Mysterious Awakening

Chapter 40: The Operating Elevator

They had been waiting for two full hours.

Miles could finally confirm that the ghost child would not return.

For the moment, the issue with Mr. Beach’s family was resolved, although it left a moderate threat lingering.

Miles looked at Coral with a hint of sympathy.

Becoming a ghost tamer was a necessity for him – without it, he would have died in the restroom. However, Coral could have been just like any other person and lived a normal person, yet she’s been targeted by the ghost child.

“I have work to take care of. I had to take time off to be here. Now that the situation is settled, I should go. Call me if anything comes up. Of course, if it’s a supernatural event, I will need to charge.” Miles stood up, preparing to leave in a taxi.

Mr. Beach quickly replied, “Thank you for all your help today. I can’t express how grateful I am. When you have time, could I treat you to a meal?”

“There’s no need for a meal. It would only be an unnecessary expense,” Miles replied, “Besides, nothing good ever happens when you’re around me.”

Suddenly, Coral spoke up, “Can I come with you?”

“What are you talking about, dear?” Mrs. Ocean grabbed her daughter’s hand worriedly, fearing that she might run off with Miles.

She understood that Miles was not as simple as he seemed. Following him could undoubtedly lead to danger.

Miles laughed, “You should spend time with your parents. They’ve had a hard day because of you. You know your situation well – even if the ghost child didn’t target you, your time is limited.”

“I know, but I still want to be with you,” Coral replied naturally, with no hint of shyness or embarrassment.

“That won’t work. You should be with your parents right now. That’s it. I have to go.”

There was no way he could let Coral follow him around.

Having an extra burden would only bring more trouble. If he were in trouble, he could leave quickly with his ghost domain, but with more people, he would have to save them.

With the payment in his hand, he quickly left in a taxi.

He had to get back to the mall and continue his struggle to make a living.

“That young man is exceptional,” Mr. Beach commented as Miles left, “In the 21st century, talent is the most important thing.”

Miles possessed special talent and intellect. Although he lacked life experience due to his young age, given time, he would undoubtedly become a significant figure.

“If my daughter could date him, it wouldn’t be a bad choice,” Mr. Beach thought to himself.

However, the young man seemed uninterested in Coral, despite her being quite attractive.

Could it be that Miles was gay?

If Miles knew about this assumption, he would definitely refute it. He had no time or inclination for romance – his life was in danger.

When Miles finally returned to the mall, everything was pitch black aside from the security room. Here, the young security guard named Strong was idly playing games on his phone.

“Why are you just coming back now? How long have you been gone? Taking a leave as soon as you start? Luckily, I covered for you with Manager Pear, saying you were in the restroom, otherwise you would’ve been scolded.” Strong said.

“I’m sorry for the trouble, a friend needed me urgently, so I was delayed. It won’t happen again,” Miles apologized.

“But your timing is perfect. It’s almost midnight, and it’s time for a patrol. Let’s go. If everything is fine after the final round, we can turn off the lights and go to sleep. We have to work again at eight-thirty tomorrow,” Strong said, setting his phone aside and yawning after stretching.

Miles admired Strong a little. He had the courage to patrol such a large mall alone.

“In our dorm upstairs, we start patrolling from the underground parking lot. When we finish, we can turn off the lights on the way and head straight to the dorm to sleep. It saves us a trip back here,” Strong said, “Don’t forget to grab your flashlight.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Miles nodded, picked up the flashlight, and went on patrol with Strong.

Though he only planned to observe for three days, he should still perform his duties attentively without any distractions.

Due to the lack of business, there were few cars in the underground parking lot. It was almost empty.

“Whose cars are those?” Suddenly, Miles pointed to a row of five or six luxury cars. “Did they belong to the missing people?”

“No, those are the boss’s cars. He drives a different one every day. Who knows how many more he has at home. Okay, there’s nothing out of ordinary here in the parking lot. Let’s patrol the floor above,” Strong said.

After another glance around the underground parking lot, Miles didn’t notice anything unusual.

If there were something amiss, he would’ve spotted it at first glance.

From there, they continued their patrol on the first floor.

After a quick scan around in the dark with their flashlights, they found nothing unusual here as well. Everything was as it should be, except for the darkness.

Then they took the elevator to the second floor.

However, they heard a faint rumbling sound from above just as they started patrolling.

“What’s that noise?”

Miles pointed 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 Manager Pear and the others forgot to turn it off. Each elevator has its own switch. It’s normal to forget, anyway, we’re here to clean up after them,” Strong explained.

“Is that so? Let’s go check it out,” Miles suggested.

“Why the rush? Take it easy. Let’s go to the third floor first, then to the fourth. There are cameras here. If someone catches us slacking off, we could get docked pay. Especially you, being new here, you’ll be fired if you’re caught slacking,” Strong warned.

“…” Miles felt that Strong was a bit stubborn.

Well, if he wanted to take it slow, then they would. The mall was empty anyway, and if anything unusual happened, it wouldn’t involve him.

The pair leisurely patrolled the third floor before moving on to the fourth, ending their walk at the elevator.

The mall’s elevator wasn’t the typical lift type but an escalator operating on a conveyor system.

“See, I told you it’s fine. They just forgot to turn off the power to the escalator,” Strong said, walking over to switch off the escalator’s power.

Miles didn’t say much, hoping it was just his paranoia.

They then took the escalator to the fifth floor.

This time, it wasn’t a trick of the mind.

A faint smell of decay was back, permeating the air, and it wouldn’t go away.

He hadn’t noticed this smell when they were on the third floor.

“Something’s off on the fifth floor,” Miles, flashlight in hand, mentioned as they made a round on the floor.

Besides the closed shops and some shelves, there was nothing. Everything seemed peaceful.

However, when Miles passed by a clothing store and shone his flashlight inside, he saw mannequins—fragmented and exactly as they were during the day. Unchanged.

“Everything seems normal. Let’s head back to sleep,” Strong yawned.

“Okay.” Miles retracted his gaze, left the mall with Strong through the staff passage, and headed back to their dorm.

On their way, he suddenly remembered something: “By the way, if the power to the escalator on the fourth floor wasn’t turned off, shouldn’t it have kept running? Why wasn’t it moving when we were there?”

“It’s sensor-based. It only moves when someone approaches. It won’t run if there’s no one,” Strong explained.

“But if it’s sensor-based, doesn’t that mean the escalator started because someone was using it? There’s no one else in the mall besides us, so who was using the escalator?” Miles questioned.

“Maybe it malfunctioned. If someone was there earlier, we would’ve seen it,” Strong responded.

Miles furrowed his brows, contemplating whether to go back and investigate, but decided it wasn’t necessary. He’d wait for the boss to arrive tomorrow and see what to do.

Just as Miles and Strong returned to their dorm to sleep, a faint rumbling sound echoed within the mall – the escalator started operating again.josei

The power light on the escalator from the fifth floor to the fourth suddenly lit up, and the escalator began to move slowly.

After about a minute, the escalator stopped.

But then, the escalator from the fourth floor to the third started operating.

After running for a while, it stopped.

Subsequently, the escalator from the third floor to the second started moving.

Finally, after the escalator to the first floor ran for a moment, everything in the mall returned to silence.