Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

"What's your name?"

On the twenty-first floor of the Jinfu Building, in the room that Wang Yuanli had carefully prepared for the four night watchmen, Shirley crossed her legs and threw this question aggressively at the mixed-race youth that Wang Yuanli had dragged along to make up the numbers.

Although Mian witnessed Sherry running naked when they first met, and her impression of this retired veteran was always fixed in the direction of homosexuality, she had to admit that this guy, who was over 1.8 meters tall with unkempt red hair and a red beard, did have a certain majesty and aura of a red-haired demon when he was serious.

Anyway, the poor mixed-race youth was trembling with fear, clearly mistaking Shirley for some kind of criminal gang, and only said in a trembling voice:

"My name is Leo, Leo Lee."

"With this surname, you're also from Shengzhou?"

"No... I am from Xizhou, but my father was an engineer who came here on a business trip for the Ribbon Union—although he ran away before I was born... but I think I should have some Shengzhou blood."

The young man answered hesitantly, seemingly reluctant to discuss his background for some reason. However, Shirley didn't care at all, and continued to ask about other people's privacy while smoking the cigarettes she had taken from Wang Yuanli.

"No wonder, I was wondering why your accent was different from my brother's. 'Xizhou,' my ancestors should have come from that island of E'. It's a pity, I remember that it declined after that great war in the last century."

"Um."

The mixed-race youth nodded solemnly.

"It's been like this ever since the Empire was destroyed by the hydrogen bomb, so I smuggled myself into the Ocean Federation. I... need a lot of money."

He counted on his fingers, showing a very anxious expression.

At this point, the identities of the four night watchmen are basically clear: two vagrants, one mental patient, and one undocumented immigrant who just arrived illegally—all of them are characters whose deaths would be of no concern to anyone.

Shirley began to lament Wang's sinister intentions. Mian, who had already seen through this, was completely oblivious to it.

At this moment, he was completely absorbed in the investigation records of the various bizarre events that had occurred in the Jinfu Building over the past few months.

This includes records obtained from police investigations, as well as statements made by surviving victims in bed.

Mian specifically asked Wang Yuanli for this item, hoping to glean some clues about the possible attack that night.

In just three months, six accidents occurred at the Jinfu Building, resulting in four deaths and two serious injuries.

Two of these accidents occurred at night in stairwells, roughly corresponding to the eleventh and sixteenth floors. The eleventh-floor accident involved a healthy young man who fell down the stairs while walking at night; he survived but was paralyzed. The sixteenth-floor accident involved a middle-aged man who was intoxicated. Police investigations revealed that he had crossed the fourth floor from his home to the seventeenth floor due to intoxication, ultimately falling through a gap in the seventeenth-floor staircase back to the sixteenth floor, hitting his head on the steps and dying.

Also on the sixteenth floor, a female office worker in the Black Tower District jumped from her window in the middle of the night and died on the street in front of the Jinfu Building. The police ruled it a suicide, but residents interviewed by Wang Yuanli and Mi An claimed to have found traces of blood in the woman's home, suggesting she might have died before jumping.

The remaining two victims were on the fourth and twenty-second floors (the rooftop), respectively. One was an elderly woman who died in her own bed due to an acute asthma attack (questionable), and the other was a laundry shop owner who was first found drowned in a water tank.

The remaining seriously injured person was a female student living alone. She was the only survivor of a car accident that had happened to her family. She attempted suicide by cutting her wrists in her bathtub on the fifth floor, but fortunately, a kind neighbor who was visiting arrived in time to save her.

Afterwards, the female student stated that she did not want to die, but for some reason, she felt dizzy at the time and didn't even know what she had done. The police attributed it to the aftereffects of blood loss, while Wang Yuanli firmly believed it was the result of something unclean.

The police attributed the accident entirely to landlord Wang Yuanli's poor management of the building. However, according to Mian's investigation, while the management was indeed not outstanding, it was basically passable, and there was no reason for it to have such a high accident rate compared to other buildings.

This series of accidents must be connected in some way. However, the causes of the accidents are varied, and the circumstances surrounding the victims' encounters are all different. Trying to find a pattern in these accidents with potentially unreliable information is an extremely difficult task.

This left Mian feeling quite perplexed, as she couldn't think of a solution. She then lifted herself from the pile of old papers, massaging her temples to temporarily relax.

The room that Wang Yuanli prepared for them was not only spacious, but also fully equipped with all kinds of items, including televisions and cigarettes for entertainment, as well as clocks, walkie-talkies and other tools to help the four of them keep watch.

Mian glanced at the clock; it was 8:50, ten minutes before Wang Yuanli was supposed to start calculating the money at 9:00.

If no clues are found by this time, it's basically like facing potential danger naked.

Mian was getting increasingly anxious. He hadn't figured out anything, not just the files, but also the paintings on the walls. And to make matters worse, the "crystal ball" was playing dead again, which was incredibly frustrating.

"My lord, there's no need to be so anxious. I believe you can definitely resolve all the troubles."

Holding a sketchbook she had taken from the bookshelf, Ai Yin quietly approached Mian and immediately saw through Mian's anxiety. She rubbed her freshly washed and combed hair against Mian's palm and said something heartwarming.

The comforting scent of the shampoo filled her nostrils, and looking at the sensible Ai Yin, Mian's tense mood relaxed slightly.

Thinking about it carefully, there's really nothing to be afraid of.

Mian thought to himself.

At this moment, Ain possesses incredibly powerful "knight" strength. Simple gang attacks can be easily handled by this naive little girl. And even if they encounter something strange, they only need to follow the same steps as last night and have Ain lead them to safety, and everything will be fine.

Thinking of this, Mian couldn't help but grin.

He suddenly realized that his life and death were largely dependent on Ayn, a mentally ill little girl he had only met yesterday. Although his own special abilities played a part, it was still quite a humorous situation.

Unfortunately, Mian didn't have any immediate solutions. I could only resolve to treat Ain better from now on and never let her return to that mental hospital that might be controlled by the cult...

Wait, Tantric Buddhism!

In a flash of inspiration, Mian seemed to have figured out the key to everything.