As the microphone continued announcing, everyone stopped, leaving only the gradually fading sound of tractors. Soon, even the tractors went silent.
The spectators weren't fools; seeing the police forbidding further looting, those with stolen items quickly scrambled away. Even the tractors and carts disappeared. In a blink, the outside noise vanished entirely.
Only those trapped inside the factory remained.
Seeing the crowd quiet down, a bespectacled young man rushed forward, hollering, "Put everything down! Who allowed you to rummage through the factory? This is robbery, do you understand? Robbery, punishable by jail, understand?! Put it down now!"
As threats of imprisonment filled the air, the crowd started stirring. The announcement on the microphone filled the air again, "Drop your items and all will be forgiven! Don't worry about jail, just drop what you have! Folks, these things belong to someone else and we shouldn't take them! Can you please put them down?"
