The Operating Elevator

He waited for a full two hours.

Yang Jian was certain the ghost infant wouldn't be coming back.

The matter with Wang Bin's family was temporarily resolved, though a significant hidden danger remained.

He glanced at Wang Shanshan with a hint of pity.

Becoming a ghost wielder was unavoidable for him; in his situation back then, he would have died in the restroom if he hadn't. But she could have been like anyone else. Who knew she'd be targeted by the ghost infant at the last moment?

"I have work to get back to. I took time off just now. Since this is settled, I'll be going. If anything comes up, just call me. Of course, if it's a supernatural event, I'll have to charge you." Yang Jian stood up, ready to hail a taxi.

Wang Bin hurriedly said, "Thank you so much for today, classmate. I don't know how to repay you. How about this, when you have time, I'll treat you to a meal?"

"No need for a meal, don't go to the expense," Yang Jian replied. "Besides, nothing good happens when you're with me."

Wang Shanshan suddenly spoke up, "Can I go with you?"

"What are you saying, daughter?" Wang Haiyan quickly grabbed her hand, afraid her daughter would run off with Yang Jian.

She understood that the current Yang Jian was not as simple as he seemed, and following him would surely lead to more danger.

Yang Jian chuckled, "You should spend more time with your parents. They went through a lot for you today. Also, you should know your own situation. Even if you hadn't been targeted by that ghost infant, your lifespan wouldn't be long."

"I know, but I just want to be with you," Wang Shanshan said, without any hesitation or girlish shyness, as naturally as if she were making small talk.

"That won't do. You should be with your parents right now. Alright, that's settled. I'm leaving."

How could he possibly let Wang Shanshan follow him?

She'd just be a burden, a liability.

With his ghost domain, he could escape immediately if trouble arose. With another person, he'd have to save them.

He slipped away.

The money was in hand; time to get a taxi and leave.

He'd return to the mall and continue his dangerous path of earning money.

"This young man is quite extraordinary," Wang Bin couldn't help but exclaim as Yang Jian left.

What was most important in the 21st century?

Talent.

Yang Jian possessed this special capability, and he had the brains for it. Although he lacked social experience, it was due to his youth. Given time to grow, he would undoubtedly become a prominent figure in the future.

"If my daughter could be friends with him, it would be a good choice," Wang Bin thought to himself.

But this young man didn't seem interested in Shanshan. His own daughter wasn't bad-looking.

Could this Yang Jian be into guys?

If Yang Jian knew his thoughts, he'd surely scold him, calling him a pervert looking for perversion.

He was practically a dead man, what mood could he be in for romance? It was too late to have children.

He returned to the mall.

Apart from the security room, the rest of the mall was dark.

When Yang Jian returned, another security guard, Liu Qiang, was idly playing a game on his phone.

"Why are you back so late? How long were you gone? You took time off right after you arrived? Good thing I told Sister Li you went to the restroom earlier, or you'd definitely get yelled at." Liu Qiang said.

"Sorry for the trouble. A classmate had an urgent matter, so I was delayed. It won't happen again," Yang Jian apologized.

"But you're here just in time. It's almost midnight, time for patrol. Let's go. If nothing happens on this last round, we can turn off the lights and head back to sleep. We have to be at work at eight-thirty tomorrow," Liu Qiang said, putting down his phone and stretching with a yawn.

Yang Jian admired Liu Qiang's courage, daring to patrol such a large mall alone.

If it were him before, he definitely wouldn't have had the guts.

"The dormitory is upstairs. We'll patrol the underground parking lot. We can turn off the lights on our way out and go straight back to the dorm to sleep, so we don't have to come back again," Liu Qiang said. "Remember to bring your flashlight."

"Thanks for the reminder." Yang Jian nodded, picked up his flashlight, and went to patrol with Liu Qiang.

Although he only planned to observe for three days, he still had to do his job properly and couldn't be half-hearted.

Due to the lack of business, there were only a few cars in the underground parking lot; it was deserted.

"Whose cars are those?" Yang Jian suddenly pointed to a row of five or six luxury cars. "Are they left by missing people?"

"No, those belong to the boss. He drives a different one every day. Who knows how many cars he has at home? Alright, there's nothing in the underground parking lot. Let's go patrol the next floor," Liu Qiang said.

Yang Jian glanced around again. The underground parking lot was clearly visible, and indeed, there was nothing special.

If there was anything wrong, it would be obvious at a glance.

They continued to patrol the first floor.

After a dark sweep with flashlights, nothing happened. Apart from the darkness, everything was normal.

They took the elevator to the second floor.

But just as he was less than a full round into his patrol, he suddenly heard a faint rumbling sound from upstairs in the mall.

"What's that sound?"

Yang Jian shone his flashlight upwards but saw nothing.

The sound seemed to be coming from the elevator between the fourth and fifth floors.

"It's the sound of the elevator running. Maybe Sister Li and the others went up and forgot to turn it off. Each elevator has its own switch, so it's normal to forget. We'll clean up their mess anyway," Liu Qiang said.

"Really? Let's go take a look," Yang Jian said.

Liu Qiang replied, "What's the hurry? Let's take our time. Let's check the third floor first, then the fourth. There are cameras here. If someone sees us slacking off, they'll dock our pay. Especially since you're new, if they catch you slacking, you'll definitely be fired."

"..." Yang Jian felt that Liu Qiang was a bit too rigid.

Fine, if they wanted to take their time, they would. Anyway, there was no one in the mall, and whatever happened here had nothing to do with him.

The two of them leisurely strolled through the third floor, then went to the fourth floor and took a look around, finally arriving at the elevator entrance.

The mall's elevators weren't lift-style, but rather escalators, which operated on a continuous belt.

"See, I told you it was nothing. They just forgot to turn off the elevator power. Alright, let's go," Liu Qiang walked over and switched off the power at the elevator entrance.

Yang Jian didn't say much more, hoping he was just being overly suspicious.

They took the escalator up to the fifth floor.

This time, it wasn't his imagination.

That faint smell of decay was back.

It permeated the air, lingering and refusing to dissipate.

He hadn't smelled it when they were on the third floor.

"Fifth floor, something's not right," Yang Jian said, holding his flashlight as he followed Liu Qiang around the fifth floor.

Apart from closed shops and some shelves, there was nothing.

Everything seemed peaceful.

However, as Yang Jian passed a clothing store, he shone his flashlight inside.

There were plastic mannequins, some incomplete, just like during the day, no change.

"Everything's normal, let's go back to sleep," Liu Qiang said, yawning.

"Okay."

Yang Jian withdrew his gaze, and holding his flashlight, he and Liu Qiang left the mall through the employee passage and headed back to the employee dormitory.

On the way, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Right, the elevator on the fourth floor shouldn't have been running if it wasn't turned off, so why wasn't it running when we went there earlier?"

"It's sensor-activated. It only moves when someone is near. It won't run if no one's there," Liu Qiang replied.

"If it's sensor-activated, then that means the elevator suddenly started running just now because someone was using it? But there's no one else in the mall besides us. Who was using the elevator?" Yang Jian questioned.

Liu Qiang said, "Maybe it malfunctioned. If someone had been patrolling, they should have seen it."

Yang Jian frowned, wanting to go back and investigate, but felt it was unnecessary. He decided to wait until the boss arrived tomorrow.

Just as Yang Jian and Liu Qiang were heading back to the dormitory to sleep.

Inside the mall, a faint rumbling sound could be heard again.

The escalator started running once more.

The elevator from the fifth floor to the fourth floor suddenly lit up, then slowly began to operate.

After about a minute, the elevator stopped.

But the elevator from the fourth floor to the third floor started operating again.

Rumble rumble.

However, after running for a short while, it stopped again.

Then, the elevator from the third floor to the second floor began to run.

Finally.

After the elevator leading to the first floor operated for a short while, everything in the mall returned to its quiet state.

I'm using this new book title for now; I'll try to get the original one back if I have the chance.