The gunshot was amplified tenfold inside the enclosed wooden house.
The woman's corpse had its mouth wide open, as though it were saying, "Run!"
The atmosphere, already tense and suffocating to the extreme, instantly exploded like a powder keg set alight.
Under the threat of death, people surged madly toward the Cafe's doors and windows, desperately shoving down anyone in their way and trampling over them.
Screams and cries for help drowned out the sound of bones breaking. In an instant, the Cafe became a living hell.
In the utter chaos, even the Secret Police were knocked to the ground.
Fearing that they too would be trampled, they fired at the people running toward them in their panic.
The crowd immediately ran even faster.
At last, several lucky people squeezed out through the Cafe's front door, only to discover in despair that another twenty or thirty Secret Police had already been waiting outside.
Overwhelmed by terror, they had lost all reason. The only thought left in their minds was to escape.
The surrounding Secret Police raised their guns and shouted, "Everyone, get on your knees!"
"Don't move, or I'll fire!"
But those "rioters" charged toward them even faster.
The lead Secret Police officer had been ordered not to let a single person escape. Having just heard several gunshots, he no longer had any reservations and immediately ordered, "Aim! Fire!"
Flashes of fire flickered in the night, and the first five or six people fell in response.
Illuminated by lantern light, the Secret Police began reloading—
Adorno staggered into his home, slammed the door shut behind him, locked it, and only then collapsed to the floor, gulping down the moldy air.
Yes, he had escaped alive. Though his face bore several scratches and his clothes were torn, he was almost uninjured.