“Is it from a resort or lounge?” Zhang Yuanqing read through the contents of the letter, his eyebrows furrowed. What does it mean to change one’s life? What does it mean to be unable to manage something? Honestly, they don’t even explain clearly... He turned his gaze again toward the Black Card, observing it repeatedly. It was nothing special—only slightly different in feel and texture, suggesting a rare material. Could this be a premium card from some top-tier resort? After all, only someone like me—a unique kind of man—can truly command a 36D lady. Lei Yibing had been his lifelong best friend since childhood. His nickname was A-Bing, two years older than him. When the grandparents still lived in their old home without a new house, both families shared one alleyway. Lei Yibing excelled in physical strength and stamina—demonstrating consistent leadership—he always led others into battle while absorbing injuries himself. Whenever someone mocked Zhang Yuanqing as being childless, Lei Yibing would step up to defend him. Thus, Zhang Yuanqing had always called him “Bing Brother.” A-Bing’s academic performance in high school wasn’t outstanding, so he enrolled at a university in Jiangnan Province—the neighboring province—after graduation. Since then, their communication had grown sparse. While placing the Black Card into his tactical jacket pocket, Zhang Yuanqing picked up his Smartphone and sent a light-hearted message to A-Bing: “Which resort or lounge is this from? At least give me an address or contact details.” After sending the message half an hour ago, he still hadn’t received any reply. So he decided to call A-Bing directly. “Ding-dong,” the phone connected after two rings. The voice on the speaker was low and steady: “Hello! This is Lei Yibing’s father.” “Uncle Lei?” Zhang Yuanqing was startled, then quickly brightened: “Did Bing Brother return to Songhai this week? Could you ask him to take the call—I have something important to talk with him.” There was a moment of silence on the other end before a solemn tone emerged: “Yuanzi, I’m currently in Jiangnan Province. A-Bing has gone missing…” Bing Brother has disappeared?! Zhang Yuanqing stood motionless, stunned. After several seconds, he asked with growing confusion and urgency: “What happened?” How could Bing Brother have vanished? He had just delivered something to me! “A-Bing went missing the day before yesterday,” said Uncle Lei, “and we received notice from the school yesterday morning—so we immediately rushed over.” “Have they filed a police report? What do the local authorities say?” Zhang Yuanqing asked firmly. Uncle Lei paused, his tone hesitant: “This is actually rather difficult to explain. A-Bing’s disappearance seems quite unusual…” Unusual? What does that mean? Zhang Yuanqing blinked in surprise. “I’ll tell you,” said Uncle Lei, “A-Bing went missing overnight—around the middle of the night. The police checked surveillance footage from the dormitory hallways and found he hadn’t left his room all night long. But by morning, he was completely gone. “The students who shared a room with him saw him just before going to sleep—and upon waking up, they noticed he had vanished. They thought maybe he simply went out.” Zhang Yuanqing exclaimed: “That’s impossible…” Could people really vanish without a trace? A three-year-old child wouldn’t believe such a story. Composing himself, Zhang Yuanqing spoke softly: “Uncle Lei, did Bing Brother perhaps offend someone at school—who has influence locally—so that the monitoring system didn’t pick up any issues? It might suggest an effort to protect the situation on campus.” In this information-overload era, anyone with internet access would have heard of such stories. “The school leadership said they will cooperate fully with police investigations,” said Uncle Lei, “but the officers only asked us to wait for updates. They’ll keep investigating… We stayed up all night without sleeping.” The tone in his voice carried both disappointment and concern. Indeed—this is exactly what one would expect. So frustrating… Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and reassured: “Don’t worry, Uncle Lei—I know your grandfather and my cousin are both employed at the local Public Security Bureau. You’re aware of that. I’ll ask them how to handle such cases—what steps to take—and if you have any questions or concerns, just call me. “And especially, please ask around among classmates—there’s a good chance someone knows about some conflict with Bing Brother.” With this reassurance, Uncle Lei felt slightly relieved: “Thank you, Yuanzi. Don’t worry—I’ll keep you posted as soon as there’s news.” After hanging up, Zhang Yuanqing felt restless, pacing back and forth in the room, deeply concerned for Bing Brother. People can’t just vanish without a reason—especially when surveillance footage fails to capture it. That means someone must have manipulated the system. But who could Bing Brother possibly have offended? And then—he remembered—the date! The day before yesterday! Wait—the day before yesterday?! Zhang Yuanqing was startled. The delivery from Jiangnan Province to Songhai typically takes two to three days. According to this timeline, A-Bing must have delivered the package on the same evening when he went missing. So—was it just a coincidence? Or did something else connect these events? With that thought, Zhang Yuanqing instinctively reached into his jacket pocket for the Black Card. But as soon as he extended his hand toward the pocket, he stopped abruptly. The Black Card was gone. Had it fallen on the floor? Zhang Yuanqing quickly knelt down and scanned the room floor swiftly. No—it wasn’t there! He crawled beneath the bed, where a layer of dust lay piled with coins, pens, buttons, and other small items—but no trace of the card. That card had vanished—yet he was certain he had placed it in his pocket just moments ago. How could that have happened? With Bing Brother’s mysterious disappearance, the oddly worded letter, and now this inexplicable vanishing of the Black Card, Zhang Yuanqing felt a growing sense of fear and bewilderment. “Could the Black Card be connected to A-Bing's disappearance? Is it perhaps an important clue?” Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing decided to reawaken his memory using his long-standing condition. First, he poured cold water into a glass cup. He then retrieved a medicine bottle from the bedside table, opened it, and removed his shoes before lying down on the bed. Once settled, he closed his eyes and remained perfectly still—visualizing the image of his father in his mind. His condition required mental stillness to imagine an image—one that was once familiar but now somewhat vague. This would gradually activate brain function until a surge of clarity occurred. Over years, Zhang Yuanqing’s memory of his father had faded into something hazy—making it the perfect subject. Minute by minute, the face of his father slowly came into focus—from blurred to sharp and vivid. At the same time, his heartbeat surged, as if the engine were under excessive load. At that moment, time seemed to reverse. The scene from one hour ago unfolded in his mind like a scene from a film—frame after frame. He saw himself opening the delivery package, reading the letter, placing the Black Card into his tactical jacket pocket, and then sending a message to A-Bing. Then he sat at the desk motionless for about twenty minutes, scrolling through several short videos, exchanging a few slightly awkward photos with friends in a gaming group. He saved several high-quality images. He also read a few chapters of a novel—because he kept thinking about the card—then finally decided to call A-Bing. After making the call, he grew increasingly anxious and began pacing around the room—the very moment when cards were most likely to fall. In his memory, he saw himself frowning, walking back and forth in the room, then reaching into his pocket to feel for the Black Card—and finding it gone. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly sat up with a face of shock. Gone?! The card had simply vanished—without any trace. So what exactly did A-Bing send him? In that moment, he felt his scalp tingle with panic. Before he could reflect further, chaotic sounds rushed into his ears—the overlapping voices of countless people—and fragmented images surged into his mind like a volcanic eruption. Warm liquid streamed down Zhang Yuanqing’s nose. His head felt as though hammered by steel pins. He twisted toward the bedside, face distorted, and with trembling hands, he extracted five small blue pills from the bottle and swallowed them one after another. Then, with even more tremors, he picked up the water cup and took a deep drink—swallowing both the pills and the water at once. A few minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing sat down on the bed, pale and breathing heavily. Now he was fairly certain that A-Bing’s disappearance was connected to the Black Card. “A-Bing disappeared after having delivered this card—the card itself seems unusual, clearly not ordinary.” This made it reasonable to suspect that A-Bing had been under some threat—forced to move or conceal the item. “But why didn’t he deliver it directly to the local Public Security Bureau instead of sending it to me?” Could a college student who hadn’t even killed a chicken or slept through the night be more reliable than officers at the bureau? Zhang Yuanqing suddenly recalled that detail—the fact that both dorm staff and surveillance footage failed to detect anything unusual. To achieve such a level of invisibility, one must possess real influence. A-Bing had not handed over the Black Card to the local Public Security Bureau—because perhaps—those authorities weren’t trustworthy? Or maybe, the very person or group responsible for A-Bing’s disappearance held influence at the local Public Security Bureau. “In fact,” Zhang Yuanqing thought, “he sent me this card knowing that my grandfather is a retired police officer and my cousin holds a leadership position as the head of the Public Security Department in Songhai City—so the people from Jiangnan Province could not possibly reach me here.” He decided to speak with his cousin immediately. “Ding-dong~” Then, he heard the doorbell ring—clearly audible from the entrance hall. The footsteps of Grandmother came next—crossing the living room and reaching the entrance. She turned the doorknob. “Who’s there?” “Hello,” responded the person outside, “We are investigators from the Public Security Bureau in Kangyang District. Is Zhang Yuanqing at home?”