Chapter 5

This world isn’t as safe as it seems; in fact, it’s fraught with danger.

The origin of the first monster is lost to history. All we know is that they are born from human negativity—sadness, fear, hatred, greed… We call them “Malevolent Spirits.”

A Malevolent Spirit might come from a single person or be the embodiment of many people’s negative emotions. It manifests in various forms, with diverse abilities and power levels.

In the stories that have been passed down, vengeful spirits, man-eating demons, and bloodsucking creatures—all these are forms of Malevolent Spirits. Since they originate from humanity, they can’t be destroyed, only sealed or contained.

“Our Paranormal Incident Management Squad is the government’s designated agency for handling such incidents.”

Li Changhe, captain of the Squad, is responsible for leading his squad to defend City A against supernatural occurrences.

With the sudden appearance of an A-level Malevolent Spirit, everyone prepared for a desperate fight—until they saw the figure in the sky.

“What is that? Is someone flying up there?”

“Whoa, an A-level ability user… No, it’s above A-level—could it be S-level?!”

“Is that the East Gate figure, or has the Minister stepped in?”

…

Amid the shrill screams of the snake-headed creature, dust rose as it collapsed.

When reinforcements finally arrived, they found Yue Yin squatting on the ground, eating a grilled pancake. Next to her stood a young man, his face handsome but with an expression that spoke volumes.

Yue Yin looked up, noticing the uniformed teams surrounding her. They were armed, holding weapons, and their gazes showed shock, respect, and a hint of wariness.

Someone stared at her, stunned: “You…”

Suddenly, an excited voice called from the back, “Did you find out? Was it the Minister or the East Gate figure? Is she perhaps a foreign ability user, like Lilith, the Keeper of the Night?”

“No matter who it is, I’m getting an autograph! Autograph, autograph, autograph…”

A young man, wildly enthusiastic, rushed forward with a paper and pen, only to crash into the squad captain standing at the front.

He looked up, his smile freezing: “Can someone tell me…”

“Who is this high school student?”

…

As the ability users deliberated on sealing the snake-headed Malevolent Spirit, the department simultaneously searched for survivors and worked to clean up the battlefield. Those aware of the situation signed confidentiality agreements and received compensation before being taken to the hospital or sent home.

Yue Yin was asked to stay behind. She wanted to go home and sleep, but any movement from her put the others on high alert, as if they were ready to fight her at a moment’s notice. Out of consideration, she simply sat and stayed put.

A young woman in uniform gathered the confidentiality agreements, placing them into a file. Yue Yin casually asked, “Was that hypnosis you used earlier?”

The woman glanced at her, not surprised that she’d figured it out, and nodded. “I’m a psychologist, with the ability to induce hypnosis—the Forgetfulness Agreement. After signing, people automatically forget the related events. Though, a few with strong wills may still remember.”

Yue Yin was curious, “Why hide it from everyone?”

She noticed that many people seemed unaware of the existence of Malevolent Spirits, treating supernatural events like folklore. No one ever took her seriously when she mentioned her own identity, so much so that she hadn’t even managed to gain a single follower.

With a sigh, Yue Yin propped her head in her hands, looking rather forlorn.

Captain Li Changhe walked in just as she was speaking, catching her words. He’d heard such questions many times before: “Why not make the existence of Malevolent Spirits public? Why not tell the people the truth? Why use hypnosis…”

Sitting down across from Yue Yin, he spoke gravely, “The creature you saw today is born from humanity’s negative emotions. We call it a Malevolent Spirit.”

“They have thoughts and life; they can think. Most importantly, they eat people.”

“If we were to reveal their existence, the public would inevitably feel despair, fear, and hopelessness. The more people know, the more negative emotions are generated, leading to even more Malevolent Spirits—and stronger ones.”

“Such a revelation would invite exploitation by opportunists, causing widespread panic and social upheaval. So, for the sake of the public and society’s stability, we’ve chosen to keep it hidden.”

Yue Yin nodded, understanding. “Ah, so if everyone knew about Malevolent Spirits, this world would be doomed.”

She reflected on how tough this organization’s job must be.

The young woman beside Li Changhe widened her eyes. “You didn’t know any of this?”

While ordinary people remained oblivious, related departments and certain organizations were well-acquainted with these rules.

Yue Yin, acting oblivious, nodded like a curious bystander. She looked nothing like someone faking ignorance, but her powerful display just moments ago was not something any uninformed person could have pulled off.

The others exchanged glances, growing increasingly serious.

In the Interrogation Room, they questioned her.

“So, you’re saying you recently awakened as an ability user?” They discussed, hoping to understand Yue Yin better. Meanwhile, she, too, gathered information. “What is an ability user?”

She had overheard terms like “ability user” and “Malevolent Spirit,” hearing how they were categorized from A to D levels, but she was still rather lost.

The young woman, Yuyu, looked at Li Changhe for permission before explaining, “Ability users are those chosen by a god. Around age three, they awaken to a gift and learn of their purpose, as if something in their mind guides them.”

“We’re drawn to the god who chose us, and by offering our faith, we gain special powers.”

Li Changhe’s face turned solemn. “You showed no signs of an ability until now, yet you suddenly became an ability user… Such a situation is quite rare.”

“Captain, I’ve found something!” Yuyu rushed in with a stack of files. “Years ago, a person was sacrificed to a Malevolent Spirit and, after being saved, gained D-level psychic abilities…”

The case bore a similarity, but it was hard to accept. Everyone knew that D and A levels were worlds apart.

Someone remembered Yue Yin’s earlier battle with the Malevolent Spirit and gulped.

Under the bright moonlight, the girl had seemed almost godlike, soaring through the air as she wielded her crescent-shaped blade against the monstrous creature, her hair flying around her.

A soldier murmured, “It felt like a divine descent.”

Everyone fell silent.

Yue Yin raised an eyebrow. “A divine descent?”

Yuyu hesitated. “We believe that our special abilities come from the gods we worship. If we lose our faith, we lose our powers.”

“So it’s commonly believed that ability users borrow divine power.”

As a former head of a Malevolent Spirit cult and now an evil god herself, Yue Yin was well-acquainted with this concept.

Yuyu suddenly asked, “By the way, which god chose you?”

At her question, Li Changhe and the others visibly tensed, prepared to react at a moment’s notice.

Yue Yin, unperturbed, replied, “Hydra.”

Li Changhe and the others visibly relaxed, while Yuyu looked puzzled. “Hydra? I’ve never heard of them.”

Yue Yin was shocked and stood up. “What? Never heard of her?”

“She’s the great Mother of Monsters, the Thousand-faced Moon, Hydra!”

The others exchanged confused looks. “No idea.”

Yue Yin grew indignant, pounding the table. “Wow! How have none of you heard of her?”

This was downright insulting!

Yuyu shrugged, “Maybe she’s a more obscure deity?”

Yue Yin, now slightly annoyed, narrowed her eyes. “So, which gods do you worship?”

Yuyu counted on her fingers, “The four most widely revered true gods right now are the Daoist patriarch, Taiqing Daode Tianzun, the ancient sea god, Nodens, and the night goddess, Nyx…”

“Oh, all new gods,” Yue Yin said, unimpressed.

As an Outer God, she didn’t share the Old Ones’ resentment of these newcomers. Still, she wasn’t exactly interested in them either.

Li Changhe explained, “Aside from these four, there are lesser-known gods with few followers, and those with harmful ideologies. Followers of these are considered members of cults.”

They all feared Yue Yin might be a cult follower, which was why they’d been tense when she mentioned her god.

“The world is a dangerous place,” Li Changhe continued, “and many forces seek to destroy our lives. Our mission is to eliminate them.”

Yue Yin didn’t entirely understand but still remarked, “You all work really hard.”

Even as an outsider, she recognized their efforts to protect their country and its people.

…

After a lengthy interrogation, the officials had gathered no valuable information from Yue Yin. Exchanging glances, they left the room, quietly conversing outside, behind thick, specialized glass.

“She’s suspicious—an A-level ability user suddenly appearing, worshipping an obscure god. What if she’s part of a cult?”

“Are we not letting her go? She could be S-level, even above. Do you think we can hold her?!”

“Whether she’s S-level is up to the Minister to determine. But the Minister is currently at the international summit in S City…”

“So, do we release her?”

“I think the girl’s good-hearted. She saved a lot of people today. If not for her, there’d be more casualties.”

“Captain, this situation needs to be thoroughly investigated by the higher-ups! Moving Containment Unit A89 was definitely part of some conspiracy!”

Malicious spirits, or “Malevolent Spirits,” are incredibly difficult to eradicate. The Paranormal Incident Management typically contains and seals them, assigning each one a code name and number. These captured entities, known as Containment Objects, are stored across major cities as a last-resort measure to suppress other strong malicious spirits. A City originally had its own A-level Containment Object, but it was transferred elsewhere by the Deputy Director.

The timing was just too coincidental. As soon as A City’s A-level Containment Unit A89 was moved, an A-level malicious spirit appeared to wreak havoc. If Yueyin hadn’t shown up, it might have taken a long time to eliminate the snake-headed fiend, and this incident might not have been possible to conceal from the public.

Xiao Jun muttered, “Honestly, we owe her a huge debt. Without her, hiding this from the public would have been impossible, and we’d have a lot more to answer for than just writing reports.”

“Exactly! If she were a follower of some fake god, she wouldn’t be helping us take down an A-level malicious spirit. She’d be fighting against us instead!”

Hearing this, Captain Li and the others visibly relaxed a bit.

A man beside Xiao Jun frowned, “What if she’s just tricking us to gain our trust? What if this whole thing was a setup?”

His voice trailed off as he finished speaking. Just then, someone hurried into the room.

“Captain, the Jiang family called—they’re putting pressure on us.”

The Jiang family, one of the wealthiest families in the country, holds significant influence. Jiang Suliu’s mother’s side of the family is well-connected, so it’s no surprise they pulled strings to have him taken home immediately after the incident, bypassing even the confidentiality agreement.

The team fell silent. After a while, Captain Li pondered aloud, “That girl’s a student at First High, right? Let her go for now, but keep a close watch on her.”

After some discussion, Xiao Jun raised a curious question, “Do you think she can hear us talking right now? I mean, if she really is an S-level, maybe she can.”

Though everyone referred to Yue Yin as an A-level, Xiao Jun felt she was above that—likely even S-level—since she had taken down the snake-headed fiend with almost no effort.

The team exchanged glances, and Captain Li glanced through the one-way glass at the girl. She was staring in their direction, looking a little bored, as if listening in on their conversation.

“But that’s impossible,” Captain Li said, shaking his head. “This glass is specially designed to block out abilities. It’s not just any one-way mirror.”

Inside the room, Yue Yin smiled.

…

When Yue Yin was finally released, Captain Li offered to drive her home. But as soon as they stepped outside, they spotted a luxury car waiting by the entrance. Jiang Suliu stood by the car, frowning as he waited. When he saw Yue Yin, he immediately approached her.

Captain Li raised an eyebrow. “Looks like I don’t need to give you a ride. You two are classmates, huh? That’s nice.”

Observing their relationship, Captain Li noted that the Jiang family’s heir seemed close with Yue Yin. He figured he could use this connection for monitoring her later.

Yue Yin calmly got into Jiang Suliu’s car. Just before leaving, Xiao Jun ran over, paper and pen in hand, and asked her for an autograph.

Another teammate laughed at him. “You’re a B-level yourself. Don’t embarrass us like this!”

Xiao Jun pocketed the autograph and said mysteriously, “You don’t understand.”

He whispered, “I think she’s S-level.”

His teammates rolled their eyes. “You’re dreaming if you think that. There are fewer than six S-levels in the entire world.”

“If she really is S-level, things are about to change. The Zhou family only gets away with bullying the Xuanmen Association because they have one of the country’s two S-levels on their side.”