The lights went out, and the night darkened.
The straight Black Pillar merged with the night sky, losing any distinctiveness.
Most of the shops along the street were closed, and vehicles and pedestrians on the roads became sparse.
Many of the worried people outside the food street couldn't hold on and went home to wait for news, leaving only a few persistent figures who couldn't stand for long and found a stone pillar a little farther away to sit and wait.
Wang Xiuli sat on a stone pillar by the edge of the road, her eyelids drooping with sleepiness.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of many vehicles approaching, and a rancid smell permeated the air.
She rubbed her eyes and looked toward the street. One sanitation garbage truck after another and vehicles covered with black tarps formed a long dragon as they emerged from the night.
Like a bloated, malodorous arthropod, they slowly entered the food street.
