The exam was utterly devoid of suspense; I felt I had answered quite well. The rest depended on the score and registration, which I would no longer concern myself with—Yuejin Construction Engineering Company had more pressing matters awaiting me.

First, I held a quick meeting with Xia Huren. After discussing it, we decided to head over to Yuejin Construction to assess the situation first; we would figure out the staffing rotation later.

We were received by Kong Yifei, the head of Security for Yuejin Construction, a thin, short man in his thirties. I genuinely doubted whether such a slight build was suitable for a Head of Security.

“You must be the comrades from Honglong Security. Our manager has briefed me on the situation. We sincerely hope you can live up to expectations and help us resolve this matter successfully.”

Xia Huren was not one for excessive talking, so I stepped in: “Section Chief Kong, perhaps you should first give us a detailed account of the situation. Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to begin our work.”

Kong Yifei looked genuinely surprised. “What situation? There is no situation! You can send your men in right away to patrol and take up duty.”

This guy was still trying to hide something. Perhaps after several security companies refused the job, he had grown desperate. I patted his shoulder. “Old Kong, we have a general idea of what’s going on. Tell us, or we’ll turn around and leave right now.”

Kong Yifei sagged in defeat. “Fine.” It seemed he had been heavily reprimanded by the manager over this issue. “The situation is this: on the night of the Moon of Zi, Da Ganliu, Xiao Cao Fei, Zhang Dehai, and Sun Chang were on the night shift. Our building has 1818 stories above ground and 3 basement levels. The shift change for the night guards is at 11 PM. Their task was simple: patrol the tower every hour, covering floors 13 through 18 and the third basement level. Each patrol took nearly an hour. During the remaining time, they were supposed to monitor the surveillance room. The lower twelve floors are all leased out, and security for those floors is their own responsibility.”

I asked, “Was the first person who died one of these four? What were the circumstances that night?”

Kong Yifei recalled for a moment. “The first guard to die was Da Ganliu. He was very tall and quite strong. Oh, yes, I have his file here.”

I glanced at the photo on the file; he was indeed burly. It seemed improbable that such a powerful man could be scared to death by common vermin.

“Because of insufficient manpower, one of the four stayed in the monitoring room while the other three patrolled different floors simultaneously. At the time of the incident, Da Ganliu was patrolling the 18th floor, Xiao Cao Fei was on the 15th, and Zhang Dehai on the 16th. The 17th floor is the employee fitness, recreation, and conference center. Since it wasn't an open day, it was always locked, so the security department had an unwritten rule: as long as the entrance doors were secure, they would skip checking the 17th floor.”

“When the incident happened, Da Ganliu and Xiao Cao Fei were talking over the walkie-talkie. According to Xiao Cao Fei, Da Ganliu told him he had discovered something and asked him to wait before saying more. Then, the walkie-talkie picked up a heavy, thudding sound of leather shoes, followed by a crackling static, and then silence.”

“When Xiao Cao Fei couldn't reach Da Ganliu, he became frightened too, so he asked Zhang Dehai to meet him on the 17th floor. The two went up to the 18th floor together to look for Da Ganliu. Our building layout is simple: a straight corridor with the main hallway and elevators in the center, and fire escapes on either side. When employees leave, they lock their office doors, and the corridors have emergency lighting, so you can see from one end to the other.”

“According to their recollection, they reached the 18th floor and couldn't find Da Ganliu. Later, Xiao Cao Fei suggested they split up to check the fire escapes on either side.”

“Xiao Cao Fei went to the east fire escape. He found Da Ganliu lying on the ground between the stairs connecting the 17th and 18th floors. He said Da Ganliu was lying face up, clutching the walkie-talkie in one hand and a faded photograph in the other, his eyes wide open, staring blankly.”

“Later, Zhang Dehai was called over by Xiao Cao Fei. Mustering their courage, they checked Da Ganliu’s breathing and only then realized he was dead. Terrified, they ran back to the duty room and called 110. The police arrived but couldn't make sense of it. Later, a rumor circulated that Da Ganliu had died of fright; he had no visible marks of injury, but all his internal organs had ruptured. It’s said this can happen to someone subjected to extreme shock.”

I asked Kong Yifei, “What about the photograph Da Ganliu was holding?”

Kong Yifei replied, “Xiao Cao Fei and Zhang Dehai were too scared; neither got a good look. Then the police arrived and sealed off the area, so they had no chance to see it. After the incident, Xiao Cao Fei vaguely recalled it was an old, yellowed photograph he had never seen Da Ganliu carry before. For specifics, we’d need to ask the Public Security Bureau; all his personal effects are being held there.”

“And what about the elevator overload incidents?” I certainly needed to see that photograph, and my status as Deputy Director of the Kyoto Municipal Public Security Bureau might prove useful.

Kong Yifei said, “This is somewhat unbelievable, but I suspect it’s a malfunction in the elevator’s control system. It worked fine during the day, but occasionally acts up at night. According to the on-duty guards, the elevator would signal an overload even when only one or two people were inside. We called the repair company several times, but they insisted there was no fault.”

“And how did the other person die?”

Kong Yifei continued, “For a while, Da Ganliu’s death was accepted and put aside. But on the night of June 1st, Xiao Cao Fei, Zhang Dehai, and Li Gang were patrolling the 16th floor together. Because they were afraid, they stayed close. Then, Xiao Cao Fei suddenly had to use the restroom and insisted on going, separating from the other two. Zhang Dehai waited near the restroom entrance, but Li Gang, being braver, insisted on going up to the 17th floor alone to check things out. Shortly after he went up, Zhang Dehai heard a heavy, rhythmic running sound from the roof, followed immediately by Xiao Cao Fei screaming from the restroom, ‘It’s him!’ Zhang Dehai and Xiao Cao Fei were usually on good terms, so he ignored the noise upstairs and rushed to the restroom to check.”

“What he saw inside shocked him. The previously spotless restroom was reeking, covered everywhere in filth and excrement. Xiao Cao Fei was lying in the muck, his lower body exposed, his eyes wide open and unmoving—exactly like the scene when they found Da Ganliu. Zhang Dehai was timid and easily frightened, and seeing his friend like that made him faint instantly. Li Gang eventually heard the commotion and came down from upstairs to find them.”

I asked Kong Yifei, “What about that heavy running sound from the roof?”

“We don’t know. According to Li Gang, he also heard running noises on the 18th floor and went up to check. Before he even reached the 18th floor, he heard Xiao Cao Fei’s shout from below and ran back down. Later, the forensic report confirmed Xiao Cao Fei also died of fright. Following that, all the security guards in the department resigned. They claimed the building was haunted and nobody wanted to risk their lives here.”

Xia Huren and I exchanged glances. Kong Yifei’s account offered no clue whether a human was causing trouble or if truly terrifying events were unfolding. Since we had already decided to take this contract, we would start guarding the premises tonight.

I said to Kong Yifei, “Thank you, Section Chief Kong. If you have the specific contract, please let us review it. If everything is acceptable and the price is reasonable, we can sign on the spot. We will bring our team over this afternoon to take over the security office.”

Kong Yifei tightly gripped my hand, like a lost soldier finally finding his main force. “That’s wonderful! Our President Cheng said that as long as a security company is willing to take the job, the price is negotiable.”