1057 Perplexed and Smitten 117 (1/2)
Staring at the icy cold expression on her face, the man knew that something must have happened and he hurriedly whipped out his mobile phone to call his colleague who was on duty last night.
However, none of his multiple calls went through. \”He's been on duty for the entire night shift, he must be sleeping now.\”
\”Bring me to him, then.\”
\”Now? I'm still on duty,\” the man said hesitantly.
\”It won't matter if you're away for half an hour.\”
Knowing who she was, the guard on duty dared not dally and hurriedly brought her to look for the guard who was on duty the night before.
There were dormitories in the management office meant for security officers and staff on duty who did not want to go home, like the one last night.
They reached the lobby two minutes later, and the three of them entered one after another.
The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor.
The man keyed in the password and led them inside.
The dormitory was rather clean and tidy, devoid of any overwhelming stenches or odors. The man walked toward the bunk bed and patted his colleague who was sleeping. \”Da Liang, wake up.\”
The man moved and asked, \”What's wrong?\”
\”Da Liang, one of the residents, Ms. An, would like to ask you about something.\”
\”I want to sleep, we'll talk when I'm awake.\”
\”You mean, you're telling me to wait?\” said An Xiaoning.
The man on the bed turned over and squinted at her.
He then hurriedly sat up and asked, \”Ms. An, is something wrong?\”
\”Did anything unusual happen in the estate when you were on duty last night?\”
\”Anything unusual? What do you mean?\”
\”Were there any issues with the surveillance cameras in the estate?\”
\”Any issues?\” The man nodded and answered, \”Yeah, all the screens went blank for several minutes.\”
\”What time did that occur?\”
\”At about… eight or nine o'clock last night. I thought it was faulty, and I was preparing to check on the situation when it miraculously fixed itself.\”
\”My subordinate went missing in the estate last night, so I hope you'll cooperate with me. Can you do that?\”
Shock was written all over the man's face. At the thought of his deceased colleague, he frantically said, \”Of course. But Ms. An, I hope you won't spread this around to the other residents in the estate, lest their feelings get affected.\”
An Xiaoning knew what he meant.
\”Well, that'll depend on whether or not you're willing to cooperate with me.\”
\”Ms. An, rest assured, we'll definitely cooperate and assist you in the investigations.\”
\”Okay. You may go.\”
They headed downstairs again and An Xiaoning asked, \”Are there any secret exits in our estate?\”
The guard on duty nodded and answered, \”Well… there definitely are, but only the staff members like us are aware of them. Residents don't know of their existence at all. That's because the back doors and secret exits are used for special purposes. For example… people who are in the spotlight. There are quite a few of them who live in this estate. They have no choice but to go out via those exits in order to avoid the paparazzi. Hence, they'll pay us a fee to use those exits.\”
\”Where are the secret exits?\”
\”Ms. An, please come with me.\”
An Xiaoning followed his lead to the back door, which was large enough for cars to pass through. She took a close look at the cameras without uttering a word.
Seeing that she did not plan to check on this, No. 5 asked, \”Sis, should we get the police to investigate on this exit too?\”
\”No need for that. If they were to leave, they would definitely use the main exit. There are so few people who use the secret exits. Wouldn't they have made it easier for us to find out who they are if they were to go out via this secret exit? If I were the culprit, I would either bring No. 8 out of the estate or hold him captive within the premises of the estate.\”
At this exact moment, Fan Shixin called.
An Xiaoning answered, \”How's it going?\”