World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 30 Exchange Warehouse
"Ding dong."

The elevator doors opened wide, revealing a deep, dark corridor.

As soon as Lin An walked in, he heard a "snap" sound, and the white lights on the ceiling lit up, accompanied by a familiar AI-generated voice.

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

"X?"

The machine moved along the track on the ceiling, converging above Lin An's head. The genderless 3D body of the artificial intelligence was projected down, with X displaying a formatted expression.

"Good morning. According to your black card schedule, you have one task to complete on the basement level today: access the authorized warehouse to select items. Check-in complete. We are contacting the relevant personnel for you. Please wait here for 5 to 10 minutes."

Lin An listened intently; all was silent, but he could faintly hear the tremors of footsteps on the ground.

Although the corridor seemed completely open and there were no handles on the doors along the way, when Lin An tentatively touched the wall, he found that its material was uneven, had a grainy texture, and was slightly hot, emitting a humming sound like a CPU running at high speed.

Similar to the interview room, this corridor hides several secret rooms.

After glancing at the X in standby mode, Lin An roughly guessed the operating mode of the basement.

In order to take the special elevator leading to the basement, he had already swiped his black card three times, one of which sent the information to X.

When a visitor enters, X uses facial recognition or similar methods to identify them. Once verified, it opens a hidden door in the corridor based on the visitor's access level or other data such as assigned tasks.

This method of security effectively prevents intruders.

Even if the door is forcibly broken into, the intruder will have a hard time finding their target. Even if they discover a hidden door, the multi-layered walls can buy them time until the "defense team" arrives.

As Lin An admired the advanced anti-theft system at St. Annilov, the elevator door behind him rang with a "ding-dong".

The door opened, and a pair of metal boots walked in.

The woman wore a heavy cloak that covered her body from the chin down, and a titanium alloy eye mask encircled her eyes, revealing thin blue lips and thick, reddish-brown curly hair.

Isn't this a high-tech fire-resistant woman?

"Hello, Lin An, it's a pleasure to meet you."

It was indeed the coroner's voice.

Lin An greeted him politely, "Hello, sir. May I ask how I should address you?"

Before the coroner could answer, X called out her name first.

"Scan complete, identity verification in progress... Matching complete. Welcome, Ms. Vanessa Miller."

"Good morning. According to your black card schedule, there are three tasks to be done on the basement floor today. The highest priority task has been locked: lead Lin An into the access warehouse. Check-in complete. The warehouse verification system is now activated."

Vanessa waited quietly for the AI ​​to finish speaking, a faint smile playing on her blue lips.

"Just call me Vanessa."

As she approached Lin An, the surrounding temperature rose rapidly.

Based on the information gathered earlier, Lin An thought that the coroner's abilities were related to the world of the dead and should be cold, but he did not expect that she would continuously release such a huge amount of heat from her body.

If the temperature controller hadn't been running at high speed, Lin An would have inevitably been drenched in sweat from the heat.

Vanessa extended a sharply defined hand from her cloak, her fingers twisted like withered wood, and gestured for Lin An to take her hand.

He reluctantly grasped the strange hand, and Vanessa immediately tightened her grip. A burning heat surged from where the woman touched him, directly hitting Lin An's nerves.

This is not fireproof at all, it's fireproof!
He abruptly pulled his hand back.

"Boom!"

The next moment, Lin An found that he had grasped a lonely palm, the cross-section of which was a deep red flowing.

It's broken?!
Wait, where's your arm?

“Your black card status hasn’t changed yet, so you can’t access the points redemption system on your own. That’s why I’m here to lend a hand,” Vanessa said calmly.

Lin An reluctantly released her "hand," which traced an arc and floated beside the coroner, the two seemingly connected by a undulating thin line.

That line looks like... an electric current.

With Lin An's radiation levels, that's all he could see. He let out a breath and said with feigned complaint, "Commander Vanessa, you startled me."

"Sorry, just kidding. Please come with me."

After X's program finished running, a wall on the left side of the corridor folded and changed, raising a special instrument.

Vanessa entered a string of code, then lowered her head and pressed the switch on her blindfold with her floating hand. The blindfold opened with a mechanical "zz," revealing two leaping fireballs inside.

Her eyes were burning!
It's related to death... and to fire and lightning...

No, it's not necessarily just the dead. Vanessa once "read" April's information, so she might possess a mystery similar to "absorption and analysis"?

When she held my hand just now, was she reading some mysterious information about me?

Was it spying orchestrated by the foundation, or her own personal act?

Unlike my "recognition," she needs to activate a mysterious spell to identify the category through touch.

In any case, Lin An was not worried about being seen as strange, as the rating of 1 determined the priority when the mystery took effect.

Unless Vanessa is at the source or iconographic level, she cannot detect the specific data of the source-level [Encyclopedia of Mystery].

If Vanessa really had such a high rating, she wouldn't be content to be just a small team member, and St. Anilov wouldn't waste her potential by letting her remain confined to a corner.

Although she received no feedback, Vanessa didn't say anything and didn't intend to tell Lin An about the "spying" she had just done.

After her identity was verified, she closed her blindfold and began to complete the assigned tasks step by step.

"Beep!" The instrument showed a green checkmark, and a door recess emerged from the wall, with about five or six layers of door panels rolling up one after another.

A cold front swept in, colder than the winter evening winds of Dietrich.

The lights came on, illuminating the round room.

Facing Lin An was a computer, with a dense network of cables extending from below, climbing over the square grid-like shelves around it.

The route winds its way up to the arched ceiling, which is as high as three stories.

Based on the building's structure, isn't this going to break into the offices of civilian staff?

Oh, right, the hallway!
Yesterday, when Lin An passed through the office, he walked through a circular corridor. Although there was no sunken gap, it was close to the load-bearing wall and only one side was fitted with a circular glass wall.

It turns out that the corridor was next to the warehouse on the basement level.

Vanessa walked to the computer, and another hand floated out from under her cloak, rapidly typing on the keyboard. The screen flickered and stopped at a page.

"Alright, Lin, come and choose an item."

She turned around and nodded to Lin An, her hands still on the keyboard.

"your hands……"

"Were you scared again?"

Vanessa pulled open the cloak with ten fingers, stretched out her "hands," and beckoned her other two hands to slip back inside.

Oh my god, another couple.

Lin An's lips twitched as he answered.

"Not at all. I'm about to join the Direct Confrontation Department, so I should have excellent mental fortitude. Otherwise, how will I deal with even more out-of-control mysterious figures?"

Vanessa nodded approvingly and stepped aside to let him pass. The warmth continuously dispelled the chill of the warehouse, and Lin An looked at the computer screen.

The opening screen displays a series of images of "submachine guns, automatic rifles, revolvers, and assault rifles".

No wonder it's a country known for shootings every day.

This is so much freedom!

Although Lin An also dreamed of "Thomson Ripple Run", through the battle between the minister and the treasure-hunting fairy, he realized that Titan's weapons could not deal with individuals irradiated by "Comerth".

The rules on the two planets are different.

The points system is all-encompassing. Lin An scrolled through the page, his gaze lingering at the very bottom.

These redeemable items have no pictures, and a brief description is written after their names.

【Ghost Lamp】: It provides eternal light.

【Devil's Dice】: A tool for divination and prophecy, always ensuring accuracy.

【Dybbuk】: A box containing the malice of the dead, which will possess the first person to open it. It retains traces of Canaanite magic.

The Invisible Candle: A symbol of the underworld, fueled by souls.

Sealed object?
Lin An couldn't help but think of the stone tablet from which Carmen cast her Canaan magic; it was lifeless, yet it could release the invisible energy of "Comers".

Besides humans, can inorganic matter also be affected by radiation?

“The direct interviewing department watched your entire interview process, from when you sat down to when you confronted Spriggan,” Vanessa said knowingly. “We think you are someone who is very interested in the occult.”

As Lin An was pondering how to respond, Vanessa continued.

"Don't be nervous, this is normal. Only when you 'understand,' you 'believe,' and you 'desire' will 'Comos' come to you and give you the self-righteous favor of another world—all mystics are like this, more or less."

"Everyone?"

"You are what you worship."

Vanessa took a step forward and stood side by side with Lin An.

"We guessed you wanted to ask for the exchange tokens to cast arcane spells. But how did you know about these things from the Foundation?"

"Oh, you can save up enough sect contribution points to exchange for spiritual weapons at the Treasure Pavilion... That's how it's written in novels."

Lin An wasn't lying; he really was guessing.

Since the aristocratic families distribute mysterious items to their subordinates, it's impossible that the foundation, given its size, hasn't "found" them. The manual also mentions that the points system has four levels, with the highest level being direct access to departments.

Combining the two, Lin An made a bold hypothesis.

“We’re overthinking it with these interesting reasons,” Vanessa said with a faint smile. “I’ve also read Chinese cultivation novels; it’s truly a world full of exotic charm. But unfortunately, these aren’t ‘spiritual treasures,’ but rather the work of mystics, or a part of them.”

"Mystics?" Lin An's mind raced, and he couldn't help but stare in disbelief. "You mean, these items that can be exchanged, used, and used to unleash mystical magic were once human beings?"

"To be precise, it refers to people whose level of pollution reaches 100%."

Vanessa nodded.

"It's unclear what would happen if the radiation level reached 100%, but if the pollution level exceeded the limit, individuals would completely lose their life signs on Titan and become things from 'legends'—fairies, monsters, goddesses... Some of these mysterious origins are from an item."

"For example, a sword, a stone slab, or a book."

“When their contamination level reaches 100%, they will transform into the corresponding items. Injecting 'Commes' energy will activate their mystical arts.” Vanessa observed Lin An's ever-changing expression. “So, do you still want to exchange for more?”

"You are what you worship."

—Neil Gaiman, *American Gods*

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(End of this chapter)