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

……

As night deepened, the bakeries in the Whitechapel district were shrouded in thick fog, and the streets were so quiet that only the occasional sound of the wind could be heard.

Jack the Ripper approached the bakery silently, crouching in the shadows in front of the door, a sharp knife in his hand.

He had been scouting the place for several days and knew that the shop would barricade its doors with wooden sticks at night.

He sneered and confidently inserted the tip of the knife into the crack in the door.

Fuck!

It can't be pried open.

Why is that wooden stick that woman uses to block the door so thick?

Jack the Ripper peeked through the crack in the door and saw that the stick was thicker than his thigh; it couldn't be pried open with a dagger.

Although he had been spying and observing for the past two days, Jack the Ripper didn't dare to peek through the door like he did today, so as not to alert the enemy.

Inside the bakery, the owner was awakened by a strange noise outside the door.

She suddenly opened her eyes, listened intently, and after confirming that it wasn't the wind, her face darkened, and she quickly woke up her daughter who was sleeping next to her.

"Mary! Wake up, someone's trying to break in!"

She whispered, grabbed a thick wooden stick from beside the bed, and barefoot, tiptoed toward the door, her eyes warily fixed on the crack in the door.

Little Mary rubbed her eyes, groggily got up, and stood behind the door with her mother, her heart pounding.

"Mom, is it a thief?"

She asked softly, her voice tinged with fear.

"Shh, don't make a sound!"

The proprietress glared at her, gripped the wooden stick tightly, and listened intently to the sounds outside.

Jack fiddled with the door for ages, but it remained completely still.

He spat, put away the knife, and turned his gaze to a window that wasn't very tall to the side.

"Hmph, if you can't pry open the door, then climb the wall."

He skillfully scaled the wall, using both hands and feet to silently approach the window, preparing to pry open the window frame with a knife.

Just as he inserted the tip of the knife into the window crack, the window was suddenly pushed open, and the landlady's angry face appeared in front of the window, her wooden stick slamming down mercilessly.

"Die, you little thief!"

With a roar, she struck Jack squarely on the forehead with the stick, making a dull thud.

Jack was so dizzy from the beating that blood instantly seeped from his forehead, but he didn't pass out with just one hit like in the movies.

This only fueled his ferocity. A glint of malice flashed in his eyes as he brandished the knife in his hand and lunged at the proprietress.

The proprietress was strong and quick-witted. She dodged the blade by sidestepping and swung her wooden stick again, striking Jack's wrist precisely.

With a "thud," the knife fell to the ground.

"You bastard!"

The proprietress cursed angrily and raised her stick to strike again.

Seeing that things were going badly, Jack gritted his teeth, pulled a revolver from his waist, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and the proprietress was shot in the chest. She groaned, staggered to the ground, and the wooden stick rolled to the side.

"mom!"

Little Mary screamed and rushed towards the landlady, tears streaming down her face.

In the attic, Hachiman Hikigaya was awakened by the gunshot and sat up abruptly.

He grabbed the thick wooden stick that Little Mary had left by the door the night before, rushed down the stairs, and saw the landlady lying in a pool of blood and Little Mary crying out.

"What's going on?!"

"Hachiman Hikigaya shouted loudly."

Jack was extremely dizzy, and blood from his forehead was flowing into his eyes, blurring his vision.

Hearing the sound of police whistles in the distance, he knew he couldn't stay any longer. He cursed and stumbled out the window.

Hachiman Hikigaya rushed to the landlady's side and knelt down to check her injuries.

The blood was flowing rapidly from my chest, and my breathing was already very weak.

"Mary! Quick, help me lift her into the carriage, we need to get to the hospital immediately!"

He shouted through gritted teeth.

Chapter 80 The Death of Little Mary

Little Mary wiped away her tears, nodded, and together with Hachiman Hikigaya, struggled to lift the proprietress, stumbling out of the bakery and running towards the carriage parked at the door.

They had just lifted the proprietress into the car, and Hachiman Hikigaya was about to help little Mary in when little Mary seemed to see something and her expression changed drastically: "Watch out!"

Suddenly, a series of rapid gunshots rang out in the darkness—"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Jack didn't go far. He hid in the shadows at the street corner and, taking advantage of Hachiman Hikigaya and Mary's lack of vigilance, raised his revolver and fired all five remaining bullets.

Little Mary reacted extremely quickly, shoving Hachiman Hikigaya aside, but she herself was hit by a bullet. Her petite body fell to the ground, and blood quickly stained her dress.

"Damn it, if I say I'll kill you tonight, I won't let you live to see tomorrow's sun."

The blood on Jack the Ripper's forehead flowed down to the corner of his mouth, making him look somewhat terrifying.

After firing the shot, he made a threatening remark, then turned and ran without even checking if he had hit the target.

He's out of bullets.

He was in dire straits after being robbed last time, and didn't even have the money to buy more bullets.

"Mary!"

Hachiman Hikigaya, his eyes blazing with fury, roared as he grabbed a wooden stick and charged toward the direction of the gunshot.

Jack the Ripper had already escaped into the fog, leaving only a blurry shadow in the darkness.

Hachiman Hikigaya took a few steps, but tripped over a stone slab and almost fell.

He was completely unfamiliar with the Whitechapel district and couldn't keep up at all.

He gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger and despair, and ran back to the carriage.

Little Mary lay on the ground, her breath faint, a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

The landlady was in worse condition; she had stopped breathing. Hachiman Hikigaya's hands trembled as he struggled to lift the two onto the carriage, jumped inside, and whipped the reins, racing towards the nearest hospital.

The carriage sped along the misty streets, its wheels screeching as they rolled over the cobblestones.

Hachiman Hikigaya gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and kept whispering, "Hold on! Hold on! We'll be at the hospital soon!"

Fate is merciless.

When the carriage finally stopped in front of the hospital and the doctor rushed over, the landlady had already stopped breathing.

Little Mary's condition was worse; the bullet had hit her lung, causing her to lose too much blood, and her pulse was so weak it was almost undetectable.

Hachiman Hikigaya stood to the side, his hands stained with blood, watching helplessly as the doctor shook his head and announced that there was no hope of saving the two.

At the last moment, little Mary weakly opened her eyes and looked at Hachiman Hikigaya. There were some things she wanted to say, but if she didn't say them now, she would never have the chance to say them again.

She forced a smile: "Mr. Hachiman... I like you... not because of Mom... but because I like you..."

Before she could finish speaking, her hand fell limply to her side, and she fell silent.

Hachiman Hikigaya stood frozen in place, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees.

"I know……"

Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head, tears welling in his eyes.

For the first time, a lovely girl expressed her love for him; for the first time, he felt warmth from someone other than his sister.

But why was this warmth so short-lived?

He now deeply regrets it, regretting that he deliberately distanced himself from Mary because he was worried about leaving this world in thirty days.

Hachiman Hikigaya really didn't expect the separation to come so soon, even before the countdown to his mission ended.

……

three days later.

"Ye Hai, classmate."

As Ye Hai stepped out of the hotel, he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw a figure that surprised him: "Hachiman Hikigaya? How did you know I was here?"

Hachiman Hikigaya looked extremely haggard, and the whites of his dead-fish eyes were now covered with blood vessels.

Her clothes were disheveled, and her hair looked like a bird's nest.

It looks like he hasn't had a proper rest for many days.

"If we search for a few more days, we'll find it."

Hachiman Hikigaya's voice was calm, but it was clear that things were not that simple.

These past few days, Hachiman Hikigaya has visited almost every hotel in London before finally spotting the carriage Ye Hai had ridden in that day near this hotel.

There are many carriages of the same type in London, but the carriage Ye Hai rode in that day had very distinctive features: a section of the wooden plank of the carriage had been broken off.

This is what allowed Hachiman Hikigaya to successfully find it.

"Okay, so what do you want from me?"

Ye Hai simply walked up to Hachiman Hikigaya to see what he wanted to say.

He had noticed how wary Hachiman Hikigaya was of him a few days ago, so it was surprising that he would take the initiative to come to him today.

There must have been some unexpected circumstances.

Compared to Hachiman Kijima and Rin Aki, Ye Hai is currently in a state of being left to his own devices. It would be best if he could live and help him earn reward points, but it doesn't matter if he dies. At worst, he can just find another batch.

However, compared to Aki Tomoya, Hakai's affection for Hikigaya Hachiman is much higher.

Aki Tomoya offended him and ruined his plans. If he didn't still have some use now, Ye Hai would have killed him long ago.

And what about Hachiman Hikigaya...?

Although we were just strangers at school.

But he has a lovely younger sister.

Hmm~ Who knows, I might have a chance to become Ye Hai's brother-in-law in the future.

"Was that guy in the alley that day Jack the Ripper?"

Hachiman Hikigaya asked with a somewhat gloomy expression.

"I guess it's highly likely, but it hasn't been confirmed yet."

Ye Hai didn't mince words and answered crisply.

"Is this so..."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyebrows were lowered, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Although he only saw the person once that day, he still remembered what they looked like.

That's the person I met in the alley that day.

"Little Mary is dead, and her mother is dead too..."

"Jack the Ripper came to see me, didn't he?"