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

They entered the world of Jack the Ripper.

Their mission, however, was to survive for thirty days.

It's quite difficult to survive in this world without money.

But Hachiman Hikigaya's reasonable suspicions are probably more than that; who knows, Jack the Ripper might come after them to kill them.

However, compared to this potential threat, Hachiman Hikigaya has an urgent matter to address right now.

"Goo-"

Just then, Hachiman Hikigaya's stomach rumbled, and he instinctively covered his stomach with his hand.

He was about to go home for dinner before coming to this world, but he was suddenly brought to another world.

Now he's in a bind; how is he going to solve the problem of getting food?

Hachiman Hikigaya frowned and looked around.

The streets of Whitechapel are narrow and crowded, and the air is filled with the pungent smell of coal smoke, rotting food, and excrement.

Ragged children ran through the mud, a drunkard huddled in a corner, and several heavily made-up women stood on the street, casting ambiguous glances at him—which made him quicken his pace.

Although he was wearing a school uniform, he looked clean and presentable, not like a poor person from the slums.

Add to that his fair skin, cultivated in modern society, and an unsuspecting passerby might mistake him for a rich kid seeking thrills in the slums.

"We need to find something to eat first..."

He touched his pockets; they were empty.

The supreme god sent them through time, but didn't even prepare a penny for them.

This is too stingy.

Just then, the aroma of bread wafted over.

Following the scent, Hachiman Hikigaya saw a bakery where a burly proprietress was carrying a basket of freshly baked black bread out of the oven.

His stomach protested again.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to try begging, he suddenly noticed several ragged children rummaging through the corner of the shop's clutter in the back alley.

One of the skinny boys spotted a moldy piece of bread and immediately stuffed it into his mouth, wolfing it down.

The proprietress quickly grabbed a broom and went to chase them away.

The children dispersed in a hurry.

Hachiman Hikigaya noticed that one of the blond boys dropped a small cloth bag while running away.

Inside the cloth bag was half a piece of black bread that was as hard as a rock, and a small piece of cheese.

Hachiman Hikigaya walked over and picked it up. Just as he was considering whether to take the cloth bag, the proprietress suddenly ran back and grabbed his wrist tightly.

"Well, so you're in cahoots with them, aren't you?"

Hachiman Hikigaya's brows furrowed as the landlady's rough hands gripped his wrist tightly.

He instinctively tried to break free, but found that the middle-aged woman was incredibly strong.

"I found this."

"If you say it's yours, then you can take it back."

Hachiman Hikigaya explained with a hint of helplessness.

The proprietress showed no sign of letting go. She squinted at the strangely dressed but handsome young man in front of her: "You've already touched this bread. How can I sell it to anyone else? You have to buy it."

"Three pence, give it to me."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes widened: "That doesn't make sense! Besides, I haven't even touched what's inside yet, there's just a layer of cloth between us!"

"That's how it is here."

"You're not leaving without paying."

The proprietress grabbed Hachiman Hikigaya in a domineering manner, making it seem like she wouldn't let him leave without paying.

Hachiman Hikigaya was speechless. He wished he had a few pennies in his pocket so he could get rid of this unreasonable old woman.

But he didn't have a single penny in his pocket!

Chapter 55 Hachiman Hikigaya, the Black Slave

Now, even if I want to pay, I don't have the means.

"I do not have money."

Hachiman Hikigaya has given up. He doesn't care what happens, since he has no money anyway.

At that moment, Hachiman Hikigaya noticed a girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old walking out of the bakery behind the proprietress, looking at him with curious eyes.

"No money?"

The proprietress looked Hachiman Hikigaya up and down suspiciously. He had fair skin and delicate flesh, and the clothes he was wearing were clearly made of good material.

How could someone like that not have money?

"If you don't have money, have someone send you some, otherwise you're not allowed to leave."

The proprietress snorted, showing no intention of letting Hachiman Hikigaya off the hook.

"Where am I supposed to find someone to give me money?"

Hachiman Hikigaya said helplessly, "I wish someone would give me money, but there isn't any."

"Mom, let's just forget about it and not make things difficult for them."

The girl appeared behind the proprietress without her noticing and spoke up.

"Mary? What are you doing out here? Go back inside."

When the proprietress saw her daughter come out, she scolded her with a stern face.

"Mom~ It's not dark yet, it'll be fine for me to stay outside for a while."

Mary grabbed the landlady's arm and shook it, saying, "Although this is a slum, it's not so bad that people wouldn't dare to come out in broad daylight."

At this time, the British Empire was at its zenith during the Victorian era, and the patrolling police were also quite valiant. Ordinary thugs and ruffians dared not openly provoke them in broad daylight.

"If you wander around like this all day, you'll regret it when someone takes advantage of you."

The proprietress glanced at her daughter, who was almost grown up. Although she wasn't a great beauty, she had some freckles on her face and her figure wasn't particularly perfect.

But thanks to the fact that she was always well-fed since she was a child, and the bakery her family owned, she was able to cover her basic living expenses.

So she had a rosy complexion and her skin wasn't very fair, but it wasn't like those people who couldn't afford to boil water for bathing and were covered in mud.

This has made her quite popular in the surrounding streets, with many people already eyeing her underage daughter and asking her early on if she has any plans to arrange a marriage for her daughter.

However, the proprietress sent all of them back.

In her words, "Those dirty, poor boys want to marry my daughter? Dream on!"

Thinking of this, the proprietress suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around to carefully examine Hachiman Hikigaya in front of her.

His complexion was rosy, and he hadn't been hungry.

She has fair skin and has never been sunburnt.

His palms weren't calloused, and there was no dirt under his fingernails; it was obvious he hadn't done any rough work.

He's not bad looking.

Not ugly.

He looked like a child from a scholarly family.

And he was Asian, probably a businessman from over there.

I've heard that businessmen from Asia are very wealthy and have little influence locally, so there's no need to worry about retaliation.

After evaluating the situation, the proprietress suddenly had a bold idea.

Humph--

You're not going to pay, are you?

I'll hold it for a few days, and see if your family sends the money over then.

If it's delivered late...

The proprietress narrowed her eyes and glanced at her daughter.

It seems like bringing this guy back as a son-in-law wouldn't be bad; at least he looks much better than those poor guys around here.

The proprietress suddenly flashed a bright smile: "No money? Then work in the shop to pay off your debt."

She pulled Hachiman towards the store: "The delivery guy is sick today, so come help carry the flour."

"what?"

Hachiman Hikigaya looked on in astonishment. "What? You're going to kidnap me if you don't pay me?"

Looking at his wrist, which was still being squeezed to death by the landlady, Hachiman Hikigaya sighed helplessly: "If you want me to work to pay off my debts, at least we should agree on the wages first."

Since I'm currently broke and need money for food, I might be able to earn some living expenses from her.

Get through this 30-day mission deadline.

He already knew from the message given to him by the Supreme God that as long as the main quest was completed, he could return to his original world.

Therefore, the primary task now is naturally to find a way to survive these thirty days.

If we were to break down the tasks, then it would be:

First, we need to fill our stomachs, otherwise we'll starve to death in a few days.

Secondly, you need a safe place to live, otherwise...

Hachiman Hikigaya recalled the looks in the eyes of the people on the roadside earlier, not referring to the fallen women.

It was those men, not them.

That look...

Hikigaya Hachiman's chrysanthemum suddenly tightened.

Never sleep on the street!

Hachiman Hikigaya was dragged into the back door of the bakery by the proprietress, where he was greeted by a strong smell of yeast, flour, and wood smoke.

"One penny a day for wages."

The proprietress released his wrist, put her hands on her hips, and said, "But you have to pay back the three pence for the bread in one lump sum, plus one pence in interest every day."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched; they were treating him like a fool.

A small loaf of bread with cheese costs three pence, but now you're telling him his daily wage is one pence.

Although Hachiman Hikigaya wasn't quite clear on the purchasing power of the British coin, wasn't this wage of three days' wages for just one loaf of bread a complete rip-off?

Don't you think these conditions are too harsh?

"Hachiman Hikigaya said quietly."

"That's right, Mom. You used to give that guy five shillings a week when he came to work."

Mary seemed to have had enough and spoke up from the side.

"Shut up, Mary! Whose side are you on anyway?"

The proprietress angrily put her hands on her hips and cursed, saying that she had worked so hard to think of her, and in return, the woman had the nerve to undermine her.

It's so dark!

Hachiman Hikigaya was furious. One shilling was equal to 12 pence. The landlady was basically trying to embezzle 90% of his wages.

Do you think he doesn't understand market prices?

Although he really didn't understand.

The landlady glared angrily at her daughter before turning to Hachiman Hikigaya and saying, "Don't even think about five shillings; that price doesn't include room and board."