Can I put a 9 speed cassette on this freehub?

I'm trying to fit a 9 speed cassette on my rear wheel. I already know it is a hyperglide freehub body and it has a 7 speed cassette on it right now.

I've been going back and forth, researching the possibility to fit a bigger cassette. I know that 7 speed usually is in a bracket of its own and then you have 8/9/10 (Shimano).

After realising that I could theoretically upgrade just my freehub body, I went down the compatibility rabbit hole. Ultimately I stumbled on a YouTube Video from "RJ the Bike Guy" who said: basically you only have 2 options. Either your 7 speed cassette is fittet with a spacer on the hub which would be good news so, you can probably upgrade to 8/9/10 OR there is no spacer then you would really have to buy a new freehub body but is so complicated, with bending the frame, spacing etc that you are better off just buying a new wheel.

Now for my case I'm not sure if the space between my cassette and the hub/wheel is actually somewhat like a spacer !? I can't tell and don't have the tools to remove the cassette right now I'd have to borrow these. To me it looks like there is about 4-5 mm space which could mean there could fit a bigger cassette!?

Sorry for the long text, I really appreciate it if you read through it and maybe have an answer!