Esoteric Buddhism: To live as king in America

In the magnificent lobby, Mian, like other people entering such an occasion for the first time with a purpose, looked somewhat reservedly for signs or asked staff for directions to the auction venue.

At the same time, he carefully scanned his surroundings.

There were a considerable number of plainclothes security personnel, who appeared to stand casually in corners, by pillars, or at the edges of rest areas, but their eyes were alert, and they exchanged subtle messages with one another. Uniformed security guards were stationed at the main entrances and elevator lobbies.

Meanwhile, among the security guards, the lobby of the Donner Hotel was filled with collectors enthusiastically discussing art, businessmen whispering about their deals, elegantly smiling socialites, and a few men with a sinister air, sharp eyes, and an air of incongruity.

Are those people naturists, or other superhumans like Matt mentioned who are eyeing naturism?

Regardless, he chose to avoid their gaze as much as possible, not lingering in the lobby, but following the waiter's guidance, he mingled with the crowd all the way to the elevator.

Entering the elevator leading to the auction hall, the spacious interior, with its gleaming brass and mirrored walls, the passengers maintained a polite distance from one another. Mian stood in a corner, the pale and unfamiliar face of "Rayman Hall" reflected in the mirror.

He quickly memorized the layout of the lobby, the main passageways (leading to guest rooms, restaurants, conference centers, auction halls, etc.), and the locations of elevators and stairwells, even though Matt had already told him about the location beforehand.

But words and pictures can never compare to firsthand experience. Moreover, Mian's true purpose wasn't assassination, but to rescue the children and other victims whose whereabouts were unknown.

The elevator doors opened, and a cacophony of noise instantly filled the room. The auction floor was even more bustling than the lobby.

The space was divided into several areas: an open lobby with a reception desk, registration area, drinks area, and sofa area for people to rest and chat; several auction hall entrances of varying sizes were located on both sides of the corridor, with the largest one attracting the most people, clearly the main venue for high-end auctions; next to it was a fairly large entrance for "low-end auctions", where the flow of people was relatively mixed.

Following procedure, Mian presented his "Lehman Hall" seller's certificate at the reception desk. The staff checked the list, handed him a numbered seller's badge, and informed him that his items would be displayed and auctioned in the afternoon's "Weapons and Crafts" session. He could now go to the 10:00 "Gemstones and Paintings" session or, with a guide, head upstairs to the restaurant for various entertainment and social activities.

Upon hearing the timeline, Mian immediately understood Matt's ingenious plan. Unfortunately, Mian had no intention of getting involved in the infighting among these superhumans; he only wanted to rescue the children as soon as possible.

In any case, the two of them were just using each other. Matt was an absolute pervert, and Mian had no guilt whatsoever about betraying him.

He took the name tag and pinned it to his chest, then followed the crowd into the lobby like a labeled piece of merchandise.

I found a relatively quiet corner to stand in, took a glass of sparkling water from the waiter, leaned against the cold wall, and let myself be immersed in the background noise of the crowd.

In the luxurious setting, elegantly dressed guests mingled and clinked glasses. Among them were many figures that Mi An recognized, prominent figures from the original owner's memories.

Among them were rising stars in the tech industry and steel tycoons. Compared to the people loitering in the lobby on the first floor, those gathered here at this moment were clearly of a higher level in terms of assets and status.

The thought that many of these influential people would soon be attending the nudist banquet on the 23rd floor made Mi An feel nauseous.

"vomit."

While Mian might still have a reason to suppress this nausea, a being within the consciousness space, which didn't even have a physical form, began to dry heave without any attempt to conceal it.

"No, why are you vomiting? Do you even have that function?"

Mian spared some attention and focused on this consciousness space, watching Ryan retching against the imaginary wall and making a sarcastic remark.

"Phantom Pain, Phantom Pain... Ugh... I just don't have a body right now, I'm not dead, do you understand?"

"Alright, alright, so what's there here that you'd like to vomit about?"

Ryan wiped his mouth with his hand, straightened up with difficulty, looked at Mian's consciousness, smacked his lips, and said with a rather complicated expression:

"Perhaps it's because I'm in a more sensitive state right now, but I always feel like there's a particularly 'foul' smell lingering around me, like a collection of countless resentments and fears..."

Ryan's body trembled beneath his thin white clothes.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore, get away from me, I can't stand it."

Ryan showed great resistance, but Mian's mind suddenly stirred upon hearing this.

"Where?"

Ryan raised his head and stared at him with resentful purple eyes.

"I know what you're thinking. But don't even think about it. Like that skin-changing person said, ordinary children aren't exactly high-quality material. Their weak minds and immature intellects aren't even enough for them to communicate with the [outer wall]. The place that disgusts me might contain materials that the Nativity Church needs, but children? Who knows where they'd put them."

Mian simply shook his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Wrong. Under the principles of the secret world and the influence of public opinion, no cult or heresy can truly achieve such power. Even naturism is no exception. Outside of the auction, the Donna Hotel operates normally and receives guests as usual. However, even under those circumstances, according to Matt, the hotel still occasionally hosts these sinful banquets."

"This means they must have a fixed place to store these shady items. And given the hotel's usual open-to-the-public layout, such a place would not be very large in order to avoid attracting attention."

Mian looked at Ryan, his expression gradually hardening.

"Near those places where the secret materials are stored, those children are very likely hiding. Now, Ryan is telling me, those children... where exactly is that scent coming from?"

…………

Doors leading to the back-of-house area, staff access, and non-auction areas were all closed or guarded. At the elevator entrances to the upper-floor guest rooms, security guards rigorously checked room cards and invitations.

Under normal circumstances, Mian would definitely have to spend a lot of time figuring out where these complicated roads lead.

But now, under the guidance of Ryan, who was being threatened by the ring, he had already focused his attention on one place.

It was a quiet corner, rarely visited even by security guards. There was an inconspicuous little door with a sign that read "Security Monitoring Room (No Entry Without Permission)" hanging on it.

An incredibly foul stench emanated from it, yet it carried with it a certain hope of redemption.