The second day of the price war was worse.
Much worse.
When Eli unlocked the front door of The Corner Pocket that morning, the street was already alive with movement across from them.
SuperMartX had opened early.
Bright red flags hung from poles outside their entrance, snapping lightly in the breeze. Staff in matching uniforms stood near the doors handing out small sample cups of soy milk and fried dough sticks to passing commuters.
A cheerful voice blasted through speakers again.
"Community Week continues! Fresh eggs only 3.9 yuan today!"
Jin stopped halfway through sweeping the floor.
"Three point nine?" he said flatly.
Eli nodded once.
"They dropped it again."
Mr. Duan stood behind the register, staring at the price board outside the window like someone watching a storm slowly swallow his house.
"They're not even hiding it anymore," he murmured.
Across the street, a delivery truck unloaded another pallet of rice.
Another line was forming.
Inside Corner Pocket, the lights buzzed quietly above empty aisles.
Mid-Morning
At 10:47 a.m., the sales screen displayed:
Customers today: 5
Total revenue: 83 yuan
Jin leaned over the counter and stared at the number.
"That's… not even a full crate of eggs," he said.
Mr. Duan forced a smile.
"Slow mornings happen."
Jin looked toward the window again where shoppers walked past carrying huge white SuperMartX bags.
"Not like this," he muttered.
Eli didn't argue.
He simply watched.
Observed.
Calculated.
Across the street, the crowd kept growing.
11:20 a.m.
The bell above the door chimed.
All three of them instinctively looked up.
But it wasn't a customer.
Two men in dark jackets stepped inside.
One held a clipboard.
The other showed a badge.
"Good morning," the first man said.
"District Food Safety Inspection."
Mr. Duan blinked.
"Inspection?"
"Yes. Routine compliance review."
Eli knew instantly.
Not routine.
Not today.
The inspector walked slowly down the first aisle, scanning shelves.
He checked expiration labels.
Storage temperatures.
Sanitation logs.
The second inspector headed straight for the back freezer.
Jin whispered under his breath, "This is them, right?"
Eli nodded faintly.
SuperMartX couldn't legally shut them down.
But they could make life… difficult.
Very difficult.
The Inspection
Forty minutes later, the inspectors gathered near the counter.
The man with the clipboard spoke calmly.
"Your refrigeration unit in the back room is operating at 5.2°C."
Mr. Duan frowned.
"That's within range."
"Recommended maximum is 4°C."
He scribbled something.
"And the lighting above aisle three needs replacement."
Another note.
Then the final page flipped.
"We'll issue a conditional warning notice."
Mr. Duan's shoulders sagged slightly.
"Meaning?"
"You have seven days to resolve the refrigeration and lighting issues."
The inspector handed him the form.
"Failure to comply could result in temporary closure."
The words landed like a brick.
Jin's jaw tightened.
Temporary closure meant death.
Even a few days closed during this price war would finish them.
The inspectors left as quietly as they arrived.
The bell chimed again.
Silence followed.
Mr. Duan stared at the paper.
"They've never inspected us twice in one year," he murmured.
Eli folded his arms.
"They didn't."
Afternoon
At 2 p.m., Eli's phone buzzed.
A message from Red Bowl Foods.
One of their last remaining suppliers.
He opened it slowly.
Due to restructuring of our regional distribution partnerships, we regret to inform you that deliveries to The Corner Pocket will be suspended effective immediately.
Jin read over his shoulder.
"…That's the third supplier this week."
Mr. Duan rubbed his face.
"They're squeezing the pipeline."
Without suppliers, shelves would slowly empty.
Empty shelves meant fewer customers.
Which meant even less revenue.
Which meant…
Jin kicked lightly at a crate on the floor.
"They're starving us."
Late Afternoon
The rumor began around four.
A pair of teenagers stopped outside the mural.
One pointed his phone at the dragon painting.
"Take a picture," he said.
"Why?"
"Because this place might close soon."
Jin froze where he stood inside the doorway.
The words hit harder than anything else that day.
The boy laughed lightly.
"SuperMartX is crushing them."
Jin walked back inside slowly.
His hands were shaking.
Eli noticed.
"What happened?"
Jin looked toward the mural through the window.
"They think we're already dead."
Neither Eli nor Mr. Duan spoke.
Because in business…
Rumors could become reality very quickly.
Evening
By closing time the final numbers appeared on the register screen.
Customers: 12
Total revenue: 214 yuan
Down 78% from normal.
Mr. Duan turned off the lights above the aisles one by one.
Each click made the store feel darker.
Quieter.
Older.
Finally he leaned against the counter beside Eli.
"When my wife and I opened this store," he said softly, "we sold vegetables from two wooden crates."
He smiled faintly.
"We survived recessions. Floods. Even a supply strike once."
His eyes drifted across the empty aisles.
"But this…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Jin sat on a crate near the door staring at the mural outside under the streetlight.
The dragon still glowed proudly.
But now it felt fragile.
Like something beautiful standing in the path of a bulldozer.
Eli looked at the numbers on the screen one last time.
Then suddenly
A soft metallic voice echoed in his mind.
System Notification
A translucent interface appeared in front of him.
Emergency Task Activated
Objective: Protect The Corner Pocket from corporate suppression.
Time Limit: 7 Days
Current Status: Critical
Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: Loss of investment stake. And closure of the corner pocket
Eli stared at the message.
Seven days.
Across the street, SuperMartX's bright lights still burned like a beacon of corporate victory.
He closed the interface slowly.
Then he looked toward Jin's dragon mural.
The dragon curled protectively around the painted market stalls.
Guarding them.
Defying them.
Eli exhaled slowly.
"Seven days," he murmured.
Jin looked up.
"What?"
Eli's eyes hardened slightly.
"Seven days," he repeated.
"Before we flip this entire war upside down."