Sweet of tears

**The First Bomb**

Bac Minh Canh Nghi's car had driven around the city dozens of times, without any success. Everyone was extremely anxious because this matter involved Phi Ung.

"I need to think simpler, simpler."

Thanh Anh kept reminding herself. While they stopped to rest, she wandered around the area, muttering the clues to herself. Suddenly, she looked up and saw a tall tower resembling Tokyo Tower in Japan, painted red. She suddenly thought of something and ran towards it. The two locations were quite close, so it didn’t take long for her to reach the base of the tower.

"Thanh Anh, where did you run off to?" Bac Minh Duan called her.

"At the base of the stargazing tower," Thanh Anh replied.

"Did you hear? Just now, the tower's elevator exploded, and a child is trapped inside," a local said.

"Thanh Anh, stay where you are. We're coming," Bac Minh Duan said.

"Duan, I'm going inside to check the situation."

She hung up and rushed inside. A line of people was heading for the emergency exit. She squeezed her way in and reached the jammed elevator.

"Who are you?" a security guard asked as she approached.

"Not important. How's the child?" Thanh Anh ignored the question and climbed onto a chair to look through the small hatch above.

The elevator was stuck, with only a small part of the bottom visible through the door. Adults couldn’t fit through, so they had to coax the child out.

"Hey little girl, what's your name?" Thanh Anh asked softly, her voice gentle.

The child didn’t react at first, then looked up and stood, crawling out. The girl had wandered in without her parents and was frightened by the male security guards. Hearing a gentle voice, she was curious and crawled out. Thanh Anh quickly grabbed and pulled her out.

"My name is Anh Thu," the girl said sweetly, attracting attention.

"You have a beautiful name."

Thanh Anh praised as she brought Anh Thu down.

"Boom, boom," another explosion echoed, this time on the elevator's roof, severing the cables and sending the elevator plummeting.

The fall wasn’t fatal; the safety system engaged, stopping the elevator before it hit the ground. Thanh Anh quickly lay flat on the elevator floor to distribute the impact force and avoid injury. When the elevator finally stopped, she cautiously got up. She was startled to see a bomb counting down, with over two hours remaining.

Her phone rang.

"Thanh Anh, where are you?" Bac Minh Duan's voice came through.

"In the elevator. The cable snapped, and it fell, but it's stopped now," Thanh Anh replied.

"Are you okay?" Nam Cung Liet's voice echoed in the background. "Which floor are you on?" Dong Phuong Thien asked.

"I don't know. The elevator fell quickly, so it’s probably stuck between the ground floor and the first floor."

"Stay put. I'll send someone to get you out," Bac Minh Duan said.

"No, there's a bomb in the elevator. The terrorist also placed a bug nearby. If I try to leave, the bomb will definitely go off immediately." Thanh Anh's voice was urgent, fearing she wouldn’t have another chance to explain to Bac Minh Duan.

"A bomb?" Mo An Nien exclaimed.

"It's a mercury compass type. Even a small vibration could cause the balls to roll into the wires and trigger an explosion."

"What did you say?" Bac Minh Duan asked.

"It's a part of the automatic detonation device. The bomb in the elevator has enough power to obliterate an area. It was activated when the elevator stopped suddenly. Now, any small vibration will set it off. If you or anyone else comes down, it’ll cause a vibration. I can't leave either. Send me the bomb-defusing tools, and I’ll defuse it myself."

"Are you crazy?" Bac Minh Duan shouted into the phone, his eyes filled with fear and worry.

"This seems like the best option," Nam Cung Liet said.