World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 197 A Farewell

After being teleported by the witch again, Lin An counted to three in his mind before opening his eyes.

The rented room, where I had lived for a full year, was covered in dust from neglect, with little lint balls rolling around everywhere, and the trash can was stuffed with takeout containers from a few days ago.

Joshua was reading a flyer on Lin An's desk when he heard a strange noise. He turned around abruptly and smiled when he saw that it was Lin An and the witch.

"Teacher, is this the book you asked me to find?"

"That was a rental ad the real estate agent sent me a few days ago." Lin An waved his hand. "Thanks for your hard work, Baige. There are all kinds of canned fruit and pizza in the fridge. Feel free to eat whatever you want if you're hungry."

"thank you teacher."

“Canned fruit and pizza go very well together,” the witch said with interest. “What do you think, White Dove?”

"Great idea! Did you come up with it, witch?"

"This is the recipe for Havie pizza. But your point is interesting: what did people call pineapple pizza before Havie pizza was invented?"

“Maybe it’s called ‘meat sauce pizza’.” Joshua opened the refrigerator. “Teacher, you have half a bottle of Nutella chocolate spread left over. Can I spread it on the crust of the pizza? It’ll taste like a donut.”

"Take it, take it, you can take it."

What's going on with these two?

When scattered, they are like wise strategists; when gathered, they are like the Deyun Society.
After dismissing the "Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick" duo, Lin An used his key to open the door to the storage room.

The spines of the books, written in Carolingian calligraphy, were neatly arranged, and the ancient, magical twelve volumes of the "Complete Book of Magic" lay quietly on the bookshelf, exuding a strange atmosphere.

Lin An activated the Philosopher's Stone, and one ancient book after another flew out from the bookshelf, circling around him as if elves were surrounding their master.

With a thought, Lin Anrang flew over with the fifth volume of "The Complete Book of Magic IV: The Dark Wind - The Black Witch, the White Witch, the Red Witch and Their Allies".

Studying ancient books seemed to have depleted Lin An's mental energy, causing him to repeatedly enter the same absurd and chaotic nightmare that night. These nightmares flickered with bizarre and eerie colors, exceeding the limits of human imagination and impossible to record.

A hazy mist, reed beds, a small boat sailing by...

Lin An was certain that this was not the first time he had encountered these strange images, but he couldn't recall where he had experienced a similar scene before.

The more one studies the "Complete Book of Magic," the more severe this influence, resembling that of the "Lady with the Lamp," becomes.

Lin An gently exhaled, grasped the fifth ancient book, and stroked its slightly dented title: "The Complete Book of Magic V: Halfway to Divinity - Wanderers Ask Heaven and Earth".

This is an entry related to prophets.

After what happened with the chairman, Lin An felt that countermeasures against the "prophet" were extremely important, as this kind of subtle psychological suggestion was simply impossible to guard against.

He decided to finish reading the fifth volume of "The Complete Book of Magic" soon to avoid running into that bratty student council president again during his battle with Doris.

As Lin An left the storage room with twelve ancient books, he was about to go back with the two people outside when he suddenly heard a knocking sound at the door.

"You have guests?" The witch looked towards the door in confusion.

Lin An frowned, kept a certain distance, and threw the devil's dice from his pocket onto the table.

"Do those outside carry the mystery of 'prophet'?"

The dice rolled "glug glug" and stopped on the "wrong" side.

Lin An felt relieved and peered through the peephole. A man and a woman were standing outside his apartment; to be precise, it was a half-man and a half-woman.

"Lin Dou, are you home?"

Sang Sang shouted at the top of her lungs, the echo lingering. She and Mike, who was standing next to her, looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Didn't the foundation send an email yesterday saying he was missing? Why did you come all the way here to look for him in person, Mike?"

"Bullshit! A living person can't just disappear like that! The Foundation is a bunch of bastards. They kidnapped April without a word, and after half a year of treatment with no improvement, they're a bunch of useless cowards."

"Don't generalize. At least Lin Douren is alright."

“Unless I confirm it myself, I don’t believe their report!” Mike clicked his tongue. “There must be something wrong with it! I swear on our two years of roommate experience! Lin used to stay out all night to avoid parties.”

"Don't lie to me, I skipped work to go crazy with you."

"That bookworm usually shuts himself up here. If he's not here, let's go check the fourth floor of the library. I've written a ton of plans for our team, all we need is for him to come back!"

As Mike spoke, he pounded on the door even harder.

"Lin! Where the hell is he?!"

"Even if he were here, he wouldn't open the door if you kept banging on it like that!" Sangsang shouted, gathering her strength. "Lin Dou, Professor Emmett asked me to bring you some study materials!"

"Who would open the door to study materials!" Mike retorted, not to be outdone. "Open the door, stripper!"

"Open the door, there's a basket of kittens!"

As the two were arguing, Lin An gestured to Joshua and the witch to go to the bedroom to rest, and turned the doorknob before Sang Sang and Mike went further and further outrageous.

"I hid because you threw a party in the dorm's common area. Mike, don't you realize how disturbing it is? You have terrible manners." "Damn, you're still alive!" Mike, who had been banging on the door, looked shocked.

"Hello, Lin Dou!" Sang Sang gave Lin An a hug without saying a word. "Didn't you come back with the others yesterday? Mike and I thought you were dead."

Lin An shrugged and said, "He's not dead, nor is he missing. He just resigned voluntarily."

"You're quitting?" Mike was shocked. "What about my business plan? I've been working on it for a whole month!"

"Never mind the project proposal, change into your slippers first."

"It's nothing, I wear these shoes to bed every day." Mike sat down on the sofa in the living room, crossed his legs, and said, "What's up, boss? Is the foundation not paying your salary high enough? Are they not paying your insurance in full? Are they forcing you to work overtime every day?"

Don't they know I'm a ghost?

It seems the foundation did not explain the truth to everyone in the direct departments and concealed Lin An's identity, probably to prevent internal panic.

Lin An fell into deep thought, and Sang Sang quickly smoothed things over.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. There are a million reasons to quit your job. By the way, Lin Dou, I need to ask you something."

On the sofa in the apartment, Mike crossed his arms, while Sang Sang took out her phone and tapped around. Lin An couldn't help but feel a little dazed, as if he had returned to the scene when the male and female investigators first got him to join the foundation.

Sangsang raised the screen, gesturing for Lin An to sit between them, and showed him an email.

“Just received it. Let me fill your gap and join the Third Control Squad.” She said enthusiastically, “Lin Dou, what do they like? I’ll buy some gifts and get to know my new friends.”

Lin An was taken aback when he heard her words.

To be honest, he didn't know the interests and hobbies of his three companions.

Searching his memory, Lin An hesitated before asking, "Coffee beans?"

"Please, how could that be?" Sangsang laughed. "Be serious! I'll pick out a few at Walmart in a bit. Want to come along? We can share a ride-hailing car."

"Well, I do know about their mysterious prototypes and abilities."

“How can something like this, which is all data, bring people closer together?” Sangsang shook her head. “Well, you must have some photos, right? Let me see them.”

"..."

“He’s always looked like this.” Mike snorted. “I suspect he’s not from China, but from another planet. Maybe he’s a ‘Comers’ alien who’s more interested in the occult than in real life.”

"You're not allowed to slander my idol!" Sangsang slammed her fist on his shoulder. "I'll find it myself! The internet is omnipotent."

Entering their names in a search brings up Mishi and Barry's social media profiles.

“I feel like this girl likes board games or game merchandise.” Sangsang pointed at Misi. “Her T-shirt is a Steam 30th Anniversary limited edition.”

After a moment's thought, Lin An realized that Mi Xi did indeed frequently use game-related terms, but Sang Sang had seen right through her.

“This uncle is not my type to deal with.” Sangsang zoomed in on Barry’s picture. “With such thick hair and beard, I might as well buy him a whole basket of conditioner.”

As the pollution levels worsen, Barry, whose original form is "Dogman," really does need twice as much conditioner as others. Lin An thought to himself.

"As for Simon Lloyd..." Sangsang had a sudden inspiration, "How about giving him a 'World's Best Captain' mug?"

“I think it’s okay, because it’s the truth.” Lin An patted her shoulder. “Get along well with them, Sang Sang.”

“Sigh, I’m not as outstanding as Lin Dou, who’s popular everywhere—you’re a star at Ann Arbor University!” Sang Sang scratched her head nervously. “Speaking of university, you skipped class again yesterday, and Professor Emmett sent me and Mike an angry email.”

"Oh?"

Lin An turned around and took out his computer. Sure enough, his school email was filled with the professor's visibly furious anger.

After a moment's thought, he created a new email and copied the professor and his counselor.

"Due to personal reasons... I need to apply for a gap year?" Sangsang read the message aloud. "Lin, not to be nosy, but you resigned and took a leave of absence from school... what happened during this time?"

"Is it some old bastard from the foundation giving you trouble?" Mike rolled up his sleeves. "I'll beat him up for you! Even though I haven't awakened mysticism, maybe I'll get into the zone while beating him up! Damn it, he made me waste a month's worth of writing proposals."

“It’s time for me to leave the United States,” Lin An said calmly. “You’d better stay at the foundation for now, and especially don’t sneak out of the facility like you did today.”

"Why?"

"Because a ghost is wandering the city of Dietrich."

Lin An sent the email, turned off the computer screen, and the young man's expressionless face was reflected on the pure black screen, like a floating holographic projection, eerie and unpredictable.

He grabbed their hands, held them tightly, and then let go.

At that moment, although they didn't know the whole story, Sang Sang and Mike suddenly understood.

Lin An was saying goodbye to them.

(End of this chapter)