Chapter 189: Thorny Velvet
"Thorn? Does your interest group still use code names during gatherings?"
Hearing the name, Dorothy manipulated Brandon to ask Nefernis, and the other party nodded in response.
"Well... it is said that one of the presidents said that all members of the real secret society have code names, so the Secret Society followed suit and wore masks and called each other by code names during gatherings. But in fact, apart from the initial novelty, everyone soon found this method troublesome, and because everyone went to school together, even if they wore masks, everyone knew who was who, so no one actually followed this rule seriously.
"But Thorn is different. Since he joined the gang, he always wears a mask and dresses very tightly whenever he shows up. Although he is not a student of the school, no one knows his real name. We can only call him by his code name."
After listening to Nefernis's words, Brandon thought for a while and then continued.
"Well, let's get on with this velvet thing."
"Yeah." Nephnis nodded, then continued speaking.
…
Cirong joined the Mizhi Academy more than half a year ago. As soon as he joined, he showed an extraordinary level of mysticism, which was completely different from those hobbyists in the original Mizhi Academy.
Not only did Ci Rong have a high level of mysticism, but he was also willing to give instructions, so he quickly became the focus of the academy and had a high status in the academy in a short period of time. More importantly, he showed his true extraordinary abilities in front of the students of the academy, demonstrating his true identity as an extraordinary person, which made many students in the academy respect him.
Afterwards, Cirong, who joined the academy, frequently instructed students in mystic knowledge and demonstrated his abilities, which made Cirong, who was just a newcomer, have higher and higher status and gained more and more support from academy members. What's more, Cirong even took out his precious collection of mystic books and lent them to students in the academy for circulation and reading.
…
"A collection of occult books?"
After hearing some key words, Dorothy controlled Brandon to speak in confusion, while Nefernis began to explain.
"Well... according to Ci Rong, this is a set of eight books that can help us see deeper mysteries and even seek the extraordinary. He lent these books to us to study. There is really a lot of mystical knowledge in them that we are very interested in. After reading them, we want to read more. No... to be more precise, we really want to read another set. The more we read, the more we want to continue reading...
"To be honest, the members who have read for a few days are a little too eager for the new book, so eager that it's scary."
Nefernis finished speaking with worry. Dorothy in the distance frowned as she listened to her words. She knew what was happening. This was clearly a virus infection.
Those eight books are all secret, highly diluted secrets of the eight books. The one called Ci Rong wants to use the poison identification to corrupt the Secret Knowledge Academy.
"Did the members of the society develop some strange mental symptoms after reading those books, and the more they read, the more serious the symptoms became?" Dorothy controlled Brandon to speak. After hearing Brandon's words, Nephness was slightly stunned.
"Ah... yes, that's right. It's just like what you said. People who read the book seem to become more and more cold and indifferent... People who are usually easy to get along with seem to have become a little extremely violent. They will hit others just because of some quarrels. It's impossible for them to be like this under normal circumstances.
"The most important thing is that the more they read, the more they respect the teachers. Later, they even respect and worship them. There was once an uneducated member who complained about the teachers during a meeting. He was beaten up by several people afterwards. It was really terrible..."
Nefernis said this with lingering fear, and Dorothy also thought about it silently in her heart.
'A poison that makes people cruel and worship someone?'
…
Afterwards, Cirong relied on his own abilities, knowledge and book collection to gain an unparalleled status in the academy. Under some coercion, almost everyone in the academy had read his books and were more or less influenced to admire him. Then, Cirong, a new member who had joined the academy for less than two months, naturally let the old president give up his position and became the president of the academy.
After becoming the leader of the academy, Cirong began to make drastic changes to the academy, promulgating a large number of rules and regulations, setting up levels, organizing regular meetings, and turning it from a loose interest group into a tightly organized association.
After that, Thorn began to order the members of the club to do all kinds of things, such as covering a large number of people from other schools entering the campus. For example, after showing the members a few mysterious symbols, they were asked to search the campus for traces of these symbols. For example, they helped to carry weapons or even guns into the school. For example, they forced donations to the club. For example, they used the collection of books as a medium to secretly pull others into the club. Many of these were against school rules.
At this point, the nature of the Secret Knowledge Society had completely changed. It had become a tool for Cirong to carry out a certain purpose. However, most of the members had read his books, and for the sake of his admirers, they carried out his tasks without complaints. However, there were exceptions. For example, there were two male students who resisted the semi-forced reading behavior and did not recognize the changes in the society. They had a conflict with Cirong and said they would quit the society. They also threatened to expose Cirong and the current society's violation of school rules.
After that, the two disappeared the next day without a trace. No one knew where they went. The police came to investigate but could not find any clues. The members who worshipped Thorn were all silent when faced with the whereabouts of their former companions. No one provided any clues to the police. Someone once wanted to secretly report them, but the result was the same in the end.
It was at this time that Nefernis truly realized the danger of thorns.
…
"At that time, I finally saw that Thorn was just using us as tools. After he completely controlled the academy, he tore off his disguise and revealed his true nature. He became more and more violent. He often came into contact with many people outside the school and brought them in. He trusted those people outside the school more than us.
"For those of us who were originally members of the Academy, the more we read those eight books, the closer we can get to Thor. We need to read at least four books to gain his trust. Unfortunately, a friend of mine in the Academy couldn't resist the temptation of those books and has now read ten of them. As a fanatical admirer of Thor, he got close to him and learned more of Thor's secrets.
"It was through secretly reading my friend's diary that I learned the real name of the organization that Thorn Velvet belongs to. It is called the Eight-Pointed Nest. They came to the King's Campus to look for something..."
After saying that, Nefernis took a sip of tea, then took a deep breath, her expression full of helplessness. Seeing her like this, Brandon asked.
"Your friends and your original club were messed up by the Thorns, and even your companions disappeared. Is this why you want to rebel against the Eight-Pointed Nest?"
"That's about right... Because of the thorns, I'm feeling extremely uncomfortable in the current academy. Because of the previous experience, I dare not quit the society, nor do I dare to report it. I live in fear every day, so I also want to do something.
"I saw the found property you published in the school newspaper, Mr. Brandon. The eye symbol on the property you described was almost exactly the same as the one that Thorny had asked us to look for all over the campus, so I thought that the thing you picked up was what Thorny wanted.
"I didn't want to let Cirong's wish come true, so I came up with the idea of taking the initiative to claim the items back. However, I didn't expect that you, Mr. Brandon, are also a Beyonder, and there is a secret society behind you. This item claim was a trap set by you, and Cirong and I jumped in together."
After Nefernis finished speaking, she fell silent and then looked at Brandon in front of her, knowing that she had said everything she needed to say.
After listening to Nefernis's words, Brandon nodded, and then spoke slowly.
"Very good, you have roughly explained the matter to me, and I now have some conclusions in my mind. Thank your own conscience, Miss Boyle, because of it, there is still hope for all this.
"But... there is one thing I am very confused about. I want to ask you. You said that all the members of the academy were semi-forced to read the book of Thorns. Those who did not read it disappeared. And you are also a member of the academy and now you are here again. How did you resist the influence of that book?"
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