September 30, 20CH
More than ten minutes later, the lights flickered back on. Da Dang Ha's elevator had just reached the first floor.
To Moc Chau stepped out of the elevator, his heart heavy with fear and anxiety. Despite being surrounded by more than five police officers for protection, he remained uneasy.
Upon seeing Moc To Chau, Lu Doanh angrily held up an envelope and slammed it onto the ground, shouting:
"Moc To Chau! If you didn't want to cooperate with me, you should have just said so! Don't send a fake invitation and drag me to a place where I'm not welcome!!"
Moc To Chau was stunned. Although he had written her invitation with more formal respect than the others, the physical appearance of the card should not have changed.
Stepping forward to pick up and inspect the envelope, Moc To Chau was even more shocked to find that inside was not a red invitation card, but one of deep navy blue.
The moment Da Dang Ha and Phan Thap Hoa saw the card, their eyes widened. Da Dang Ha rushed over and asked for permission to examine it.
At first glance, he found nothing unusual. However, noticing a loose corner of the paper where a hint of white peeked through, Da Dang Ha did not hesitate to peel it back. The paper came away easily. A white smiley face and rows of white text gradually revealed themselves:
"An Hieu
Charge: Exploiting the Moc Bach Corporation to conceal opium trafficking for personal gain, affecting hundreds of innocent lives.
The Deity has judged and will deliver your sentence at 00:00, September 30, 20CH.
- Smiley Face -"
Terrified, Da Dang Ha turned and barked an order:
"Get to the 72nd floor immediately!"
Elsewhere, the invited guests—who had been buzzing with commotion over the blackout—sighed in relief as the lights returned.
Suddenly, a person who had entered the restroom came running out, screaming:
"Something's wrong!! Call the police! There's a dead body inside!!"
A short while later, another police unit arrived, coordinating with Da Dang Ha's investigative team to process the scene.
An Hieu's cold body lay on the restroom floor, his hand missing. His eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites, and his tongue protruded. Preliminary estimates suggested he had been poisoned.
Immediately afterward, every person present in the room was interrogated. A small group of officers branched off to search the entire premises for the missing hand.
Da Dang Ha sighed. Would they really have to wait until the beginning of the month for answers?
6:42 AM
The classroom was abuzz with gossip regarding An Binh's absence. Some said An Binh was sick; others claimed something had happened to his family. With no clear truth, the class continued to speculate wildly.
Diep La sat in the corner of the room, staring out the window. A lone sparrow perched on a tree branch, looking as though it had just lost something precious.
Her calm face briefly flickered with a strange smile. Her sky-blue eyes shifted into a terrifying shade of red.
But she did not know that her actions last night had touched a power deep within the shadows.
City ???
In a darkened room, a middle-aged man knelt on the floor, his face battered. He frantically kowtowed in apology to a 24-year-old man who bore a bandaged wound stretching from the tail of his eyebrow to the middle of his forehead.
Surrounding them were large, powerful men with stern expressions.
"Lord Huan! This incident was an oversight! I didn't expect someone would not only kill An Hieu but also accidentally dismantle our entire distribution line!"
Thud!
Ack!
Huan Trung Tinh brutally kicked the man, sending him rolling across the floor. Blood leaked from the man's mouth, leaving a long smear on the ground.
"You couldn't even handle that much! Useless! Why should I even keep you around!?"
"Lord Huan... please..."
"What are you all standing there for? Get him out of my sight!!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Lord Huan! Please!... No!... AHHH!..."
Gia Uyen Provincial Police Station...
Da Dang Ha walked in with a haggard face. It was hard to find a spark of life in his weathered skin. Only a few years past middle age, and he already felt ready for retirement.
Seeing Lang Dinh sitting leisurely in a chair sucking on a lollipop, Da Dang Ha felt a pang of envy.
His aching back finally found peace against the chair. He could finally sip his hot black coffee.
As the bitter liquid slid down his throat, his energy was instantly restored. Da Dang Ha slammed the cup down, venting his frustration:
"Who would have thought that crazy killer wouldn't kill Moc To Chau, but target a lowly Vice Director instead! It's infuriating!"
Lang Dinh took the candy out of his mouth, twirling the stick between two fingers, his expression unusually serious.
"Don't forget, he said he would kill a person within Moc Bach, not necessarily the leader. The 'rat' in his words wasn't the leader of the pack."
Lang Dinh stood up, preparing to head out, and asked:
"And about what he said in the letter?"
Da Dang Ha sighed and said:
"It's exactly as he revealed. An Hieu was indeed running a drug trafficking ring. The case has been handed over to the Provincial Anti-Narcotics Bureau. With a case this large, I just hope we don't bump into any 'big players'."
As Lang Dinh unlocked the door, he asked in surprise:
"Are you police officers still afraid of some gangsters?"
"When you get to my age, you'll understand. If you want to keep sitting in this chair alive, you have to know when to keep your head down."