Chapter 1

“Building 8, unit 1304 tripped again. That main switch is definitely faulty. How many times have I told you? Is your property management going to do anything about it or not…”

Before Fang Shimian could respond, the call abruptly ended.

Fang Shimian tiredly rubbed his eyes, put down the noisy landline phone, and tapped a few keys on the keyboard to send the information to the work group chat.

In the enclosed surveillance room, the noise from several machines was occasionally interrupted by the sound of snoring.

Fang Shimian leaned back slightly in his chair, silently watching the message he had just sent until someone in the group chat acknowledged it. Only then did he slowly shift his gaze away from the monitor in front of him.

The snoring grew louder, and Fang Shimian’s throat itched. After a few short coughs with his hand over his mouth, he picked up the thermos on the table. As he got up to get some water, he inadvertently glanced at another monitor showing the elevator surveillance and spotted a familiar figure.

Fang Shimian paused slightly, stared at the monitor to confirm, then turned his head towards the buzzing fire control panel and shouted, “Brother Long, Manager Yang is coming down.”

The previously intense snoring was interrupted for a moment, then fell silent. A few seconds later, a few tired curses could be heard faintly from the machine. Fang Shimian pushed his chair aside, took a couple of steps, and placed the thermos in a large metal cabinet.

With the sound of a password being unlocked, the outermost door of the surveillance room opened. Fang Shimian stood back beside his chair, casually moving the notebook on the table to the side.

“Mr. Ke, rest assured. We recently upgraded our equipment. It’s all high-definition surveillance, guaranteed to catch whoever did it.”

The manager, wearing a dark property management uniform, had a flattering smile on his face as he cautiously led a young man in a suit into the surveillance room. A few security guards from the order department followed behind them. The young man had a serious expression and barely responded to the manager’s words.

Seeing only Fang Shimian standing there in an intern vest, the manager instinctively frowned but didn’t say anything. He just said, “Quickly pull up the surveillance for parking spot 186, starting from 1 AM last night.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two more people in property management uniforms walked in. Manager Yang glanced back, his expression becoming more urgent. He glared at Fang Shimian and impatiently urged, “Hurry up, what are you standing there for?”

The surveillance room, which rarely had outsiders, suddenly became crowded. The already stagnant air became even more stuffy. No one spoke, and all eyes were on Fang Shimian.

Sweat formed in Fang Shimian’s palms, and his body felt stiff. His mind, which was only slightly groggy, now felt like it was being mixed with cement, bringing a terrifying sense of dizziness and loss of control.

He turned around, grabbed the mouse, and the few underground parking surveillance screens he pulled up were all of other parking spots.

As he quickly switched screens, the other two leaders also walked behind him. Manager Yang’s face visibly darkened.

“This kid just started not long ago…” Manager Yang said with a stiff smile to the two leaders beside him, his eyes wandering before finally landing lightly on the young man.

Finally, the parking spot marked with the number 186 appeared on the screen, with a black car’s windshield shattered all over the ground.

Zooming in, it was a Mercedes.

Fang Shimian lowered his head, his temples damp with sweat. Half of his face was pressed into his collar, and the hand on the mouse appeared an unhealthy white under the display’s light.

He set the date and started watching from the early morning, playing at four times the speed.

At this time, the black car parked in the spot was still intact. Manager Yang pushed Fang Shimian aside, and the young man stepped forward. The manager quickly pushed the chair over.

“No need.” Ming Ke didn’t sit.

The manager looked down at the worn-out old chair with a sullen expression and silently pushed it aside, next to Fang Shimian.

A few minutes later, a group of obviously intoxicated young men appeared on the surveillance footage.

Fang Shimian stepped forward to adjust the speed, then silently retreated.

Five or six people staggered towards the black Mercedes. The person in front said something, and the group suddenly stopped, turning their attention to a man in a white down jacket, who had his hands in his pockets and his back to the camera.

Then, as if receiving a command, the group began kicking and smashing the Mercedes’ hood.

The process lasted only two minutes, and it happened in the basement late at night, just missing the patrolling security.

The man in the white down jacket stood quietly watching. When the group of drunks, laughing and joking, got off the car, the man finally looked around. As the drunks enthusiastically put their arms around his shoulders, he leaned affectionately against one of them, his gaze meeting the camera.

Even the not-so-clear image couldn’t hide his slightly arrogant face.

Fang Shimian froze the frame at that moment.

The manager wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a fierce look at the pale-faced order leader standing at the back. He then turned with a respectful tone, “Mr. Ke, do you think we should call the police?”

After seeing the man’s face and his slightly provocative gaze, Ming Ke’s expression became complicated. He frowned, thought for a moment, and said no, then took a few steps back and quickly dialed a number on his phone.

“Mr. Huo, the one who smashed the car is…”

The two managers standing by exchanged glances, their expressions becoming more tense. They hurriedly followed Ming Ke out of the surveillance room, “Mr. Ke… Mr. Ke!”

Seeing everyone leave, Fang Shimian breathed a sigh of relief, checked the time on his phone, and saw there was still half an hour until lunch.

The noisy machines made a sound, and the insulated floor behind him echoed with steady footsteps, getting closer.

“Hey? Did Old Yang and the others leave?” Xu Long came out wearing a thick coat, glanced at Fang Shimian, and asked while putting it on, “Why is your face so red, are you sick?”

“No.” Fang Shimian took a big gulp of water, shook his head towards Xu Long, and said slowly, “The managers will be back later.”

He put down the water cup and saw Xu Long still struggling with the zipper of his coat.

Xu Long was burly, tall, and fat, with a round face and belly, stretching the dark uniform jacket tightly.

Seeing him struggle, Fang Shimian bent down to help Xu Long pull out the fabric stuck in the zipper when the surveillance room door suddenly opened.

Fang Shimian didn’t expect them to return so quickly and looked towards the door in surprise.

It was the first time Fang Shimian saw the usually arrogant managers with such fawning smiles and postures. Their custom light gray uniforms, used to distinguish class, finally blended into the service industry, bowing and scraping along with their owners.

Xu Long, unable to zip up, simply left his coat open, frowning as he looked over, muttering, “I wonder which big shot is here to show off in our surveillance room.”

Fang Shimian didn’t respond, subtly moving closer to Xu Long, quietly withdrawing his gaze, and began pondering whether to eat in the cafeteria or go out for noodles for lunch.

Outside, the property managers ushered in another young man in a suit. Mr. Ke led him inside. Fang Shimian lowered his head but inexplicably felt a gaze on him, instinctively burying his face lower.

With Xu Long around, Fang Shimian felt justified in lowering his presence. He stood on the edge of the crowd, in the most inconspicuous spot, while Xu Long handled Manager Yang’s questions.

After the man reviewed the surveillance footage again, the atmosphere in the surveillance room noticeably dropped. Initially, there was some indistinct noise, but now it was completely silent, the machines’ hum like sharp needles repeatedly piercing the eardrums.

This situation likely meant missing the cafeteria’s lunch. Fang Shimian checked the time, turned off his phone, and was glad it was Wednesday.

“Mr. Zhu… should we call the police?” one of the managers asked. No one knew why the vice president of Hengshi Group’s face turned so sour after watching the surveillance.

Zhu, huh? That’s a rare surname. Fang Shimian stared at the black scuff marks on the insulated floor, lost in thought.

After a brief, suffocating silence, the man spoke, his tone softening, “Copy the video and send it to me. Don’t worry about the rest.”

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Hengshi Group had developed rapidly in recent years, achieving remarkable results in various fields, especially in chip intelligence and biomedical areas, where it had a near-monopoly. Such a giant, with a chance to connect with a high-level executive, who wouldn’t try to curry favor?

Xu Long naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to question the manager’s private copying of surveillance footage. He stepped forward, quickly copied the video, and handed it over on an empty USB drive.

Fang Shimian snapped out of his chaotic thoughts and vaguely sensed that gaze again. He instinctively thought Xu Long was looking for him, so he looked in Xu Long’s direction.

But unexpectedly, he met another gaze.

It wasn’t Xu Long looking at him.

Only then did Fang Shimian finally see the face of the last person ushered in, Mr. Zhu.

Gentle and handsome, even with a hint of annoyance on his face, his eyes still carried an unintentional warmth, calm and steady, just like before.

After seeing each other clearly, both were momentarily stunned.

“Xiao Mian?” Zhu Ze’s voice rose, tinged with disbelief.

The managers present were a bit slow to react. The Mr. Zhu, who had seemed so unapproachable with his low pressure, actually knew one of their inconspicuous surveillance interns.

And they seemed to have quite a connection.

Standing beside Zhu Ze, Ming Ke’s expression shifted slightly. He calmly glanced at Fang Shimian, then quickly at Zhu Ze, before moving his gaze to the surveillance monitor beside him.

Manager Yang looked at Fang Shimian with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, unsure of the situation.

Fang Shimian trembled slightly. He never expected to encounter Zhu Ze here.