly to chat, share their troubles, help each other, and evade the Foundation's pursuit by relying on the witch's and her powerful companions' abilities.

By associating with those who do as they please, one can hardly obtain any research data on "Commerz".

This group of mysterious individuals acted naturally, without any ulterior motives or concern for studying the power of "Comos".

The St. Anilov Foundation possesses a strong logistical team and modern high-tech support. It is highly organized, usually operates in teams, and carries some additional mysterious items, such as black restraints to aid in combat. However, the overall strength of its members is relatively weak.

It is the only official organization, and its treatment, intelligence capabilities, and reward mechanisms far surpass those of witches' "interest groups."

The aristocratic families are undoubtedly the strongest faction, with four thousand years of accumulated knowledge in the "Comers" lineage. They can easily attract mysterious individuals by simply throwing out a few pieces of information. However, they are centered on "bloodline" and do not accept anyone outside their family bloodline into their inner circle.

The Doris Wood family in Dietrich appears to consist of only one person, yet she alone has formed a three-way balance of power with the other two major factions, which is enough to prove the family's strength.

Unfortunately, Lin An has no family ties with them. Even if he shamelessly sides with the aristocratic family, he will probably be used, exploited, and abandoned in the end, just like all of Doris's subordinates.

Thinking about it this way, the foundation is actually the most suitable organization to join.

It was truly a contest of who was worse than the others in Dietrich...

Tonight, none of the leaders of the three factions participated in the melee. The witch left with a candle, the president was away on a business trip, and Doris did not show up at all.

If they joined in, it would be impossible to know who the final winner would be. Lin An sorted out his thoughts, while the other employees from the direct-facing departments simultaneously finished reading the brief report from the clerical department, and all fell into a silent state of mixed feelings.

After a while, soft sobs and hushed prayers rose and fell as the living mourned the passing of their companion.

Lin An didn't know the disciplinary team, so he was unmoved, but he cooperated by putting his hands together and joining their prayer.

Vanessa closed her eyes, and her melodious and gentle voice flowed into everyone's ears.

Lord, please guide souls into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Especially those who need you.

May divine tenderness,
List all their happiness,

May all peace and comfort be with them.

…………

A full day had passed since the Foundation riot. As soon as Lin An stepped out of his dormitory, he saw that the Foundation flag fluttering in the sky had been lowered to half its original height.

The flag of St. Anilof is quite interesting. It shares a similar design with the World Tree Forum in Lin'an, featuring a simplified icon of a tree with colorful fruits growing harmoniously upwards and branches connecting them.

Lin An speculated that the inspiration for this pattern might be the legendary "Kabbalah Tree of Life".

The hardworking office workers cleaned up the messy courtyard, buried the broken plants in the ground, planted new seeds, and a rainbow rose from the mist. The fresh, moist scent of dew washed away the smell of blood.

Upon seeing Lin An, they all greeted him.

Good morning, Mr. Lin.

"You worked hard facing the department the night before last."

"Lin, did you rest well? Is there anything we can do for you?"

In the midst of the riots, ordinary people had no chance to participate and could only watch helplessly as their companions died, following the crowd into narrow safe spaces, waiting for news of victory amidst the sweltering heat and restlessness.

Having survived a life-or-death crisis, these ground staff looked at Lin An with even greater admiration.

No wonder the employee handbook repeatedly emphasizes that the direct-facing department is the foundation of the foundation!

These people deserve our heartfelt admiration!
Lin An waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I didn't contribute much in that battle, and I'm far inferior to the experienced seniors. Moreover, in terms of hardship, you weren't much less relaxed than us. At least I rested for a whole day yesterday."

"You're too modest, Lin."

In order not to affect his attendance, the clerical staff suppressed the urge to strike up a conversation and made way for him. As Lin An passed by them, he could only hear the endless chatter.

"I heard that he and Captain Simon worked together to kill that disgusting serpent! Not to mention a newcomer, even a regular employee would find it hard to accomplish such a feat. No wonder he's the genius who gave our minister a heart attack during the interview."

"So handsome, let's get married."

"When it comes to real marriage, it's not your turn. Didn't you receive the email from the research department this morning? His teammate, Melissa Slaine, is the fourth legendary C-level Mystic in this foundation, and she and Lin are a perfect match. This is called internal digestion within the Direct Department."

Is Melissa also a legendary C-rank?
Lin An pricked up his ears and heard several people mention the word "fairy." He took out his phone and realized that his department had not received the mass email.

It's okay, I'll be meeting Mishi soon.

"Ding."

The elevator doors opened, revealing a familiar, dark corridor and an image of X. Lin An inserted his black card. In the office, Simon sat in his usual spot as always. Hearing the noise, he raised the mug in his hand.

"coffee?"

So far, the foundation has not caused any trouble for Lin An, which shows that the captain has indeed kept his promise, kept his mouth shut, and not told anyone about what Lin An had to confess.

"Captain, I just heard someone say that we defeated the basilisk together," Lin An asked casually while operating the coffee machine.

“My report is factual. Apart from the section on ‘The Gem of Wisdom,’ the rumors you’ve heard are probably because the people in the administrative departments like you too much.” Simon glanced at him. “What are you holding in your hand?”

"Cappuccino."

"In the other hand."

"Thank you for keeping this a secret, Captain, even though I 'destroyed' the evidence overnight."

A strange smile appeared on Lin An's lips as he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a staff made of two intertwined snakes, its magical aura permeating the air.

"This is the crystallization of two fragments of the Philosopher's Stone."

Thank you to Sanliangyihujiu and Nifengbuzhen for the generous donations, thank you to Xu'an for the monthly ticket, and thank you to all the readers for your recommendations and continued reading!
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(End of this chapter)