Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

"Frosty Street is also in the Dukes' District, not far from Unyielding Park. Since the end of the first Cold War in the last century, a large number of your fellow countrymen have crossed the ocean to Liberty City and settled down on Frosty Street."

As they walked toward Frosty Street, Shirley gave Mian a strange look while explaining the neighborhood to her.

"Hey bro, you're from Shengzhou, shouldn't you know more about this than I do?"

Upon hearing this, Mian's face showed an extremely embarrassed expression.

"Well, there are many reasons. One is that our family only came as skilled immigrants ten years ago, and another is that we all worked in the Black Tower area before that. And then, there's also..."

Mian's voice grew softer and softer, and after a long pause, she finally managed to squeeze out the last few words.

"These older immigrants are generally...poor."

"Ahhh~"

Upon hearing the word "poor," Sherry, who had just been full of doubt, immediately showed an expression of understanding.

"It's okay, I understand. Sometimes poor relatives can be annoying. When you're rich, you look down on them. It's not a problem to want to stay away from them."

Shirley patted Mian on the shoulder, indicating that it wasn't a big deal. But this only made Mian feel even more embarrassed.

Although I didn't do it myself, the fact that I was materialistic and looked down on my fellow villagers was something that actually happened to the original owner of this body, Mian.

I wonder what a wonderful expression their parents would have if they could see their son now reduced to a state worse than these poor villagers. They used to mock these poor folks with the original owner of this body, but later died of illness.

Mian really didn't want to talk about this dark history anymore, and just wanted to get to her destination as soon as possible so she could get rid of this damned imagination.

Fortunately, just as Shirley said, the sandy street was not far away. The three of them walked for only a few tens of minutes and arrived at the street that contained the opportunity to make money.

Red lanterns, rice paper notices, stone lion statues… a familiar atmosphere rushed towards Mian, reminding her of the so-called Chinatown. Although, due to the different histories of the other world, the so-called Ascended descendants here hadn't reached the point of forming a separate street, the sheer number of them still stirred up the memories of her hometown from the original owner's past.

"That's the Jinfu Building."

Shirley pointed to a somewhat desolate building in her field of vision and said:

"According to what the post said, we should go find the owner of that building, Yuanli Wang. Let's go, brother. I've already informed him; he should be waiting for us over there."

The three approached the Kim Bok Building, which was now fully revealed to Mi An.

It is about twenty stories high, sitting alone among the other low-rise houses on Mosha Street. Judging from its mottled exterior walls, it has obviously stood here for at least several decades.

The shops on the steps at the bottom of the building, which were not yet covered in dust, and the potted plants on the windowsills of the residents' homes, all indicated that there was still a population here not long ago. But at this moment when Mian arrived, it seemed to have become a completely empty building.

As the three approached, a figure quickly emerged from the shadows beside the building entrance to greet them. It was a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a well-tailored gray suit.

His typical Asian face was full of shrewdness and shrewdness, yet his every move carried a hint of anxious impatience.

Hi! Sherry, you really came!

When Wang Yuanli saw Shirley, he immediately put on a warm smile, took a few quick steps forward, and held Shirley's hand tightly.

"What about that security guard I told you about last time? How's your thinking going? Those thugs are getting increasingly out of line lately, smashing windows, throwing paint, making the tenants all anxious..."

Shirley subtly withdrew her hand and started laughing awkwardly.

"Wang, let's talk about this later. I'm talking to you today because of that job you posted online."

He stepped aside, making way for Mian and Ain behind him.

"This is Brother Mian, a friend I just met. He's quite capable."

He patted Mian on the shoulder and pushed him forward.

Wang Yuanli's gaze instantly focused on Mi An's face. When he confirmed that Mi An was also of Shengzhou descent, two small flames seemed to ignite in his eyes behind his glasses.

"Oh my! Oh my! Fellow villager!"

Wang Yuanli's voice suddenly rose several octaves, becoming almost exaggeratedly enthusiastic. He bypassed Shirley, grabbed Mian's hand, and shook it up and down.

"That's wonderful! This is really wonderful! Brother Mi An, right? My name is Wang Yuanli, just call me Xiao Wang."

Mian was somewhat taken aback by his overly enthusiastic attitude and could only manage a polite smile:

"Hello Mr. Wang, this is Mian. This is Ai Yin."

He pointed to Ayn, who was standing quietly to the side. At that moment, the silver-haired girl was tilting her head, curiously looking at Wang Yuanli and the empty building in front of her, seemingly lost in thought.

"Okay, okay, everything's fine!"

Wang Yuanli released Mi An's hand, but his gaze remained fixed on him with fervent intensity, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

"You guys came because of that accommodation offer, right?"

Mian nodded, a polite smile on her face.

"That's right. Shirley told me you were looking for people from Shengzhou to live in the building, and the pay was quite good, so I came. Could you tell me the specifics?"

"sure."

Wang Yuanli opened his arms and hugged Mi An, then whispered in his ear:

"Brother Mi'an, we're from the same hometown, so I won't lie to you. My Jinfu Building... is in big trouble!"

After saying this, he looked around, as if afraid of being overheard. He led the three to a slightly quieter spot near the building entrance before continuing:

"You know, it's not easy for us Shengzhou people to make a living in this Ocean Federation. We face discrimination everywhere. Ever since my grandfather's generation bought this building and converted it into apartments to provide a place for our fellow countrymen who came from overseas, the government's harassment and gang extortion have never stopped. Originally, we could barely manage to survive by helping each other and tightening our belts. But these past few months... something strange has happened!"

Wang Yuanli made an exaggerated expression on his mercenary face.

"Starting a few months ago, one accident after another happened in the building! First, a tenant mysteriously drowned in the water tank on the top floor. When the police came to investigate, they said it was an accident, but how could a perfectly healthy person end up in the water tank? Not long after, a young man fell down the stairs in the middle of the night. He didn't die, but he broke his spine and will be paralyzed in bed for the rest of his life! The stairs were perfectly fine; he was used to walking on them. How could this happen..."

"So you're planning to hire someone to investigate? Well, that doesn't seem to be a good fit for our expertise."

"Shirley interjected. Wang Yuanli waved his hands repeatedly, a fawning expression on his face."

"No, no, how could that be? If it were that kind of thing, why would it require the trouble of a few heroes? Of course, things aren't that simple. It was those government officials who seized the opportunity and insisted that my building had serious safety hazards. They gave me an ultimatum: either completely rectify the issues to meet the standards, or shut it down and seal it off."

Wang Yuanli spat and said with a face full of resentment:

"These guys just bully us. But there's nothing I can do; they have guns and power, so I have to do as they say. And then... I swear to God! How many professional teams did I hire to inspect them? Fire safety, structure, plumbing... I checked them over and over again! I fixed everything that could be fixed, I replaced everything that could be replaced, and the money just kept flowing out like water, but one problem after another kept popping up. Until, I asked someone to hire a famous master to come and take a look around, and that's when I realized what had happened here."

Wang Yuanli broke into a deep mourning, as if he had encountered some immense terror. He addressed the three of them, including Mi An:

"There's something dirty in this building!"