Chapter 14: Chapter 14 Plan to steal confidential documents — Ink on an Old Map

Nam's apartment quickly turned into a true underground combat command center.

The floor plan of the National Archives Center building, detailed down to each water pipe, that An had secretly copied from the maintenance room last year, was spread out on the glass table. Nam sat diligently in front of three computer screens glowing with lines of green code jumping continuously, his fingers typing at breakneck speed, creating dry clicking sounds in the quiet night.

"I managed to rent a small truck disguised as an electrical repair vehicle," Nam said without taking his eyes off the screen, sweat beading on his forehead. "I will park it in an empty lot about two hundred meters from the building, catch the Wi-Fi signal from the opposite cafe to act as a signal transfer point, then hack into the Center's perimeter security camera system. I will create an image loop (loop) in the hallways leading to the basement. The security room will only see the empty, peaceful hallway like every night."

"The camera system is not the only problem we have to worry about." An frowned, using a red pen to circle a few intersection points on the floor plan. "The night shift security team usually has three people on rotational patrol. Every two hours they will go through the checkpoints, punching in their card to confirm. But because I have worked late many times in the basement, I know their route has fixed blind spots. The hidden corner in the emergency exit stairs in area C is the safest, they rarely shine their flashlights all the way to the bottom."

"Good," Nam nodded, cracking his neck. "The most difficult problem is the physical door of Basement No. 4. It uses a biometric fingerprint recognition lock system, combined with an 8-digit PIN code that changes every day according to a chain algorithm. I cannot use brute-force to guess the PIN code, the system will automatically lock permanently after three wrong entries."

"I can handle the PIN thing." An mused, recalling a small detail. "Last month, when assisting the IT team to install a projector in Director Binh's private conference room, I accidentally saw him enter the PIN code into his personal safe. It was his son's birthday repeated twice. Complacent people who believe that they cannot be touched are often very subjective in setting passwords. I bet he uses the same memory formula for other locking systems."

"Okay, we'll try to bet on his subjectivity," Nam cracked his knuckles. "As for fingerprints... I extracted a file containing Director Binh's biometric data that was leaked when he applied for an electronic visa on a business trip abroad. I can insert that code into the data stream of the scanner at the door, simulating the signal as if he were placing his own hand on the scanner."

The clock on the wall struck eleven thirty at night. The city outside has fallen into a deep sleep. Drizzle began to fall, covering the yellow streetlights with a misty, wet mist, creating a gloomy scene.

Nam's white minivan quietly parked in a dark alley some distance from the back gate of the Archives Center. An wore a tight black outfit, a beanie hat covering her hair, and a tiny communication device in her ear. She took a deep breath, checked her pepper spray and flashlight, nodded to Nam, then slid out of the car, quickly blending into the darkness of the rain.

The main gate and entrances of the building are all strictly guarded by security booths, glowing with floodlights. But An did not go to the main door. She snuck into the narrow, moss-covered alley behind the building, where there was a giant iron ventilation door leading straight to the backup generator room in basement 1. This was a secret that only veteran cleaners and An knew.

An used specialized lock-cutting pliers to gently cut off the rusty lock without making a loud noise. She squeezed through the narrow opening, sliding carefully down the dark pipe, smelling of motor oil.

"I'm inside. Basement 1," An whispered through the walkie-talkie, brushing the cobwebs from her face.

"The corridor camera in area C has been completely frozen. The passage is safe," Nam's voice rang out evenly, reassuringly in her ear. "The guard just passed stairway two five minutes ago. You have about forty-five minutes before the next patrol from the night shift."

An moved quickly and smoothly like a shadow. She used her employee ID card—which was still valid for the secondary door systems until tomorrow morning—to open the emergency staircase door. She walked along the cold, dark concrete stairs, gradually going deeper underground. Basement 1. Basement 2. Basement 3. Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

At Basement 3, the stairs seemed to end at a dead end. In front of her was only a solid concrete wall painted light gray. But An knew that if she pushed hard on a wooden panel in a narrow corner of the wall, the hidden hydraulic latch would release, opening a small, narrow secret passage leading straight to Basement No. 4—the legendary Black File Bunker.

She slipped through the secret passage. The air below this depth was cold, chilling and dry, the strong smell of ancient paper and preservative chemicals made her a bit dizzy. Standing in front of her was a solid, thick double-layered steel door, exactly like the central bank's gold vault door.

Next to the door is a titanium-coated keypad and a fingerprint scanner that glows red in the dark.

"Nam, I'm at the bunker door." An gasped, eyes glued to the scanner.

"Great. I'm starting to insert biometric data into the internal network stream. Three, two, one... Done. The system has received a false signal. Enter the PIN, quickly!"

An put her hand on the keyboard, her trembling fingers carefully typing each number: Director Binh's son's birthday, repeated twice.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

A sharp, shrill "beep" rang out, followed by the heavy mechanical sound of the giant steel locking pins inside slowly retracting. The heavy door opened slightly a crack.

An's heart felt like it wanted to jump out of her chest with joy. She won the bet. She pushed open the door, pushed her way into the bunker.

The space inside was much larger than she had imagined, and chillingly quiet. Hundreds of giant steel cabinets were lined up in endless rows, running deep into the darkness and forming a cold metal maze. This was the final resting place of the dirtiest secrets, the truths that had been garbled and smeared to make way for the nation's false myths.

An turned on a small flashlight, blocked the light with her fingers, and quickly scanned along the brass stickers on the rows of cabinets. She moved quickly, bypassing areas where pre-1954 documents were stored, skimming through top-secret diplomatic reports.

"Military Region V - 60s." An mumbled as the flashlight stopped at cabinet number 17, located far in the darkest corner.

She carefully pulled out the fourth drawer, which contained combat files. Thick, yellowed files stacked tightly together, covered in dust. She ran her hand over the spine of each file.

X-11. X-12. X-13.

And here it is. A bright red hardcover folder with a leather spine, completely different from the gray cement-covered folders around it. On the spine is printed in clear, black letters: "Operation X-14. Original unedited version (Draft 01)."

An's hands trembled as she slowly pulled the red file out of the queue. She felt its weight, the weight of true words that had not been erased by blood. She quickly flipped open the first page. It was a detailed plan, typed on a neat typewriter, accompanied by a hand-drawn diagram of the Đan Trầm valley underground cave system, clearly marked, with the giant natural agarwood mines circled in red.

The signature approving the campaign in purple ink is displayed in the right corner: Political Commissar Trần Văn Định.

An's eyes quickly scanned the cold lines. There was no cover-up about the lack of population. The original document clearly stated: "Forced relocation of all Đan Trầm villagers. In case of opposition, allow destruction of all biological obstacles to ensure absolute secrecy for strategic resource exploitation."

"Biological obstacle." They dare to call their fellow citizens, innocent children, and elderly people, biological obstacles. They considered the people of Đan Trầm village as trash, as animals that stood in their way of getting rich and plundering.

An quickly took out a tiny digital camera from her chest pocket, preparing to photograph the most important documents as evidence.

Suddenly, a shrill buzzing sound rang out from the tiny headphones. Nam's voice shouted loudly, tearing through the quiet space, lost in extreme panic:

"An! Run now! Get out of there immediately! The system just kicked me out! That biometric lock was a bait trap! They installed a silent alarm system completely independent of the security camera network that I couldn't see! They knew you were coming! It was a trap!"

At that moment, the entire neon light system in the bunker went black.

Instead, the red emergency lights on the ceiling began to spin, casting a strange light, like blood splattered on the rows of steel cabinets. The sound of sirens tore the air apart, deafeningly deafening.

The sound of leather shoes hitting the cold floor echoed from the secret passage. It wasn't one person, but many people were running. The clicking sound of the gun being loaded was dry.

"Stand still! Put your hands above your head! Get your hands off the document!" A loud male voice, filled with murderous intent, rang out in the darkness, shining bright flashlight beams straight into An's face.

An stood still, the red criminal file still in her hand. The tunnel door was blocked by large black shadows. This secret bunker had become a perfect mousetrap, with no escape. The person who rewrote history had planned every move in advance, anticipated her stubbornness, and she had naively walked into the trap. The truth was in her hands, but the darkness of death had fallen. Her breathing was rapid as she faced the black muzzle of the gun.