Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Zhou Dongsheng walked to Zone C, where he remembered that his BMW 5 Series was parked in parking space number 12.

Parking space number 12 is empty.

There were only dust tracks left by tires on the ground, an irregular circle that looked like an open mouth.

Zhang Lijuan ran to parking space number 13 in section B—the spot where her Mercedes-Benz C-Class was parked.

It's empty too.

There was only dust and air.

The two people stood in the empty parking space, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The underground parking garage was extremely quiet. In the distance, someone slammed a car door shut, the sound echoing several times in the empty underground space.

Zhou Dongsheng's voice was weak, like a deflated balloon, squeezing out feebly:

"The cars are gone too... My BMW, your Mercedes, all gone... This thief is too ruthless, even stealing cars."

This time, Zhang Lijuan didn't say "I knew it." Her expression had changed from anger to numbness, and from numbness to an empty blankness. Her lips moved a few times, and her voice was as light as a wisp of smoke.

"Now you don't have to doubt it anymore, it must have been your dad who did it."

"If someone stole our things, how could they possibly steal our car too? How could they possibly recognize our car?"

Zhou Dongsheng opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't find any reason that held water.

He stood there for a while, his hands hanging limply at his sides, his shoulders slumped, like a tree struck by lightning.

"What do we do now?" His voice was muffled, as if he were speaking through a wall.

Zhang Lijuan took a deep breath, and her voice finally regained some strength, but the sharp edge had been almost completely worn away:

"What else can we do? Now we can only go to the community security guard and ask him to call the police for us. We've lost our phones and our car, and we can't even leave the community."

Zhou Dongsheng nodded.

The two people climbed up from the basement, walked through the community garden, and reached the main gate.

Sunlight shone on them, and the security guard in the booth spotted a man and a woman walking towards the entrance from afar.

The man's clothes were tattered like mop rags, and the woman's nightgown was wrinkled like a rag. Both of their faces were swollen, and they looked more disheveled than the other.

The security guard poked his head out of the booth, about to ask a question, but Zhou Dongsheng spoke first.

"Master, please call the police for us." Zhou Dongsheng's voice was dry and hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against glass. "Our house has been emptied."

The security guard was taken aback: "Stolen? What was stolen?"

Zhou Dongsheng thought for a moment and suddenly realized that this question was difficult to answer, not because there was nothing to say, but because there was too much to say, so much that it would seem absurd to even mention it.

He opened his mouth, but only managed to squeeze out one sentence:

"They stole everything. Furniture, appliances, clothes, computers, pots and pans, not even a chopstick was left. Even our cell phones and cars were stolen."

The security guard's eyes widened and his mouth opened wider.

He glanced at Zhou Dongsheng, his gaze lingering on Zhou Dongsheng's injuries for two seconds. He moved his lips but did not ask, "What happened to you?"

He retreated back into the security booth, picked up the landline on the table, and pressed the number keys three times.

The receiver emitted a beeping tone indicating that the call was about to be connected.

The security guard immediately handed the phone to Zhou Dongsheng.

……

Emergency call center.

When the phone rang, the dispatcher, Xiao Chen, had just put down his water glass.

He glanced at the caller ID; it was the landline number of the security guard at a residential complex in the east of the city. Without thinking much of it, he pressed the answer button.

"Hello, this is the police call center of the Chengbei Branch."

A man's voice came from the other end of the phone, clearly panicked and anxious: "Hello, I need to call the police! My house has been burgled! Everything has been stolen!"

While opening the recording system, Xiao Chen asked, "Sir, please don't rush, tell me slowly. What exactly was lost? Approximately how much was it worth?"

"Everything! Everything's gone!" The voice grew louder and more urgent.

"Furniture, appliances, clothes, computer, pots and pans, even chopsticks are gone! My phone is gone, my car is gone! Everything is gone!"

Xiao Chen's fingers paused for a moment.

He's been a dispatcher for three years and has heard all sorts of reports—

Lost wallets, lost phones, burgled homes, stolen shops—

But he rarely encountered the statement that "not even chopsticks were left."

He frowned and pressed further, "Sir, are you saying the entire house was emptied out? Are you sure nothing was missing?"

"Confirmed! Confirmed! How could we not know it's our own house? Our house is just four walls left! Can you send the police over right away?"

A thought suddenly flashed through Xiao Chen's mind.

Not long ago, he received a similar report—

The pharmaceutical factory of Haibing Pharmaceutical Company was emptied, and later the victim's family called to add that the villa had also been emptied.

At the time, he thought the case was outrageous. A pharmaceutical factory and a villa were gone overnight. How many people could do that?

Now another one came, and there wasn't even a chopstick left.

What a coincidence!

"Sir, let me register your information first. What is your surname? What is your address?"

"My surname is Zhou, Zhou Dongsheng."

Room 1902, Building 7, Emerald Bay Residential Complex, Chengdong.

Xiao Chen quickly wrote it down, then said, "The police will be here soon," and hung up the phone.

Without delay, he picked up the internal phone on the table and dialed the number of the Criminal Investigation Division.

After the call was connected, he briefly explained the situation.

After listening, the other party's tone became serious. He said, "I understand, I'll forward it to Captain Fang right away," and hung up the phone.

……

Twenty minutes later, two police cars stopped at the entrance of Emerald Bay residential complex.

Captain Fang got out of the first car, followed by two young police officers and a technician.

Two people were standing at the entrance of the residential compound.

The man's T-shirt was torn to shreds, and his exposed skin was covered with bluish-purple bruises, some of which had turned purple or black, and others were tinged with dark red. The bruises were dense and intertwined, a shocking sight.

His face didn't have any obvious redness or swelling, but the scars all over his face were frightening enough.

The woman was wearing a wrinkled pink slip dress, her hair was a mess, and although there were no injuries on her face, she was pale and had red and swollen eyes, as if she had just been crying.

Captain Fang walked up to them, his gaze sweeping over the wounds on Zhou Dongsheng's body before subtly looking away.

He pulled out his ID and flashed it, his voice not loud but very clear:

"This is Fang Jianguo from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Chengbei Branch. Who called the police?"

Zhou Dongsheng took a step forward, his voice dry and hoarse: "I... I reported it."

"Name?"

"Zhou Dongsheng".

"Where is she?"

"My wife, Zhang Lijuan."

Captain Fang paused for a moment, his pen still in his hand.

He raised his head, his gaze lingering on Zhou Dongsheng's face for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, and his tone of voice revealing no emotion:

"Zhou Dongsheng? Your surname is Zhou?"