THE DEATH'S TERRORY

CHAPTER 2: SMOKE AND DUST

Los Angeles is entering the most beautiful time of the year when thousands of yellow flowers have bloomed on the busiest streets here.

Los Angeles is still immersed in the gentle rains with the vibrant scent of spring, just like the lifestyle of this city itself to the people here.

Los Angeles is a young, enchanting city, with apartments, buildings, and centers ... sprouting like mushrooms after the rain, making the people below the road surprisingly small. A man in a gray vest is riding down the street in a shiny Maybach.

His face was bold because the sunlight spread across his dark skin but did not diminish his romantic charm. The car whirled through the gridded streets of Los Angeles. He finally stopped in front of a small shop.

Daniel Lopes - Mexican - handsome face but always exudes a 'low credit line' look all over his body. He was a sluggish guy with an extreme love of freedom. That's why Daniel always chooses unstable 'freelance' jobs. But in return, he will also have enough free time to linger around every corner of Los Angeles.

From inside the store, Daniel sat on a chair, looking out. Suddenly, a shiny black car turned straight into the small courtyard in front of the store.

A man in an elegant suit stepped down and walked straight into the store, and he quickly realized he was about the same age as his father. Besides being polite, his attitude was worse than a fast food cart labeled 'Latin'. However, the quality is as low as the jumble of cheap fast food restaurants along highways or gas stations across the United States.

The man seemed to ignore the existence of the people around him and went straight into the management area of the store with a few curses and nags that Daniel Lopes couldn't hear. He looked at the pitiful female employee who was hesitantly following the man.

Daniel winked at her, picked up a few packages of cakes, and smiled softly. He thought his politeness made everyone feel more comfortable than the man who had just walked in. However, Daniel only received a disgusted look from the female store employee.

After talking nonsense with the store manager, the man also walked out with an angry and annoyed face. He had a thick stack of documents in his hand, leaning his back against the glass wall beside where Daniel Lopes was sitting. Daniel saw the man's tired face but was moved when he suddenly remembered how hard his father had to work on the street.

The man suddenly turned around to look at the store employees and, without even giving them a word of thanks, loudly said: "This is a public trash can. Everyone should do your duty service before I can't take it anymore and pin someone's head with some copper candies."

The man's disdainful attitude and condescending voice made everyone confused. After that, he was in such a hurry to get out that he dropped the documents on the ground.

The man quickly gathered up the documents scattered everywhere. The store manager was about to go to help but was stopped by his gaze. He quickly moved out of the store.

However, he did not expect it. There was still a document at the bottom of the cabinet near Daniel Lopes. He never noticed it, but Daniel Lopes was different.

The moment the black Maybach car left the yard in front of the store in the eyes filled with the annoyance of the store employees, Daniel Lopes quickly raised his eyebrows and tried to look at the paper at his feet to read the content.

Convenience stores return to their original atmosphere with only sighs and complaints from employees about the store chain being sold to North Star Lighting Company and their future becoming more uncertain.

The store manager just now appeared with his face so bruised that his hair was wet with blood. The staff rushed to help.

Daniel's son is calm and carefree. This wasn't the first time he'd seen something like this. Since then, Los Angeles has become a sinful and corrupt city with the domination of money and the people who either love power or use it in the name of justice for the strong.

At least these images will become material for Daniel to compose. Daniel is one of the famous anonymous online writers with works honored as the Anonymous legend of the literary world.

Most of Daniel's works always expose tragic social corners and murder situations so brutal that people fear that people will follow his work.

For a person who specializes in the horror and detective genre, it is a good compliment for his wondrous works. Because of that, Daniel automatically becomes one of the subjects of the attention of the US Federal government.

Daniel never thought he would be such a famous person, even less expected that his 'fan group' was the US Federal Government.

Daniel Lopes was thinking about it when he was easily depressed by the lamentations of the store clerk. Daniel Lopes swings his legs, just about to get up, when he suddenly finds a document labeled 'Top Secret' in red with the North Star Lighting Company logo.

Daniel's 'proletarian' life in the 'capitalist' country is always associated with a sharp conflict between him and companies and corporations that have enough influence on the US economy and the world.

Daniel Lopes desperately wanted to pick up the document to read immediately, but his reason prevented that emotional action.

Daniel is smart enough to understand that things labeled 'SECRET' are hazardous. Daniel found a dead corner of the security camera in the store. Then, he turned around with his hand on the phone to take a clear picture and quickly turned back to his original position.

Daniel Lopes pretended nothing happened. He started turning off wifi and syncing on his phone. He looked up at the screen and began to feel fear slowly creeping into his body. His blood of detective and horror is on the rise again.

Daniel saw an image of the North Star Lighting Company's 'Top Secret' document with the content of testing a series of particular drugs for a new strain of the virus. Daniel dares to guarantee even though he owns g****e's server system as well couldn't find it.

According to the document's content, Daniel discovered that biological wars between nations would engulf the whole world shortly. The most terrible thing is that humans are the object of destruction and bear the heaviest burden.

By common sense, medicine and medical supplies are bound to be the pinnacle of society. Although this is only a one-way orientation of the North Star Lighting Company, Daniel fully believes in it because, according to him, biological warfare is the most invisible and dangerous weapon humans can use at any time.

Daniel also discovered that the North Star Lighting Company would redirect the business of necessities. Evidence of this was the acquisition of a series of convenience store chains and supermarkets across the United States.

Only this much can strengthen Daniel's belief in the world's dangerous and cruel future. More than anyone else, he realized he wasn't prepared for this yet. Daniel hastily turned off his phone, put it back in his pocket, and looked around stupidly.

Daniel is sure the gruesome content of this text is enough to create a massive aftershock on social networks, especially when North Star Lighting Company is one of the most influential companies in the US financial market.

Daniel Lopes secretly thought that if he risked putting his own life and family in a document like this, it would be too stupid. But if you ignore the signs that are happening every day, especially this document, you deserve to be a speck of dust crushed by the wheel of world history.

Daniel Lopes muttered under his breath: “What to do now? This damn thing isn't a bet, much less a specific strategy… Damn it! How's that?"

After thinking quickly, Daniel quickly got up and left the store immediately. He knew the longer he stayed here, the more dangerous it was.

Daniel sped across to the other side of the road before the shiny Maybach returned to the place. Daniel Lopes crouched behind a long-closed food kiosk and languished like a beggar.

“Dang! Dang! Dang!”

The gunshots reverberated in Daniel's ears enough to make him horrified by what was happening inside the store. Daniel bit his lip in fear, a rather peculiar habit of his.

“Oh, my Santa Muerte… Dare witness! Maybe… the apocalypse is about to fall on America?” Daniel Lopes rolled his eyes and disappeared into the street behind the kiosk. The sky was gray, and the darkness swallowed him briefly.

Though the smoke billowed up like a serial killer searching for his poor, innocent sheep. Daniel lurked in fear to the point of shrinking his entire body. He only stopped when he was relatively far from the store.