World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 77 Plastic Shaman
The female captain sent the PDF information about the Thunderbird and a map of the New York Foundation to Lin An and his group's email address, informing them that they were free to move around.

Mishi nudged Lin An's arm.

"Wow, New York has a hot spring pool."

"You go first, I want to look at Thunderbird a few more times." Lin An leaned on the second-floor escalator. "Don't you think it's practically a work of art that resonates with the soul?"

Mishi's attempts to persuade him failed, so she left with the others.

The black restraints were just for show for the Thunderbird. Lin An contacted the research department responsible for monitoring, and after some negotiation, they agreed to untie the restraints for three minutes so that he could observe the Thunderbird in its entirety.

"Crash..."

The mechanical stretching caused the restraints to slowly retract, revealing the Thunderbird in its entirety.

At first glance, Lin An felt disappointed.

Lacking a grand and imposing posture, exquisite carving, or even decorative elements that conform to "local elements," the Thunderbird is merely a cylindrical piece of wood with two rough, square wings, its basic bird features outlined in three primary colors.

It was like a makeshift tent, hastily housing a sacred soul.

On second thought, Lin An felt that only a thunderbird in this form could be the true deity of the local people.

Rather than the self-righteous propaganda of the United States.

Because the local people's sculptures never focus on the "external form," but rather on the process of forging them; in other words, they value the worship ritual itself more than the deity.

In the Navajo (indigenous tribes), there is a ritual in which priests use wedge-shaped tools to carve wood or coal into symbolic shapes, such as a crescent moon or a morning star, before lighting a large fire.

Believers gathered around the sacred fire, using rainbow-decorated fans, rattles, and beaded canes to create wind and blow flames by rhythmically waving their instruments, working together to create unique "fire sculptures."

The flames shaped the form of the gods, but the effect was fleeting.

The unfixable material allowed the locals to see their gods through the reflection of nature.

In addition, the Navajo have two other forms of worship: "dry paintings" made of mud and sand, and "haida totems" carved from wood.

The three examples represent three levels of change and dissipation: fire sculptures are the least durable, lasting less than an hour; dry paintings can last for several days; and hida totem poles may last for several generations.

They will eventually decay, and their physical form will return to its original state.

But the locals don't care about the decay of the divine incarnation, because they have already gained spirituality in the process of personally pursuing the rituals.

However, the people of the West could not accept that gods possessed "transience".

They are accustomed to viewing indigenous culture as a static, rigid, and unchanging form of worship, just as they would their own gods, believing that God is an eternal and perfect being.

It was this barrier that limited their understanding of the indigenous people. The conquerors attempted to interpret another civilization from the perspective of the dominant culture, but ignored the fundamental concepts of the local worldview.

Gorgeous bird feathers, colorful graffiti, and a dazzling array of jewelry...

The Thunderbird actually wearing them would be the most false image of a native deity.

Three minutes were up, and Lin An left the room, still feeling unsatisfied.

"bump!"

Two figures who had left returned: Coret and Leicia. Coret had his hands in his pockets and spoke in an unfriendly tone.

"You'd better be prepared to be interrogated by headquarters."

"Oh?"

“Although the captain covered for you, I’ve decided to send an email to the inspection team headquarters. No matter what you’ve done, you’ll be subject to strict control. Even if there’s no problem, they can find one.”

Lin An's eyes darted around, and after a moment's thought, he suddenly spoke.

"My points have exceeded 100, which can be exchanged for an item in the redemption shop as an apology to express my sincerity."

"Oh?"

The two were surprised that Lin An was willing to back down to this extent.

They were indeed short of points recently, which is why they took a risk yesterday, abandoning their teammates to go to Bodø/Glimt to look for Catsis.

The exchange system has something that Koret desperately needs. If he gets it, his radiation level will rise significantly, and he might even gain direct approval from headquarters to replace the current chairman who was forced to suspend his duties.

The three were not irreconcilable enemies. After a few whispered words, Coret's smile became friendly, and Lecia reservedly agreed.

"Since you know you're wrong and are willing to correct your mistakes, we won't pursue the matter of the trouble you caused at the Bodhi Garden Theatre."

"Don't delay, come with me." Corett beckoned.

On the way, Lin An put on a sincere act and inquired about the two's "black cards".

“Black access will allow you to accomplish quite a few things,” Coret said. “We have headquarters’ contact information, we can access the research department’s data, and we can also…”

His words came to an abrupt halt as he unconsciously glanced at the security camera in the corner.

"It can also participate in or interfere with the work of other departments." Leah flicked the keychain on her handbag. "This is a charity item I designed for the logistics department." Lin An looked closely and saw a familiar chieftain pendant hanging on the handbag.

It turns out that the $80 doll that Time Square scammed from Mishi was actually produced by the Foundation!

"Excuse me for being frank, but it looks a bit cheap."

“It was intentionally designed to look like this.” Leicia grinned. “This was the key to my joining the inspection team, and it has already been deployed on a large scale in eastern Eagle Country, centered on New York.”

"why?"

Lin An had a vague idea of ​​the answer, but he still wanted to hear it from her in person.

"You wouldn't want more mysterious beings like the 'Thunderbird' to appear in the Eagle Country, would you? They are a group of unruly primitive people. If they were to gain power in the civilized era, they would definitely cause considerable damage."

Lecia pulled a stack of posters from her handbag and displayed them ostentatiously.

"For example, the Hopi tribe's Sotunan and the Spider Lady. Can you imagine that the Eagle Kingdom is filled with such powerful, lawless, and primitive people who do whatever they want?"

"Then, just 'plasticize, romanticize, and naively' them. As long as there is enough commercial activity, even if the locals attract the 'Commerx' medium, they will not be able to awaken the prototypes with too high a rating—because their beliefs have long been blurred and polluted."

"Give civilization time, not time to civilization. The longer a civilization lasts, the more powerful it is. Only civilizations that are qualified to survive have value."

“You seem to have reversed that statement,” Lin An said. “Isn’t it about giving life to time, rather than giving time to life?”

"That pigeon-like person's theory is outdated; the world now belongs to the eagle-like nation."

Leah lined up the flamboyant posters, their bright, large font enough to attract anyone's attention.

"From sun dancing on the Astro Grassland to sweating it out on a cruise ship, and workshops on core shamanism, we promise to enter your life in a natural way to solve problems, achieve happiness, and heal."

“A weekend vision exploration workshop costs between $350 and $750, excluding accommodation and meals, while a two-week pilgrimage costs $3450.”

"Visit our website and order the following kits for a more holistic Indigenous spiritual experience. We will provide sage and cedar poultice sticks with a soothing herbal tea."

"Purchase the set and you will also receive a free copy of the book 'The Spirit of the Indigenous Peoples of the Upper East Side' and a CD cassette of 'Desert,' as well as a beautiful gift box made from recycled materials. The environmental awareness is intended to pay tribute to Mother Titan."

As Lin An listened to their conversation, it seemed that a necessary condition for the awakening of the mysterious prototype of "Comers" was "having a clear understanding of culture," and that the higher the rating, the more corresponding bloodline and cognition were required.

Could it be that the massacre that swept across the Eastern Continent was a conflict between the Western Continent and the local aristocratic families?

With bloodlines and cultures severed, even if "Comers" were to return, some mysterious archetypes would be forever buried in the past.

Even now, the organization led by the foundation has not let go of the remaining "seeds" and is still using brainwashing propaganda to prevent them from awakening to a higher level of mystery.

The group entered the elevator, pressed the floor button, and when Korett saw that Lin An was silent, he spoke up.

“You’re not from the UK, are you? Then you don’t understand. ‘Noble savage’ is the core of the UK’s search for identity in the 21st century.”

“A strange topic.”

"Modern people are always struggling with the contradiction between the emptiness of daily life and the desire for a meaningful life, and they seek solace in faith. This is essentially the same as the message conveyed by advertising: 'Buy this product and change your life.'"

Koret spoke with conviction, fully displaying his New Yorkist spirit—a love of international culture coupled with a disdain for respect for fundamentalism.

"People don't care whether what they buy is a book, a cassette tape, or a magic crystal. What's the difference between that and a new car, a dress, or a pet collar? It's just an instant, comprehensive, and extremely simple solution for mental satisfaction."

“This is similar to the Druid worship.” Lin An nodded. “The Druid revival occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The Lion Kingdom was the first industrialized country, and its people were among the first confused believers of Druidism.”

"Aren't Druids really like what the Lion Kingdom portrays them to be?" Coret asked with interest.

"People only have positive imaginations about their ancestors—that Druids were wise, insightful, and kind. Druids would put animals or people in cages made of branches and then shoot them to death with arrows—this was a common form of sacrifice."

"Ding dong."

The elevator doors opened, and the group arrived at the fourth basement level where the exchange warehouse was located.

The facility in New York covers an area far larger than that of Dietrich, with ten floors above ground and five floors underground, and controls hundreds of mysterious individuals.

The organization has dedicated an entire floor specifically to storing the exchange warehouse items.

A virtual image of X appeared, and the lights automatically turned on, illuminating the empty corridor.

“The Druids’ other methods are even more cruel,” Lin An continued. “For example, they would soak the offering in a pool of verbena, leave the head exposed to breathe, and dance around the offering until the offering was completely dehydrated.”

"The older an era is, the more easily it is remembered..."

Before Koret could finish speaking, a surge of energy erupted, and they whirled around. Lin An smiled and held up two fingers, pointing at their foreheads respectively.

A sacred herb transformed into a crown of verbena and placed on his head, while the phantom of a tall and beautiful oak tree swayed, its vibrant branches casting dappled leaf-like leaves.

Their pupils constricted.

Lin An uttered a sentence in an ancient Celtic language.

“Misli gami gra dhi-il (You will be cursed by me).”

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(End of this chapter)