Chapter 2 — The Midnight Message

In the group there is a message lying dormant, coming from Tieu Ly.

"Someone went upstairs. I heard him stop on the second floor."

There is no one to answer below. Ms. Tran didn't say anything, Tieu Nha didn't say anything. The others are probably asleep. That message hung alone in the chat history. I stared at that line for a long time. Second floor. This building is an old single-family house from the nineties, one staircase, two households, less than half the occupancy rate. Room 201 is empty all year round, the door is covered with debt reminders, and Tieu Ly is the only one living on the entire floor. The murderer stopped on the second floor.

“Don't get involved in other people's karma.” I said to myself, my voice forced out from between my teeth.

My doors have all been reinforced. I'm on the tenth floor, even if he crawls up from the second floor and searches floor by floor, it will still take time. I just lie quietly, turn off the lights and pretend to sleep. Nothing will get to my head. I closed my eyes. Isn't the lesson from the past life enough? Rushed out and locked the door, saving the whole building, what was the result? Everyone criticized me for many things, Ms. Tran stood in front of me, pointed at my nose and scolded me, "Who are you to make decisions for us?" Then the fist fell, no one helped me. I turned over, burying my face in the pillow. But it happened faster than I imagined. It's only been a few minutes. Tieu Ly's video call request appears. The group exploded. I didn't receive it, but the small window of the call interface still hung at the top of the screen.

"Hello? Hello? Is there anyone?"

His voice trembled. The sound of metal rubbing passed through the microphone, as harsh as fingernails scratching on a blackboard.

"Everyone listen, listen! Someone is prying open my door!"

Downstairs came the sound of a door slamming. The female manager of room 402 was the first person to scream in the group: "What are you doing in the middle of the night! Do you still let people sleep?" Immediately following was the man in room 601: "Tieu Ly, are you sick? Why are you trying to open the door? Are you sleepwalking?" The old lady in room 502 also sent a voice message, her voice hoarse from being woken up.

“Oh my god, can you young people please calm down a bit, my heart can't take it.”

The scolding from upstairs and downstairs flooded into the group, one message after another. But Tieu Ly didn't stop, he put his phone on the door panel and recorded five seconds. The sound was so clear, a screwdriver or some metal was scratching back and forth on the lock blade. Each sound carries a heavy impact. The lock core is ringing, the door frame is vibrating. The scolding in the group sounded like someone was strangling them and immediately stopped. Then a new voice message came from Tieu Ly, his voice was hoarse.

“He was testing the lock core, I heard him change tools.”

My fingers tightened around the edge of the phone, my knuckles turning white. The uncle on the fifth floor was the first to recover, a text message appeared on the screen.

"Call Ms. Tran, call Tieu Nha. Is the door locked yet? Can you two quickly come out and answer a question?"

This sentence is like throwing a bucket of cold water into a pan of oil.

“Damn it, could the video Tieu Nha sent trick us?”

Someone made a guess, and the group exploded again.

"Tieu Nha, didn't you say you were acting? What exactly is that?"

"Sister Tran, please say something! Aren't you on the first floor? Did you hear any noise?"

"Where is the management? Who has the management's phone number!"

"The door lock must still be open, otherwise how will the killer get in! What's in your heads!"

Messages pass very quickly. Question marks and exclamation marks filled the screen in a heap. Someone directly sent a voice message cursing him obscenely. Ms. Tran did not answer. Tieu Nha also did not answer. I stared at the group chat, my heart beating both heavy and fast. The guy on the fifth floor sent another message: "Tieu Nha's video, that angle doesn't look like what she shot at all! Have you looked carefully?" The group was quiet again for a moment. What he said was not wrong, Tieu Ly also said the same thing, but at that time no one listened.

"Tieu Nha isn't sick, is she?"

“Oh my god, what should I do?”

“It's so scary, I don't want to be here anymore.”

While Tieu Ly's call continued, suddenly there was a loud noise coming from his side. It was like the whole door had been rammed into by something aggressive. Immediately after that, Tieu Ly heard a cold breath, then the call was disconnected. The group was completely quiet. A moment later, Ms. 402 sent a voice message. When she opened it, her voice trembled: "Me, I think I heard someone running downstairs just now." The group began to cry and scream.

“What should I do, will he kill everyone in the court!”

Ms. 402's voice message brought with it the sound of crying.

"Does anyone have the management board number? I keep calling but it keeps getting busy!"

"I think I heard footsteps in the hallway just now, going up, everyone, don't scare me."

"It's broken, it's broken, I locked the door, but my door lock is the original type of the investor, one kick and it opens."

Voice messages and text messages filled the screen mixed together. Someone stopped talking halfway, probably going to check the door.