Chapter 16 — World Chess Game

The rearview mirror of the car behind shattered. They started to lose control. And also started going crazy. The van accelerated, driving straight towards us without hesitation.

“Hold on!”

Lam Phong growled. Ahead is a perpendicular bend. He didn't slow down. On the contrary... step on the accelerator all the way. My heart seemed to stop beating. The car rushed forward like a bullet. Right next to the wall... He pulled the handbrake and turned the steering wheel. The SUV rotated perfectly sideways, narrowly sliding through the corner, its body almost touching the wall. And the car behind... A loud explosion ripped through the night. They crashed straight into the wall. We... escaped. A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of the back gate of the traffic squad car park. A man in uniform stood waiting, his face pale and sweat pouring out as if he had just experienced a nightmare. He looked at us, his eyes mixed between fear and help. Then, trembling, he raised his hand and pointed deep inside.

“That… that car…”

“In there…”

“But… you guys have to hurry…”

“Someone… has arrived before you…”

“You guys… are late.”

“The car…”

“The car half an hour ago… someone touched it.”

17 The car compartment is empty The car... has been touched by someone else. That sentence was like a bucket of ice water pouring straight from the top of my head to my feet, so cold that it made my whole body numb. Half an hour ago. That was when we were still being chased by that car on the highway. Trieu Thien Thanh... He played a game of "Tiger Lying Mountain" so beautifully. A car just to drag our feet. As for the real person... he came here long ago. Lam Phong's face darkened, cold to the point of being scary.

"Guide."

The man trembled, not daring to delay, leading us deeper into the sealed parking lot. The space is large, filled with cars that have had accidents, the smell of motor oil and dust mixed together, making people suffocate. At the last corner… I saw it. White car. The car used to belong to me. The front of the car was distorted as if crushed, the windshield was broken like a spider web, lying still like a cold corpse. It is no longer a vehicle. But like a witness. A silent witness of that fateful night. Lam Phong and A Luc put on gloves, without hesitation, opened the car door. I also followed, ignoring the smell of blood mixed with the smell of leather upholstery that made my stomach cramp. We started searching. Every seat slot. Under the carpet. Each small compartment in the control panel. Even... tore off the entire roof of the car. Nothing. Not a piece of paper. Not a hair. The car is so clean that it's... scary. It was as if all traces of existence had just been sucked away. Trieu Thien Thanh's people didn't just take what was necessary. They also erased all traceability. Hope… little by little slipped out of me. I sat down in the passenger seat, my whole body exhausted. It's over. The last clue... is broken. At that moment, my phone vibrated frantically again. I looked at that name... I just felt tired and disgusted to the core. I don't want to hear. But the ringing still didn't stop. Lam Phong looked at me.

“Maybe… there will be something we need.”

I took a deep breath and clicked to listen. Immediately, my mother's screams broke out.

"Nguyet Nguyet! Nguyet Nguyet!"

“They… they sent something again!”

"It's a video! Tham Hao's video!"

Her voice was almost no longer human.

“They're torturing him! They… they used pliers to pull out his nails It!"

“They said… once!”

“Within an hour… without that…”

“They will cut off every finger... send it back!”

“Nguyet Nguyet! Mom, I beg you! You give that to them!”

“Do you really want to see your cousin die!”

I picked up the phone... but couldn't say a word. Mind is empty. Only left... despair. A kind of overwhelming despair, rising like a tide, swallowing all will. I lost. Completely lost. I can't fight against Trieu Thien Thanh. It's impossible to fight a demon like him that eats people and spits out bones. Tham Hao... is about to die. Then came me. Then there's the whole family. All of us… will be dragged to hell. Tears welled up. Can't hold back anymore. I collapsed onto the steering wheel, sobbing, as if I wanted to let out all the fear, frustration, and helplessness that I had pent up for so long. Lam Phong and A Luc stood outside. Say nothing. Just stay silent… look at me. They didn't comfort me. Because everyone understands that in the face of the so-called "absolute force", all words of coaxing are meaningless and as light as smoke. Time seemed to freeze at that moment, only the sound of my crying rang out, empty and cold, echoing throughout the vast parking lot like a wound that could not be healed. I don't know how much time has passed. I only know that when I cried so much that I could barely breathe, Lam Phong's voice suddenly rang out, very softly, but with a rare tremor.

“Tham Nguyet.”

“Stop crying.”

“I think…”

“We found it.”

I suddenly raised my head, my tears had not yet dried, and looked at him in confusion.