Chapter 5 — Lottery Ticket Without Name

Mrs. Sau opened the old iron box and took out the list of ticket donations. Not just seven people; There were twelve workers who contributed money, but three withdrew before the lottery date.

Lam kept the last part of the money. Quan bought the ticket instead of Lam being called to repair the machine.

Nhi compares it with the union book. The people who withdrew the money were the people who signed to confirm Lam's death.

"They could be false witnesses," Quan said.

"Or they get bought."

A worker named Phuc came and said he signed because he was promised to repay the debt. He saw Lam being put into the factory car, it was not an accident.

Phuc handed over a locker key. In the cabinet is Lam's notebook, recording the date the worker's salary was deducted and the funds withdrawn.

One page reads: “The ticket is the only thing that cannot be edited in the machine.”

Quan asked why Lam did not hand over the book to the union. Phuc said Lam did not trust the manager.

Nhi found the foreman's signature on the withdrawal slips. The person signing on his behalf is Tai.

Thanh texted Lam's new address, asking Quan to go alone. Quan pretended to agree, but reported it to the police.

At the abandoned warehouse, Quan only saw a chair and a tape recorder. Lam's voice said he received the ticket from Quan, then gave it to Thanh to keep for fear of losing it.

Quan doesn't remember that. Lam may have lied to protect him.

Thanh appeared through the loudspeaker, asking Quan to read the series of numbers. If he reads it correctly, he will release Lam.

Quan did not read. Nhi issued an arrest warrant, but Thanh cut off the power and escaped through the tunnel.

In the darkness, Quan heard moans from the next room. Lam was not there; only the other worker was kept as bait.

The other person, Phuc, was arrested after giving the key.

They rescued Phuc. He said Thanh didn't do it alone; The payers are the factory's foreman and investment fund.

The unnamed ticket is keeping a secret amount of money greater than fifty-two billion.

Mrs. Sau did not answer the phone when Quan called. The canteen is closed, the rolling door has scratches. Quan and Nhi found a broken lunch box with the same smell of motor oil inside as room 17.

Phuc, who had just been rescued, said Mrs. Sau once met Lam in the kitchen. Lam asked her to keep a package of paper, but she didn't know what was in it. After he disappeared, she delivered the package of papers to a person claiming to be a union official.

“She never delivered things to strangers,” Quan said.

Nhi pointed to the shift register. The day Lam disappeared, there was a meal labeled "Khanh" but there was no dish. Someone used this name to enter the canteen without buying anything.

They looked at the remaining camera in Ms. Sau's phone. The person wearing a protective suit stood outside the frame, and Ms. Sau opened the back door for him herself. She was not threatened; She followed because she recognized that person.

In the drawer, Quan found a bus ticket. The destination was the old worker housing area, where Lam used to rent before moving. They went there and met an elderly innkeeper. She gave Quan the key to Lam's room and said someone had paid the rent for another three months after he disappeared.

Lam's room is almost empty. Under the mattress was a small tape recorder and a list of twelve ticket contributors. Next to each name is a different debt. Quan's name is circled in red, the amount of money is not written.

The recorder turns on when Quan touches it. Lam's voice spoke slowly, as if reading to himself: "If they use the ticket to blame Quan, ask someone who knows he bought it for him. That person is Mrs. Sau."

Mrs. Sau appeared at the door, her raincoat still dripping water. She said she did not kidnap Lam. She only admitted him to the secret room of the cafeteria after he was beaten. When she saw Khanh's people coming, she moved him to another place to avoid being searched.

“So where is Lam?” Quan asked.

Mrs. Sau looked at Nhi. “Where no one thought a dead person could go.”

They arrived at the cargo terminal at midnight. Mrs. Sau led him into the abandoned refrigerated carriage. In the last compartment, Lam sat against the wall, his leg injured but conscious. He did not hug Quan; he just asked: "Is the ticket still intact?"

Quan handed out the ticket. Lam looked at the seven dots and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I gave it to you after buying it,” Lam said. "You remember right. But I took it back because Quan shouldn't let you get involved."

Quan objected, saying he didn't remember. Lam said that that day Quan was called to repair the machine, he stuffed the ticket into the pocket of his protective jacket. Tai then followed him to the computer room and asked to see the ticket.

Lam took a memory card from his shirt. "I recorded Khanh's conversation. They withdrew the fund to cover investment losses, then used my death notice to get insurance. If the ticket wins, they will say I died, the ticket belongs to the fund."

Nhi asked why she didn't report it to the police immediately. Lam smiled sadly. "I reported it. An officer sold them information."

A train whistle sounded. Ms. Sau pulled the compartment door, warning that a car was coming. Quan put the memory card away, and Lam stuffed the ticket into a moisture-proof bag.

Outside the platform, headlights swept across the carriage. Khanh stepped down, accompanied by a person wearing a helmet. That person was wearing a hook ring.

Khanh called out: "Lam, you can go out on your own two feet, or let me take you out like a dead person."

Lam did not come out. He just looked at Quan through the crack in the car door. Quan understands that you are waiting for him to decide, even though no one says it out loud.

“If you go with them, you will have a hospital, papers and a name,” Quan said. “If we stay, we will run forever.”

Lam smiled tiredly. “The name on my paper killed me once.”

Ms. Sau told Quan to pull the emergency brake lever. The carriage slid off the track, stopping close to the wall. Phuc had called the police in advance; The whistle sounded outside the station.

Khanh turned around and ran away. Duc, the person wearing the ring, rushed towards the carriage door but was stopped by Hanh using a fire extinguisher. Tai appeared behind the truck, then stood still when he saw Nhi's camera pointed at his face.

In a chaotic moment, Lam took the ticket from the moisture-proof bag and placed it in Quan's hand. "From now on, you keep it. But every time you touch it, someone else has to see it."

Quan received the ticket in front of three people and the camera. A small thing, but for the first time he knew who he was keeping the papers for.