Dawn broke in streaks of silver and red, painting the villa's walls in an eerie glow. Lin Wei hadn't slept. His eyes were dry, his mind alert. He no longer felt like a man who had stumbled into wealth.
He felt like a soldier preparing for a war he didn't understand.
The Balance of Impact app now had a new section: Allies.
When he tapped it, only one name appeared:
Chen Peng – Loyalty Level: MediumStatus: RecoveringSkills: Street-level networks, cybersecurity hobbyist, fluent in dialects
Lin Wei stared at it. Loyalty level? Skills?
He wasn't just making friends.
He was recruiting an army.
And something told him he would need it.
Later that morning, Jiang Yue texted him.
[Can we talk?][Somewhere private.]
Lin Wei paused, then replied:
[Send location.]
It came a second later: a teahouse in the old hutong district. One of those hidden places no tourist ever found—quiet, untouched by time.
An hour later, Lin Wei entered the narrow wooden door.
Jiang Yue sat alone by the window, nursing a cup of pu'er.
"You look tired," she said.
"So do you."
They exchanged no pleasantries. Just silence for a moment.
Then Jiang Yue leaned in and whispered, "They came for me too."
Lin Wei stiffened.
"Three men. Suits. No names. They asked what I knew about you. About the card."
He said nothing.
"I didn't tell them anything," she said. "But I'm not sure they believed me."
"Who were they?" he asked.
Jiang Yue glanced around, then slid a photo across the table.
It was a security cam still. Three figures, shadowy. But one face was slightly visible.
Lin Wei frowned. "I know this man."
"You should," she said. "He works for the Black Foundation."
That name again.
He leaned in. "What is the Black Foundation?"
She took a breath. "It's not a company. Not a government agency. It's older than either. A shadow network—part intelligence, part cult, part tech conglomerate. They hunt anomalies. People, objects, systems. Anything that doesn't obey known laws."
"Like the Infinite Card."
She nodded. "They've been chasing it for years. But they never find the source. Only the user."
"And what happens to the user?"
She looked him dead in the eyes.
"They disappear."
Lin Wei left the teahouse shaken.
He'd faced fear before. At seventeen, when his father was hospitalized and the bills piled up. At twenty-four, when he almost got crushed under a faulty car jack at the garage. But this fear was different.
This fear had a name.
The Black Foundation wasn't just watching.
It was closing in.
That evening, back at the villa, Lin Wei opened the Balance of Impact app again.
A new option glowed at the bottom:
Fortify – Activate Tactical ProtocolsCost: VariableRisk: Defensive strike expected
He hesitated.
Then tapped Activate.
The interface shifted. A digital blueprint of his surroundings emerged. The villa lit up in blue, while red dots pulsed nearby—three vehicles approaching slowly.
Threat Level: HighETA: 42 minutes
A timer began to count down.
"Auto-defense systems enabled.""Recommend extraction or confrontation."
Lin Wei thought quickly.
He didn't want to run again.
He'd spent his whole life running—from debt, from expectations, from his own doubt.
Not anymore.
He tapped Confront.
Immediately, an alert buzzed.
"Deploying Phantom Agent [Cost: Confidential]""Initiating data scramble across 200km radius.""Personal image erased from national and private databases.""Expect disruption."
He stood up, slipped the card into his coat, and stepped out into the night.
The attackers came exactly on schedule.
Three black SUVs. Six men in dark tactical gear. Silent. No insignias. But Lin Wei could feel it—the cold efficiency of professionals.
They entered the perimeter with practiced ease.
But as they crossed the courtyard, the lights went out.
Then came the drones—small, silent, armed with sonic disorientation tech. Non-lethal but terrifying.
Flashes of static filled the air.
One man screamed, clutching his head.
The others turned, guns raised—only to find their weapons electronically locked, jammed by the villa's defense matrix.
It was over in 90 seconds.
When it ended, all six lay unconscious, gently restrained by automated restraint cables embedded in the ground.
Lin Wei stood by the front door, watching.
No blood.
Just clarity.
The card had given him more than wealth.
It had given him a system.
A soft ping came from his phone.
"Attack repelled.Data wiped.Adversary resources: -12%Global alert level: Red."
And beneath that:
"Chapter Seven Complete."
Lin Wei sat on the villa steps, heart steady.
The card hadn't just changed his world.
It was beginning to change the entire world.