Sweet of tears

**Attack**

The next morning, after breakfast, Thanh Anh returned to Beijing with Bac Minh Duan, continuing her research management work. She and Bac Minh Duan quietly got to know each other over the next half month.

Bac Minh Duan and Tran Thanh Anh went to a small café.

"Owner, one black coffee and one egg coffee, please," Thanh Anh ordered from a familiar old man as she walked in. The owner, recognizing her, quickly prepared the coffees. Bac Minh Duan held the door open for her, took the cup from her hand, and was about to head to the car.

"Boom," an explosion sounded.

The blast was very close, and standing at the shop's entrance, they felt the gust of wind created by the explosion. Realizing it was their car, Bac Minh Duan rushed towards it, dropping the coffee. Dat Duong lay beside the car. Seeing this, Bac Minh Duan quickly pulled him away from the vehicle, knowing the situation could become dangerous if the fire reached the gas tank. Dat Duong was rushed to the hospital. A while later, Thanh Anh hurried in.

"Duan, I checked the car. Inside, there was a device that triggered an explosion upon movement. It seems Dat Duong inadvertently activated it when he opened the door. Reviewing the nearby camera footage, we saw a figure completely covered, making it impossible to determine their gender or age, approaching the car while Dat Duong was delivering your phone," Thanh Anh reported.

After hearing her account, Bac Minh Duan handed her a note that Dat Duong had clenched tightly.

"I am the shadow that lurks. The big game is about to start. The kickoff of the extra time is at noon tomorrow and ends at 3 PM. No matter how good your shield is, it's useless. I always have a way to change the game. If you want to stop the game, come negotiate with me. Climb the blood-red hill. I'll be waiting in the iron toolbox. Signed, the perpetrator of the case."

"I'll call Bac Minh Canh Nghi," Bac Minh Duan said.

She understood why he made that decision. The perpetrator had targeted him and would likely continue. Shortly after, Bac Minh Canh Nghi, Mo An Nien, Dong Phuong Thien, and Nam Cung Liet arrived. They all traveled in Dong Phuong Thien's seven-seater car. Bac Minh Canh Nghi drove, while Thanh Anh, in the front seat, tried to decode the clues.

The bombing had shocked the entire city, and the police were now involved. Beijing, though bustling, wasn't celebrating a festival but was instead filled with helicopter sounds overhead and police cars rushing everywhere, as if the entire police force had been mobilized.

It was now 8 PM, less than a day before the scheduled meeting with the perpetrator.

"When it comes to the hill and the box, there are many associations," Mo An Nien said.

"Do you remember the provocative letter that was sent a few days ago?" Nam Cung Liet asked Dong Phuong Thien.

"What letter?" Thanh Anh inquired.

"It was an unclear letter, difficult to understand, sent during the inaugural ceremony of the tourist train. Both families collaborated on the project. Initially, we thought it was a prank and didn't pay much attention," Dong Phuong Thien explained.

"What was the primary color?" Thanh Anh continued to ask.

"Red. I get it. I'll have someone check it immediately," Dong Phuong Thien responded.

"Besides the box representing the train car, the train station meets another aspect mentioned in the clue," Thanh Anh pointed out.

"The shield symbolizes the railroad barrier," Bac Minh Duan added.

"Climbing the blood-red hill implies the red train," Bac Minh Canh Nghi concluded.

A moment later,

"Unfortunately, I just received word that all the bombs found at the station were fakes," Dong Phuong Thien reported.

Fake bombs. This information seemed to extinguish all hope. They were forced to rethink everything from the beginning. They had spent too much time investigating and deciphering the clue. Time was running out, with less than six hours remaining.