After pressing the button, the elevator didn't turn on. This fourth elevator was weird. Sometimes it turned off by itself. So actually, the elevator in this building that functions properly was only the third elevator. Shanquan saw that the third elevator had reached the 12th floor. Then the elevator stuck on that floor as if someone held it there.
Shanquan remembered the trick that Songfei taught him. Songfei had said when the elevator went up or down, the fourth elevator couldn't turn itself off, but it sometimes turned off when it was not in use. There was a way to turn it on again by opening the panel outside the elevator. All he had to do was to press several buttons on the panel simultaneously.
Shanquan then carefully opened the panel in front of the elevator. Luckily the panel was easy to open; otherwise, he would have to go back into the room to find a suitable tool. After successfully turning on the elevator, Shanquan put down his bag to block the elevator door while he closed the panel again. After the panel was appropriately closed, Shanquan directly got into the elevator. He pressed the ground floor button. Shanquan was ready to go downstairs.
When the elevator was closed, it did not go down right away. It turned out that there were people outside who wanted to enter. After someone pressed the button outside, the elevator directly opened its doors. A girl hurriedly went inside. She carried a large backpack on her back. At first, Shanquan didn't notice her because, as usual, he was daydreaming. Two seconds later, Shanquan realized that the person in front of him was staring at him. That person turned out to be the girl who had taken shelter with him in a phone booth!
"What are you doing here?" Shanquan asked the girl while raising his eyebrows.
The girl recognized him. Glaring her eyes, the girl said things with a super-fast tempo. "Sir, listen carefully. Outside this building, I witnessed a crime. I ran into this building to escape the criminals. Currently, they are already in the building. Maybe soon to be on this floor. Is there a way they can't find us?"
The girl's words surprised Shanquan.
What's with today? Already two people have declared themselves in danger!
"We can hide in one room in this building. How many people are chasing you?"
"I saw three people. But maybe there are other people," the girl replied.
"Then we'll just hide in this elevator for a while. Are you willing to take the risk of us getting trapped here?" Shanquan asked in a doubtful tone. He wasn't sure that she would agree to his proposal.
Unexpectedly, the girl nodded vigorously. The look in her eyes conveyed approval.
"What?" Shanquan was still unsure.
"I do!" The girl answered firmly.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Uh? Is she willing to be trapped in this elevator with me?
Shanquan nodded. He then asked the girl to stand behind him. In critical moments like this, Shanquan thought of Songfei again. That young man had also taught Shanquan how to turn off the elevator from the inside. Shanquan tried to recall the things that Songfei explained. Shanquan opened a small panel located beside the elevator buttons. Behind the panel, there were several buttons. Shanquan pressed three buttons simultaneously. On his first attempt, nothing happened. On the second attempt, he pushed three more buttons simultaneously, but the third button differed from the previous one. Still, nothing happened. He tried again—this time with all his might. Suddenly, the lights went off, and the lift stopped. Shanquan successfully turned off the elevator from inside.
Quiet atmosphere. But Shanquan and the girl could hear faint voices outside. Before this elevator went off, the indicator showed they had descended to the eighth floor.
There seemed to be people in front of the elevator on the eighth floor. Most likely, they already pressed the button in front of the elevator over and over. After a while, they could hear nothing. It looked like those people had gone. Suddenly, they heard a sound from the elevator next to them. Apparently, those people were going up and down using the third elevator. Shanquan and the girl were silent, not daring to make any sound. After that, they stayed inside the elevator for about an hour before conversing again.
Now the girl wanted to get out of the elevator. Shanquan explained he only knew how to turn off the elevator from the inside but did not know how to turn it on again. It meant the two of them trapped themselves inside the elevator. Until someone found them, there could not get out. This time, the custodian had most likely gone home, and the night watchman might or might not come. So they had no choice except to wait until tomorrow morning.
Shanquan observed the girl didn't seem too worried about hearing Shanquan's words. Shanquan himself was surprised to see the fact. When a girl got stuck with a stranger inside an elevator, she must be felt distraught and most likely cried. The terrible situation would agitate her. But this girl was acting normal. Maybe she was used to experiencing extraordinary things like this in her life.
The girl then briefly recounts the chronology of what happened to her. Shanquan listened carefully to what the girl told him. After leaving the phone booth, the girl had headed to the underground station to eat and then rest. After finishing her dinner, she found that the capsule hotel in the subway station was full. There is no more space left. The station's simple inn was too expensive for the girl. Then she walked out of the station to see if there was another capsule hotel in the area. If she couldn't find it, she would return to the station to take the train to another station. She hoped there was still empty space in the capsule hotel at another station.
While walking down the street, an SUV stopped right next to the girl. She saw a woman trying to get out of the vehicle. A man tried to prevent the woman from getting out of the car. Another man got out of the car and beat and pushed the woman into the vehicle. After that, the car driver stepped on the gas away from there. But a little later, they realized that there were witnesses who saw their action. Immediately, the vehicle was backing up towards the girl.
Terrified, the girl ran towards the Dafeisi Tower, which happened to be right behind her. Then the girl had gone up to the twelfth floor, then had gone down to the tenth floor to ask Shanquan for help.
While in the elevator, the two of them talked quite a lot. After tired of talking, the girl fell asleep. Shanquan was actually starving. He didn't mention that at all. Shanquan felt he had to endure this extremely uncomfortable feeling as might as he could. He did not want to add to the burden on the girl's mind. In a state of extreme hunger, finally, Shanquan fell asleep too.