Chapter 3.2

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From the third floor to the second came thundering footsteps like soldiers marching down a hollow base. They looked around the area and spotted the fire hose dangling mid-air. One of the men peeked down to the first floor, straight at the firehose's shadow. There was nothing there to land on, just the concrete floor, and it would have been quite a drop. Right next to the hose was the second floor, and then the clothing store. The man who'd peeked down furrowed his eyebrows. A bead of sweat was zigzagging along with his bald head as he stroked his stubble with one hand and maintained a firm grip on his rifle with the other. He spoke up:

"Two- you and you, check the first floor. Straight there," he motioned to two of the men who promptly followed his orders. He must have been the second in command to the wild-haired leader upstairs. "We'll check that place over there." He pointed to the clothing store where Shintaro was currently residing.

Zooming in and watching all of this unfold was the back camera of Shintaro's phone, leaning on a small pile of clothes on top of a cashier's counter for support. It could see more than the front. Ene had been keeping watch, updating him on their moves. The dim lights on the second floor were brighter than those upstairs.

"They're coming," she whispered.

Underneath the counter, crouching and nervously fiddling with a laptop, was Shintaro himself. His eyes glowed blue from the hue of the screen in the dark. He had it plugged into the cashier's computer, connected to the store, and therefore the mall. But that wasn't powered on. Still, he made the preparations ready despite the lack of internet. He took out his phone charger from his sling bag, unplugged it from its base, and inserted it into the laptop. Reaching for Ene, he hurriedly connected her to it and waited. Her body broke down into tiny pixelated blue squares that flowed from the phone screen and suddenly reappeared on the laptop background. She looked around and said:

"Oh. But the main computer's still off, though?"

"Yeah. So, I need you to stay here and be on standby. Be ready to activate everything when I turn the power back on."

"Right. How will you even get there-

"I'll hide here first and then eventually get to it. Or something," Shintaro was a bit lost at this point, too. He knew that it would only take a single bullet to the head, and everything would be over. Getting to the power room would require more people, a decoy, or a shortcut.

"Um...T-there's an emergency power room at the back of the third store to the left from this one." A timid voice spoke up. It was the sales clerk. Shintaro had found her hiding here when he first entered and asked her if he could use the computer, to which she'd said "sure, but the power's off." She was in her mid-twenties with shoulder-length black hair and a face that would look nice even with little make-up. No name tag. He'd found the laptop underneath the counter, and she didn't really say anything until now.

"Oh. Okay... Thank you." He gave her his loveliest smile. But it looked like a pile of dough with a smiley drawn on it. She returned an equally nervous smile and said:

"G-good luck."

He crouch-walked across the store and found himself straight in the middle, towards the rear, when three of the black-clad men searching for him entered altogether. The beams from their flashlights flew wildly around the countless nooks and corners of the store, only giving visibility to different assortments of girls' clothing. Shintaro lay flat on his stomach. He wasn't sure what to do for a moment but caught sight of a sign, "dressing room." The men moved in closer. He dragged himself over to the dressing rooms while remaining prone. He opted for the one at the very back. As soon as his hand reached the door, he tried to swing it open as quietly as he could. But it didn't budge. He tried it again with more force, but it was stuck. There was, however, a small enough rectangular opening underneath that he used to squeeze himself through. And upon having his head enter, his eyes met the eyes of three different people.

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