World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 71 Time Square
Nighttime in New York City.

Thousands of skyscrapers stand side by side, vying for the blue sky. The city is always bustling with people, and the neon lights created by the buildings create a dazzling environment.

The sidewalks were littered with carelessly discarded trash, homeless people were curled up and fast asleep, and the walls covered in graffiti occasionally reeked of urine.

The streets and subways were packed with busy people, and vehicle horns were blaring incessantly.

Life here is optimistic and fast-paced, everything is changing all the time, pedestrians wear loose clothes, walk very fast, speak in vulgar language, and chat almost like shouting.

At 6 p.m., Lin An's team arrived in the city.

Simon parked his car near Chinatown. The New York branch of the foundation is located on Long Island, requiring a ferry ride.

Because the journey was smooth, the group arrived a day earlier than agreed.

The branch president told them to wait for about two hours, and someone would come to pick them up.

Lin An, Mishi, and Barry found a restaurant in Chinatown, ate and drank their fill, and Mishi couldn't help but use her communication device to talk to Simon.

"Captain, how long are you staying in New York this time?"

“About three days,” Simon replied in a deep voice. “Once we confirm that the Thunderbird can be transported successfully, we will set off.”

"Do you have time to visit Time Square? Coming to New York without going to Time Square is like being an Undead without touching the glowing spot—the game experience is incomplete!"

"I don't understand what you're saying. It's a shame we've been staying on Long Island all this time."

“Captain, since our backup staff hasn’t arrived yet, it should be off-duty time now, right?” Mishi said eagerly. “It only takes 5 minutes by taxi to Time Square from here. I’ve decided, I’m going. Are you two coming with me?”

Lin An, who was scrolling through his phone, looked up and opened the fortune cookie.

"The master said, 'An exciting opportunity is right in front of you.' I had no choice but to go."

"takeout……"

“I’ll deliver this to you, Captain.” Barry poured the fried rice into a plastic lunchbox. “Remember to return to the parking spot in two hours, and be careful.”

"Great!"

Giant posters adorn Time Square, with "20% off" and "50% off" signs attracting attention like peacock feathers. Groups of people gather to take photos in front of the 32-story New York Times building.

Street performers sang hip-hop music, and people around them put money into their hats.

Lin An was just browsing posts on the World Tree Forum while eating when he couldn't stop.

Switching the location to New York City, he was bombarded with all sorts of urban legends and conspiracy theories, almost making his eyes water.

New York truly lives up to its reputation as a place of outstanding people and abundant resources, with a total number of posts three times more than in Dietrich.

Following the latest reply time, Lin An read through each post. About ten minutes later, he entered a keyword in the search bar.

"cat."

More than a dozen posts popped up, and Lin An clicked on the one with the most replies.

DifferentStory: The "Cats" show at the recent Bode Plaza actually features real cats?
DifferentStory: I wonder if anyone else watched the opera *Cats* at the Bodeiger Center last night? To be honest, the company's singing, lighting, and stage effects were all excellent, but using a bunch of real cats was just too much. [Images][Images][Images]
The image shows an extremely blurry photo of the dimly lit area near the stage. Lin An turned the brightness up to the maximum before he could make out what appeared to be a pair of glittering eyes in the darkness.

Zestyclow_112: OP, remember to put the door lock back after you take a picture.

masakosukii: The cat is so cute.

SshisuEM: I was there too. Absolutely speechless. Did the production team even consider people with cat allergies?

SshisuEM: If it had clearly stated in the description that real cats would be used to enhance the stage performance, I wouldn't have gone. Thankfully, I didn't have an asthma attack, otherwise I wonder how the Bodehui would have handled it.

CEO-Thompson: Does your cat wear boots?
SshisuEM: What a coincidence, I think it might actually have been worn.

Mind-Charge: What does this have to do with mysticism? Turn left at the door, thank you.

Different Story: The poster suffers from severe cat allergy, the kind that requires an emergency room visit if they're even in the same room as a cat. However, yesterday a cat rubbed against my legs without me reacting at all. Therefore, I suspect it wasn't an ordinary cat.

Quel'on: So did the poster communicate with the theater, and how did they respond?
DifferentStory: I haven't received a reply to the email yet.

MoranWuyu: Don't you think there are more and more mysterious incidents involving cats lately? ...Looking at the picture, isn't the cat in the post black? Doesn't it have a tuft of white fur on its chest?
Slammer: a black cat with white chest fur, ghostly speed... It reminds me of a legend.

NotAzakan*5: Hiss, a bad feeling. Black cats are messengers of hell.

CreazionediAdamo: Yet another child poisoned by pop culture. Cats are just mysterious, not always evil.

Divine_comedy: That's right, cats have been revered in many civilizations throughout history. As early as ancient Egypt, the goddesses Mafdet and Bastet were depicted as cats, possibly originating from a legend of a jungle cat named Mau who protected a sacred tree from the serpent Apophis.

Divine_comedy: The Celts also believed that cats possessed magical powers. Cats frequently appear in Lion Kingdom literature, such as Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Divine_comedy: The association of cats with "misfortune" truly began with the Saviour Church, who believed that if a cat sat on a grave, it meant the devil had possessed that person's soul. They also accused single women who owned cats of being witches, and that black cats were their "familiars."

DifferentStory: Thanks for the explanation, I feel comforted. I'll update again when the theater responds; I have a feeling New York City has been quite turbulent lately.

Fogлес: I think the world is already not peaceful enough.

Lin An read several more posts; in the past month, at least dozens of people had witnessed the strange cat.

According to their description, the cats are of varying colors, extremely fast, travel in packs, and often appear in unexpected places.

Lin An noticed that two posters and DifferentStory saw the exact same cat.

A black cat wearing boots and with a tuft of white fur on its chest. Lin An smiled with interest.

Along the way, people dressed as Spider-Man, Ice Queen, and Avatar kept passing by the two of them. Mishi excitedly picked up her phone, and the camera happened to capture a muscular Thor with his hands on his hips.

Noticing the admiring and praiseful look in Mishi's eyes, the actor playing Thor turned around and gave her a bright and cheerful smile.

"Hey girl, are you on vacation? Welcome to New York! Want to take a picture with me?"

Although the vulgar language made Mishi a little uncomfortable, she was touched by the other person's enthusiasm.

"Yeah."

Just as she was about to ask Lin An to help take pictures, the actor playing Thor put his arm around her shoulder without saying a word, and a captain from the United States suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started snapping pictures of the two of them.

"It's done, take a look."

Taking the camera from Captain Eagle, Mishi excitedly flipped through the photos. Although most of them were blurry, she picked out a few and asked him to send them to her. Thor murmured to himself.

"A photo costs $5, you should give me $50."

"what?!"

"A photo doesn't come for free," said the actor who plays Thor. "What, you trying to renege on your promise?"

The two burly men clenched their fists, their bones cracking, and revealed dangerous expressions. Mi Xi was stunned. Seeing Lin An so engrossed in the World Tree Forum, she took a deep breath.

"Lin! Come help!"

"Oh, you brought your boyfriend?" The two shifted their gaze, sizing up Lin An's youthful figure, and couldn't help but sneer, giving him the middle finger. "I advise you to fucking get lost, you little brat—"

Without looking up, Lin An switched the phone to his left hand and drew the gun from his waist.

The two slowly withdrew their middle fingers.

"—Young man, hahaha...that's a really nice coat. We won't bother you any longer..."

As soon as they turned around, they saw that Mishi, who had suddenly realized what was happening, had also pulled out a pistol and blocked their way.

"Send me the photos."

Damn, we've run into the real Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

The actors reluctantly complied, and after receiving permission, they slunk away. Mi Xi jogged back to Lin An's side and couldn't help but pat him hard on the shoulder.

"Can you please stop looking at your phone? Time Square is so beautiful, why don't you take some pictures and send them to Bluebird?"

"I'm afraid they'll charge me $5 for one ticket."

"...What a disappointment! Lin, this is one of the most bustling neighborhoods in New York!"

To prove this point, Mishi opened her arms wide and inhaled the intoxicating, thick air of Time Square with relish.

The next moment, a figure walked towards her and deliberately bumped into her arms. Before Mi Xi could react, a small resin doll was suddenly shoved into her hand.

The person who bumped into her had a big smile on his face and stretched out his hands.

"Thank you for your purchase. The total is $200. Cash or credit card?"

"what?!"

Mishi's eyes widened as the hard object in her hand turned out to be a crudely made chieftain doll, probably worth only about two dollars at most.

"Sorry, I don't want to buy it... Here you go."

The vendor, who was clearly wearing a tracksuit, had a few feathers stuck in his hair out of place, and his face was painted with paint to make him look mysterious. When he realized that Mishi wasn't buying it, he wouldn't take his goods either, and he burst into tears.

"Heavens! You're discriminating against me! You're a descendant of outsiders, a red-haired witch, how dare you look down on me, a native of the Upper East!"

"But you're not..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mishi realized something and pulled out his pistol in the same manner.

"Take your junk back! I told you I'm not buying it!"

Unexpectedly, this female con artist was even bolder than the two actresses who played the roles; no wonder she dared to ask for a higher amount.

"Snapped!"

Facing the gun, she didn't flinch. Instead, she swiftly knocked the chieftain doll out of Mishi's hand, which instantly got covered in mud and sand and was kicked around by passersby.

"Even if you don't buy it, don't throw it on the ground! I didn't expect you to be so young and yet so fond of bullying others! Sigh, my life is so hard!" she said indignantly. "How am I supposed to sell it now? You have to compensate me!"

Mishi was completely dumbfounded and had no choice but to reluctantly pay the female con artist $80 to send her away.

“I take back what I said before, I hate New York,” she told Lin An. “My savings from selling the house have decreased by 80. Lin, what game are you playing? Can we play online?”

"Time Square is definitely worth seeing," Lin An reassured him. "I'm booking tickets."

"Where are the tickets from?"

"Just completed the transaction, scalped tickets for Bodehui." Lin An entered the address into the map navigation. "Come on, let's go to the musical."

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(End of this chapter)