Chapter 20: Technology-Driven Exorcism
The woman in the driver's seat seemed completely indifferent, which only made Ji Yun more puzzled.
He asked directly, "Aren't you going to ask me what happened?"
Since he was now in someone else's car, hiding was impossible.
Playing dumb was no better than getting the facts straight.
The woman in the short skirt replied casually, "No need. I don’t have clearance to access your files. The higher-ups have instructed not to investigate further."
No clearance?
Ji Yun recalled that his parents were invited by the authorities to participate in a top-secret mission.
That must be why.
He said no more.
But then the woman suddenly started the car and asked, "Where do you want to go? I’ll take you."
Ji Yun knew they had already seen his photo, so there was nothing to hide. He said, "No. 212 Chunfu Road, North City District."
Whether or not she had ulterior motives, refusing would clearly be unwise.
Having someone official give him a ride was safer.
And it saved him the taxi fare.
“Sure. It’s on my way.”
The woman glanced at him through the rearview mirror and reminded, “Fasten your seatbelt.”
For some reason, the slight curl at the corner of her lips seemed to conceal a meaningful, faint smile.
Ji Yun thought her “on the way” was just an excuse and said nothing.
The car started, speeding through the city streets at midnight.
The driving was fast but smooth; it was clear the woman was skilled behind the wheel.
Though she only had one hand on the steering wheel, the car remained steady all the way.
Ji Yun didn’t feel like talking to this stranger.
He kept brushing off the white powder that had covered him after being hit by a flashbang earlier.
The woman seemed to notice and said, “Sorry about that earlier. There was a strong lingering death aura and signs of a fight in your building’s stairwell. I thought there might be some hostile spirit there, so I used a ‘Demon-Dispelling Flashbang’ first.”
She added, “After all, unregistered supernaturals are usually dangerous.”
Her apology sounded sincere.
Ji Yun’s impression of her changed considerably, and he replied, neither cold nor warm, “It’s okay.”
In fact, from start to finish, he didn’t think her approach was wrong.
If he were playing CS, he’d throw a flashbang before rushing in as well.
She glanced at him again as he brushed off the powder and explained, “The main ingredients of the ‘Demon-Dispelling Flashbang’ are natural violet light and mythril powder. They burn evil creatures effectively but are harmless to humans. They even help dissipate filth to keep dirt away from you.”
...
Ji Yun thought it sounded like the protective power of cinnabar.
But has exorcism now become high-tech?
A flashbang with mythril and violet light—impressive.
---
The two fell silent for a long while after that.
...
The sedan drove from South City to North City.
Jianghua City was crisscrossed with rivers and numerous famous bridges.
Soon, the car reached the grand bridge spanning northward across the river.
Colorful neon lights illuminated a dazzling scene of prosperity.
The brilliant lights reflected on the dark water, creating an unreal urban landscape.
It was as if beneath the water lay a fantastical, magical world.
Ji Yun sat quietly in the back seat.
Even now, he felt as if he were dreaming.
Too many strange things had happened tonight, completely overturning his entire worldview.
Zombies, vengeful ghosts, supernaturals, the void realm...
His steadfast materialist beliefs had collapsed utterly.
Ji Yun had countless questions swirling in his mind.
The car radio played Hong Kong Island songs from the eighties and nineties—a nice taste in music from the female driver, he thought to himself.
But the doubts in his heart would not fade.
With nothing else to do, he finally asked cautiously, “Um... may I ask, are you a police officer?”
“Yes. And no.”
The woman in the short skirt gave an ambiguous answer.
Then she explained, “My position is with the Special Affairs Division of the Hong Kong Island Special District Police. Currently, my main role is as a field agent for Organization X.”
Seeing he might not understand, she added, “The full Chinese name of Organization X is the ‘International Organization for the Research and Containment of Supernatural Entities.’ It’s a neutral group somewhat like Interpol. But we don’t handle ordinary law enforcement; we deal with paranormal and supernatural incidents.”
...
Ji Yun didn’t expect her to explain so patiently.
He suddenly understood why she carried a different international air compared to the black-clad men before.
She was from Hong Kong Island.
She seemed approachable.
Having no one else to ask, Ji Yun, still curious, decided to speak up.
Noticing she wore sunglasses while driving, he broached the subject: “May I ask, is there a special reason you wear those sunglasses at night? Are they special equipment too?”
Having already witnessed the flashbang and pistol, he guessed the nighttime sunglasses were no ordinary accessory.
“Yes.”
The woman not only answered but enthusiastically explained, “They’re third-generation T-11 neutrino optical imaging glasses, enchanted version, used to detect entities invisible to the naked eye. Each pair costs around two hundred thousand US dollars. Of course, they’re not available on the market.”
Hearing a pair of glasses cost $200,000, Ji Yun almost smelled the scent of money.
That was like wearing a whole apartment in Jianghua City on one’s face.
But thinking carefully about her words—glasses that can see invisible entities?
---
Sensing his interest, Ji Yun asked directly, “Can those glasses see ghosts?”
“Yes! Most ghosts that don’t actively conceal themselves can be seen.”
The woman spoke carefully, without hiding anything. “Everything perceptible to human senses is essentially energy—ghosts, spirits, psychic forces, and so on. Since they’re energy, they can theoretically be detected by instruments. These neutrino glasses are a product of science combined with enchantment.”
Now Ji Yun fully understood.
Simply put: technology-driven exorcism.
Tonight’s experience had shattered his worldview not once but twice.
It seemed the world had advanced to a magical realm beyond his recognition.
The woman keenly noticed the flicker of surprise on Ji Yun’s face and said, “Of course, not everyone has this kind of equipment. Mine is currently the most advanced exorcism gear in the world, military-grade experimental tech, only issued to field agents of A3 level or higher within the organization. It’s almost nonexistent domestically.”
She added, “That said, there are many powerful spiritual practitioners at home, especially those from the ‘Occult Bureau.’ They don’t need this equipment and are far more formidable than I am.”
Ji Yun caught the genuine respect in her tone.
Wanting to learn more, he asked, “Do you often deal with supernatural incidents?”
She nodded, “Yes.”
Ji Yun noticed she didn’t avoid talking about work, so he continued, “Are there a lot of supernatural incidents happening in this world?”
In the rearview mirror, the woman glanced at him as if she understood his curiosity and said, “Quite a few. But Jianghua City has only recently begun to see an outbreak in the last few years. It will increase from now on. The resurgence of paranormal activity is regional—like puddles forming after rain. Low-lying areas collect water, and the accumulation spreads to other places.”
“Resurgence of paranormal activity?”
Ji Yun heard the term for the first time from a professional and pondered its true meaning.
“Yeah. It’s a long story.”
She nodded and continued, “Simply put, it’s ‘spiritual energy revival’ causing frequent supernatural events. The resurgence began domestically over twenty years ago but was limited then, occurring only in certain yin-rich areas. Back then, the official department handling these cases was called the ‘Institute of Paranormal Research.’ Since most incidents were dealt with secretly by government agents, few people knew about them. As for why the spiritual energy revived, that remains unclear. What’s known is that during the late previous dynasty, spiritual energy was completely severed due to some mysterious cause, lasting two full cycles of sixty years before it began to return...”
“I see.”
She explained in detail, and although this was Ji Yun’s first encounter with the world’s mysterious side, he understood the gist.
Many of the supernatural incidents discussed on forums were probably not fabricated but real events.
They had simply been obscured by official censorship.
He had thought ghosts were fake—now he was certain they existed.
A thought crossed his mind: why would the government suppress this information?
The woman seemed to anticipate his question and, before he could ask, smiled softly and said, “Are you wondering why the government hides the truth about ghosts and their dangers from the public?”
“Yes.”
Of course he was curious.
This woman was smart—so smart it seemed she could read his thoughts.
Yet he was even more curious about what her true intentions were.