Chapter 5 Section 3

After that, I repeated sleeping and waking in much shorter cycles than normal.The doctor said, in this way, my mind will slowly recover a little bit-as if to prove this point, every time I wake up, the memory is like a tidal wave. My name is Junichi Naruse, and I work in the service department of an industrial machinery factory. My main job is to deal with customer complaints and repair damaged machines.I wear a light blue uniform that has been stained almost gray with motor oil.My nickname at work is "Honest". The old employees said it was because no matter what the boss said, I nodded in agreement.

I just spread out the canvas on weekends, painting is one of my pleasures.At the end of last year, I bought a brand new set of oil painting tools. I live in a cramped bachelor apartment.It is said to be an apartment, but it is actually just a cheap place to live. Every time I cook, I have to put on a slipper, and I can only enter the kitchen with one foot in the other. The apartment—the apartment in poor condition was the culprit that got me into this tragedy.I went to a nearby real estate agency trying to find a better house, and that's where I got shot in the head. That was around five o'clock in the afternoon.I didn't have any particular reason for choosing that store, except that from the outside, the clerk seemed to have a nice attitude.If I saw a serious man sitting in a store, I would not go in.

A young female customer was talking to the clerk at the counter, and there were five employees sitting at the table, three men and two women. There is a luxurious sofa on the left side of the room. A lady in a high-quality white woolen coat is sitting there with an elderly employee who looks like a store manager, chatting and laughing while drinking tea.What she's here to talk about is probably on a completely different level than ours. The young female customer in front of me brushed her long hair, she didn't seem to find a satisfactory house, and left the counter with a displeased face.A male employee with a thin face said: "I will contact you when I have a suitable house." She turned her head and walked out.

"Fujita, it's time, can you close the door?" Slender Face said to his colleague before greeting me.A female employee wearing round glasses stood up in response.The store closes at five o'clock.She walked to the door. With a professional smile on his slender face, he said to me, "I've kept you waiting." I approach the counter: "I want to find a house." "What kind?" "Ordinary is fine, there is a kitchen..." "One bedroom?" He asked anxiously, "Is it for rent?" "right." "Which area is the house?"

"Probably just around here and a little farther from the station." Before I finished speaking, he took a thick folder from the side, which contained a lot of real estate information. "What's the upper limit of the rent?" He asked while flipping through the materials. I wanted to say a slightly higher amount than the current rent, but I swallowed my words after glancing at the information—the amount on it was much higher than I thought. "What's your budget?" Seeing that I didn't answer, the clerk asked impatiently.I couldn't help saying a number that was way over budget.The clerk's face softened, and he flipped through the documents again.

What are you talking about—I scolded myself.How to find a house that cannot afford the rent?I have to change my words quickly, but I don't have the courage, so I will definitely get a blank stare. I began to think about how to reject the house recommended by him, and I could only find an excuse to reject it.What on earth am I doing here? After a while, the clerk seemed to have found a suitable listing and handed me the folder.I leaned forward pretending to be interested. Just then, he came. I didn't notice when he came in, maybe the young woman had just left before he came in, maybe just before the saleswoman with the round glasses closed the door.

He stood beside us as if he wanted to listen to the conversation between me and the clerk.I can't tell how old I am, probably about the same age as me, or a little older.He wears a beige trench coat and dark sunglasses. The clerk wanted to say "wait a moment" to him, but just as he was about to speak, he had already started to act.He slowly stretched out his right hand from the windbreaker pocket, holding a black guy in his hand. "Don't move around, do as I say." His voice was flat, but very loud. All the people in the store were stunned, and they didn't understand what he was holding or what he said for a moment.Of course, me too.Because I noticed his actions from the beginning, I quickly realized what he was holding.

A saleswoman was holding a microphone.He pointed his gun at her: "Hang up the phone and talk to the other party naturally." The female shop assistant stammered a few words and hung up the phone. "Lower the blinds," he ordered the male clerk at the window.The clerk made three and two simultaneous strokes, and hurriedly lowered the curtains.The curtain of the gate has been drawn. He looked at me: "Are you a customer?" I looked at his hand and nodded, unable to make a sound.This is the first time I have seen a real pistol, and the black and shiny gun body says it all.

He glanced at the folders on the counter, and his face twitched: "It's too extravagant! A room with four and a half stacks is enough for one person." Don't worry—I'd say that if I had more guts, but my mouth seemed to be stuck and I looked him in the eyes tremblingly.Behind the sunglasses, his eyes were as lifeless as dead fish eyes. "Back slowly." I did.Needless to say, my legs were already straight and I could only walk slowly.I retreated to the sofa, where the dame and the older fat clerk sat pale. His eyes shifted to the fat man: "Are you the store manager?"

The fat man shook the fat on his chin and nodded. "Order your men, put all the money in this bag." He took the travel bag at his feet to the counter. "There is no cash here." The store manager's voice trembled. He walked two or three steps closer, and pointed at the store manager with a gun: "You and the boss are going to buy land in the tourist area tomorrow, and show the local snakes 200 million yuan. The money is in the safe here. What I mean is , take it out." "how do you know……" "Nonsense! Do it when you understand it, don't dawdle! Make me anxious and be careful to get shot!"

The store manager who was held up by the gun was swallowing saliva. "Understood... Sato, you do as he says!" Hearing the store manager's order, the male clerk by the window stood up. When Sato put the money in the safe into the bag, everyone was ordered to stand with their heads in their hands.He stood against the wall, watching everyone's every move warily. I tried to tip off the news, but couldn't do anything.Unlike the bank, there probably wasn't an alarm going straight to the police station - just thinking about how to call the police as soon as he was out.It is estimated that he will cut off the phone and leave. Just as he was thinking that, something moved in the corner of his line of sight.I rolled my eyes to look at the past, and my heart couldn't help beating rapidly. Hidden between the back of the sofa and the wall was a little girl of three or four years old, probably the daughter of a female customer of the white sweater.The mother was forced to put her head in her hands and close her eyes tightly. She lost her mind in panic and didn't notice that her daughter was gone. The little girl stretched out her arms from behind the sofa, trying to open the window.The windows were not locked. The moment I screamed "Danger" in my heart, he caught a glimpse of the little girl who had opened the window and was about to climb out. Without saying a word, he turned the muzzle of the gun away without blinking his eyelids.I could tell from the blank look in his eyes that he was going to shoot. Danger! ——I called and went to pull the little girl.I heard someone's screams, and there was something else at the same time.In an instant, I was blown away by a huge force, and my whole body felt like it was on fire. Then, consciousness disappeared.