Chapter 5 — The Night of Power Failure on the 17th Floor

Khuong Hoa's hand trembled, almost dropping the phone. An An suddenly reached out and pressed the back of her hand. The girl stared at the phone, her voice was very low. "The box is not in our hands." The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. "It's you again." An An did not dodge. "You know me?" The man's smile disappeared. "Of course I know." "Last time you cried very loudly." Khuong Hoa suddenly stood up. Captain Dien immediately held her shoulder. An An's lips trembled, but she still stared at the phone. "Do you remember last time?" There was only electrical noise on the other end of the line. A long time later, the man spoke softly. "I just remember that children shouldn't talk too much." "You shouldn't live a second life." That sentence was like a rock hitting the room. Khuong Hoa's head exploded. An An's pupils slightly shrank. For the first time, an undisguised shock appeared on Captain Dien's face. The man didn't say any more unnecessary words. "Six o'clock." "Nam Kieu Bridge." "If the box doesn't come, this time you won't have any stairs to run." The phone was hung up. There was only a prolonged beeping sound in the room. Khuong Hoa stood in place, as if his strength had been drained. Police Ha immediately reported the phone number. Team leader Dien asked him to check cameras around the hotel and contact support forces below. But An An suddenly looked towards the door. Khuong Hoa followed her eyes. I don't know when, under the door of the room, a corner of white paper appeared. Captain Dien walked over, put on gloves and slowly pulled the paper in. It was a photo that had just been printed. In the photo is their room door. The room number appears clearly. On the back of the photo is an inscription. Don't let the child have to die for you again.06The hotel hallway was quickly blocked. Team leader Dien did not let Khuong Hoa and An An leave through the main door. He asked the hotel to find two sets of cleaning staff's clothes, and arranged for two female police officers to come out from another room to attract attention. Khuong Hoa tucked her hair into her hat, held An An's hand and walked through the employee entrance. All the way, An An didn't say anything. Her eyes always stared ahead, as if someone was lurking behind every corner. There is a disinfectant smell in the employee aisle. Smelling that smell, Khuong Hoa suddenly remembered the cold wind in the stairs last night. Her stomach rolled. The lights in the underground parking lot were still on. But when he saw the light, Khuong Hoa became even more uneasy. The building was too dark last night. It was so dark that it looked like someone had preemptively extinguished all the places that could light up. Captain Dien told them to get in a car without police lights. After leaving the hotel, the car did not go on the main road but went around two small streets. Policeman Ha sat in the passenger seat, constantly on the phone. "The hotel camera was broken from 3:42 a.m. to 4:17 a.m." "The store's camera opposite also lost its picture." "A cleaning staff said that this morning he saw a man wearing a mask, but the brim was pulled down very low." "What about the history of swiping the room card?" "There was a master card that was swiped on the twelfth floor." "Whose card is it?" Policeman Ha turned his head to look at Captain Dien. "Manager The night manager said the card was always kept in the drawer.” “It's gone now.” Khuong Hoa hugged the bag of documents tightly. She felt like she and An An were sitting on a leaky boat. Just as one hole was filled, another hole cracked. Team leader Dien turned his head to look at An An. "Baby, I still have to ask you something." Khuong Hoa immediately said. "She has been greatly stimulated." Team leader Dien deliberately spoke slowly. "I know." "But now the other person not only knows where you two live but also knows the whole room."

Hotel." "There could be more than one person behind him." "Every detail she remembers can save her life." Khuong Hoa looked at An An. An An bowed her head, nodding slightly. Captain Dien asked. "Last time, what was the last thing you saw?" The car became quiet. An An's hand grabbed the edge of his jacket. "The bathroom door was kicked open." "The person coughing violently was the first to rush in." "He had a very strong smell of smoke, there was also a The smell is sickly sweet." "Like spoiled orange candy." Captain Dien wrote down in the notebook. "Does he have any obvious characteristics?" An An closed his eyes. "The little finger on his right hand was amputated." Officer Ha immediately turned his head. Captain Dien's pen also stopped. An An continued. "He grabbed my hair and pulled me out." "The living room was full of smoke." "Mom was lying in front of the office door, with blood on her face." Khuong Hoa's eyes immediately turned red. She really wanted to cover An An's ears and not let her continue. But she also knew that the more An An spoke, the greater their chance of survival. An An's voice became smaller and smaller. "They couldn't find the key to the iron box." "The person wearing the gray hat is very impatient." "He said there was no time left, the fire truck was about to come." "The person in the black coat said so, then burn it all." Khuong Hoa's nails dug into her palm. "What happens after that?"