Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

Esoteric Buddhism—a term that Mian had once forgotten. It was so far removed from Mian's life that he subconsciously ignored it.

But considering the strange things that exist in this world, perhaps this overlooked esoteric religion is the key to unlocking all of this.

If mental hospitals can be controlled by cults, what about gangs? What about those strange entities?

Different individuals and organizations have different behavioral logics. A psychopathic serial killer may kill entirely on a whim, while a cult's persecution of others, no matter how incomprehensible to ordinary people, must have an underlying logic.

If you grasp this logic, perhaps every seemingly illogical point can be explained.

Mian refocused her attention on the files, her mind racing with a multitude of thoughts.

Possible spells or strange occurrences? No, discussing that now is pointless; the doctrines followed? That requires more information, and it's not necessarily related to the behavior of these accidents; so…

Mian's gaze was fixed solely on the floor numbers where the accidents had occurred.

The reason why esoteric Buddhism is called esoteric Buddhism, rather than some kind of assassin organization or mastermind, is that it must have some kind of ritualistic element. This ritualistic element could be an action, an object, a person, or even... a number.

"Four, five, eleven, sixteen, twenty-two... no, maybe we should add seventeen more."

Mian recalled the victim who fell from the seventeenth floor to the sixteenth. The sixteenth floor was the only floor with two victims. If they were currently engaged in a cult ritual, such a unique situation would drive any obsessive-compulsive person insane.

But if the mastermind originally intended for one of them to die on the seventeenth floor, then everything would be explained.

"So, let's say four, five, eleven, sixteen, seventeen, twenty-two. What pattern might these numbers contain?"

Mian was a teacher preparing to go to support underdeveloped areas. In order to prepare for the potentially extremely harsh environment of the teaching location, he learned almost everything he could, including mathematics.

Countless combinations of numbers flashed through Mi An's mind in an instant, and soon a number appeared in his mind.

"3".

Mian opened his mouth and murmured.

The floors where the accidents occurred always precisely avoided multiples of three. And that's not all; there were almost identical intervals between each of the accident-prone floors.

4是3+1，5是3×2-1再往后隔了六层来到了11层，这又是3×4-1。而剩下出事的三层层数分别又是3×5+1、3×6-1、3×7+1。

This argument is somewhat far-fetched, as it lacks the crucial evidence of 3×3+1, meaning it could also be a combination of any number other than a multiple of three. However, if we consider other numerical factors, the answer becomes quite obvious.

Excluding the two people who survived past accidents and the one who died in the wrong place, there are a total of three deaths that actually had an impact. Adding the four people from Mian who are currently in this building and might die tonight, the total is 7. And the Jinfu Building, excluding the rooftop, has exactly twenty-one floors, a multiple of seven of three.

Wang Yuanli was certain that as long as Mi An and the other three survived tonight, the matter would be resolved. Perhaps it was precisely because this ritual required the sacrifice of seven people tonight. As long as someone survived tonight, the esoteric ritual would be completely destroyed, and there would be no reason to harass this building anymore.

Having deduced this far, Mian's brows relaxed slightly.

This is merely a speculation, filled with assumptions and delusions, but without a doubt, it is the most likely speculation that Mian can draw based on the information he currently possesses.

"But... even if this conjecture is correct, what's the point? Is it to warn us not to go to these floors where the rituals haven't been completed yet? Even if we didn't know this, we probably wouldn't leave this assigned room anyway."

Mian frowned again. He looked around the comfortable room and remembered Wang Yuanli's instructions before they came in, telling them not to wander around.

In order to prevent people from wandering around, Wang Yuanli even specially found Mi An, a native of Dongshengzhou who could understand so-called ghosts and the taboos of formations, to be the supervisor.

We can't just force our way in, knock them out, and drag them to the corresponding floor, can we? What would be the point of Wang Yuanli's plan then?

Mi An always felt that Wang Yuanli probably knew something, at least the master he relied on must have known something about the hidden side, so it was unlikely that he was doing something useless.

Thinking about it that way, I can probably relax. As long as I stay in this room and spend the whole night in peace, I'll get paid. It seems like an easy job.

The inside of Mian's pocket felt slightly warm, and the golden finger that had been dormant for so long started to react again.

Mian quickly took out the shards of the mirror and looked at them, only to find a string of incomprehensible words written on them.

You looked around. As His Majesty the King, you couldn't stand the sight of such dilapidated buildings. The bricks made of bones and blood weren't the main issue; the key was the pretentious walls. You couldn't fathom what such low walls could possibly keep out of this vast, towering forest.

What does that mean? Does it mean the wall is too low, allowing the enemy to attack from higher ground? But this is already the 21st floor; above that is only the rooftop. While an attack from above is possible, it doesn't seem particularly unusual…

No, that's not right. The problem isn't altitude, but rather that the other side has mastered an extraordinary method of movement!

Mian suddenly realized that he had seen something in the dossier before.

The drunk middle-aged man who lived on the 4th floor but ended up on the 17th floor... What if he didn't go to the wrong floor, but instead came to the 17th floor for some other reason?

Mian suddenly felt a chill run through her body.

He looked up and saw that in the spacious room, Ayn was quietly reading a picture book beside him, while Shirley had somehow gotten together with the mixed-race youth and was now calling him brother.

Everything was unusually peaceful and serene, except for the clock on the wall ticking as its hands were about to point to 9 o'clock.

"Everyone be careful..."

Mian tried to warn everyone of what he had discovered, but his words could not outpace the passage of time.

"clang!"

The clock on the wall pointed to 9 o'clock, and the lights illuminating the room went out simultaneously. Mian tried to grab Ain's hand beside him, but in a sudden, dizzying spin, his hand slipped away.

"10-1"

The room was dimly lit, with a door number marked 10-1, and the corridor was empty except for himself.

Before he could react, Mian had already left the safe 21st-floor room and arrived at his destined 10th floor.