Chapter 7: ID Card

"What? Lost it!" Zhou Shuo stared in disbelief at the lackadaisical security guard.

"Lost is lost. Get lost, don't waste my time!" The security guard at the entrance of He Pan Home impatiently shooed him away.

Zhou Shuo, pushing his large 28-inch bicycle, stood at the entrance of He Pan Home and couldn't help but angrily stop the security guard, saying, "You say it's lost, and it's lost? And my things were fine when I left them with you, and you just say it's lost and that's it?"

The security guard looked Zhou Shuo up and down with a provocative gaze, making the baton in his hand crackle, and sneered, "Oh, so what do you want?"

Zhou Shuo didn't believe his ID card could be so easily lost. At this time, an ID card had many uses; he could use it as collateral for renting books or video tapes. Even if he sold it to someone making fake IDs, it could fetch a good amount of money. This security guard must have thought he was an easy target because he was a teacher and wanted to keep his ID card.

Zhou Shuo wasn't afraid of his attitude and said calmly, "Nothing much, either return my ID card or pay for the cost of getting a new one!"

Zhou Shuo's demands were quite reasonable. He didn't care what the security guard wanted to do with his ID card; after all, he had to accept his bad luck. But the cost of getting a new one should be covered, as it wasn't much, and the time wasted wasn't even considered!

"Move aside, don't block the way, or I'll beat you up for free!" The security guard pointed at Zhou Shuo with his baton and said fiercely, "No money, but I have a life. Besides, who can prove you gave me your ID card? Do you have any evidence? Watch your mouth, or I'll sue you!"

Zhou Shuo was known for not backing down from a challenge. Hearing this, he was furious. He propped up his bicycle, rolled up his sleeves, and spat, "You want to act tough? If you don't play by the rules, I won't either!"

The security guard looked at him with disdain, chuckled, and shouted to the guard house, "Hey, come quick, someone is causing trouble!"

Immediately, three burly men in security uniforms emerged from the guard house, each holding a black rubber baton, and surrounded Zhou Shuo.

Zhou Shuo looked around; these people were clearly experienced fighters, with a fierce look in their eyes. Even if he faced them one by one, winning wouldn't be easy. Though a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, he couldn't back down now, or he wouldn't get any conditions. He sneered, "What? Want to gang up on me? Come on, let's see if I'm afraid!"

Seeing Zhou Shuo's determined stance, the security guards didn't want to act immediately. If they really hurt him, they might get into trouble. They only earned a few hundred yuan a month as security guards; it wouldn't be worth it to get into trouble.

One of the three who came out, seemingly in charge, stepped forward and said, "Friend, don't misunderstand. We are security guards, not hooligans. If you want to cause trouble, we won't follow the rules. If you want to talk, we won't make things difficult for ourselves."

Zhou Shuo noticed that this person was dressed more neatly than the others, seemingly more cultured, and nodded, saying, "Then let's talk. Your colleague took my ID card, and now he says it's lost and won't compensate me. What do you have to say about that?"

"Ridiculous!" The security guard who took Zhou Shuo's ID card said, "You say I took it, but do you have any evidence?"

Zhou Shuo's heart sank. It seemed that the security guard who took his ID card acted on his own and hadn't colluded with the others. This might give him a chance to divide them.

However, he didn't know that the security captain, upon hearing Zhou Shuo's words, sighed and believed him.

This had happened before: the security guard who took Zhou Shuo's ID card was named Wang Xu, a notorious troublemaker in the security team. He had caused countless problems with petty theft and extortion, but the property management company couldn't do anything about him.

Why? Because Wang Xu was a close associate of the developer of He Pan Home.

Though He Pan Home was now a high-end residential area, it was just a shantytown a few years ago. The residents were poor, and the developer, being a government project, had to use strong-arm tactics. The legal system was also not well-established, leading to many issues.

Wang Xu had taken this route, putting in a lot of effort during the demolition and becoming a private asset of the developer. Though he wasn't given an important position, he was just a security guard, it was because he wasn't suitable for anything else, not because he wasn't valued by the developer.

The security captain usually didn't want to provoke or couldn't provoke Wang Xu, so he asked, "Right, what evidence do you have that my colleague took your ID card? Are you trying to extort me?"

Zhou Shuo sneered, "I am a teacher at Er Gao, would I need to extort anyone?"

In a third-tier city like Xiu Cheng, a "position" still had some value. Zhou Shuo's self-introduction, though logically unrelated to one's character, still carried some social credit.

Zhou Shuo's appearance made the security captain a bit cautious. A teacher usually had connections, and among his students, there were bound to be some with influence.

These people, though skilled, wouldn't risk their lives for a few hundred yuan a month.

Wang Xu saw the captain's attitude soften and panicked.

Usually, if an ID card was taken and not returned, it wasn't a big deal. Just say it was found, and the owner, if the ID card wasn't lost, would often choose to settle the matter peacefully.

But this time was different because he was about to run away.

He had recently gambled and owed 200,000 yuan in high-interest loans. Running away was the only option; he couldn't wait to be killed. Though he was a close associate of the developer, his life wasn't worth 200,000 yuan.

Zhou Shuo's ID card would be very useful when he ran away. The black-and-white photo on the ID card looked about 60-70% like him.

Wang Xu gritted his teeth and decided to go all out. While Zhou Shuo was talking to the captain, he swung his arm and, with a "whoosh," the baton hit Zhou Shuo's head.

Zhou Shuo, struck by the blow, felt as if his head was a battlefield, with stars in his eyes and ringing in his ears. He swayed and fell to the ground.

The security captain was alarmed and grabbed Wang Xu, who was about to strike again, and asked angrily, "What are you doing? Why such a harsh move without any reason?"

Wang Xu shrugged off the captain's hand and said nonchalantly, "Relax, Captain, I know my limits. He'll be fine."

The captain looked at the fallen Zhou Shuo and felt uneasy. He thought, "I didn't hit him, and this isn't my problem. Better not to get involved." As the saying goes, the older you get, the more cautious you become. With a family to support, the first thing you think about in a crisis is to protect yourself. This was true whether facing Zhou Shuo or Wang Xu.

The captain sighed, stomped his foot, and closed his eyes, walking back to the guard house, saying, "I saw nothing, I know nothing. You deal with it!"

With the captain's withdrawal, Wang Xu was overjoyed. He put Zhou Shuo's arm over his shoulder, dragged him out of the He Pan Home entrance, and threw him in a secluded corner. He patted his hands and left.

Wang Xu thought, "Better to act now than later. If he wakes up, it will be a problem. He's a bachelor, with only an old mother, no wife or children, and even his house is a company dorm."

Thinking this, Wang Xu took out his wallet and counted his total assets—unfortunately, his pockets were as clean as his face. What could you expect from someone with a negative 200,000 yuan in assets? Probably not even enough to buy a pack of instant noodles.

Wang Xu scratched his head, wondering what to do. Without money, he couldn't go far. His eyes fell on the registration form with Zhou Shuo's ID card...

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Shuo gradually regained consciousness. He sat up, touched the large bump on his head, and felt that his memory seemed different.

What... was different?

He suddenly felt a salty taste on his lips and a warm, wet sensation on his face.

Was it blood?

Zhou Shuo touched it with his hand and found it was transparent—tears.

"Ha, really weak, crying from pain like this." Zhou Shuo laughed at himself.

Wait, that's not right. He was hit on the head, but why did his heart hurt so much?

His heart felt squeezed, and his ears were filled with the sound of his heartbeat.

Why, why, why???

Zhou Shuo clutched his head, trying desperately to remember the reason for this sadness.

"What important thing have I forgotten?"

A flash of lightning in his mind, and suddenly, scenes and images replayed in his mind.

Why couldn't he remember who replaced him at work, why he had no memory of his first blind date, why his relationship with He Youyou was so different from his memories, and why he could remember so little about the time after his rebirth...

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