Inside a studio at KABC-TV, the special program continued its live broadcast.
Most viewers hadn't noticed anything unusual about tonight's show. After all, they rarely got a direct look at the faces of the audience members and staff in the studio.
Only the middle-aged man sitting next to Jack, who had been specially invited, felt that something was a little off.
This man had previously been a magician specializing in hypnosis, but because that field was just way too competitive, he switched careers to become a professional debunker, specifically exposing various scams related to ghosts, gods, and superstitions.
Then, this guy shot to fame, frequently appearing on various television programs.
The woman sitting next to Jack was someone who specialized in studying supernatural forces, known as Dr. Joan.
And the young girl next to Dr. Joan was her current research subject, someone born with supernatural powers.
Actually, there was a trend of researching supernatural powers back in the nineties. Both America and the former Soviet Union had legitimate laboratories studying things related to superpowers.
This trend even spread around the world, and the East was also somewhat affected.
However, in Roy's previous life, superpowers and the like had all been proven to be pseudoscience. But this world might be different.
After all, this world actually had angels and demons!
No one knew what secret and dangerous research the American government might be conducting.
At this time, the program had been going on for nearly an hour. Aside from the opening ten-minute dance performance, the following several tens of minutes were all Jack constantly recounting his own personal experiences with supernatural events, while the debunker was responsible for debunking him.
Today, Jack maintained his usual humorous style, and the show's effect was quite good. The viewers watching TV were all engrossed.
It was just that the audience in the studio seemed rather indifferent.
"Mr. McConnell, are you still unwilling to believe in the existence of supernatural forces?"
Jack smiled as he looked at the professional debunker, who pointed a finger at his own eyes.
"I only believe what I see with my own eyes, but so far, I haven't seen any real supernatural power! Am I just unlucky?"
Well, this guy appearing on this live television broadcast was indeed extremely unlucky.
At this moment, Jack cued Dr. Joan, who had been speaking very little.
"Dr. Joan, what are your thoughts on Mr. McConnell's comments?"
Dr. Joan was an intellectual and beautiful woman in her thirties. Although she didn't speak much, her words carried a persuasive power.
"It's not that if you can't see it, it doesn't exist, Mr. McConnell. For example, you can't see air, and you can't see cell phone signals, but these are all real things. The human eye can actually only see the material world; things in the spiritual world are invisible."
McConnell looked at Dr. Joan and shook his head with a smile.
Their worldviews were completely different. McConnell was clearly an extreme materialist, while Dr. Joan leaned towards idealism with a bit of materialism, placing her in the middle. Naturally, neither could convince the other.
"Dr. Joan, saying all this is useless. If you want me to believe, then you must let me see supernatural power with my own eyes."
McConnell's attitude was very stubborn, just like his public persona.
Jack clapped his hands, slightly cooling down the somewhat tense atmosphere of the show.
"Don't be impatient, Mr. McConnell. Actually, in order to convince you and all the viewers in front of the television of the existence of supernatural forces, I specifically invited Dr. Joan and Lily. They will definitely show you the scene you want to see. Right, Dr. Joan?"
Dr. Joan nodded slightly.
"I originally didn't want to bring Lily over because my laboratory has some agreements with the federal government. The federal government has a special department managing supernatural forces, ensuring the public can't know these truths. But Mr. Dell convinced me, so I decided to come on the show to expose all of this."
Dr. Joan's gaze at the host, Jack, was a little strange, making one wonder if it was persuasion or seduction.
However, Jack Dell was also a rather charming middle-aged man, definitely much better-looking than those researchers, so it wasn't surprising that he could captivate Dr. Joan.
The audience in front of the television all showed interested expressions. Conspiracy theories about the federal government were always very popular in America.
Whether it was aliens in Area 51 or vampires in the Freemasons...
Of course, these conspiracy theories might all be true in this world.
But there were also some particularly outrageous conspiracy theories, such as when a student named McKindu at the University of Memphis suddenly started claiming in 2017:
"Birds aren't real, they are an illusion, it's a lie. Wake up!"
He stated that all the birds in America had gone extinct, and the birds people saw now were actually mechanical birds manufactured by the federal government, responsible for monitoring people's every move.
McKindu was a philosophy major, and doing this was probably just to see the social impact and philosophical significance of internet rumors.
But what he didn't expect was that the rumor spread more and more wildly. A few years later, it had hundreds of thousands of followers. They would carry signs with various messages about "the birds around you are fake" and spread this rumor everywhere.
McConnell crossed his legs, striking a pose as if ready to watch a performance.
"Then let's get started quickly! Otherwise, tonight will be too boring!"
Hearing this, Jack made a bitter face and started to mock himself.
"Oh, Mr. McConnell, is my show really that boring for you?"
Unexpectedly, McConnell answered Jack frankly.
"Yes, it's indeed a bit boring for me. If something more exciting doesn't happen soon, I'm going to fall asleep."
This was McConnell's consistent image on television. Some viewers liked his straightforward and blunt style of roasting people.
"You definitely won't be disappointed!"
Jack flashed a strange smile, then looked at Dr. Joan.
Dr. Joan nodded and then introduced the young girl next to her.
(Lily on the left, Dr. Joan on the right)
"This is Miss Lily O'Baugh. She's a girl with a natural talent for witchcraft whom I discovered by chance."
Hearing this, Jack immediately put on a surprised expression, but it looked fake no matter how you looked at it.
Everyone knew that the host definitely knew about the guests, so this was considered a fairly common routine in variety shows.
"Wow, a witch! Is it the kind of witch I know?"
Lily gave a somewhat stiff smile.
This young girl had been in the laboratory for many years and had hardly any contact with the outside world, so her expressions were a bit strangely stiff. However, her eyes were very lively, making people unable to help but like her.
"I don't know what kind of witch Mr. Dell is referring to, but I do know that after tonight, this show will definitely go down in history."
This was exactly what Jack loved to hear. A smile appeared on his face.
"Miss Lily, can you read minds? Can you tell what my current wish is with just one look?"
McConnell couldn't help but interject with a sarcastic remark.
"Come on, Jack! All of Los Angeles knows you want to be number one in the late-night slot!"
Jack helplessly spread his hands.
"Mr. McConnell, can't you just pretend you don't know to make me happy?"
Dr. Joan and Lily both laughed, but the audience in the studio still didn't show much emotion. The atmosphere in the studio became increasingly strange.
This made McConnell feel vaguely uneasy, but after all, he was an extreme materialist, and in his heart, he guessed that the host Jack was trying to prank him.
Such prank shows weren't uncommon in America, so McConnell didn't pay too much attention, just became a little more cautious.
"Alright, enough joking around. Dr. Joan, can you tell me about Miss Lily's abilities?"
Dr. Joan nodded.
"Of course! Lily is the most talented child I've discovered. After she awakened, she caused a commotion, and an organization calling itself the 'Witches' Union' wanted to take her away. Fortunately, a secret government department intervened, allowing her to safely enter my laboratory."
Hearing this, McConnell scoffed, clearly not believing Dr. Joan's words.
Dr. Joan didn't mind and continued to introduce Lily's abilities.
"Lily possesses extremely strong intuition and can sense some special spiritual energy..."
McConnell couldn't help himself and directly interrupted Dr. Joan.
"Ha! You're not going to bring up that old chestnut about demonic possession again, are you?"
Jack glared at McConnell. The fierce look in his eyes made the professional debunker's breathing hitch for a moment.
"Please don't interrupt Dr. Joan! Dr. Joan, please continue!"
Dr. Joan's composure was quite good. Even though McConnell had interrupted her, she didn't get angry and continued to explain slowly and methodically.
"Mr. McConnell is right, the phenomenon I'm going to talk about is demonic possession. In fact, there are many energy radiations in the air that current scientific equipment cannot fully detect. I call it spiritual energy. Only some special groups of people can sense this spiritual energy, such as witches and some priests. If some people's physical constitution happens to meet these requirements and they are in a place rich in spiritual energy, they may be affected by this spiritual energy.
This is what we commonly call channeling or demonic possession."
Jack put on an exaggerated expression of sudden realization.
"What a wonderful explanation, it's enlightening! Dr. Joan, could you have Miss Lily demonstrate some of her abilities? I think the audience would definitely love to see that!"
Dr. Joan hesitated for a moment, but looking at the face of her idol, she still nodded.
"Alright, but Lily's constitution is quite special. She is a natural-born strong medium, particularly prone to attracting spirits or demons."
McConnell laughed again.
"Can you tell me what kind of demons she has attracted before? It just so happens that I also have some research in the occult!"
Since he was a debunker, he naturally had to understand some professional knowledge, so McConnell's knowledge in the occult was quite impressive.
This guy could sometimes debunk charlatans just by using his knowledge of the occult.
Dr. Joan looked at Lily. The little girl forced a strange smile on her face.
"I call it Mr. Wriggles."
"Mr. Wriggles? Why is it called that?"
Jack looked full of curiosity. Lily's expression became even stranger.
"It always wriggles strange ideas into its body."
This explanation was quite childlike but left the audience a bit confused. Dr. Joan quickly explained.
"Mr. Wriggles is just a code name. In fact, demons don't easily reveal their true names because once their true name is known, they can easily be banished back to hell. So far, I still don't know which demon Mr. Wriggles' true identity belongs to."
As soon as she finished speaking, the theremin in the studio suddenly started to make sounds. The sound was like a distorted scream, piercing and bizarre, causing several guests to cover their ears.
Only Lily's expression remained unchanged, as if she knew beforehand that the theremin would make a sound.
The theremin was the world's first electronic musical instrument, invented in 1919 by Soviet physicist Professor Lev Termen.
Unlike conventional instruments, the theremin doesn't require any physical contact to be played. It relies on two antennas that sense magnetic fields, producing sound based on the size and changes in the human body's magnetic field.
Theoretically, if the magnetic field changes drastically, it can produce sound even without someone manipulating it nearby.
The high-frequency sound emitted by the theremin directly shattered the glasses in the studio, startling Jack and the others.
McConnell finally couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, walked over to the theremin, and unplugged it. The sound immediately stopped.
"Hocus pocus!"
"That was Mr. Wriggles. He just heard you talking about him and got a little upset."
Lily looked at McConnell with a blank expression, her eyes somewhat dazed and numb.
"Enough! I've had enough of this cliché! Can't you come up with something new? If you've got the guts, then call out that Mr. Wriggles or whatever!"
McConnell pointed at Lily's face, his emotions very agitated.
At this point, the show had reached its climax. Viewers loved watching this kind of live conflict, and the show's ratings were soaring, very close to the top spot in its time slot.
Jack flashed a strange smile, but everyone's attention was mainly on Lily and McConnell, and no one noticed his change.
"I think Mr. McConnell's idea is great! Dr. Joan, could you have Lily summon that 'Mr. Wriggles'?"
Dr. Joan immediately rejected McConnell's suggestion.
"Summoning rituals must be performed in an absolutely safe environment. A live broadcast studio doesn't meet that condition!"
At this moment, the audience members, who had been very quiet all along, suddenly started to clamor, all saying they wanted to see it.
At the same time, Jack also looked at Dr. Joan with a peculiar gaze.
"Dr. Joan, I think you might want to reconsider!"
Under these circumstances, Dr. Joan had no way to refuse.
"Alright, but I have the right to interrupt the ritual at any time!"
"Of course, no problem! Then let's go to a quick commercial break to set up the summoning ritual. We'll be right back after the break, everyone please stay tuned!"
The scene cut away, and Dr. Joan angrily pulled Jack into a corner.
"Jack, this isn't what we agreed on!"
"Joan, listen, tonight is very important for both you and me! Sometimes in life, you have to take risks! Don't you think?"
There was no emotion on Jack's face. This side of Jack felt very unfamiliar to Dr. Joan.
"Fine, this will be the last time I help you!"
With that, Dr. Joan turned around to prepare, while Jack behind her revealed a sinister smile.
"There won't be a next time."