At dusk, twilight spread through the city streets, and the evening breeze carried the cool dampness of early autumn, gently stirring the roadside leaves.
Qingxiao had just finished patrolling the perimeter. Rather than return straight to Jujutsu High, he wandered leisurely along the street, planning to stop at the twenty-four-hour convenience store on the corner and buy something hot to tide him over.
He pushed open the glass door. The wind chime above it gave a soft jingle, and the store's cold air washed over him.
Yet the little shop, which should have been bright and welcoming, had an indescribably eerie atmosphere.
Snacks and drinks lined the shelves in neat rows, but there wasn't a single customer. The overhead lights shone a glaring, sickly white, and not even a scanner beep came from the register.
Holding the bread and canned coffee he had just picked up, Qingxiao stopped and looked behind the counter.
A tall, burly man sat where the female clerk should have been standing.
He wore a tight black hood that exposed only a pair of murky, vicious eyes, with his long legs propped on the edge of the counter.
He leaned back against the register, a lit cigarette between his fingers, while white smoke drifted lazily through the gaps in his mask.
The cash drawer had been pried open, small bills were scattered across half the countertop, and three or four empty wallets lay piled in one corner. Even the cigarette cabinet on the lowest shelf had been cleaned out.
The man was clearly a repeat offender. His methods were practiced, and he refused to leave even the convenience store's smallest pickings untouched.
*I just wanted to buy some dinner in peace and take a break. I can't even visit a convenience store without running into a