A few days later, Herowl was preparing to leave work when the phone rang, It was Snowily calling.
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This week, Snowily had made plans to meet with Mr. and Mrs. Petrelo for dinner, leaving messages, but they hadn't confirmed a date yet.
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"They must be busy," Herowl also looked forward to meeting with them again, knowing he would have been beaten up without them.
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Snowily also hoped for the same, so she decided to have dinner alone. "You can finish up and get ready to leave first, then we can talk later."
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After hanging up, Snowily felt a strange sense of unease.
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On the day of the appointment, two weeks after the station attack incident, Herowl stood at the main entrance of the Happy Shopping Center, as usual, he arrived early, always waiting for Snowily so as not to keep the girl waiting."Fortunately, I had the day off today and could enjoy a nice dinner without rushing." Snowily took out her phone and pulled Herowl closer, pressing their faces together for a photo outside the shopping center. "Let's make sure to capture tonight well," Snowily smiled brightly, while Herowl seemed a bit reserved.
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After spending some time together, Snowily had grown more accepting of Herowl, and she was pleased to see his changing emotions, believing that her efforts were paying off.
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After taking the photo, they had to face reality. Snowily was worried about Mr. Petrelo and his wife, as they had not been able to contact them for a whole week, and she wondered what could be the reason.
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Herowl comforted Snowily, saying, "I hope they are just too busy. Let's go find something to eat first."
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It was an ordinary evening, so it wasn't difficult to find a place for dinner. During the meal, they discussed personal matters and vented about the hardships of their jobs. Snowily, who worked as a service clerk, shared stories about difficult customers, which were both frustrating and amusing.
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The dinner felt like a moment of happiness isolated from the world.
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After finishing their meal, they returned to the real world. Herowl, who was reading the news on his phone, suddenly looked serious. Snowily, sensing something was wrong, looked at the screen he handed her, which showed news about another Bermuda petrel couple who had tragically fallen to their deaths due to Flyania.
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Although Snowily knew the answer, she couldn't believe it was Mr. Petrelo and his wife. Herowl sadly confirmed, "Yes... I wonder how they got infected..."
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Upon hearing this devastating news and Herowl's response, Snowily's rational thoughts shattered. "Infected? You still believe this is a disease? Don't be naive!" Snowily realized that perhaps it was her own naivety to think that Herowl could change.
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Remembering what his boss Barnaby had said, Herowl replied, feeling aggrieved, "But there's no evidence that poleace did it..."
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"They saved us that night and now they're dead. That's a fact! There won't be any evidence! What will it take for you to believe?" Snowily was right, and the true reason behind the fall would never be known to the public. The reason of Flyania would be easier for the citizens to accept.
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"I... " Herowl hesitated.
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"Forget it. Let's pay and go back," Snowily said, facing Herowl's silence and her inability to accept the death of Mr. Petrelo and his wife, causing her to reach a breaking point after days of trying to comfort him.
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As they left the restaurant, Snowily walked ahead in frustration, with Herowl silently following behind, unsure of what to say in such a difficult situation. Snowily also silently complained to herself, as she had never encountered someone as stubborn as Herowl. "Does he need to see his own body thrown from a height before he believes?" Of course, Snowily did not say such an ominous question out loud, choosing to keep it inside.
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They reached the atrium of the shopping center, where a large amount of paper was falling from the upper level, indicating that someone was running and scattering papers.Citizens received small pieces of paper with the logo of two clouds and a pair of blue wings printed on them.
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Snowily recognized the logo, and immediately questioned whether there was an event happening tonight, referring to The Birddies' promotional activities. Occasionally, she would receive notifications, but she remembered that there was no event scheduled for tonight.
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As citizens looked at the logo, there was a sudden scream coming from not far away. Then, more than ten citizens began running inside the shopping center, brushing past Herowl and Snowily. The rest of the citizens followed suit and hurriedly avoided the scene.
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Herowl instinctively grabbed Snowily and followed her as they ran. She looked hesitant but remained composed, thinking deeply.
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"We are normal citizens, nothing will happen to us!" Herowl reassured Snowily as they fled, just like the night they first met. Though Snowily smiled, she was too caught up in the danger to think about personal matters.
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In less than two minutes, hundreds of fully armed poleace officers stormed into the shopping center and attacked and arrested citizens holding the logo.
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Some citizens raised their hands in surrender, yet were still forcefully subdued and had their arms broken. Nearby, some citizens had lost consciousness and lay on the ground, as poleace officers continued their ruthless attacks. Other subdued citizens had their necks and legs twisted in unnatural directions, their eyes vacant, their fate uncertain.
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Compared to the attack in the South District two weeks ago, the current situation was far worse.
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Herowl immediately dropped the logo, pulled Snowily towards the main exit, but they were not the only ones with that idea. With other exits sealed off, the remaining citizens were forced to move towards the main exit, making it a dangerous situation. Remembering their past experience, Herowl held onto Snowily tightly, determined not to let go this time.
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Thankfully, the poleace did not oppress the citizens waiting to leave through the main exit, as it would have caused even more chaos and potentially led to trampling incidents.
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Near the main exit, there were several makeshift testing tents set up by the poleace. The citizens leaving through the exit were mostly safe and were orderly going through the testing process.
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Soon enough, it was Herowl and Snowily's turn. Herowl quickly clarified to the poleace, "We are normal citizens, we are not infected!"
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"We are normal citizens too! Social elites! Protecting the city's well-being!" Other nearby citizens also chimed in, showing loyalty in order to ensure their own safety.
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The poleace gently reassured the citizens present and gestured for them to continue queuing, "We understand, each person will be tested to confirm if they are infected. If they are not, they will be allowed to pass."
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Due to the individual disease testing, Herowl went into the tent first. He hesitantly looked back at Snowily, reluctantly releasing her hands.
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"We will see each other outside! You will be fine!" Herowl's eyes were determined as he comforted Snowily before entering, confident as a reporter that he would be okay.
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Snowily watched Herowl leave, tears falling from her eyes, her complex emotions remaining unspoken."She was not infected! We just had dinner together, she was fine!" Before parting ways, Herowl kept reassuring the other poleace officers that Snowily was safe, and then was taken into the tent amidst shouting.
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Inside the tent, the seemingly leader of the poleace nodded politely when he saw Herowl, while arranging for the other poleace officers to search him. "Please! The snowy owl girl behind me just now, she is not sick!" Herowl continued to plead for Snowily as he was being searched.
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"You are the journalist Herowl, right?" The leader noticed the journalist ID found on Herowl and his attitude immediately changed, with a smile on his face he said, "Alright, you can leave, we will test her for the disease, and if she is not infected, she will be released."
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The poleace officer searching Herowl also sternly urged him to leave, saying, "Go, don't make it difficult for us."
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"Can I leave? What about her? What about the snowy owl?" Worried about Snowily, Herowl continued to inquire in a desperate manner, forgetting that he might clash with the poleace officers.
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However, the leader was not kind to him either, pushing Herowl towards the exit of the tent and admonishing harshly, "I said go, we are very polite to journalists, but if you insist on causing trouble, don't blame us for using force."
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Pushed away, Herowl was at a loss and unable to do anything.
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He looked at the crowded shopping center surrounded by poleace officers, with many citizens nearby planning to stay and wait for companions, but they were soon driven away by the poleace officers, not allowed to gather in high-risk epidemic areas to avoid infection.
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"Snowily…" Herowl kept looking back as he left, because Snowily was following behind him and should be leaving with him soon, but she was nowhere to be seen.
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