Chapter 21 — Mystery At 3 A.M

“So she left behind many layers of fake doors.”

“The real original file is in the thing every day in the photo shop that someone touches, but no one opens.”

An An suddenly remembered the old camera covered in dust in the front room. There is also an old-style camera that Dong Dien wired up. The most touched thing in the photo shop is not the door, not the darkroom. It's the camera. Khuong Hoa also thought of it. She suddenly raised her eyes and looked towards Dong Dien's chest. Dong Dien unconsciously held the camera. At that moment, Captain Dien's voice rang out from the other end of the tunnel.

“Let her go.”

Several strong streams of light shined in at the same time. Dong Dien pulled Khuong Hoa to block in front of him.

“Go one step further and I'll kill her.”

Captain Dien stopped. There was blood on his face, clearly he had just jumped from above. Policeman Ha stood on the other side, his gun pointed at the man in black. The man in black slowly raised his hand but was still smiling.

“Everyone came in large numbers.”

“But the stuff is still on our side.”

Lam Hac Nien suddenly raised his foot and kicked the iron box on the ground towards An An. The box slid through the puddle, hitting her leg. An An squatted. The box lock has been broken for a long time. There were no documents inside, only an old flash light and a few magnesium powder bulbs that had turned black. Lam Hac Nien said.

“The photo shop's old flash light, just flashing once, can make people unable to see clearly for half a minute.”

Dong Dien's face changed. An An did not give him a chance to say the second sentence. She held the flash, pointed it at Dong Dien and pressed it down. Blinding white light exploded in the tunnel. Dong Dien groaned, the knife in his hand shifted to one side. Khuong Hoa used all his strength and finally fell to the side. Team leader Dien rushed forward and pulled her away from Dong Dien. Dong Dien swung his knife and stabbed wildly. Lam Hac Nien rushed forward, hugged him around the waist, and the two of them crashed into the pipe together. The man in black took advantage of the chaos and rushed towards An An. An An held the paper tube back, slipped under her foot, and fell into a puddle. The man in black reached out and grabbed the girl. Khuong Hoa shouted hoarsely. An An held up the paper tube, preparing to throw it into the dirty gutter. The man in black suddenly stopped. Just in that moment, police officer Ha rushed in from the side. The two of them rolled to the ground, knocking over a row of old mailboxes. Dong Dien still wanted to struggle. Captain Dien twisted his wrist and the knife fell to the ground with a loud sound. Lam Hac Nien sat on the ground panting, his chest heaving violently. Dong Dien was pressed to the ground, still staring at An An.

“Do you think catching me is the end?”

“There are still people behind the list.”

An An stood up, holding on to the wall. Her face was full of water and ash, but her eyes were terrifyingly bright.

“So we can't die.”

Captain Dien pressed Dong Dien's face to the ground.

“We will find the remaining people one by one.”

Khuong Hoa was helped up by a female police officer. She walked in front of An An, wanting to hug her child but was afraid of touching her wound. An An proactively jumped into her arms. Khuong Hoa finally burst into tears. The cry was suppressed for so long, it was like crying out all the darkness from last night until now. Lam Hac Nien looked at mother and daughter and spoke softly.

“Your mother didn't try to hide it in vain.”

An An looked up head.

“What's really important is in the camera?”

Lam Hac Nien nodded.

“In the film reel.”

“My grandmother rolled the original file into the camera's dark shaft.”

"Dong Dien carried it with him all the way but did not know that the thing he was most afraid of was always hanging right in front of his chest."

Captain Dien removed the camera from Dong Dien. He opened the bottom cover, revealing a black film sealed with wax inside. Finally, Dong Dien stopped laughing. The film roll was sent to be sealed that night. Captain Dien did not continue to use any normal procedures. He handed over the film roll to the project team from the provincial police, numbered it on the spot, took photos on the spot, and signed it on the spot. Khuong Hoa and An An sit in the break room of the old building. Khuong Hoa's neck was covered with gauze, her hand still holding An An's hand tightly, never letting go. An An's palm was also wrapped in bandages. The baby was so tired but refused to sleep. Just close her eyes and she will see that the apartment building has lost power. Seeing darkness in the stairs. Saw the smoke before dying last time. Lam Hac Nien sat by the door. In his hand he held a cup of hot water, but he did not drink it for a long time. Khuong Hoa looked at him.

“Why does my mother trust you?”

Lam Hac Nien was silent for a long time.

“Because she once saved me.”

“Twenty-one years ago, I was the thirteenth child.”

“My name was changed, my age was changed, then I was sent to another place.”

“When I returned from hiding, only your mother dared to hide me in the storage room.”