With a thought, Sun Hang, accompanied by the explosive sound of breaking the sound barrier, stood at the entrance of the shopping center seconds later.
This shopping center covers nearly 100,000 square ters, with a main building consisting of four floors. The first floor primarily sells automobiles, apparel, and electronic products. Due to the near complete halt of comrcial activities in Tianfu City, all these shops are now closed. A thin layer of dust covers the display cars worth tens of millions, and the glass of a luxury shop window has been shattered with a large hole; the mannequins inside are toppled over in disarray. Yellow and black caution tape has been placed around the broken glass, with seals bearing the Public Security Bureau’s stamp on the shop doors—such incidents are not uncommon in Tianfu City. Due to the fall of Eternal Night, social order has beco much more chaotic, and the incidence of theft and robberies has greatly increased. Despite the Celestial City Managent Committee increasing the penalties for cris during this special period, it is still futile.
For ordinary people, this might as well be the apocalypse, and when the apocalypse strikes, the first to crumble is social order.
Particularly for those at the bottom, the things you ordinarily can’t afford or even touch now present a zero-cost opportunity in front of you. Wouldn’t you be tempted?
The vast majority might hold onto their moral boundaries... but humans, when their numbers grow large enough, always produce so anthropomorphic entities.
This is known as the bigger the forest, the more types of birds there are.
And humans have another trait, which is conformity—once the first offender appears, the second, third... the hundred and first will quickly follow.
All this under the premise of the Federation Governnt declaring they "will never abandon Shuzhou"... should Shuzhou be truly abandoned, during the ti until it completely falls, the major threat for those unable to evacuate won’t be supernatural entities, but rather humans of the sa species.
Sun Hang severed the chains on the mall doors, forcibly pushing open the closed electric door, and stepped inside.
Inside the mall, garbage was strewn everywhere, with various abandoned promotional materials, advertising signs, and all sorts of shopping bags... Near Sun Hang’s feet, there was even a lacquered high-heeled shoe lying there.
After the arrival of Eternal Night, this shopping center briefly reopened for a ti, but with the appearance of Chira 17, Tianfu City went into lockdown again, and the hastily reopened mall was quickly shut down once more... from the chaotic scene, one can imagine the panic and disorder at the ti when the lockdown was announced again.
Sun Hang walked up the powerless escalator to the second floor, which mainly featured various restaurants, drink shops, and second-dinsion favorite collectible stores... However, the situation here wasn’t much better than the first floor. The trash bins beside were stuffed with full-length foam standees, and the ground was littered with stains ford by spilled beverages and food that hadn’t been promptly cleaned up, now hardened over ti.
The small benches used for waiting in line in front of the restaurants were ssily blocking the passage in the middle, with hundreds of cardboard boxes filled with food raw materials piled in front of the public restroom, emitting a strong rancid, decaying sll.
Sun Hang casually walked into a coffee shop, surprisingly finding the coffee machine on the counter still lit.
"Where’s the electricity coming from?" Sun Hang was stunned for a mont, but before he could get closer, a figure suddenly stood up behind the counter, pointing sothing that seed like a homade crossbow at Sun Hang.
"Stop!" The person commanded in a low voice, "Keep your hands where I can see them and back off, back to the corridor outside."
Other than a few indicator lights on the coffee machine, the café was pitch-black. Only a slight glint on the arrowhead in the opponent’s hand crossbow could be vaguely seen... But this was for ordinary people; with Sun Hang’s vision, he could clearly see that the one holding the crossbow was a young man resembling a beggar—he was wearing an ill-fitting branded coat, with his backpack and clothes’ pockets stuffed to the brim, and several watches on the small exposed part of his arm at the sleeve.
"A thief?" Sun Hang asked.
"I’m not a thief!" The person rebutted imdiately, "I’m just a scavenger. Anyway, these things are left here with no one wanting them. Who takes them doesn’t matter, does it? If you want to fight for them, believe it or not, I’ll shoot you dead!"
"Would you dare to kill?"
"Why wouldn’t I dare? The surveillance here is out of power; if I kill you, no one would know it was !" The other spoke viciously, "Besides, since the arrival of Eternal Night, so many people have already died in Tianfu City; what’s one more?"
"What do you think I am?" Sun Hang smiled and asked.
"I don’t care what you are! Before I decide I really want to kill you, get lost! Don’t let see you again!" The young man, who claid to be a "scavenger," said aggressively.
"Have you killed before?"
"I... I certainly have!" The other hesitated, then shouted defiantly, "Just last week, a bastard tried to steal my stuff, and I shot him dead with an arrow!"
"Oh, so that’s you admitting to murder verbally?" Sun Hang laughed, "So, if I tell you I’m a sheriff, can I arrest you now? Considering you have a history of surrender, maybe you’ll get a lighter sentence."
The young man’s expression clearly appeared flustered, but he didn’t realize Sun Hang could see his facial expressions change in such darkness; with a tough but inwardly weak voice, he shouted: "Bullshit! You can’t be a sheriff! A sheriff wouldn’t co to a place like this! This area has long been abandoned! You’re also a scavenger... no, you’re a thief, you ca here to steal!"
Sun Hang almost laughed at this guy’s "double standards," shaking his head he said: "Alright, you guessed right, I’m indeed not a sheriff, but I do have so connections with the Public Security Bureau... how to say, it’s more of a work partnership."
"You must be dreaming, such ghost stories may fool children, but they won’t scare !" The scavenger clearly relaxed slightly seeing Sun Hang admitting he wasn’t a sheriff, "I’ll give you ten seconds if you don’t leave, I really will shoot!"
"I’m not a sheriff, but a hunter." Sun Hang stated calmly, "A mysterious creature hunter."
The scavenger was stunned, but after a few seconds, he cursed loudly: "Bullshit!"
"I really am a hunter, whether you believe it or not, there’s one thing I must tell you, this shopping center is very likely harboring a supernatural entity."
The scavenger’s expression quickly shifted, and after several monts of silence, he finally asked, "Are you... are you serious about this?"
"I have no reason to lie to you," Sun Hang said, "It’s precisely because there’s a supernatural entity here, that hunters co, isn’t it?"
"But, you’re not like the hunters I know... not at all..." The scavenger shook his head, "I still think you’re trying to con !"
"How am I different? The mysterious creature hunter you know, what are they like?" Sun Hang asked, curious.
"I don’t know much, but wouldn’t the sheriff investigate first if a hunter is going to hunt a supernatural entity, followed by the Anomaly Investigation Bureau, then finally the hunter takes action? Why are you here alone, how can I trust your words?"
"Now then, do you still doubt?" Sun Hang raised his hand, and a tallic blade hovered above his palm.
Seemingly afraid the other couldn’t see, Sun Hang kindly turned on his phone’s flashlight. In the beam of light, the tallic blade glead fiercely, as if an animate creature.
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