Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

The lobby is spacious and bright, with light-colored marble floors that are polished so smooth they reflect images.

The ceiling is simple, the lighting is soft, and there is a faint sandalwood scent in the air—it's just right.

A landscape painting hung on the wall. Qin Wenhua couldn't make out the signature, but the quality of the framing indicated it was a fine piece.

The corridor was lined with dark wooden doors, none of which had numbers on them, only small metal plaques engraved with numbers.

01, 02, 03... stretching all the way to the end of the corridor.

The hallway was quiet, with the occasional low sound of a television coming from one of the rooms.

Qin Wenhua followed the man down the corridor. As they passed several doors, they could vaguely hear noises coming from inside.

Someone was coughing, someone was talking in hushed tones, and someone was pacing back and forth in the room.

He didn't dare look any longer.

The person stopped and turned around in the middle of the corridor.

"Mr. Qin, please stay here for the time being." The staff member's tone was very calm. "Each room is private and fully equipped. If you need anything, you can press the call bell in your room."

"Please choose one yourself."

Qin Wenhua glanced at the numbers: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05...

“Let’s go with… 05,” he said.

The man nodded, took a card from his waist, and stuck it on the door lock.

With a click, the door opened.

The person pushed open the door and stepped aside.

"please."

Qin Wenhua walked in and was slightly taken aback.

This is more than just "having a bed, a bathroom, and a TV".

Of course, all of these are present, roughly a three-star standard—a 1.5-meter bed, white sheets, light wood bedside tables, and a small TV mounted on the wall.

What stunned him was not these things.

Qin Wenhua reached out and touched the edge of the bedside table—the corners were covered with a layer of soft rubber, which had been added later.

He looked up at the wall, which was also covered with something grayish-white, somewhat soft, like some kind of asbestos material.

The floor was also covered with a layer of material, which was slightly softer than regular flooring.

There was only a lamp on the bedside table; there was no pen, no sticky note, and no water glass.

He opened the drawer; it was empty.

He went into the bathroom again.

There was a toothbrush and toothpaste on the sink. He picked it up and squeezed it—the toothbrush handle was soft. There was no glass mouthwash cup on the sink either. There was a plastic cup holder on the edge of the sink with a disposable paper cup hanging on it.

He went back to the room and looked at the bed.

The sheets and the corners of the duvet are fixed in place—the duvet is tucked under the mattress and cannot be pulled out, as are the pillowcases, which are sewn together with the pillows.

Furniture with upholstered corners. Upholstered floors and walls. Fixed bedding. Soft toothbrushes. No glass, no sharp objects, no ropes, nothing that could be used to harm oneself.

Ha ha ha ha...

Standing in the center of the room, Qin Wenhua slowly turned around.

Directly opposite, the glass is frosted, allowing light to pass through but not transparent, and the window can only be opened a crack, just enough for air to circulate.

...There weren't even curtains.

"Mr. Qin," the staff member who followed him in introduced, "We serve three meals a day on time. The restaurant is on the second floor, and there are buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you don't want to go downstairs, you can ring the bell and it will be delivered to your room."

"We have cigarettes, alcohol, and tea. There's a small supermarket in the lobby that's always open, 24/7, so you can take whatever you want. As for alcohol, we have white wine, red wine, and beer—basically all the common brands."

"If you have a particular preference, such as being used to smoking cigarettes from a certain region or a certain brand of tea, you can ring the bell, and the duty room will try its best to accommodate you."

"If you have any special health needs, such as medications that you need to take long-term or certain treatments that you need to do regularly, just let the on-call room know. There are doctors on duty in the medical room here, representing various departments. If you need to buy medicine from outside or have an outside specialist come in for a consultation, that can also be arranged."

"I'm standing guard outside the door, ready to serve you at any time."

"So that means..." Qin Wenhua smiled bitterly, "They've prepared everything for us, guaranteeing we'll be lively and energetic until tonight?"

“Mr. Qin,” the staff member didn’t respond, “the expert’s advice is: you’d better get a good night’s sleep… such opportunities are really rare.”

Qin Wenhua felt a chill run down his spine.

--------

As night fell, lights came on in an inconspicuous courtyard in the west of the city.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary small building in the style of the Republic of China era, with gray brick walls, vermilion doors, and two old locust trees in front of the door blocking most of the light.

There was no sign, no signage, not even a house number at the entrance.

Only the few black cars parked at the entrance of the alley occasionally attract extra attention.

On the second floor, on the east side, in the largest private room, the lighting was just right—enough to clearly see the expression of the person opposite, yet not enough to make it easy to see the teacup in one's own hand.

Three people were sitting in the armchair by the window.

They're not young anymore.

The youngest one was in his early fifties, with graying temples.

The oldest one was over seventy, but his back was ramrod straight, and his eyes were unfathomable.

A pot of tea sat on the coffee table, now completely cold.

The silence lasted for a long time.

"Any news?" The youngest one, surnamed Zheng, asked, twirling an unlit cigar in his hand.

The person opposite him shrugged.

Mr. Zheng put down his cigar and turned his gaze to the window.

The courtyard was pitch black, with only a few streetlights in the distance casting a dim yellow light.

"Are they just going to let him run wild like this?"

"What can be done?" The one who answered him was the man sitting in the middle, surnamed Liang, in his early sixties, wearing a gray traditional Chinese jacket, looking like a retired professor. "Don't underestimate that man. He seems reckless, but he has actually chosen the most suitable industry."

"Ok?"

“Agriculture is the lifeline of national security and cannot be touched. Manufacturing is affected by the international environment, and a small change can have far-reaching consequences. Finance is an even bigger minefield; a slight touch can shake the whole system.” Mr. Liang picked up his tea and took a sip. “Only the service industry—especially the platform-based land-rent economy—is entirely driven by domestic demand. No matter how much you mess with it, it’s all just rotting in the soup pot.”

"Rotten? This is a market worth trillions! Just let it rot like this?!" Zheng frowned.

"Is it rotten?" The old man who hadn't spoken until now suddenly spoke.

"But that's not an excuse. This kind of approach has completely crossed the line. We must take strong measures!"

"A heavy punch?" Liang suddenly laughed, "Hahaha..."

"Old Zheng, do you still remember the trade war?" Liang looked at the fifty-year-old man. "Back then, the United States targeted so many of our industries—automobiles, chips, photovoltaics, communications… one after another, for several years… Did we declare war?"

"That person... can he be compared to the United States?" Zheng's expression changed repeatedly.

“Why not? When it comes to threats to individual goals,” Liang put down his teacup, speaking slowly, “that person… is far more disgusting than America.”

The man surnamed Zheng fell silent.

The silence continued for a while.

“Regardless,” the man surnamed Zheng spoke again, his voice lower, “the food delivery industry affects the employment of tens of millions of people. The way he’s doing this…”

"What, you... dare to make them lose their jobs now?"

"This isn't a question of whether we dare to or not! With such severe market volatility, is it possible for individuals to achieve stability?"

"What, you dare make it unstable?"

--------

cut!

Just because you don't dare doesn't mean others don't.

Manhattan, Wall Street, USA.

Inside a glass-walled skyscraper, a closed-door meeting is underway.

The conference room is on the 47th floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the brightly lit city skyline.

Seven people sat around the oval conference table, with laptops and thick stacks of printed materials in front of them.

The projection screen displayed a densely packed set of data charts, titled: "China's Food Delivery Industry - Market Turmoil and Risk Assessment".

85 (including tax)

Public opinion always arrives on the battlefield before capital does.

At 9:03 a.m., Reuters issued a breaking news report: "Sources: Several executives of Chinese food delivery platforms have gone missing, suspected of being involved in an investigation."

The entire text is less than a thousand words, but every word hits the mark.

"According to three unnamed sources," the lead reads, "more than 40 senior executives from China's largest food delivery platforms, ChouTuan, HuangLeMei, and JiDong, have been unreachable since yesterday afternoon. The sources said their offices have been sealed off, and some of them were intercepted at the airport yesterday despite planning to leave the country."

The article specifically points out several details: the missing persons list includes core executives in charge of finance, data, and government affairs; although Far East is not listed, its controlling shareholder has convened an emergency board meeting; and several official vehicles were seen entering and leaving the headquarters building of Ugly Group in Beijing late last night.

Reuters is known for its restraint in reporting, but sometimes restraint is more deadly than incitement.

The final paragraph states: "The specific reasons for the executives' disappearance are currently unclear. Sources say it could be related to money laundering, data security, or food safety issues. Regulatory authorities have not yet responded."

At 9:15, the report was translated into Chinese and began to circulate on a small scale on domestic social media platforms.

At 9:17 AM, Bloomberg followed up with: "Top management turmoil at China's food delivery giant; industry regulation may be upgraded."

Bloomberg's style is more incisive than Reuters'.

The article begins with an exclusive detail: three of the missing executives attempted to leave the country yesterday morning on different flights—one to Singapore, one to the United States, and one to Thailand—but were all intercepted at the airport and subsequently taken away.

"One of the sources described that at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport, the executive had completed border control procedures and was about to head to the boarding gate when he was stopped by three plainclothes officers. After talking for about two minutes, the executive left with the plainclothes officers without putting up any resistance."

This detail is so vivid.

The reader can almost picture the scene: a spacious airport passageway, a figure dragging a suitcase, a sudden stop, and a silent follower.

Bloomberg added another perspective: all three platforms have been embroiled in data security controversies over the past year. Last September, an overseas institution released a report claiming that the massive amounts of user data accumulated by food delivery platforms—including consumption habits, movement patterns, and home addresses—were at risk of being misused. Although the platforms denied this at the time, the controversy has never truly subsided.

"This high-level turmoil may bring these issues back into the regulatory spotlight," the article stated.

At 9:22 a.m., the Wall Street Journal website updated its headline: "From darling to outcast: China's food delivery industry faces its most severe challenge yet."

The Wall Street Journal excels at storytelling, and this report is no exception.

The story begins with a scene description: "Yesterday afternoon at five o'clock, dozens of food delivery riders squatted by the roadside outside an office building in Chaoyang District, Beijing, waiting for their first order of the evening rush hour. What they didn't know was that in the office right above them, the people who decided how much they earned per order were being taken away for questioning one by one."

The article was accompanied by a photo: a food delivery rider in blue overalls was navigating through heavy rain, his face blurred by the rain, with the city skyline indistinct in the background. Below the photo was a line of small print: "Over the past three years, this industry has created millions of jobs, but it has also sown countless hidden dangers."

The main text is divided into three parts.

The first part discusses the rise of platforms: from subsidy wars to IPO frenzy, from capital darlings to giants. It uses extensive data: Meituan's peak market capitalization was nearly HK$2.6 trillion; Huangleme was fully acquired by Alibaba for US$95 billion; and Jidong, though not listed, was valued at over HK$100 billion.

The second part discusses the industry's costs: rider rights, data security risks, and food safety controversies. The article quotes an "industry expert who wished to remain anonymous" as saying: "The business model of this industry is essentially to externalize costs and risks—the costs are transferred to the riders, the risks are transferred to society, and the profits are shared by the platform and capital."

Part Three focuses on the present: What does the disappearance of the executives mean? The article does not offer a conclusion, but concludes with the sentence: "Regardless of the investigation's outcome, an era may be coming to an end."

---

9:30.

The first related post appeared on a domestic financial forum.

The headline is brief: "Foreign media are in an uproar as executives of food delivery platforms go missing."

Clicking through reveals only a screenshot, which is a full translation of the Reuters report.

Five minutes later, the post was deleted.

However, the screenshots have already been saved and have begun circulating in various groups.

At 9:40, a second post appeared: "Bloomberg details: Someone was stopped at the airport."

It was also deleted.

At 9:50, the third post appeared: "Warsday Long Article: From Darling to Outcast".