"Hiss… Is there no air conditioning in this apartment?"
Following the camera crew inside, Tony Stark shivered. "This feels like walking into an ice cellar. I regret not bringing my armor!"
Tony rubbed his arms and looked around the cold apartment, while the female host and cameraman echoed his complaint.
"This is because the magnetic field of the undead clashes with that of normal humans," Linen explained calmly. "That's why you feel cold."
As he spoke, Linen took out a pendant and handed it to Tony. "Here—wear this, and you won't feel the chill."
The pendant was crafted by Linen himself, though the rest of the charms in the store were mass-produced. He didn't have the time to personally enchant each one.
Tony hesitated for a few seconds, then accepted it. Though he didn't usually like taking things from others, Pepper wasn't here to stop him anyway.
The moment he touched the pendant, a soothing warmth spread through his palm. He quickly put it around his neck, eyes lighting up.
"Wow, it's really warm now! What's this made of?"
"It's not about the material," Linen replied, taking out two more pendants and handing them to the host, Alyssa, and the cameraman.
Alyssa put hers on without hesitation. "Oh my God, I can't feel the cold anymore. This is amazing!"
She turned to the cameraman. "Robert, what do you think?"
Robert nodded through the lens, confirming it was true.
Viewers watching the live broadcast were stunned. While some doubted the show's authenticity, many were already searching online for where to buy these "miracle pendants."
According to the producer Jessica's instructions, the ad break rolled.
When the show resumed, Linen looked toward the staircase.
"Mr. Linen," said Kenny, the homeowner, "my daughter Kelly is in the bedroom upstairs. My wife and I wanted to check on her, but an invisible force blocked us from entering."
On camera, Kenny looked anxious—like a concerned father—but Linen could sense the man was performing for the audience.
He was, after all, a member of the "official forum." Pretending came naturally.
Leading the crew upstairs, Kenny pointed at the closed bedroom door. "No matter how hard we tried, it wouldn't open," he said, demonstrating by twisting the handle and slamming his shoulder into it. The door didn't budge.
Then, taking a fire axe, he swung hard.
The instant the blade hit the door, it rebounded violently, as though striking an invisible wall.
"Whoa!" Tony exclaimed in shock.
Alyssa and the cameraman recoiled in fear.
Viewers in front of their TVs were equally astonished.
"Oh my God, is this real?"
"The axe bounced off the door—what kind of power is that?"
"I believe in ghosts now!"
"God, protect that poor girl!"
Linen motioned for everyone to step back. When they did, he pressed another enchanted pendant onto the door.
Whoosh—
The moment it touched, eerie green flames spread across the wood.
But strangely, the fire gave off no smoke.
"Oh my God! The door's burning with green fire!"
"Are we sure this isn't CGI?"
"The door's opening—wait! Kelly's stuck to the ceiling?!"
As the door creaked open on its own, the crew and audience gasped. Kelly's body was plastered against the ceiling, her face twisted into a demonic grin.
"My daughter!" Kelly's mother screamed and fainted. Her husband caught her just in time.
Alyssa trembled, her voice shaking as she whispered into the mic, "Mr. Stark… can he handle this? That undead looks worse than the one in the park last time!"
Tony took a step back. "F***! I'm having another nightmare tonight, for sure!"
"Mr. Stark," Alyssa stammered, "you said you saw an undead before? With Mr. Linen?"
"That's right," Tony nodded solemnly. "At first, I didn't believe in ghosts, but Linen opened my eyes. That's why I can confidently say—he's the best psychic in America!"
The audience suddenly understood why Tony Stark always spoke so highly of him.
Linen raised a finger to his lips. "Shh. I'm going in to negotiate with the spirit possessing Kelly. No matter what happens, do not enter or make a sound."
Everyone nodded, terrified.
As Linen entered the room, Alyssa signaled the cameraman to zoom in. The audience held their breath, completely drawn in.
Meanwhile, in a New York apartment, Natasha Romanoff sat on a couch, eating a sandwich as she watched the broadcast.
"You're treating me to this after moving?" she teased.
Steve Rogers smiled. "Seventy years ago, sandwiches were a luxury. Wherever Bucky and I went, we always packed a few."
His smile faded. "It's a shame he's not here anymore."
Natasha changed the subject. "Do you think this ghost stuff is real?"
"Hard to say," Steve replied thoughtfully. "When I fought Hydra, I saw a man with werewolf blood. So yeah, supernatural beings might exist… but ghosts?"
"They do," Natasha said, finishing her sandwich. "Tony wasn't lying. That day in the park—when he said he saw an undead? I was there too."
Steve blinked in surprise.
"Don't look at Linen through a scientific lens," she said, shrugging. "He's… different."
Then she stood. "I'm heading back. Call me if you need anything."
"Alright," Steve said, walking her to the door. When she left, he sat back down, glanced at the screen, and smiled faintly.
Linen was the first person he'd truly admired since waking from the ice.
On-screen, Linen arranged several charms in the four corners of Kelly's room. He placed a table in the center and lit a candle.
The flame burned green.
"Come down," he said calmly to the spirit possessing Kelly. "Maybe we can talk."
"Talk?" The voice that came from Kelly's mouth was sharp and cold. "There's nothing to discuss. I won't go back to the Hell dimension!"
Suddenly, the possessed girl opened her mouth unnaturally wide.
A swarm of black insects and flies burst out toward Linen!
Alyssa almost screamed, but remembered Linen's warning and clamped her hand over her mouth.
The audience was horrified.
"Oh God, that's real!"
"This isn't CGI—she's spitting insects!"
"Hmph."
Linen narrowed his eyes. The four charms glowed with golden light, forming a shimmering hexagram around him.
Before the insects could reach him, they burned to ash and vanished in the air.
Even Steve dropped his sandwich in shock. "This… is better than Star Wars!"
"Hah. A trifle," Linen said coolly, turning his gaze back to the ceiling.
The spirit realized too late—this man was far stronger than the exorcist she'd encountered before.
Panicking, she tried to flee toward the window. But the moment she neared it, her soul began to burn.
"Ahhhh!!!"
The spirit's screams filled the room. Kelly's body fell, writhing on the floor.
Outside, her mother broke down. "My baby!" She tried to rush in, but Kenny held her back.
"No! He told us not to interfere!"
Inside, Linen sighed. He had shown enough for the cameras—and for business. A first-level undead like this was no challenge to him.
But before he could end it—
"I… I surrender!" the spirit cried out, separating from Kelly's body. "I'll sign a soul contract with you! I'll obey your orders and never betray you—just don't send me back to Hell!"
A translucent figure appeared before him—beautiful, but with a demonic aura. Linen's eyes narrowed.
A half-succubus.
Not just any undead, but a hybrid born of a Hellhound and a succubus—a creature so rare that even the Book of the Dead treated it as legend.
No wonder she feared returning to Hell. She would be shunned there.
Linen raised his hand, and a glowing sigil appeared in his palm. The half-succubus instantly recognized it and pressed her fingers into the pattern.
The contract was sealed.
From this moment on, her life and death were in Linen's hands.
A smile touched his lips. According to the Book of the Dead, a grown half-succubus could command the creatures of Hell themselves.
This… was an unexpected bonus.
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