The situation outside had turned dire as the deafening roar of gunfire and a massive explosion erupted—signaling a fierce clash between Jetro’s team and the ruthless criminals.
Today, those criminals would stop at nothing to seize the building, driven by a burning hunger for control and a personal vendetta against the manager.
The presence of the Paradise Shop within the building also fueled their determination.
"Boss, let’s move forward. It’s freezing here. If this fight continues, we might lose despite our numerical advantage," one of the men urged, his teeth chattering from the cold.
"Do you think I don’t know that? Look in front of you – that man is still shooting at us," the boss replied, his eyes fixed on the manager.
"Then how are we supposed to overtake them? We only have one grenade left," the criminals said, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Perhaps retreating for now was the best choice if they couldn’t take them down.
"You only know how to complain. Since they won’t budge, let’s use our last resort," the boss said, sneering at the residents as they continued to defend the building.
"Are you sure about this, boss? If we do it, the building might get severely damaged," one of the men cautioned.
"What else can we do? Retreating now is not an option. Plus, our people inside will ambush them later. This is the only way to distract them," the boss replied firmly.
Reluctantly, the criminal agreed and handed over the shoulder-fired missile.
The boss was about to launch it when a gunshot rang out from inside the building, pausing everyone in their tracks.
Meanwhile, Jetro felt a wave of worry as gunfire echoed through the building.
He hesitated, unsure whether to head upstairs to provide backup or stay and defend the entrance.
Suddenly, the gunfire ceased, and a window creaked open.
To everyone’s horror, a body was thrown out, followed by several severed heads.
The brutality of the scene left everyone stunned and speechless.
At first, Jetro was shocked at the sight of the bodies, fearing the residents had been killed.
When he heard the criminals laughing, he almost believed it—that the residents had truly been slaughtered by those inside the building.
Given their past cooperation, he had expected the Paradise Shop staff to defend the residents.
But clearly, he had been wrong.
Just then, the atmosphere shifted as a resident from upstairs came down to explain what had really happened.
The Paradise Shop staff single-handedly took down the criminals inside the unit.
Jetro smirked, unable to deny that the Paradise Shop was mysteriously powerful.
He solidified a mental note to befriend them later.
After tossing the bodies out, Elena stood at the window, looking down at the criminals with a puzzled expression.
"Why are they happy?" she asked her husband, confused by their reaction.
Ethan glanced at the scene below and replied, "Maybe they don’t realize the ones who died were their own members."
"Then let’s help the manager out," she said.
She pulled a grenade from her [Inventory] and, without hesitation, tossed it into the area where the criminals were hiding.
Soon after, a sudden explosion erupted.
The explosion rocked the area, blasting shards of ice into the air and catching the criminals completely off guard.
"What happened?" the boss asked, trying to grasp the situation.
He looked around and saw many of his men either injured or dead from the earlier blast.
Then, suddenly, another explosion rocked the area.
Panic rippled through the group.
"Boss, let’s retreat! We’re under attack!" one of the men shouted, his voice urgent.
"Boss, bad news! The bodies thrown out earlier—they were our people!" another added, fear in his eyes.
The boss turned to the window and saw two figures staring down at them, their faces marked with defiance and triumph.
’How dare they!’ he thought, rage boiling inside him.
"Give me the missile—now!" he barked.
Fueled by anger and a thirst for revenge, his men quickly handed him the shoulder-fired missile.
"Let’s see if you can hide from this," he muttered with a sinister grin, preparing to strike back.
He then fired the missile, which was seen by many of the residents.
Everyone fell silent, stunned by how the situation unfolded—especially Jetro.
The standoff was supposed to be between the criminals and him, but now all eyes were on the Paradise Shop staff.
The missile flew straight toward the unit where Elena was standing.
After seeing it, the residents inside scrambled to get out, panic spreading quickly, while Elena watched the scene nonchalantly, unshaken by the impending danger.
She waited for the moment when the missile entered the range of her [Inventory].
Meanwhile, Ethan held his wife tightly, feeling a surge of fear. His emotions regarding Elena were in turmoil.
He wanted to drag his wife away, to escape into space, but he held himself back and stayed by her side—since she was brave enough to face the missile, he would support her no matter what.
"It’s coming," Ethan said, holding her close and caressing the baby.
Elena nodded; she already had a plan for the missile.
As it drew nearer, she focused intently on it.
When it was within range, she quickly stored it in her [Inventory].
Gasps filled the air as everyone processed the shocking sight of the missile disappearing.
’Was it really gone?’
It happened so fast that they felt stunned.
When they blinked, the missile had rerouted back toward the criminals
Jetro had seen what happened, and his opinion of the Paradise Shop skyrocketed.
While the residents rejoiced, the criminals panicked, fearing the missile would hit them.
"What’s going on?" a criminal asked, bewildered.
"Boss, let’s get out of here!" another criminal urged.
"Why did the missile go back?" a criminal stammered, speechless as he processed what was happening.
Everyone was filled with questions, confused about how the missile had returned.
This was beyond explanation.
Meanwhile, Elena sneered at the bewildered criminals.
She knew her actions would cast doubt on the Paradise Shop, but she didn’t care.
Let the shop be the topic of their conversation.
And let it become more notorious for its mystery.