The leader was filled with rage and wanted to strangle Elena right away.
However, when he looked into her calm eyes, he sensed she was far too composed for their dire situation.
Instead of fear, he saw a sneer that bewildered him—as if she dared him to act, expecting a confrontation.
Instinctively, he wanted to leave—something about this felt wrong.
He now realised that Elena was not the helpless victim he had imagined.
Yet he hesitated, aware that backing down now would damage his team’s morale.
’Is the rumor about this shop true?’
"You... Just give me the supplies, or I’ll kill your staff one by one," he said, eyes darting as he searched for the Paradise shop staff.
Unfortunately, only two staff members remained: the woman he was speaking to and a man watching him intently—as if ready to pounce.
"Where did you hide your staff?" the leader demanded, his frantic gaze locked on Elena.
Elena gazed at him with a smirk, thinking he seemed more like an actor than a real criminal.
"Are you done? Good acting, by the way," she said, narrowing her eyes just as the tear gas began to seep into the unit.
This tear gas was different—it only obscured vision.
She found it a hassle to explain to the manager if the residents experienced irritation or coughing, so she had chosen a type with no harmful effects.
Panic spread as everyone mistook the tear gas for fog, believing it had returned, and visibility in the unit quickly deteriorated.
"The fog is here again; let’s kill everyone now," the leader commanded, not wasting any more time.
The criminals raised their weapons as the leader searched for the two shop staff members.
"Stop hiding, or else I’ll kill everyone here."
But there was no reply at all; the staff seemed to have vanished, and only the pleas of the residents could be heard.
"Boss, the shop is gone; there’s nothing else around here anymore," a criminal said, finding that the portable shop and heating devices had vanished as if they had never been there.
Soon, the chilling cold began to take effect, making the situation more dire.
"What are you talking about? They’re probably just hiding and turned off the heating devices."
The leader created an alibi, not wanting to cause his team to panic—for even he was beginning to doubt the situation.
’This shop seemed eerie.’
Elena and Ethan watched from the side, wearing masks and goggles to see through the diminishing visibility.
She was waiting for the criminals to position themselves away from the residents so they could take action without restrictions.
When they didn’t budge, she spoke, getting their attention.
"I told you, we are more dangerous than the criminals outside. But you are still stupid enough to think you can subdue us."
Hearing her, the criminals shifted their focus toward the source of the voice.
There, they saw the woman standing near the balcony, while the man was nowhere to be found.
"She is here. Open fire and kill her."
Elena quickly took action and used her [Blink] skill to teleport behind them.
"She’s gone," a criminal said, bewildered by her sudden disappearance.
"Hey, I’m here. [Spatial Slash]."
A silver blade of energy surged, cutting the heads of seven criminals. A thud echoed as their heads fell to the floor.
"Ahhhhhh..." The remaining criminals were shaken by what they saw, and panic began to spread.
This gave Elena and Ethan the edge they needed. They soon took down the criminals one by one.
Ethan fired his gun while hiding systematically, whereas Elena used her [Blink] skill to draw their attention, testing her [Spatial Slash] in the process.
She found it interesting but still opted to use guns, as the criminals were still fragile.
In the near future, as humans began awakening their abilities, their bodies underwent significant mutations that dramatically enhanced their physical capabilities.
This transformation brought about heightened strength, agility, and resilience—gradually rendering conventional weapons like guns less effective.
The criminals didn’t know what to do, as the gas obstructed their view.
And Elena seemed to be everywhere; they heard her voice on one side and then found her on the opposite side.
They were all confused.
"She... she... she was here a while—" But before the criminal could finish, he fell dead, his head was severed.
The scene was brutal, and Elena could hear their panicked voices.
She sparked this chaos to instil fear and warn others not to trifle with the shop.
Once it was over, the residents would surely spread the word, making the shop even more notorious.
’Let’s see if they are still stupid enough to challenge us.’
"They are monsters... Let me out of here," a criminal started to cry, truly afraid of what was happening.
Ethan quickly took action and killed the remaining criminals, firing precise shots to their heads, leaving them with wide-open eyes in shock.
He watched his wife use her skills with impressive finesse and couldn’t help but feel amazed.
He finally understood how powerful ability users could be.
Soon, the residents sensed that something was wrong with the criminals.
They couldn’t see the situation clearly because the fog was obstructing their view, but they could feel that the Paradise Shop staff was gaining the upper hand.
They prayed and hoped that the staff could subdue the criminals.
After a few minutes, the gunfight stopped, and an eerie silence descended.
Then they heard a machine whirring to life, clearing the fog around the unit.
When the air was finally clear, they were shaken by the scene before them: heads were on the floor, and blood was everywhere.
"Ahh... Ahh... they were decapitated."
"I don’t care as long as they’re dead."
The residents’ opinions varied, but one thing was clear: they were grateful to the Paradise Shop.
What was even more shocking was that the two Paradise Shop staff members were standing in the corner, looking as if they were mere spectators—too clean and refreshed amidst the chaos.
"Stop looking at me. Clean this mess up and toss their bodies outside. Let the criminals know that the Paradise Shop is not something they can afford to mess with."
The residents nodded and began to gather the bodies and heads of the criminals, disposing of them outside as instructed.