All it took was a single shot from the military helicopter. It then turned around and returned to the city, nowhere to be seen after that.
If not for the mass of fireball and billowing smoke alight in the distance, it felt like everything that had just happened was no more than a fever dream.
Before the crowd had come to their senses, the entrance to the Eco Science City opened again. A group of armed soldiers fitted in fully enclosed protective suits marched out of the city.
Closely trailing behind the list of soldiers was an operating crane truck and a regular truck.
Without being prompted to do so, the crowd opened up a path, allowing the vehicles to head toward the wreckage of the BBC helicopter.
When Chen Chen saw the two trucks departing, he made a gesture of patting the colonel next to him to inform him that there was no need to be nervous. After that, he left the tower and got into a car.
"Back to the research center."