"If you're not buying anything, get out." The middle-aged man looked up, doing his best to keep his face calm as he stared at He Ao. "I don't shelter lunatics here."
He Ao glanced at him, took out his phone, and began dialing.
"Who are you calling?" the middle-aged man asked coldly, reacting on instinct.
"Someone at the Research Institute," He Ao replied casually.
Bang—
Almost before he finished speaking, a faint, sharp gunshot rang out.
He Ao jerked and fell backward onto the floor.
The middle-aged man put the silenced pistol back in the open drawer, then leaned forward to look at the young man on the floor.
A trace of crimson seeped from the young man's chest. His eyes were wide as he stared at the middle-aged man, as if he had a great deal to say.
"You had your chance, kid." The middle-aged man glanced at the open supermarket door, stepped around the young man, and went to the entrance. He looked outside.
"Hello. Have you had any neck pain lately, or—"
A quiet question came from somewhere nearby.
The middle-aged man swiftly reached out and shut the supermarket's glass door.
"Welcome." "Welcome."
The sensor mounted above the door sounded again and again.
Rattle—
The middle-aged man pulled down the roller shutter behind the door, blocking out the light outside. In an instant, the dim little supermarket went completely dark.
Then he looked back at the young man on the floor. The young man's eyes were still open and fixed on him, but he seemed to have no strength left. More and more blood spread across his clothes.
After a brief hesitation, the middle-aged man stepped over him and hurried to the back of the supermarket, where he pulled open a Secret Door hidden in the wall.