World Occult User Guide

Through the gaps in the books, Lin An saw that the speaker was a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old.

He has big, piercing eyes, thick dreadlocks that look like a pile of black canes, and his nose and lips are much smaller than those of people from Nanzhou, which means that he may have the blood of people from Xizhou and is a combination of the two continents. product.

"Did you write it?" Lin An chatted casually as he walked, "What a young and promising writer."

"It's not a big deal. I have a lot of time. Apart from school work, I just read and write books."

"Has it been published?"

"It's as unnoticed as this library." The boy showed his white teeth, shining in the dim light, "You are my first reader."

"Based on the introduction on the notice board, I think this is a very interesting novel. Can you tell me your name? Maybe I can see it in the publishing house in the future."

"For your auspicious words. I really hope that one day I can be like you and make a name for myself in a big city." The young man waved his hand sheepishly, "My name is Jim. What's yours?"

"Simon Lloyd."

Walking to the blind spot of the bookcase, Lin An touched the Bluetooth communication next to his ear, called his name without leaving any trace, and the captain's deep voice sounded.

"What's wrong, Lin?"

Jim helped Lin An pull out the chair. There was a neatly written notebook on the scratched wooden table.

"Come on, I hope you like the story I wrote."

"The person you're talking to..." Simon pondered for a moment and quickly grasped the situation. "You met someone who is suspected of being a mysterious person, right? I'll be right over."

"Thank you."

Lin An sat down, Jim leaned next to him, and turned the book to the first page.

The plot of a young man full of delusions comes to life on the page.

It was the square in the center of the town, with flowerbeds, benches, fountains, and a lone lamppost. He walked over from a distance, and the closer he got, the more he felt something was wrong.

He stopped and saw something hanging on the lamppost.

It was a dark mass of noise, with an oval outline that swayed back and forth.

At first, he thought it was an advertising display for some kind of product. Tire factories and grocery stores like to hang bright weathervanes to show their personality.

But he gradually felt something was wrong. There was a fuzzy ring of hair on the edge of the thing, with a head and limbs.

It was a corpse.

"Oh my God!" He jumped up in surprise, "Come and look! There is a person hanging from the lamppost!"

His cry attracted two people, the owner of the coffee shop and the employee of the candy store. The former straightened his burgundy plaid tie and asked doubtfully.

"What happened?"

"Look there! There is a corpse there!" He pointed to the lamppost protruding toward the sky. The corpse's feet were suspended and swaying in the wind. "How long has he been hanging on this lamppost?"

There are a lot of people walking back and forth in the square. Logically speaking, it is impossible that no one has noticed it until now.

The candy store employee took the opportunity to light a cigarette and said calmly: "Don't worry, kid, I think there must be a reasonable reason for him to be there, otherwise he wouldn't exist."

"Reason? What kind of reason do you think it is? There is a corpse hanging there!"

The employee puffed out a puff of smoke: "Just like when there is a car accident, the car owner leaves the car where it cannot go on the road. Maybe he goes to the insurance company or buys a new one. I don't agree with this kind of thing. Not sure."

The manager of the clothing store was alerted. He opened half the window and joined in the conversation.

"What's the noise outside?"

He persistently raised his hand, signaling the three of them to look up and look at the body hanging on the lamppost.

"Did you see it? We should call the police right away!"

"I think the police already know," said the coffee shop owner, "otherwise he wouldn't be hanging there all the time."

"Speak softly, boy, I'm sewing clothes for others." The clothing store owner closed the window with a dissatisfied complaint.

The other two people also returned to their respective shops. He looked around in disbelief, rushed to a customer who pushed out the door of the bakery, and shouted hysterically.

"Can you see? There's a body hanging there! There's a dead man at your door!"

"Of course, I'm not blind. I saw it when I just bought the bread." The guest replied, "Today is my daughter's birthday."

"You mean, that body has been hanging there for a while? Don't you think it's weird?!"

"To be precise, he stayed there for about an afternoon." The guest raised his wrist and looked at the time. "My daughter's party is about to start. See you soon, kid."

Holding a bag of fragrant bread, the guest strode away and joined the flow of people moving around the square. They were men and women. They kept passing by the central square, sitting on benches to rest, and taking pictures of the flower gardens and fountains, but they did not People stopped and paid attention to the body swaying in the wind.

"I'm going crazy! Can you really not see it?" He held his head in his hands and cried in collapse.

"Oh, are you okay?" A woman holding an umbrella asked with concern, "My child, are you sick?"

"Corpse! Can't you see the corpse!"

"Relax, don't be nervous." The lady took out a handful of candies from the package, "You'll be fine soon."

"What's wrong with him?" her male companion asked.

"The kid isn't feeling well."

He pushed the lady away and the candies were scattered on the floor: "For God's sake! How can you be so calm! There is a person hanging there!"

"What are you talking about?" the man asked uneasily.

"Corpse! Corpse! There's a corpse!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "It's hanging there!"

More people gathered.

"Is he sick?"

"Are you okay, kid?"

"Corpse! Corpse on the lamppost!" he screamed, trying to pass through the crowd, but was grabbed by someone. "Let me go! I want to go find the police!"

"I'm afraid he has a disease like epilepsy. It's best to see a doctor."

He struggled, and the man let go, letting him fall to the ground. In front of them were rows of blurry faces. Pedestrians stopped and tiptoed curiously to see what had caused the commotion.

He shouted frantically to the crowd, his voice lost among the roar of vehicles and whispers.

"Do something!" he shouted. "Don't stand there! Look at the lamppost, there's a body hanging above your heads! Someone is dead, do something quickly!"

The crowd parted, and two police officers approached him.

"How are you?"

"There's a body there, hanging on the lamppost, and it's been going back and forth for a long time." He repeated wearily, "You should take care of it, right?"

"You're a bit too extreme, kid." The policeman criticized, "Please don't affect public order, we have other things to do."

After that, they left and the crowd gradually dispersed.

Because there is literally nothing on the lamppost.

So he climbed up the lamppost and hung up with a rope, the wind blowing through his body and swinging back and forth.

He saw himself coming from a distance.

The story ends here, Simon's words echo in Lin An's ears.

"I know who the person in front of you is. James Natchell. After his biological father flew away, his mother gave him to his sister and brother-in-law who lived in Farmington. They were forced to adopt him, even though that The couple already has two daughters.”

Simon's calm tone was mixed with a hint of complexity.

"After comparison, several victims have one thing in common. On the day of the theft, everyone happened to have walked the path James must pass to go to and from school, but for some reason, no matter how many times they repeated their testimony, they never mentioned this. .”

"Originally, I notified Jim's adoptive parents and asked them to cooperate with the control operation in the early hours of tonight. I didn't expect that you would unexpectedly meet this mysterious person."

"Although it's a bit hasty, your safety is the top priority in everything. Don't act rashly, Lin."

Lin An closed the book and slowly looked into Jim's eyes.

"Why can't others see it? Could it be that this corpse has been cast under invisibility magic?"

"No, there's no magic. It's simply because they refuse to see. When they approach the lamppost, all they see is their surroundings, or imaginary and self-illusioned illusions." Jim said, "In fact, they are just getting used to it. Sexually ignoring me.”

Simon on the other side of the communication device continued his analysis.

"His mystery is not about invisibility - I think James' real ability is related to 'theft'. He seems to be able to learn about other people's most precious items through dialogue and then steal it by some means."

"Maybe..." Lin An thought for a while, "It was because the light was not strong enough at that time."

"Light confirmed my reality and produced my shape." Jim smiled bitterly, "However, I found that I could never get strong sunlight in this life because I was too dark. So I turned to another With the light from the side, maybe they can notice me, even if it’s contempt, disgust, or even hatred.”

"Stop talking to him, Lin." Simon said, "Besides you two, is there anyone else in the library?"

"Are you referring to the moonlight?" Lin An opened a corner of the curtain, "It's already so late before I know it... When does the library close? The old man looks like he needs a rest."

"Don't worry, he lives in this library. Like me and these books, we are forced to be 'invisible' in the town." Jim picked up the novel. "Although we just met, I think we can chat very well. …Simon, do you want to make a friend?”

"I saw your shadow. If possible, ask James to come to the window. I will try not to disturb ordinary people and fight quickly." Simon ordered.

"OK."

Lin An turned sideways and stretched out a hand.

The night sky outside the window is picturesque, with the winter moon glowing with yellow-white light, giving the sky a gradient from pitch black to navy blue, with millions of stars scattered around it.

The gentle moonlight reflected in Jim's pupils.

"Bang!"

The next moment, the glass shattered, the black feathers flew away, and the moon angel fell from the sky.

Thanks to Yunyou Shanyin and Weichen Anbai for your monthly votes, and to all the book friends for your recommendation votes~

The prototype of Jim's novel "Philip Dick's Electric Dreams: The Seventh Dream"