Zongman: Beginning and Snow under the Rain Escape from Raccoon City

Hattori Heiji silently put down his luggage, his expression complicated: "Dad, I need to talk to you about something."

-

The study was dimly lit.

Heiji Hattori recounted everything that happened in the Russian Far East, from the mass disappearance of villagers to Ichiro Tanaka in the mine, and then to Hachiman Hikigaya's battle.

As he spoke of his near-death experience and being forced to undergo conversion, the tea in Hattori Heizo's teacup swayed gently.

"So, you now..."

Hattori Heiji raised his hand and gently shook it.

A thin crack appeared on the corner of the wooden table.

"Ah."

He smiled wryly: "It's no longer purely human."

Silence fell, broken only by the ticking of the clock.

After a long silence, Hattori Heizo sighed, "Heiji, you did the right thing. If it weren't for you, those villagers wouldn't even have bones left."

"only……"

Hattori Heizo tapped his fingertips lightly on the table.

How should I handle my son's current situation?

"...Heiji, you said bloodlust is an instinct. Then...does it necessarily mean drinking human blood?"

Hattori Heiji gave a wry smile and shrugged: "Ha, Dad, what a question you asked. I'd love to find a better alternative."

He paused for a moment, looking a little embarrassed: "I've tried them. Duck blood, chicken blood... I've even tried pig's blood tofu."

At this point, his expression turned a bit strange, as if recalling the taste and shuddering involuntarily: "It's completely inedible, and even the smell is disgusting."

Hattori Heizo tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, as if he were pondering something.

"This matter must not be known to anyone else."

He said in a heavy tone, "I will find a way to handle it for you. As for the blood supply... I will try to prepare it for you through official channels."

"You absolutely must not go out and find blood to drink yourself."

Hattori Heiji nodded: "Don't worry, I know how serious this is, Dad."

Chapter 220 Komachi Hikigaya's Plans

Hachiman Hikigaya didn't know if he was doing the right thing.

They were clearly going to eliminate the blood slaves they had created.

Although he eventually killed Tanaka Ichiro, he also turned Hattori Heiji into a blood slave.

But not transforming it won't work either.

He couldn't convince himself to turn a blind eye to Hattori Heiji's gradual death.

"At the very least... his moral standards are far superior to Tanaka Ichiro's, so there shouldn't be any problems."

This is the only way Hikigaya Hachiman can console himself now.

After all, while blood slaves need to drink human blood, they don't necessarily have to kill people.

Hachiman Hikigaya thought that with Heiji Hattori's family background, he could definitely get him enough blood packs.

After all, even Hachiman Hikigaya could buy it with his own money.

Yes, that's right.

Now, the blood that Hachiman Hikigaya drinks is bought with money.

This was a path he had searched online for a long time before finding it.

033's approach isn't exactly wild, but it's not exactly conventional either.

He had successfully made a deal with the staff at the blood donation van on the street.

You can buy a 200ml bag of blood from them for just 10,000 yen each time.

It's expensive and the quantity is small.

At least Hachiman Koki doesn't have to hurt others.

At least it's not direct harm.

Blood donation vans are supposed to be places for people to donate their love and care, but the staff inside are profiting from people's kindness. If people knew this, many would probably suffer psychological harm.

But Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't care less about that now.

Although his tolerance for blood was much greater than that of the blood slaves.

But if he were to go three to five days without drinking blood, it would be like a human going three to five days without eating.

They will become extremely irritable and easily angered.

The desires brought about by racial instincts cannot be overcome simply by willpower.

Therefore, Hachiman Hikigaya can only obtain blood through this channel; otherwise, he would have to go out and find targets to suck blood himself.

Comparing the two, Hachiman Hikigaya thinks that buying blood is less damaging.

But there's still one problem.

That means Hachiman Hikigaya doesn't have enough money.

Hachiman Hikigaya's parents were just ordinary wage earners. Although they would send money to him and Komachi Hikigaya every month, the money was only enough for their daily expenses.

There's simply no money left to buy him blood packs.

That 100,000 yen was what he had saved up for a long time.

Thinking about this, Hachiman Hikigaya felt a headache coming on and buried his face in the table, rubbing it.

Where am I supposed to get the money?!

On the lectern, Hiratsuka Shizuka frowned as she watched Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly act out of control.

With a flick of his finger, a piece of chalk flew out and hit Hachiman Hikigaya precisely on the head.

"Hachiman Hikigaya! Pay attention in class!"

"pain--"

Hachiman Hikigaya covered his head, and when he looked up and saw the way his classmates were looking at him, he quickly sat up straight and picked up a book to cover his face.

Hachiman Hikigaya hunched his shoulders, held the book up to his face, and pretended to be very focused.

In reality (acfa), the dead fish eyes behind the pages were still staring into the void, their minds preoccupied with the "blood funding gap".

— 10,000 yen per bag.

—Minimum three bags a week.

—At least 120,000 a month.

He did the math and felt terrible.

"Damn, this is enough to cover the living expenses of a college student working part-time!"

"Ah... as expected, even vampires have to worry about inflation and low wages."

He was both self-deprecating and a little irritated.

……

"It's okay, Komachi can work to support her brother!"

That evening, after hearing her brother's complaints, Hikigaya Komachi said with a serious expression.

Hachiman Hikigaya's lips twitched: "Huh? I'm the older brother, how can I let my younger sister work to support me?"

"Humph--"

Komachi Hikigaya pouted, "I used to be the one who cooked! I did the laundry! I was the one who kept the house in order! Now my brother is trying to act tough!"

"..."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes remained vacant for three seconds.

He wanted to refute it, but upon closer reflection, it seemed... to be true.

Komachi Hikigaya chuckled at Hachiman Hikigaya's expression, then immediately became serious: "A bookstore under Hachiman's name is opening soon, and Yukino Yukinoshita said they're hiring staff."

"Komachi didn't have any ideas at first, but now she thinks... I could work at a bookstore and earn some money."

"bookstore?"

Hachiman Hikigaya was stunned: "Wait, isn't Ye Hai the owner of a financial company? How is he involved with a bookstore?"

Komachi Hikigaya tilted her head: "Actually, Ye Haiou used to write light novels. He earned his first money by writing novels."

"..."

Hachiman Hikigaya's dead fish eyes instantly became even more lifeless.

Making a fortune by writing novels?

Are you kidding me?

He originally thought Ye Hai was just lucky to be born into the right family and inherit the family business.

And now you're telling him that Ye Hai actually earned the money himself.

This is worse than killing him!

"Huh? Wait, when did you start calling that guy 'Onee'?!"

Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly noticed something more important.

Chapter 221 Pick-up

The afternoon sun slanted through the glass door and fell obliquely on the shelves that still smelled of wood chips.

The bookstore was not yet open, and several rows of unopened cardboard boxes were scattered on the ground, their transparent stretch film shimmering with a faint silver light.

"Hmm...it's much heavier than I expected—"

Komachi Hikigaya clutched a stack of light novel covers tightly in her arms, her cheeks flushed red.

"Be careful, there are some shelves that haven't been assembled yet."

A voice came from the side.

Hikigaya Komachi looked up and saw a girl with a ponytail squatting by the shelf, meticulously wiping the wooden board with a rag.

She was dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, and her movements were clean and efficient.

"Ah, thanks for reminding me! I almost got swiped."

Komachi grinned, put down the stack of books, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The girl stopped what she was doing, hesitated for a moment, and then replied softly, "You're welcome."

After a few seconds of silence, Komachi Hachiman couldn't help but lean closer: "Excuse me... are you also a new part-time employee?"

"Ah."

The girl nodded gently, her ponytail swaying slightly: "I am Aoyama Nanami."

"I'm Komachi Hikigaya! Nice to meet you!"

Hikigaya Komachi suddenly became incredibly energetic.

She couldn't help but press further: "Ms. Aoyama Nanami, why did you come here to work? It seems like you have to organize so much stuff even before the store opens. It must be so tiring."

Aoyama Nanami paused slightly, her fingertips still brushing the wood grain on the cloth.

After a moment of silence, she spoke softly, "I'm planning to enroll in a voice acting training course, but I'm still short of tuition fees."

"Voice actor!?"

Komachi Hikigaya's eyes widened: "You mean the kind of voice actor who voices characters in anime?"