World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 7 The Devil's Prey

The moment Lin An recognized Heda Steiner's mysterious presence, the system's voice rang in his mind.

"With your witness, the [Magic Shotgun] character's encyclopedia entry has been unlocked."

"Check."

[Name]: Magic Bullet Shooter, Free Shooter, Devil's Gun

[Rating]: Ghost Story, Level D

Radiation level: 1.8%
[Pollution Level]: 58.2%
[Medium]: Lord of Dreams
Seeing the data, Lin An's questions were answered.

There is a folk tale that is passed down in Gromania.

A young hunter and a beautiful girl fell in love, but the girl's father demanded that the hunter win the hunting competition a few weeks later to prove that he was a warrior worthy of his daughter.

The hunter's archery skills were mediocre, but due to impatience and recklessness, his aim became increasingly poor, to the point that he could not even hit his prey when it was right in front of him.

With the hunting competition about to begin, the hunters were extremely anxious.

One day, while he was practicing in the forest, a strange-looking man on stilts limped out, bent down, and asked the hunter about his troubles.

After listening to the hunter's story, the man gave him a magical gun.

He claimed that the first six bullets of the gun could hit any prey the hunter wanted, but in exchange, he demanded the prey for the seventh shot.

The hunter was astonished after two attempts.

The local priest warned the hunter that the man might be a devil, but the young man ignored him and shocked the girl's father with a few deer, easily winning the hunting competition.

At the wedding, the father asked the hunter to prove his bravery one last time.

The hunter picked up his rifle; there were two bullets left in it.

He thought he had two more chances.

The hunter aimed at an eagle in the sky and pulled the trigger.

—Ping! Ping!

Two gunshots rang out simultaneously, the eagle crashed to the ground, and the girl in the wedding dress fell into a pool of blood.

The heartbroken hunter collapsed beside his lover, and as the shadows fell, he saw the devil on stilts once more.

Why are you crying? Didn't we agree on something? The devil laughed maniacally.

The first six shots can hit anything, but the prey of the seventh shot will be mine.

Not only did the devil in the story accurately predict people's greed and arrogance, but he also set a small linguistic trap, making the hunter mistakenly believe that he could not fire the seventh shot.

In fact, the sixth bullet was the final seal.

Once the ban is lifted, the devil will take up the gun and aim at the prey he has set his sights on.

6, a magical number.

Rumor has it that the devil's code name is 666, and the foundation has also said that if the level of pollution exceeds 60%, the individual will become mentally unstable.

Based on the story of the Magic Bullet Shooter, Lin An could easily guess that Haida's lower body had actually become deformed—which would explain why he walked with a limp.

However, Haida himself was completely unaware that the increasing level of pollution did not make him weaker. Muscle replaced fat, giving Haida the illusion that the more he used his superpowers, the stronger he became.

Little did the hunter know that the devil in the Demon Shooter was actually a limping figure on stilts, and the hunter's sweet taste was all a trick by the devil to lure him into firing the sixth shot.

It is said that the devil will shoot the user's most cherished possession.

Looking at Haida, who was trembling all over and whose face was flushed, Lin An curled his lip.

This kind of person only loves themselves.

"Heh, you really think you're the only special one? Let me tell you, there are plenty of superpowered people in the world, Sasaki Haruto is one of them. He saw through everything long ago. You're just a human pistol head. As long as you're wearing a bulletproof vest, you have nothing to be afraid of."

Heda Steiner was panting heavily, his eyes were becoming increasingly bloodshot, and the veins on his face were throbbing and swelling like earthworms, spreading from his neck all over his face.

"I don't know what you're so proud of, awakening such a useless ability. I hope no one actually gets affected." Lin An scoffed. "I wouldn't even take it if it were given to me for free."

If I don't take action soon, I'll just have to say "hehehe".

As if a thread in his mind had snapped, Haida's hair nearly stood on end, and he let out a hoarse, raspy roar, tearing off his right glove with a tearing motion.

It was a hand that had deviated from the norm, making one feel nauseous.

The only barely discernible feature on the back of the hand was a glowing pattern, while the other five fingers faintly gleamed with a metallic sheen, yet hung limply, likely having long since lost their internal support.

When Haida raised his right hand and aimed it at Lin An, his five fingers made a strange "crackling" sound, all of them flipped over, wriggling and deforming, covering the pattern in the center of the back of his hand, layer upon layer of flesh and bone, forming the shape of a gun.

The spear of flesh and blood left a dark, gaping muzzle, through which Lin An could see the glowing pattern itself.

A devil's smiling face.

"Would you like to hear how the first five people died?"

Haida took a step forward, panting heavily, looking almost frantic.

“That day, I just went to a gas station… I just wanted to buy a bag of chips, but the owner recognized me and mocked me for being a shut-in, a loser, a piece of trash from the bottom of society…”

"Kill him! Kill him—the feeling grew stronger and clearer. I felt something descend upon me, and my hand involuntarily rose, aimed at the boss's back, took aim, and then—fired!"

"Blood splattered as a bullet flew through the air and struck him in the back. He screamed and fell to the ground, struggling to crawl out, his body gushing blood, as if trying to call the police. But I was already out of the convenience store. The gas station was packed." "An Indo-Asian man stood by his car, swiping his card to buy gas, acting like a successful person. That smile... it was so condescending, even though he was just a lower-class immigrant! Without hesitation, I aimed at his left chest—ping!"

"Then I saw an old woman sitting on a bench. Ha, just a parasite relying on subsidies! That money could be used anywhere, instead of letting an old woman leisurely read a book. So I aimed at her—ping!"

"A young couple ran past on the main road, beaming with joy and brimming with youthful energy. It's so unfair! These people are just born with good figures and good looks, so they enjoy the youth that I can't have—how dare they provoke me—ping!"

"You have no idea how exhilarating it feels to see smoke coming from the muzzle of a gun! That thrill of aiming is addictive!"

Lin An suddenly remembered the news headlines from five days ago.

[Gas station shooting spree]

An unidentified killer fired five shots, killing four people and seriously injuring one. The victims had almost nothing in common, and the suspect's motive remains a mystery.

Although the police detained everyone present and identified three armed suspects, they were unable to convict them due to insufficient evidence.

To this day, the suspect's identity remains undetermined.

Five different families were torn apart.

"Now it's your turn, you little punk who dares to discriminate against me after learning just a few smatterings! You think a bulletproof vest can stop my bullets? Haha, I have superpowers! I'm omnipotent!"

Haida let out a loud laugh from his very soul.

"Go to hell!"

"Ping!—Ping!"

Two gunshots rang out simultaneously. Haida saw incredulously that a strange shield rose up in front of Lin An. The bullets bounced off as if they had hit a silicone surface, the transparent patterns rippling like water.

Immediately afterwards, excruciating pain penetrated deep into the brain.

It seemed as if a pair of cold hands had taken the gun, and he could only watch helplessly as his right hand moved uncontrollably toward his temple and pulled the trigger without mercy.

The bullets came from the stars.

The cool, numbing sensation caused Haida to shed tears and feel dizzy, her vision blurred, and she felt the world spinning around her.

"Dangdang!"

He stumbled and fell to the ground, convulsing, and the world plunged into eternal darkness.

With his last breath, Haida still couldn't understand his own death. Filled with hatred and confusion, what left him in the end was his hearing.

“DerTodesstern, you’re not the worst hacker I’ve ever seen.”

That college student...

Call me...

Could he be the real one—

"But he must be the worst person."

—The founder of the World Tree Forum!
………………

"Killed by his own mystery?"

Darkness enveloped the University of Ann Arbor, a yellow line encircling the desolate area, surrounded by the piercing sirens of police cars. Four figures stood around the body, one of them speaking.

"Although the body was mangled and unrecognizable, a close look at his hands revealed that they had once been shaped like 'guns'; his cause of death was a gunshot wound," the coroner said. "The level of contamination on the body also confirms this, with tests showing at least 90% contamination."

"Have you identified the specific medium yet?"

"I can't be sure, but I'm 60% certain—it's the Lord of Dreams."

"That's it."

“That’s right. Of all the cases recorded in St. Anilov’s records, only this medium has this property… Do you remember poor Mr. Lloyd?”

The four of them looked at each other in silence, until a short ring broke the silence.

"There was a cell phone in the corpse's pocket," a crisp female voice said. "The caller ID read 'Stinky Woman.' Uh, should I answer it?"

"Proceed with caution."

An urgent voice came from the other end of the phone: "Xiaoda, where are you? I'm sorry, Mom didn't mean it! I bought you a new computer, the latest model, come home quickly!"

"Madam, I'm sorry to inform you..."

“What did you say? No, it can’t be, God! My darling…”

After hanging up the phone, the man in the lead sighed.

"At least the identity of the deceased has been confirmed. I just received a notification from the school that this area is undeveloped and is one of the few places on campus without surveillance cameras. The victim's face was also unrecognizable, so I thought it would take some time to confirm the identity."

"Um……"

"What's wrong, Caroline?"

“The last page the deceased visited before his death was ‘World Tree Forum’,” the clear female voice said. “A well-known online occult research site that gathers people from all over the world who are interested in the supernatural. Before joining the Foundation, I was an active member there.”

The other three exchanged glances: "Caroline, could you send us the website address?"

"Okay."

(End of this chapter)