World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 76 "Black Card Access"

"A Strange Experience at the Bodø/Glimt – Who Exactly Was This Actor?"

Lin An was scrolling through his phone out of sheer boredom when he unexpectedly came across a report about himself. A critic had written a review of the recently concluded "Cats" show, focusing particularly on Lin An's singing voice.

"Only by closing my eyes can I fully hear this special sound, which makes me imagine something light, uncertain, and perfunctory, creating a lingering unease in my mind, and a matching glamorous cat visual image appears in the void."

Below are various comments.

"Broadway has finally innovated in this way! I am determined to persuade people to believe that gender identity should not be interfered with by the gender of birth. Long live the non-binary world!"

"I'm so proud of this boy!"

"Wait a minute, the face in this photo...Doris's secret boyfriend? The Wood family's fiancé is playing a leading role in drag at the Bodleian Theatre, we have to @D_Easter now."

This caused Lin An's blood pressure to rise.

This is about musicals, what does it have to do with gender?

The netizens in New York are just ridiculous.

With his phone screen off, Lin An rested his chin on his hand, watching the New York cityscape pass by outside the car window.

Dazzling lights, towering buildings, eccentric performers, the clamor of antisocial residents, and the smell of hot dogs and smoke combine to create this chaotic dreamland.

People scurried through the maze-like streets like ants, some engrossed in their phones with coffee in hand, others standing outside hotels handing out brochures to tourists.

Homeless people held up signs that read, "Need money to buy leaves."

As the shadows of the ferry carriage enveloped him, Lin An felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him and he couldn't help but fall asleep.

When he woke up in the back seat, the neon lights were fading and the sky was beginning to lighten. The car had already arrived at the St. Anne-Love Foundation on Long Island.

Unlike the facilities in Dietrich, New York lacks the shell of ancient buildings and is entirely made of reinforced concrete. Towering concrete buildings rise from the ground, and high-tech automatic doors open wide, swallowing the RV Lin An was riding in.

The highly modern road wound its way up, and Simon parked his car in the spacious interior parking lot.

The civilian staff who had been waiting for a long time rushed forward and took Lin An and his group to their temporary dormitory. The itinerary was quickly sent to their email.

After resting in the dormitory, at 2 PM, I entered Thunderbird's Level 1 Control Isolation Room.

…………

Using the black card to open the elevator to the front department of the New York facility, an unfamiliar corridor, unfamiliar corners, and a holographic projection of X came into view.

"Scan complete, identity verification in progress... Matching complete. Welcome, Mr. Lin An."

The AI, which hadn't changed much, spoke repetitive sentences, which gave Lin An a sense of familiarity.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Lin An opened it and saw that it was a "punishment" email sent by the female captain.

Lin, Michigan branch

Although you did not notify the New York City branch before the operation and the process lacked organization and detailed planning, considering that you have only recently joined the Foundation, the Foundation has decided to award you, Melissa, Corey, and Lecia 5 points each.

Please remember that if the same situation occurs in the future, the Foundation will deduct 50 points and impose corresponding penalties.

The points have been deposited into your black card. Please check your account.

Face the department directly.

Selena Gretchen.

It turns out that the two mysterious figures were named Corret and Leisia.

Exiting the email, Lin An swiped his finger across the black card, unlocking his access to the Foundation with his fingerprint.

Name: Lin An

Rank: Full Member

Permissions: Red
Department: Facing

Points: 115
I already have 115 points. I wonder what interesting things I can get from the New York exchange vault.

As Lin An pondered this, he followed X's directions toward the meeting point. Before he could even see anyone, the sound of arguing reached him.

"Selena, you're not being fair at all."

It was the voice of the male mystery man. Lin An looked up and saw that the figures in front of him were divided into two groups.

The control team in New York was arguing fiercely. Mishi and Barry stood behind Simon with somewhat subtle expressions, looking both embarrassed and curious.

While greeting his companions, Lin An listened intently to their argument.

It turned out that the male and female mysterious figures were dissatisfied with the captain's decision to let them split the points equally, and were even more furious that Lin An had not been punished. They insisted that the female captain was protecting outsiders and deliberately targeting the two of them.

"Why would I make things difficult for you?" The female captain was both amused and exasperated. "First of all, this is a decision that was unanimously agreed upon by the department; secondly, you were all trained by me, so I would never suppress you."

“We may be in the same department and have the same black card,” Coret said coldly, “but you know in your heart that we’re no longer on the same track.” “That’s... no matter what, I’m still your captain.”

"It's just a temporary period of gaining experience under your command. Selena, I advise you not to side with outsiders, or you'll be in trouble with the 'Inspectorate's' investigation."

The female captain frowned, but dared not refute them, letting them vent their emotions.

Their relationship was unlike that of a captain and his teammates. When facing these two, the female captain was always careful and cautious in her words and actions, which surprised Lin An.

Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"Captain, what is the 'Inspection Team'?"

Simon hesitated for a moment, then took out his black card. The LCD screen showed his access level as 'red,' exactly the same as Lin An's as a formal member.

But if I remember correctly, the Foundation's highest level of access is 'black'.

"The black cards are called 'black cards' because they were originally created and issued by a special office located at headquarters, codenamed 'Inspectorate Group.' Generally, the head of each branch has a real black card that unlocks full privileges."

“The inspection team is not an independent department. Employees certified by the office have an additional authority to manage other employees. The foundation has been transformed from a charity into a special task force for less than a year, and most employees have only received brief training before starting work.”

"Among the employees who joined during this period, there were some who were just trying to take advantage of the situation, and there were even mysterious individuals on the wanted list who joined the foundation in order to avoid being investigated."

As Lin An listened, his knee suddenly ached for no apparent reason.

Before joining the Foundation, I had no idea that you had listed me as Beta-004, the "ghost"!

"Then why are Coret and Leah also members of the 'Inspectorate'? They're not the presidents of the New York branch." He posed a new question.

"Besides the president, some employees in the direct contact and research departments can also obtain blacklisted access through the office's review process. These reviews include the time of joining, media name, mystery rating, level of loyalty, ideology test, and so on."

"If I pass the test, will I be able to become the branch president?"

“Branch directors are usually too busy to stay in the organization indefinitely. So they initially assist the director in investigations, and once the radiation levels rise, they are undoubtedly the next candidates,” Simon said. “Reagan Modigliani was a member of the inspection team.”

"The captain of the four-person group..." Lin An pondered.

"These two departments frequently come into contact with the Mystics, and they immediately report any suspicious behavior from their employees to the office. As for Cardenas, who defected earlier... he was probably overlooked by the inspection team because he was in the logistics department and shouldn't be considered a Mystic."

“Initially, I also…” Simon’s tone was slightly complicated. “When I first left headquarters, as the dangerous medium of the ‘Lord of Dreams,’ the Chairman would often call me into his office to check on my condition. This was part of the inspection team’s work.”

"Captain, no matter what, we believe in you!" Mishi said quickly, feeling a pang of sadness.

"Thank you, Melissa."

Although the four of them kept their voices down, the female captain could still hear them clearly because of the close proximity. She casually leaned closer and apologized in a sighing tone.

“I’m sorry for the unpleasant experience you had,” she said. “In the recent Thunderbird incident, the chairman was suspended. The inspection team is paying more and more attention to the two of them. If the radiation level exceeds the threshold, it is even possible that Corey could directly become the new chairman of York.”

The four of them didn't know how to respond and remained silent.

Fortunately, Coret was only a team member at the moment. After a brief moment of impotent rage, he eventually left dejectedly, since the female captain's decision had no loopholes in the rules.

Even so, they glared at Lin An fiercely, as if to say, "This is not over."

After dismissing Coret and Leicia, the female captain cleared her throat and said, pretending nothing had happened.

"Let me show you the Thunderbird first."

Following her, they passed through several layers of locked, heavy metal doors and arrived at a spacious, oval-shaped room.

Upon entering, you are on the second floor. Looking down, the sunken space contains electrical wires, metal walls, and excessively bright incandescent lights. In the center stands a wooden sculpture, about three meters tall, with its entire body bound by black restraints.

Thunderbird.

Lin An's eyes trembled.

Although its true form cannot be seen, the aura emanating from the Thunderbird alone evokes a sense of inexplicable holiness. However, this is not a Platonic fixedness or a perfection dominated by the Western worldview, but rather an indescribable, fleeting yet eternal sublime spirituality.

Legend has it that this mysterious giant bird lives on the top of high mountains, and when it flaps its wings it creates booming thunder and lightning. Some local tribes believe that the Thunderbird created the world.

A creator-level deity...

Although it is only the belief of some northern tribes, it is enough to illustrate the power of the Thunderbird as a prototype.

Name: Thunderbird
[Rating]: Source Grade B

Radiation level: 24.4%
[Pollution Level]: 87.5%
[Medium]: Nature Ritual
The system affixed a green panel to Thunderbird, the highest-rated Mystic Lin An had ever seen, and also the Mystic with the highest radiation level.

The source is Class B, and like his "Mysterious Encyclopedia," its radiation level is as high as 24.4%.

If it gets out of control... just how terrifying power will the Thunderbird unleash?

"This is Alpha-001." The female captain turned around and said in as calm a tone as possible, "The research department is still doing the final binding work, and we can start moving it first thing tomorrow morning."

Thank you to �隐笙歌, Kizurin, Lightwave, Saanyi, 鱼巷猫未归, zcywindy, and 天路迢迢 for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for the recommendation tickets and subscriptions!

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(End of this chapter)