Chapter 3: Character Card
康陽區治安署調查員? My cousin's workplace is looking for me?
Zhang Yuanqing's heart instinctively tightened. He was about to go to the bedroom door to eavesdrop when he suddenly remembered something. He opened his phone and deleted the chat records and call logs sent to Bing Ge.
He then folded the letter Bing Ge had written to him and tucked it under the potted plant on the windowsill.
Only then did he feel at ease to open a small crack in the door and observe secretly.
From the entrance came his grandmother's voice, answering with a question:
"What do you want with him?"
She hadn't invited the investigators in, but was blocking the doorway.
"We need to ask him some questions. Here are our credentials."
The speaker was a young woman with a sexy voice.
Grandmother's gaze lingered briefly on the credentials, then she frowned and stepped aside.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the door at the right moment, scrutinizing the investigators entering the living room.
The lead investigator wore a black suit with a white shirt and black vest, carrying an ebony cane. He had a thin face with a small mustache, and his slicked-back hair was impeccably groomed.
This strong British style, along with the small mustache, inevitably reminded one of the overseas-educated gentlemen from the Republican era.
To the left of the British-style gentleman was a beautiful young female investigator. Her features were very three-dimensional, seemingly mixed-race, with a smiling expression and bright, lively eyes.
She was about 175cm tall, with supermodel-worthy long legs. She wore a formal outfit, with the hem of her blouse tucked into her waistband, accentuating her slender waist and full chest, looking crisp and refined.
The last investigator had a wooden expression, wore black-framed glasses, and had slightly messy hair, giving off a strong tech geek vibe.
"I'm Zhang Yuanqing. What do you need from me?"
While Zhang Yuanqing was examining them, the investigators were also sizing up this young man.
The mixed-race female investigator said with a smile:
"We're investigators from the Kangyang District Security Bureau. We have some questions for you. Please cooperate with our investigation."
"Alright."
Zhang Yuanqing led them to sit on the living room sofa. Grandmother poured glasses of water for the three investigators, then stared at her grandson with a puzzled expression.
She couldn't imagine why her warm, outgoing, and socially adept grandchild, whom she had raised herself, would need police investigators to come and question him.
The young investigator with messy hair and a vacant gaze took out a small notebook and pen, unscrewing the pen cap.
The man with the slicked-back hair sat on the sofa, both hands resting on his cane, and said seriously:
"Do you know Lei Yibing?"
As expected, they've come about Bing Ge's matter, and so quickly. Zhang Yuanqing answered truthfully:
"We've been friends since childhood. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
A question flashed through his mind: his cousin was the captain of the second team at the Kangyang District Security Bureau. Since these three investigators were making a home visit, they must have checked his family background.
Logically, knowing they were visiting the family of the captain of the second team at the Security Bureau, shouldn't they, as colleagues, have given a heads up or at least notified him?
Don't they understand even this much about professional courtesy?
Yet there had been no word from his cousin's side, clearly indicating he didn't know. Otherwise, even if he couldn't come along, he would have at least called to inform him.
"Oh, best friends!"
The man lightly tapped his shiny leather shoes and said unhurriedly:
"It's like this: Lei Yibing has gone missing. The Security Bureau in Hangzhou, Jiangnan Province contacted us, saying they found that on the morning before his disappearance, Lei Yibing had mailed out a package. The recipient was you."
His gaze, as deep as a pool, fixed on Zhang Yuanqing, as if he could see through to his heart. "Is this true?"
Zhang Yuanqing showed a shocked and bewildered expression: "Missing? How is that possible?"
The tech-geek taking notes reminded:
"You only need to answer yes or no."
"Yes, just now, I received a package, but there was no sender's name written on it. I was wondering who had sent me a package," Zhang Yuanqing nodded, his face grave.
There was no use denying this matter. If the police could track the courier, checking the community surveillance footage would be even easier.
The slicked-back hair man nodded and asked:
"What was in the package? We hope you'll answer truthfully. This is a very important clue for us."
Grandmother, beside them, felt relieved but couldn't help worrying about Lei Yibing.
That child had also grown up under her watch, though they had moved away years ago.
Zhang Yuanqing answered:
"There was nothing in the package. It was empty."
"Empty?" The slicked-back hair man narrowed his eyes, his gaze that seemed able to see through people's hearts scrutinizing Zhang Yuanqing.
Although I'm lying, the black card has vanished, so it's no different from being empty. I'm not afraid of you checking. Zhang Yuanqing didn't avoid his gaze, looking at him sincerely and saying:
"When I opened the package, I found it was empty, just some bubble wrap inside. Oh right, the package is still in my room. If you don't believe me, you can go and see."
If Bing Ge's disappearance was as he suspected, he definitely needed to keep it secret for now, and wait for his cousin to return from work to explain everything.
For such potentially risky matters, it was naturally safest to discuss with family first.
The slicked-back hair man signaled to his female subordinate with a look.
She entered the room with a smile, and moments later, returned to the living room, nodding slightly to her colleague.
The slicked-back hair man pondered for a moment, then said:
"If it's convenient, we'd like to check your room and computer. Also, please let me see your phone."
You can check the computer, but please don't open the browser history or the study materials on the hard drive. Zhang Yuanqing unlocked his phone screen without blushing or panicking and handed it over.
The slicked-back hair man took the phone, while the female investigator re-entered the room.
The man held the phone in one hand, his thumb swiping a few times before returning it to Zhang Yuanqing, then waited patiently.
Half a quarter of an hour later, the female investigator came out with her long legs, this time shaking her head.
The slicked-back hair man nodded slightly and said gently:
"Thank you for your cooperation. We won't trouble you further."
Zhang Yuanqing quickly asked:
"May I ask about Lei Yibing's situation?"
This was both out of genuine concern and to "round out his lie" - hearing about his childhood friend's disappearance without inquiring would be too suspicious.
The slicked-back hair man patiently replied:
"Lei Yibing disappeared from his dormitory. The hallway cameras didn't capture him leaving. According to information provided by a roommate, he saw Lei Yibing sleeping in bed when he got up to use the bathroom that night.
"But when they woke up in the morning, he was gone. After 24 hours of being unable to contact him, their counselor notified the school, and the school immediately reported it to the police.
"For more detailed information, you'd have to call and consult the local security bureau."
This matches what Uncle Lei said. It seems the local security bureau hasn't made any progress. Hmm, or maybe this guy just doesn't want to tell me. Zhang Yuanqing nodded:
"I understand."
The slicked-back hair man led his two subordinates towards the security door, stopped halfway, turned around and said:
"If you have any leads, you must notify us immediately. Don't hide anything from us."
Zhang Yuanqing was about to nod when he heard him say with a meaningful smile:
"Otherwise, the next person to disappear might be you."
The next to disappear could be me?
What does he mean by that? Is he threatening me? If I don't hand over the black card, will they make me vanish like Bing Ge?
Come to think of it, what's the deal with that card anyway, disappearing into thin air... Even if I wanted to hand it over, I couldn't.
"Thanks for the warning!"
He returned a smile that lacked any real mirth.
In any case, it's better to wait for cousin to come back from work before saying anything.
Bing Ge clearly didn't want the card to fall into the hands of the security bureau, otherwise he wouldn't have mailed it to him.
Besides, as his best friend and childhood companion, he trusted that Bing Ge wouldn't set him up.
Grandmother's face darkened beside him, and she said coldly:
"No need to see you out."
What's wrong with this person, casually cursing her grandson like that.
The slicked-back hair man smiled, took out a business card from his left suit pocket, and handed it over, "Contact me anytime if anything comes up."
After Zhang Yuanqing took it, he led his two subordinates away.
"How did Ah Bing go missing? Sigh, I'll find time to visit Ah Bing's mother," Grandmother said worriedly after they left.
The two families used to be neighbors, seeing each other daily for over a decade, so there was still some connection.
Zhang Yuanqing said with a tired expression:
"Grandmother, I didn't sleep well last night. I'm going back to my room to rest. If I'm not up by noon, no need to call me.
"If Grandfather comes back, tell him about this and ask him to contact Uncle Lei."
Last night he had stayed up playing with his aunt until two or three in the morning, and then woke up early with his old ailment flaring up. He was already sleep-deprived, and had further strained his brain trying to find Bing Ge's black card.
Now his head was throbbing with exhaustion.
After Grandmother nodded, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his room.
Closing the door, he stepped on the backs of his shoes to take them off, then fell face-first onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
In the black business car, Li Dongze sat on the leather soft chair, his gold-inlaid cane leaning against the chair, palm cradling a wine glass, swirling the crimson liquid.
"Guan Ya, did you find anything in the room just now?"
He turned his head to look at the mixed-race beauty in the seat next to him.
Guan Ya leaned lazily on the soft chair, her long legs pressed tightly together, her pretty face solemn as she said:
"There was a major discovery."
"Speak," Li Dongze said seriously.
The tech guy in the back row also shifted his gaze from his phone and looked over.
Guan Ya said in a serious tone:
"That kid is into mature women in black stockings. All his 'study materials' are of mature women, but his trash can was so clean. It's simply unreasonable."
"His social circle is very wide, he's in all kinds of groups, but he's only active in gaming groups and LSP groups. He's set message blocking for other groups. Apart from gaming consoles, there are no other entertainment items in his room. This kid is actually a bit of a loner... Oh right, Chief, do you know what LSP means?"
The mixed-race beauty made a rubbing gesture with a smile.
Her two colleagues listened in a daze. Li Dongze quickly raised his hand to interrupt, saying angrily:
"Oh my God, I really want to kick your butt with my boot. I'm talking about serious matters with you, why are you saying all this nonsense? I've told you many times, don't be vulgar, don't tell dirty jokes. This habit of yours is very bad, very inelegant."
The long-legged beauty wasn't afraid of her angry superior at all and smiled:
"Don't be so dull. Appropriate jokes help liven up the atmosphere."
She slowly withdrew her smile and said:
"I didn't find anything suspicious on his computer, but under the potted plant on the windowsill, I found the letter Lei Yibing sent him. Lei Yibing did indeed send him something, most likely the character card, but I don't know what profession it's for."
Li Dongze was silent for a few seconds, closing his eyes to rest:
"Come over again tomorrow. Heh, if he hasn't disappeared by then."
PS: Thanks for the alliance leaders and silver alliance.
(End of chapter)