World Occult Usage Guide

Upon hearing Atiksha's words, Lin An slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth.

They even mentioned the "Red Poppy Merchant Guild"...

It’s over!
Atticus had previously assured that he would contact Count Mariette van Hofwegen to stop her plans to attack the rainforest, but Lin An did not believe that the arrogant Flander nobleman would be willing to give up so easily.

As expected, after hearing Atticha's warning, the Chamber of Commerce adopted a policy of outward compliance but inward defiance. The Countess traveled alone to the rainforest in a small boat without alerting anyone.

To maintain secrecy, she did not even lead an army, but instead incited the Tigerfish tribe to act as puppets of a "ragtag army," taking a group of people with her before her death.

Thanks to this, Lin An dared to kill her without hesitation.

Given that the Chamber of Commerce's headquarters and president were not in Bantu, but in the Kingdom of Flanders, he estimated that the message could not be transmitted for the time being, given the global satellite shutdown.

Not every organization is like [Xi Yong], possessing core Agnia technology.

But Lin An always felt that the Chamber of Commerce president might know about the Countess's death. Based on various clues, this person was very likely a high-rated "prophet".

Without Atticus's interference, Lin An would not have been able to kill the Countess in full view of the Chamber of Commerce mercenaries, escape unscathed, and keep all news under wraps.

Moreover, if it were the Chamber of Commerce's regular army, the rainforest's losses would be far greater than this.

Although Atiksha failed to "guarantee that the Red Poppy Merchant Guild would not take action," he did increase Lin An's advantage in the confrontation.

“Thank you for mediating, Atticha.” Lin An thanked her while recalling how the Countess eventually turned into an anatomy book. “My relationship with the Chamber of Commerce has gone from being nodding acquaintances to being completely loyal.”

Atiksha was taken aback: "They've made further contact with you?"

"More than that. Do you remember Count Mariette van Hofwegen that I mentioned last time?"

"Yes."

“I couldn’t bear to see her wallowing in the grief of losing her child in middle age, so I decided to help her overcome this unbearable burden.”

"Did you kill her?"

“I took care of her in her old age and saw her off when she passed away.”

These words silenced Atikshagan, who finally said after a long pause, "Lin An, Mr. Lin told you to keep a low profile."

“Let him tell me himself,” Lin An said bluntly. “My next step is to leave the Bantu Rainforest, settle in Mbanbuka, and officially step onto the stage to clash with the aristocratic families. Staying in the rainforest to integrate with the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ is too inefficient.”

“I want to remind you again that Mr. Lin is free to make his own arrangements, but I can’t stop him,” Atiksa said with a hint of helplessness.

Although he received a satisfactory answer, Lin An couldn't help but feel a little strange.

As a member of a prestigious family, the other party is far too easy to talk to.

He couldn't help but tentatively ask, "By the way, can I ask a few more questions?"

"Please say."

"Atiksha, which family do you come from?"

“A noble family? You mean the temporary guardian organization of ‘Comers’?” Atticha replied, “【Brahma】.”

Brahma...

Having learned the name of another prominent family, Lin An silently noted it down before quickly changing the subject.

"Atiksha, are you still in contact with Lin Hainan? Can you tell me where he is? The 'ruins' Lin Hainan explored... is it the Ghost Gorge of Kongolo?"

"He is in Swahili."

This country is located below Bantu on the map of Southern Continent, at the end of the Kuba River. According to the elder, it was also the place where the Lion Tribe once lived together with 99 other tribes.

"Which other prominent families are excavating the ruins of the Southern Continent?"

“【Black City】,” Atiksha said, “and 【Yicile Industry】, which they collaborate with.”

Aside from questions related to Lin Hainan, this member of the world from [Brahma] answered all questions and never uttered ambiguous riddles.

Even though Lin An ignored his advice and killed the Countess on his own.

These actions greatly increased Lin An's goodwill towards him.

"Thank you, Atiksha. I'm afraid I've caused you [Brahma] a lot of trouble this time, I'm really sorry."

“Don’t worry, it’s my honor to help people solve their problems, especially you,” Atiksha said gently. “Please feel free to talk to me if you have any difficulties.”

If the communication device hadn't emitted a power-out warning sound, Atiksa would have definitely heard Lin An gasp.

When Lin An first spoke with Atiksha, he felt that Atiksha must be a kind and friendly person, but was this guy a little too... "saintly"?
He doesn't owe me any favors!

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is no such thing as a gift without a price.

After thinking for a moment, Lin An deliberately pressed his advantage and said, "I'm relieved to hear you say that. Please be more tolerant of me in the future."

"Of course."

“Actually, there aren’t many mystics in Mbanbuka; the fusion efficiency is too low,” Lin An said meaningfully. “Kinsasha sounds like a good place.”

“…You don’t need to joke, because I have no expectation of getting anything back from you.” Atiksha smiled warmly. “Do you know about ‘karma’?”

“A person’s good and evil thoughts produce results, which are called the desire realm’s result consciousness, the five kinds of result consciousness related to the form realm, and the four kinds of result consciousness related to the formless realm, commonly known as karmic retribution,” Lin An replied. “As the saying goes, cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable.”

“My mystery is related to karma.” Atiksha revealed all his information directly. “Planting good causes yields good results. Helping others will accumulate the best karma for me.”

"I see." "If I were to work with a friend like you who's always courting death, I'd definitely be reborn as a golden peacock sitting on a speedboat. That's Mosday, Lin An."

Atiksha suddenly uttered such an emotional remark, and before Lin An could reply, as if she had timed it perfectly to run out of energy, the silver device's light went out with a "ding," giving off a feeling of cursing and then blocking someone.

Faced with Lin An's repeated teasing, he could no longer hold back.

I never expected Atiksha to have such a childish side.

Putting away the unresponsive communication device, Lin An lay on the small bed in the Mazuz market tent, watching the data flying everywhere, emitting green light like fireflies.

Since arriving in Bantu, he has never slept in a decent bed. His memories of living in dormitories or rented rooms are as hazy as if they were from a past life.

The comforting scent of the bed wafted over Lin An, reminding him of his university days when the wind was biting outside the window but the room was as warm as spring all year round.

I haven't slept in a long time.

Lin An had intended to organize the information he had extracted from Atiksha, but he fell into a deep sleep in the blink of an eye.

When I woke up again, I felt refreshed.

He stretched and lifted the tent flap, revealing a spectacular pink sunrise over the South Pacific. The surging Kuba River and the vibrant tropical rainforest stretched out in the center of the world.

The sun rises and sets at the equator, both at exactly six o'clock.

Mosquitoes buzzed around, and animal calls could be heard from near and far.

On the hard, red earth, a thin woman in tattered clothes cooks rice by poking a small fire with a stick, while groups of children throw stones at a little monkey that has strayed from its mother and wandered into human territory, until it runs back to the rainforest in a panic.

The men sat on buckets, arranging the goods on their stalls. Sometimes they would silently watch the women walking along the road, who carried bundles of goods stacked on their heads and managed to maintain their balance no matter how fast they walked.

These women are like wondrous, unyielding pillars, defying the planet's gravity.

With a pile of goods on their heads, they sat down, stood up, chatted, and pulled the babies on their backs to the front to breastfeed, each one like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat.

Lin An observed the morning market with great interest until someone struck up a conversation with him.

"Good morning, forest ranger. Could you give me a minute? I'd like to discuss something with you."

He spoke with a perfect British accent; you didn't even need to turn around to know who he was.

Edward Roberts, a journalist from Cambridge University, was different from the other followers of Lin An; he was only temporarily under his protection, staying in the Lion Tribe.

Yesterday, Edward volunteered to go to the Mazuz market with Lin An. On the way, he was in low spirits and depressed, so Lin An chatted with him for a while.

It turns out that Edward and the captain had discussed the date of his departure before parting ways, and now that the time has come, his worker friends will set sail from near the Mazuz market to pick him up.

Lin An listened but did not stop him.

When Kevin and the Countess used the mysterious item, Lin An discovered that the "saints" in the song described the president of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild as a compassionate and upright figure.

The elder also mentioned that the Hofwegen family are well-known philanthropists and environmental protection organization members in the Kingdom of Flanders, and the people of Westland certainly have no idea what kind of shady business this group has been doing in Bantu.

Therefore, Edward's report to the Red Poppy Merchant Guild will increase the guild leader's deviation value, thereby causing his "Lady with the Lamp" fusion value to decrease.

This will benefit Lin An's next actions.

"Good morning, Edward," he greeted. "Are you here to say goodbye?"

"Oh no!"

Edward quickly shook his head.

“Sir, under your wing these past few days, I have discovered more of the truth about the world. Comors, occultism, the Philosopher's Stone, demon summoning… I have recorded it all! If I return to Landon, I will write down everything I have seen and heard in a book!”

"Please blur my face, thank you."

“Okay, sir—please let me finish!” Edward opened his arms. “Perhaps I’m a bad journalist. Every time I report on something, besides letting more people know about it, I also want to change its trajectory.”

"Let tragedy become comedy, let ruins become cities, let war become peace, but I am just an ordinary citizen with no special background. I am simply telling the international community the truth as it is, and doing my part with my voice and words."

“But things are different now!” The reporter’s face flushed with excitement. “‘Commerx’ has made it possible to stir up the stagnant, rigid class system. The common people’s weapons are no longer just words, but also real power!”

“You mean…” Lin An raised his eyebrows.

“I think it’s time to do something substantial.” Edward blinked his round, fiery eyes. “Ranger, I want to follow in your footsteps and become a member of the World Tree.”

After listening to Lin An's presentation to the chiefs yesterday, Edward tossed and turned all night before finally making up his mind.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and Lin An said, "What about those 'workers' associations' who came to pick you up?"

“They will understand. God has ordained me to walk a glorious path, and you are my guide.” Edward made the sign of the cross.

"very good."

"Actually, you can just compare the World Tree to the 'Order of the Phoenix.' All that Harry Potter stuff we watched together before is finally coming in handy..."

"Ok?"

A commotion broke out on the dirt road in Mazuz market, interrupting Edward's quiet mutterings. Lin An waved to him.

“Fu Bin also expressed the same wish to me. Take this opportunity, you should all attend the first high-level meeting of the World Tree,” he said. “Or rather… a Phoenix Society gathering?”

Edward was struck dumb, clearly not expecting that the forest ranger had actually read this fantasy book.

Lin An smiled without saying a word, turned and left, while he followed stiffly. (End of Chapter)