Outside
The hazy snowflakes drifted over the streets.
"Have all the shop owners in the street been evacuated?"
Chen lit a cigarette, looked at the bakery across the street and spoke slowly.
"Evacuated," responded the man with a straight beard, "but some shop owners are unwilling to leave too far."
He pointed to the end of the street.
Outside the neon-lit barricade, some elderly were standing there, carefully observing the scene on the street.
The straight-bearded man sighed, "They've basically been running their shops here for many years, they have feelings for them, afraid something might happen to the shops, can't persuade them to leave."
"It's normal, even things without life, after a long time, can evoke feelings," Chen gazed at the wall between the bakery and convenience store, "They've been inside for so long, hopefully, they haven't come across anything."
