"What?" Srini said, holding the steel chain in his hand.
"Think about it, if a raid team had already cleared this building and packed everything neatly into boxes, why would they leave the boxes here?" Manu asked.
"Manu, as you said before, if a raid team was able to clear the building, they wouldn't be able to take everything with them. That means what they found must have been far more valuable than this. Think about it, Manu what we're seeing here is nothing compared to what they got. They must have found the real fortune, the real treasure," Srini said.
"But I don't feel good about this... what—" Manu was cut off.
"No buts. Don't think about anything else, just enjoy this moment," Srini interrupted.
Manu kept staring at the boxes. Something about them made him uneasy. He started to move forward on the same floor to see if there was anything suspicious.
"Wait, Manu, where are you going? Come on, let's pack everything into the bags," Srini said, rushing near Manu.
"I think we can't carry all this in our bags. Some things we'd have to carry in our hands. So—" Manu started, but before he could finish, Srini ran forward.
"Manu, come look at this!" Srini shouted.
The place where the stairs to the fourth floor should have been was destroyed. Only one or two steps remained, barely clinging to the wall, cracked and unstable.
"Here comes the problem... how are we supposed to go to the fourth floor now?" Srini said.
Manu looked around and spotted a rope hanging down the side of the wall, connected to the fourth floor. He tugged and shook it to test its grip. Suddenly he said,
"Srini, come here. Look something's wrong. You know how much a rope costs nowadays. Why would a raid team leave it here? Something's not right."
"Oh my god, Manu, please stop this. Why are you acting like this? Actually, I should be the one panicking out of fear, but look at me - I'm fine. I don't feel anything suspicious. Don't waste your time thinking about useless things. If we were going to encounter any evolved animals, we would have already. But we haven't. We didn't find anything unusual in the building either. And you said yourself, the raid team was strong. If they had encountered danger, there would be traces of blood. We haven't seen any such thing," Srini argued.
"But still, I feel—" Manu started, but Srini cut him off again.
"No buts," Srini said firmly.
Then Srini pushed Manu toward one of the house doors on the third floor.
"Now you go inside. If you find something, bring it here. I'll go up to the fourth floor and see if there's anything useful. Don't worry, I'll bring the rope too," Srini said, running toward it with excitement.
Manu stood in front of the door, staring at Srini as he climbed toward the fourth floor using the rope. Srini, noticing Manu's stare, gestured for him to go inside. Manu finally turned and went into the house while Srini reached the fourth floor.