RE - Chapter 332: It’s Always the Little Guys Who Get the Short End of the Stick (Patreon)

“Whoa, is that meat?!”

“Mm-hmm. It’s your birthday today, so I...”

“You don’t have to say anything else. Love you, Mom!”

Seeing her son about to dive straight into the food, his mother immediately slapped his hand away.

“Go wash your hands at the well outside. Hurry.”

“Ugh... What a pain.”

“The sooner you wash them, the sooner you can eat. Stop dragging your feet.”

“Fine~”

The boy hopped off his stool and reluctantly trudged outside.

Just as he scooped up a little water from the well with a small bucket to wash his hands, the sound of an approaching vehicle caught his attention.

“A car?! Who could that be?”

He hurriedly finished washing his hands and jogged closer to watch the vehicle coming down the dirt road.

Through the window, Irving spotted the child standing by the roadside and said, “He’ll do. Stop here.”

“Him?... Okay, Boss.”

The assistant turned the wheel and slowly pulled up beside the boy.

The boy stared curiously at the vehicle as it stopped in front of him, though he instinctively took a few steps back.

“Who are you?”

“Oh, maybe we’re guests you’ll be entertaining soon?”

“...Really?”

Irving had little patience for this, so his assistant got out first and asked, “Where’s your house?”

“My house?... I’m not telling you.”

The boy didn’t answer, but his eyes gave him away.

At just the right moment, his mother stepped out of the house.

“What are you doing? The food’s getting cold.”

“That one. Go.”

“Got it,” they replied in unison.

The moment the mother saw the burly men approaching, she sensed something was wrong.

“What do you want?”

She immediately stepped back and tried to shut the door, but she was far too weak. In an instant, both she and the door were knocked to the ground.

The neighbors heard the commotion and started to come out to help, but when they saw the guns in the men’s hands and the armored vehicle parked nearby, they ultimately chose to look the other way.

“This house belongs to us now. Get out.”

“Why?! You can’t do this!”

“You talk too much.”

One of the men grabbed the woman off the ground, effortlessly dragged her out of the house, and threw her onto the dirt outside.

“Mom?! You’re bad guys!”

“Oh, took you long enough to figure that out. Get rid of them.”

Irving glanced indifferently at the anger in the boy’s eyes, then walked into the house.

“I’ll handle it. You guys keep watch. Hide the vehicle and move it farther away.”

Once the others had left, the assistant looked down at the trembling woman on the ground.

She had pulled her son behind her, even though her thin frame could barely conceal him.

“...Go. Don’t come back, and don’t tell anyone what happened.”

“Why?!”

“...O-Okay. Just please don’t kill us.”

“Mom?”

The assistant glanced at the boy and warned him again, “Staying alive matters more than anything else. You only get one chance.”

“What are you talking about?! That’s my house!”

“No, no... Come here, sweetheart.”

His mother pulled him into her arms before he could say anything else.

“Thank you. Thank you. We’ll leave right now.”

“But why... I haven’t even eaten the meat yet.”

“It’s okay. We can buy more meat someday. Come on, let’s go.”

The assistant watched the pair hurry away and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then a gunshot suddenly rang out.

The assistant froze in shock.

When he looked over again, the mother had already collapsed into a pool of blood.

“Fuck you. You almost let them get away.”

The Third Squad Leader walked up and patted the assistant on the shoulder.

“Or did you let them go?”

“...Thanks. I didn’t think they’d try to run. I was just distracted thinking about the attack earlier.”

“Good thing I was feeling lazy and sent one of the guys to park the vehicle for me.”

“Yeah... Right. Good thing he was there.”

“Mom?”

The boy lay stunned beneath his mother’s body, pinned under her weight.

Blood slowly ran down her forehead, dripping onto the ground before finally falling onto the boy’s face.

“Mom?!”

His mother had always seemed so frail, yet now her body pressed down on him so heavily that he could barely breathe.

His cries drew the Third Squad Leader’s attention.

“Almost forgot there was another one. Hah... Ever heard those revenge stories? Kids like this are the kind you can’t leave alive.”

He raised his gun and aimed it at the child.

But after a moment, he lowered it again.

“...Although, now that I look at him, the kid’s pretty soft and delicate.”

The assistant’s stomach tightened.

Without showing any emotion, he glanced at the Third Squad Leader beside him.

Meanwhile, the boy had realized his mother was dead and was clutching her body, sobbing uncontrollably, completely unaware of what the two men had just been discussing.

When the Third Squad Leader actually lowered his weapon and stepped forward to grab him, the assistant drew the pistol from his waist and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The gunshot sent the nearby residents who had been secretly watching scrambling back inside once again.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

The assistant put his gun away and looked at the visibly annoyed Third Squad Leader.

“You wanted to keep him? You seriously think the boss is in a good mood right now?”

“...Shit, you’ve got a point. Fucking hell. Got blood all over my leg too.”

“Come on. Let’s get back to the boss.”

“Fine. Let’s hear what he plans to do next. I’ve heard the BSAA is no joke, but the boss looks like he already has a plan.”

A plan?

He’s just arrogant...

The assistant quietly sighed and looked toward the two bodies in the distance, one large and one small.

Finally, he said, “Have someone bury them... Deep enough that they won’t spread disease.”

“Almost forgot about that. Don’t worry. I’ll have the guys take care of it later.”

...

“What kind of garbage is this? You expect me to eat it?”

Irving stared at the meat on the table, which already smelled slightly sour, and immediately ordered his men to throw it away.

Then he spread a map across the table.

“The BSAA won’t expect me to have fled into a populated area. This should buy us some time. Besides, the place is full of civilians. I doubt they’ll dare launch an attack without thinking twice. Where’s my assistant?”

“Right here.”

The assistant pushed open the door and walked over to Irving.

“Perfect timing. I’m going to walk you through my evacuation route. See if you spot any problems. Once we’ve settled on it, you’ll explain it to the men. Don’t let anything go wrong.”

“Understood. Go ahead.”

“Good. First, we need to cross the populated area and reach that guy’s territory... Damn it, I only turned him down a little while ago. Whatever. I’ll just consider it a discount sale.”

Irving remembered the man who had once knelt at his feet and begged him, then shrugged indifferently.

“The BSAA can’t just barge into another country’s territory and conduct a manhunt for no reason. As long as we keep a low profile, we’ll be fine. After that, I’ll contact that bitch. She’ll arrange an evacuation route for us.”

The assistant nodded to show he understood.

The Third Squad Leader spoke up from nearby.

“What about the old base? We left a lot of supplies there.”

“We’ll go back after this blows over. Don’t forget, Sibia is probably already dead. Those crazed zombies don’t have anyone giving them precise orders anymore. Go back there now and we might end up getting ourselves killed by our own defenses. For the moment, protecting me takes priority over everything else. Once this is over, you’ll all get the rewards you want. Understand?”

“Understood. Whatever you say, Boss.”

“Good. Now go find me something to eat. Something actually edible.”

“Where am I supposed to find it?”

“Are you stupid? Look around. There are houses everywhere. Use that thing in your hand and ask someone for food. It’s not complicated.”

The Third Squad Leader looked down at the gun in his hand.

“You’re really smart, Boss.”

“Get lost. Hurry up and do it.”

The assistant glanced at the Third Squad Leader and offered to go with him.

“No. You have something more important to do.”

“...Understood.”

With no other choice, the assistant watched as the Third Squad Leader took a group of men and left the house.

He remained beside Irving, listening to the man’s smug analysis.

Back then, was I really that blinded by money...?

How did I ever...

“What? You think I’m wrong?”

Irving frowned when he noticed the distracted look on the assistant’s face.

The assistant quickly shook his head.

“No. You’re absolutely right. I was just... reflecting on a few things.”