Exorcism Specialist Company: Ghost Soul Trading - Chapter 55
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 55
“Hey! Watch it! What kind of driving was that?!”
The driver of the car behind us got out and shouted angrily.
However, his vehicle only had its front bumper and hood dented, which was in far better condition than Ye-rim’s car.
“Ugh.”
Ye-rim and I pushed the airbags aside and exited the vehicle to assess the damage.
Our car had plowed completely into the guardrail, and white smoke was rising from the crumpled hood.
Honk—honk—
The vehicles following behind us swerved around the accident site, their horns blaring continuously.
Ye-rim scanned the area with an irritated expression, trying to locate the vehicle that had braked suddenly ahead, but it had already fled the scene.
I watched to see how she would handle the situation.
With a deep frown, she immediately called the company.
The driver of the car behind us also seemed to be calling their insurance company, holding their phone to their ear while staring at their vehicle.
“Hello? Yes, this is Yoon Ye-rim. I came to Olympic Boulevard for case 87528 to confirm a spirit, and we’ve been in a traffic accident. Please handle the arrangements.”
Ye-rim made the call with practiced ease.
Watching her, I raised my eyebrows slightly.
‘Interesting.’
So Guihon Trading handled traffic accident arrangements as well.
Shortly after, an employee from the other vehicle’s insurance company arrived and began handling the procedures.
Then Ye-rim’s insurance company representative also arrived.
A formally dressed insurance agent took photographs, quickly surveyed the surrounding area, and approached Ye-rim.
“I received a call from Guihon Trading. This was an accident that occurred during work duties, correct?”
The insurance agent pulled out a tablet and checked various items while asking in a businesslike tone.
“Yes, yes. A spirit appeared, and while I was confirming it, the car ahead suddenly braked.”
“I see. We’ll also review the dashcam footage. If the investigation reveals driver negligence on their part, the settlement amount will be offset against our next payment and credited to our insurance company.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The insurance agent held out the tablet and pointed to where I needed to sign.
Ye-rim signed smoothly and handed it back.
“You can discuss matters with me, the driver of the vehicle behind you.”
The insurance agent then approached the other vehicle’s driver and the other insurance company’s representative while speaking.
I watched the scene unfold, then quietly asked Ye-rim a question.
“Who is that? Does our company have an insurance department?”
Based on what I’d heard, the insurance agent seemed knowledgeable about Guihon Trading and exorcism work, so I was curious whether there was an in-house insurance division.
“No. It’s AL Insurance. All our company employees and vehicles are insured with AL Insurance.”
AL Insurance was a renowned insurance company worldwide.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Guihon Trading and AL Insurance have a sister agreement. If personnel casualties occur during work or traffic accidents like this happen, AL Insurance handles everything.”
“Wow.”
“If it’s confirmed to be a work-related accident, the insurance company resolves it smoothly on their end. If it’s an accident caused by our employee’s mistake, the compensation damages are deducted from our next settlement and paid to the insurance company.”
Ye-rim explained the situation.
In other words, using this traffic accident as an example—since the accident occurred while Ye-rim was confirming the spirit’s presence during her work, she had called the insurance company for a traffic accident during her duties.
According to Ye-rim’s claim, since the accident was caused by a ghost, AL Insurance should cover all vehicle repair costs and driver medical expenses.
However, if the insurance company’s investigation revealed that the accident resulted from Ye-rim’s mistake, they would calculate the liability costs and deduct the vehicle repair and driver medical expenses from the next field settlement payment or the scheduled settlement amount to be paid to the insurance company.
It was an efficient system for handling various problems that could arise during exorcism work, but it required careful attention to prevent accidents caused by personal negligence.
The insurance employee spoke for a while longer before returning to Ye-rim.
In the meantime, the tow truck had arrived at the scene and prepared to move the vehicle.
“Everything’s been settled, and we’ll contact you again after our investigation. We’ll have this vehicle towed, so please remove any valuables from inside. We’ll arrange for a temporary rental car to be sent to you.”
“Yes, understood.”
After Ye-rim’s reply, the insurance employee requested her signature once more, then turned and drove away in his own car.
The other driver also shot Ye-rim and me a look before disappearing with the tow truck.
“Let’s focus on our work.”
After watching them leave, Ye-rim removed the boxes from the back seat and trunk.
While insurance processing made accident handling convenient, it was true that an inconvenient variable had been introduced.
We carried the boxes we’d removed over the guardrail and moved into the open field.
“Hmm.”
I glanced around the surroundings.
It was a space an ordinary person would have no reason to enter.
Ahead stretched Olympic Boulevard, and beyond it lay the Han River.
However, a tall soundproof wall had been installed above the damaged guardrail, and various advertisement banners hung from it, making this open field inconspicuous.
Looking up, I could see the lower section of the red steel girders of Seongsan Bridge clearly.
Though it appeared slightly rusted, the vibrant red paint made it less noticeable.
Since it was the Seongsan Bridge junction above, countless vehicles passed through, creating an endless rumbling sound.
Throughout the open field stood thick concrete pillars supporting Seongsan Bridge, and construction materials for road maintenance and repairs were scattered messily in various places.
“Let’s wait here until sunset.”
As I surveyed the surroundings, Ye-rim spoke.
I nodded and found a spot to sit down.
Then I opened the book Grandfather had left behind and began reading.
* * *
8 PM.
As the sun set and the evening commute traffic cleared out, Ye-rim, who had been staring at her laptop for quite some time, stood up.
“Let’s get moving.”
“Ah, yes.”
I placed the book in the box and strapped the Ghost-Slaying Sword and Blood-Severing Sword to my body.
Then I put on the smart glasses and booted them up.
Meanwhile, Ye-rim also equipped the submachine gun and pistol, filling the magazines with gas.
“There’s no building in this open area, but it won’t flee. Most traffic accident ghosts cling to the accident site like earthbound spirits.”
After finishing her preparations, she chambered a round and inspected the sights.
I also drew the Ghost-Slaying Sword, checked the blade once, and sheathed it.
“Sigh—”
Ye-rim exhaled deeply and cast a quick glance around the area.
I checked the Ghost Radar first as well.
Whoosh—
A blue dot was glowing intensely nearby.
I could detect spirits within a 20-meter radius, but the altitude remained unknown.
After confirming nothing was visible in the immediate surroundings, I lifted my gaze upward.
“Ah.”
There it was—the spirit hanging upside down beneath the crimson steel bridge support.
The ghost remained fixed on me with an unwavering stare, its long hair cascading downward like a waterfall.
Yet, just as in the photograph, its face bore no discernible features.
‘Even without a face, I can feel it watching me.’
I felt my spine tingle with dread as I gripped the Ghost Blade tightly.
My other hand instinctively moved to caress the Blood Water Blade.
I was prepared to draw it if necessary.
“There it is.”
Ye-rim spotted the spirit and raised her gun with a soft click.
Bang—
She fired a single shot.
But with the river wind gusting and the altitude working against her, the bullet never reached the underside of the bridge support properly.
Despite using gas-refined ammunition, the limitations of an airsoft gun were painfully evident.
“We need to draw it down to ground level.”
Ye-rim withdrew a small incense burner and lit the incense.
It was meant to lure the creature earthward.
Moments later, the spirit vanished from the bridge support with the wind.
Ye-rim and I both raised our weapons, our expressions tense as we surveyed our surroundings.
Whiiiiing— Whiiiiiiing—
A frigid gust swept across the back of our necks.
That was the moment.
Shrieeeeek—
The spirit materialized on the ground and lunged toward Ye-rim.
Its face remained featureless, its clothing indistinct, and its long hair writhed in all directions like someone suspended underwater.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—
Ye-rim pulled the trigger, firing at the spirit.
But before the bullets could strike, the spirit flickered in and out of visibility, advancing rapidly toward her.
Shrieeeeek—
As the spirit closed in, she threw herself to the side and fired again.
Rat-a-tat-tat—
But the spirit vanished, and the bullets tore through empty air.
In that instant, the spirit materialized beside me.
The moment I swung my blade, the spirit shoved me violently and pinned me beneath its weight.
A featureless face devoid of eyes, nose, or mouth crept slowly toward me.
Screeeech—
A gash suddenly split down the center of that blank visage, tearing sideways as a massive eye snapped open.
It was a face like a one-eyed demon.
As that eye opened, the gelatinous hair coiled around my neck and began to strangle me.
The moment my breath caught, I understood something.
This spirit—unlike the Old Woman Ghost I’d encountered at the Junkyard—could not be laid to rest by resolving its grudge.
I realized I had no choice but to exorcise it using the methods I’d learned from other fields.
Pow pow pow pow—
Then Ye-rim’s gunfire erupted.
The spirit strangling my neck vanished once more.
I scrambled to my feet, drew the Ghost Radar, and scanned the surroundings.
Kyahahahahahahahahahahaha!
The spirit shrieked with piercing laughter, circling endlessly around the open field where Ye-rim and I stood.
Ye-rim loaded the next magazine, timing her attack carefully.
I, too, raced through possibilities—how could I strike this creature?
That was when it happened.
Whoooooosh—
A cold wind scraped across the nape of my neck again—and the spirit plunged between Ye-rim and me.
We attacked simultaneously, but the spirit slipped past, invisible.
It materialized behind Ye-rim and shoved her forward with brutal force.
“Ugh!”
Ye-rim tumbled headlong to the ground.
In that instant, her spine went rigid with horror.
Rising from the earth directly in front of her falling face was a steel rebar, inches away.
Had she tumbled forward any further, that rebar would have pierced straight through her skull.
Kyahahahahaha—
The spirit leaped high, then plummeted toward Ye-rim’s prone back with terrifying speed.
It meant to pin her down with its full weight.
If that happened, the rebar before her would impale her head.
“No!”
I lunged forward and swung my sword at the spirit.
The creature vanished again.
I quickly hauled Ye-rim to her feet and resumed my guard, scanning the darkness.
“It’s incredibly fast.”
I furrowed my brow as I spoke.
“Yeah. It’s not trying to drive us away. It’s trying to kill us.”
Ye-rim replied.
“Why does it want us dead?”
“No idea. Maybe it died so suddenly it wants to drag others along with it—some twisted desire for company.”
While the two of us conversed, a chill swept across the nape of my neck once more.
In that instant, I realized something crucial.
I could observe the approaching spirit’s movements through the Ghost Radar.
But before the ghost drew near, it generated a cold wind—a warning I had begun to perceive.
Whether the sensation was intense or subtle, I now understood that a chill would cut across my neck like a blade before the spirit ever reached me.
I was beginning to comprehend what Ye-rim and Moon So-ryeong had called ‘intuition’.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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