Chapter 43: Golden Building

The dense cluster of towering skyscrapers gave people an intensely oppressive feeling. Standing beneath the buildings and looking up, Yang Sheng felt a sensation akin to some form of megalophobia.

His mission was simply to work as a security guard at the Chungking Mansions, but it hadn't specified which building actually was the Chungking Mansions. It was completely brainless, leaving him with no choice but to ask around first.

The Imperial Guard Saber had already been stowed away in his storage space, ready to be retrieved at a single thought. Fortunately, the rewarded storage space was two cubic meters in volume; otherwise, given the saber's length, it might not have even fit.

Amidst the cluster of skyscrapers was a row of old storefronts, housing a complete assortment of restaurants, eateries, and hardware shops.

Yang Sheng stepped into the nearest establishment, You Kee Restaurant. Inside the open-concept kitchen, a chef was stir-frying a portion of glutinous rice, but while tossing the wok, he accidentally dropped the heavy ladle and scalded his hand.

"Clumsy hands and feet! I'm deducting ten bucks from your wages this month! Step aside, I'll do it!"

Next to him, a middle-aged man wearing a loose yellow bathrobe, round-rimmed glasses, and looking decadently unkempt, pushed the chef aside and started a fresh batch of glutinous rice.

Larding the wok, stir-frying the rice, and tossing the wok to finish the dish—the entire sequence was executed in one smooth, flowing motion.

Though it was merely a simple bowl of glutinous rice, the preparation process possessed a flowing, aesthetic grace.

Seeing the chubby chef still standing there in a daze, the middle-aged man snapped irritably, "If you've been scalded, go rinse it under cold water! Are you standing here playing a zombie? Looking so foolish, I won't dock your pay after all."

At this moment, Yang Sheng walked in and asked, "Excuse me, which building is the Chungking Mansions?"

The middle-aged man glanced at Yang Sheng, but before he could speak, an elderly man in a security guard uniform stood up from inside the shop and said, "Young man, are you here to work as a guard at the Chungking Mansions?"

Yang Sheng nodded. "Yes, and you are?"

While beckoning Yang Sheng to sit down, the old man grumbled, "The property management finally has a bit of conscience, taking pity on an old man like me and sending someone else over. Over the past few months, I've filed dozens of reports, though I have no idea if they just used my previous ones as toilet paper."

Patting Yang Sheng on the shoulder, the old man said, "You can call me Uncle Shui. I've been working as a security guard at the Chungking Mansions for over twenty years, and previously I was the only one here. But I'm getting older now—high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood lipids. Everything is high except my height; I simply can't pull all-nighters anymore. Fortunately, you're here now. Starting today, I'll take the day shift, and the night patrols will be up to you."

"Understood, Uncle Shui. My name is Yang Sheng, you can call me Ah Sheng. Are there any particular issues I need to watch out for during patrols?"

Even though the current world had not yet revealed too much danger, Yang Sheng had already raised his guard.

A Yellow-grade world already boasted various martial arts masters, and in the end, even a Yagyu Shinichi with a ghost-spirit warrior had emerged. Heaven knew what kinds of entities existed in a Xuan-grade world.

Moreover, judging from the mission description and the initial setting, this world was likely dominated by bizarre ghosts and specters. Compared to such uncanny entities, Yang Sheng actually preferred engaging enemies in close-quarters, head-on combat where every punch landed solidly on flesh—that felt much more grounded.

Uncle Shui took a sip of tea and said, "It's just being a security guard, nothing all that complicated. In a moment, I'll take you on a tour of the building and show you the ropes."

With that, Uncle Shui turned his head and called out to the middle-aged man, "Ah You, put it on the tab."

Ah You kept his head buried in the newspaper, too lazy to even lift his head as he merely waved his hand dismissively.

Uncle Shui led Yang Sheng out of the You Kee eatery and pointed to the dilapidated building where the storefronts were located. "This building right here is the Chungking Mansions. Back in the seventies and eighties, this place was immensely bustling; the first five floors were entirely dance halls and restaurants. You heard of the Hung Sing Luen? One of the most famous major triads of that era, and their boss even booked out the whole place to hold a banquet here. But given your age, you certainly wouldn't know. You youngsters can hardly imagine what that era was like—even more magical than Hong Kong gangster films."

Uncle Shui led Yang Sheng into the building, but the moment they stepped inside, Yang Sheng felt a wave of chilliness wash over him.

"After its glory days in the seventies, the Chungking Mansions declined. Nowadays, it's run down like a slum. The property management company barely collects any money all year round, so naturally, they have no inclination to manage it. But don't you worry, our security wages will still be paid out as usual. During the day, I have quite a lot to deal with—opening doors, handing out keys, collecting courier packages, and the like. The night shift is simple; just make one patrol round around eleven o'clock."

Uncle Shui chattered on, introducing the situation floor by floor, but Yang Sheng began to find the conditions on each level increasingly abnormal.

At the entrance of certain doors, roasted chicken and white rice were placed with incense sticks thrust into them, yet the food looked as though it had been gnawed on by something.

Some doors were plastered with yellow Taoist talismans in such vast quantities that they practically sealed the entire entryway shut.

Another doorway was left wide open, displaying ancestral spirit tablets inside as if paying homage to the deceased. When Yang Sheng inadvertently glanced over, he suddenly felt as though the person in the black-and-white photograph had blinked at him!

Just as Yang Sheng wanted to take a closer look, Uncle Shui walked over and slammed the door shut.

"Honestly, leaving doors wide open in broad daylight—what if a thief gets in? If something gets stolen, they'll just blame this old man again."

Uncle Shui muttered under his breath, then looked at Yang Sheng with a slightly stern expression. "Ah Sheng, you asked me earlier if there was anything you needed to pay attention to. For a security guard, there usually isn't much. However, there are certain places inside the Chungking Mansions that require caution:

"First, you can start your patrol around eleven o'clock, but you must manage your time well. It's best to finish the patrol before twelve and hurry back to the first-floor security office.

"Second, this building has quite some age to it, so it's inevitable that you might encounter all sorts of messy people or affairs. You must remember that you are merely a security guard: don't look, don't ask, don't meddle.

"Third, some of these residents have lived here for a very long time, and certain ones dislike outsiders entering their rooms. Therefore, even if you see a door standing open, you must never go inside.

"Also, in the unlikely event that you encounter any trouble, flee as fast as you can to the first floor to find Ah You—that's Chen You, the owner of You Kee. Ah You may have a cold exterior, but he has a warm heart. If you run into trouble, he will definitely be willing to help."

Uncle Shui's words practically spelled out that the Chungking Mansions had serious issues! No wonder nobody was willing to work as a guard here.

Silently muttering to himself, Yang Sheng nodded and said, "Understood, Uncle Shui."

Uncle Shui produced a ring of keys and handed them to Yang Sheng. "Alright, the night shift is yours. These are the keys to all the doors and exits in the building, and the security uniform is in the first-floor guard room. I should be heading home off work now."

After giving his instructions, Uncle Shui left directly via the elevator. Yang Sheng stood silently in the corridor for a moment before heading down to the first-floor security office.

The guard room was extremely cramped, containing only a single bed and a desk, with a blue security uniform hanging on a coat rack by the door.

Yang Sheng tried it on, and surprisingly, it fit him perfectly.

As he looked at himself in the mirror, an absurd line suddenly surfaced in his mind:
*I am a security guard, protecting the peace of this turf, and I love eating little bear cookies...*

"Clang!"

Yang Sheng retrieved the Imperial Guard Saber, slowly tracing his fingers along the fine grain on the blade.

"Five Fierce Military Spirits, bind the spiritual covenant!"

A burst of light erupted from within Yang Sheng's body, seeping directly into the Imperial Guard Saber.

The Five Fierce Military Spirits belonged to the summoning category of skills, tailor-made for the martial spirit residing within the Imperial Guard Saber.

The power of the martial spirit was finite; the active burst from last time had actually consumed the accumulated strength that the Qi family saber had gathered through years of incense offerings. Using it once was fine, but excessive use would cause the martial spirit inside the blade to dissipate.

Only by using a secret technique like the Five Fierce Military Spirits to bind a covenant with the martial spirit—ensuring the spirit was no longer rootless duckweed—could one properly command it.

However, doing so would consume Yang Sheng's own spiritual energy, meaning the explosive power unleashed by the martial spirit wouldn't be as formidable as it was during his battle against Yagyu Shinichi.

Still, as Yang Sheng's spiritual energy grew, the power of the martial spirit would likewise increase. Furthermore, the skill "Five Fierce Military Spirits" was considered a growth-type ability, implying that Yang Sheng could forge covenants with even more powerful spiritual entities in the future.

Yang Sheng lacked an intuitive understanding of spiritual energy and was currently unsure how much destructive power or duration his current spiritual energy could elicit from the martial spirit.

Night had already fallen, and the sky was growing dim. Yang Sheng still had a night patrol ahead of him, and there was no telling what kind of danger might await.

Therefore, Yang Sheng did not rush to test the might of the Five Fierce Military Spirits.

He stayed inside the guard room until midnight at eleven o'clock, at which point he picked up his flashlight, pushed open the door, and prepared to begin his patrol.