Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

"Sizzle—!"

A deep blue arc of light instantly wove a dense electric grid in mid-air, like an aurora descending from the sky.

The blue spirit that had been hopping around arrogantly didn't even have time to struggle for half a second. Like a fly stuck with superglue, it was frozen firmly on the cold marble wall of the crematorium.

"Ouch—! Holy crap, it's hot! It's hot!"

Old Wang's screams sounded muffled, like a broken bellows stuffed inside a heavy water pipe.

His translucent body flickered wildly under the impact of the pulse waves, the light changing erratically, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

Zhao Tiezhu chuckled and skillfully switched off the safety on the electromagnetic pulse gun.

He blew on the non-existent wisp of smoke from the muzzle of the gun with a smug grin, his fleshy face trembling with laughter.

"Old Wang, I told you long ago to go for science and technology, but you didn't believe me."

"My gun is loaded with a high-frequency particle beam specially supplied by the national research institute, which is specially used to cure all kinds of people who die with their eyes open."

As Zhao Tiezhu spoke, he patted the shiny Director's Special Investigation Team armband on his chest with an air of arrogance.

Lu Jingyan, wearing sturdy tactical boots, walked step by step to the base of the wall.

He had one hand in his pocket, his deep black eyes reflecting the spirit's face, twisted with fear.

"Officer Lu... Officer Lu, please spare me! I just want my wages!"

Old Wang was so shocked by the electric shock that blue smoke billowed from his body, and his tone no longer carried the arrogance of the "King of Ten Thousand Demons."

"I didn't do anything bad, I just did a moonwalk and incidentally scared that guy surnamed Zhang a bit..."

"Just to scare them a little?"

Lu Jingyan snorted coldly, a rational coldness hanging on the corner of his mouth.

He casually pulled a voice recorder from his waist and pressed the record button.

"You released a large amount of abnormal electromagnetic interference in a public place, causing five electronic devices to become unusable. This is called damaging public or private property."

"Your act of gathering a crowd to cause trouble and intimidating legitimate businesses is called 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble'."

"Most importantly, you are no longer a natural person; your very existence is a kind of 'residual forbidden magnetic field'."

As Lu Jingyan spoke, he pulled a printed detention slip from his pocket.

In the "person subject to enforcement" column, he calmly wrote down the words "Magnetic field residue: Wang Moumou".

"But...but I'm already dead!"

Old Wang roared in despair, his translucent tears streaming down the cracks in the wall before evaporating instantly.

"Shouldn't the dead be under the jurisdiction of the King of Hell? Aren't you police meddling a bit too much?"

"On the ground of Jinghai City, as long as you haven't completely disappeared from the universe, you are under the jurisdiction of the Code."

Lu Jingyan pushed up his glasses, his eyes completely expressionless, even exuding a chillingly businesslike air.

"my country's Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security does not state that administrative penalties can be waived upon death."

"Since you find living tiring, then I'll make you understand that the legal responsibilities you bear after you die are even heavier."

Lu Jingyan turned his head and looked at Zhao Tiezhu.

"Tiezhu, bring out the 'spirit detention device' we just developed. Since he wants unpaid wages, let's treat it as an illegal labor dispute."

"Alright, boss!"

Zhao Tiezhu pulled a half-meter-tall metal canister from his tactical backpack.

The jar was entirely black, with dense silver patterns wrapped around its surface; it was made of a special alloy.

Zhao Tiezhu pressed a button on the bottom of the jar, and a countdown screen flashing red lit up.

"Old Wang, you are hereby placed under 15-day 'space detention' for suspected disturbing the peace."

"In this jar, the signal is blocked, the network is cut off, and you can't do anything except memorize legal statutes."

Old Wang was so frightened when he saw the pitch-black iron can that looked like it could suck in your soul that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"No! I'm not going in! I haven't danced enough yet! I want to be a DJ at a nightclub!"

"It's not up to you anymore."

Lu Jingyan's voice was as cold as ice.

He lightly swiped his long fingers across the pulse gun's control screen, adjusting the frequency to the "recycle" setting.

"Buzz—!"

A powerful suction force instantly burst forth from the mouth of the can.

Old Wang's semi-transparent spirit body let out a shrill scream, his whole body resembling a lump of dough that had been forcibly kneaded.

He was pulled and spun by that irresistible force, and finally turned into a thin blue thread, which slid into the jar with a whoosh.

"Bang!"

Zhao Tiezhu reacted quickly, slapping the lid shut with a sharp metallic clang.

"Click, click."

Two mechanical locking sounds rang out.

The silver patterns on the surface of the jar lit up instantly, emitting a uniform and steady magnetic field hum.

The once noisy crematorium hall finally fell completely silent at this moment.

The "evil spirit" that terrified everyone is now obediently staying in an aluminum can marked "Evidence Sealed".

The family members and staff hiding in the corners were all dumbfounded.

Is this how the police handle cases?

Is this some kind of cyberpunk exorcism movie being filmed?

Lu Jingyan took off his tactical gloves and casually dusted off the corner of his clothes.

He walked up to Mr. Zhang, the crematorium owner, who was still lying on the ground, unable to recover.

"Boss Zhang, you must transfer Old Wang's social insurance and housing fund contributions to the Civil Affairs Bureau's relief account by today."

Lu Jingyan looked down at him, his eyes revealing an undeniable authority.

"If I find out again that you have maliciously withheld wages, inciting supernatural mass incidents..."

"I guarantee that next time you'll be the one put in a jar."

Mr. Zhang was so frightened that he frantically banged his head on the ground like he was pounding garlic: "Give it to me! I'll give it to you right now! I'll give you three times the compensation!"

Lu Jingyan nodded, turned around, and his black tactical cloak drew a sharp arc in the air.

He picked up the slightly warm metal can and weighed it in his hand.

A faint, reluctant thumping sound came from inside the jar.

"Boss, this electromagnetic wave guy seems to be acting rather unruly in there."

Zhao Tiezhu put away the pulse gun, leaned over to listen, and grinned widely.

"It sounds like he's criticizing us for not respecting human rights."

"Human rights? He's not even human anymore, so what human rights does he have to speak of?"

Lu Jingyan sneered and strode out of the crematorium hall, sunlight shining on his crisp uniform.

He casually tossed the can into the trunk of the black SUV.

Then, Lu Jingyan opened the driver's side door, but did not rush to start the engine.

He turned his head, his deep gaze fixed on the black metal can trembling slightly in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

A cold, almost madly scientific smile curved his lips.

"Old Wang, don't crash it. The coating inside is designed for quantum states; you won't break it."

Lu Jingyan's voice was soft, yet it carried a judgmental power that could plunge the spirit inside the jar into utter despair.

"Now, let's play a question-and-answer game. Since you don't have a physical body, my conventional interrogation methods may be ineffective against you."

He extended a finger and gently tapped the jar, producing a crisp and melodious sound.

Name. Place of origin. Cause of death.

"Also, where exactly is that 'underground psionic intermediary' you just mentioned located?"

The clanging sounds inside the jar stopped abruptly.

Lu Jingyan narrowed his eyes slightly, a terrifying threat in his tone.

"If you cooperate obediently, I will send you back to the Civil Affairs Bureau for resettlement in fifteen days."

"If you dare to keep me silent like this..."

Lu Jingyan sneered, his tone filled with undisguised cruelty.

"Forensic doctor Qin has just applied for a research grant and is currently looking for high-intensity spirits to conduct 'electro-ion sectioning experiments'."

"I heard that kind of experiment can dismantle a consciousness into 36,000 electrical fragments. The process is slow, and..."

"You will absolutely not be destroyed; you will only remain conscious and feel every bit of the electric current cutting through you."

Lu Jingyan paused, a chilling glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.

"Tell me the truth, or get a biopsy done?"