“So - I don’t know how much you’ve already figured out - but - the infrastructure project, it has something to do with Fengshui aric substations.” Tae Kuo sighed as he sipped on a bottle of beer: “The city - some genius w for the city ied a new figuration of wiriricity, said they could form some kind of giant, city-wide array. It could serve as a shield, or seal, to suppress all paranormal occurrences, and if - IF, the unity collective could vine highly cultivated schors or monks to cooperate with them, it would have a much higher ce of success. That’s a fug big ask, right? What they’re also asking is that the South-Eastern District make room for these ype of substations iain special Fengshui meridian spots.”

  “That’s - no way that could happen, is there?” Sue frowned.

  “There’s no way that could happen. And it didn’t.” Tae Kuo shook his head: “So, naturally, the city would just say: ‘well, screw you superstitious idiots, we’re gonna build these substations in our pce. Enjoy your temples and inse air pollution.’”

  “But - that’s gonna be bad - that sounds like it’s gonna be bad for the South-Eastern District.” Sue raised her hand: “If they installed all the substations all over the other two districts, and only left out the South-Eastern, that would squeeze the paranormal entities from their districts to here, wouldn’t it? ”

  “Right, right, exactly. That’s why the fight broke out.” Tae Kuo chugged half his bottle before looking into the medical kit: “We started the fight, because - how A that happen? ”

  No one responded for a moment, Turner Ouyang was breathing but seemed to be in pain. His cheeks were swollen and he could only make unintelligible sounds wheried to speak.

  “Okay, here it is.” Tae Kuo found a small bottle of rice wine wine, a jar of oi and a stethoscope and came to Turner Ouyang: “Here - let me take a look - ” He listeo the heartbeats and breathing of the young man before nodding at them: “His lung as are clear. Looks like they beat him but not too bad. We’ve gotta do something with the swelling though.” Right after this, he opehe, mixed it with some oi aended his oi-covered fi Turner Ouyang’s cheek: “This is gonna sting a little.”

  Turner Ouyang gasped and sucked through his teeth when Tae Kuo dabbed and rubbed the oi on his face. After this, he took out a few long thin acture needles, heated them with a lighter and poked him on some of his acture points.

  Gloria pced her fingers around Turner Ouyang’s lower jaushed a little of her Qi in to help with the healing process.

  “So - to get back to what I was saying - ” Tae Kuo went back to pick up the bottle and fi: “As I was saying - WE started the fight. It started with protests, and then sabotage, then full-on armed flict between the forces of the unity collective and the city w enfort. The official story is that the fight took a few weeks. But in fact it was months from start to end. And whey w enfort broke into some temples and pces of prayer and worship, they set loose certain - things. And from what I heard, this is the driving force behind the city’s willio iate instead of steamrolling us.”

  “Oh? What kind of things?” Sue and Gloria leaned in.

  “I don’t know. I doubt aside of the immediate circle knows. But apparently it killed enough of the city’s higher ups to make them worry.”

  “And then what happened?” Sue took a look at Turner Ouyang in her ps, the swelling on his face was less purple.

  “Well, I am irely sure. All I know is that after that the city made some kind of deal with the unity collective, and they went with a less aggressive design, so that the squeeze will not happen like a flood, but more like a trickle. And the unity collective will have dedicated folks to deal with the overflow.” Tae Kuo sighed: “I’m telling you, leave this city while you .”

  “So they’re essentially usiricity energy in an array?” Sue looked at Turner Ouyang and then Gloria: “But - they ’t just do that, right? Electricity is not lightning, where it es with anti-paranormal energy. It’s just - it just doesn’t sound very pusible.”

  “Yes, but it’s also a medium.” Gloria scratched her jaw a into her thought: “I suppose - if they figure out a way to mimic the energy we use for talismans and exorcism rituals, it’s possible - ”

  “Yes. But it’s also bsphemous.” Tae Kuo scoffed and shook his head: “In talismans and arrays, we actually use spells that call out to higher powers aies. How the hell will they do that with electricity, huh?”

  “It doesn’t matter at this point.” Gloria sighed: “What’s ?”

  “If you’re feelier and ready, there’s a pce I’d like to take you. ” Tae Kuo opened up another bottle of beer.

  “Where?”

  “Fuman Coffin Home. Or should I say, u.”