RE - Chapter 334: A Day Spent Looking for the Bad Guys (Patreon)

“Go away!! You’re not welcome here!”

“What are you doing?”

Leon glanced around, but saw no sign of danger. Even so, the resident in front of them stubbornly refused to say whether anyone had come through town the previous night.

The man cautiously glanced into the distance. Once he was sure no one had noticed them talking, he once again told the two to leave.

A breeze swept across their faces.

A moment later, the door slammed shut.

Leon shrugged helplessly. “Great. Now we have to check them one by one again...”

Alan, however, looked toward the place the resident had been sneaking glances at.

It was just a run-down house.

What was there to be afraid of?

“He was clearly scared of something just now. He wasn’t just hostile toward outsiders.”

At that, Leon turned to look in the same direction, brushing his bangs aside with one hand.

Alan had already crossed the dirt road and was quietly approaching the wooden house on the other side.

The door was firmly locked. Alan abandoned the idea of simply pushing it open and instead surveyed the area around him.

Something on the ground caught his eye.

“Africa might have a large population, but nearly ten grown adults living out of one run-down shack seems a little strange, doesn’t it?”

Leon looked down and took a step back.

The confusion in his eyes gradually disappeared.

“As far as I know, yeah. That’s definitely strange.”

Once Leon finished counting the footprints, the way he looked at the house changed completely.

It was the look of a hunter who had found his prey.

Alan positioned himself beside the wooden door and looked over at Leon.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Alan pulled out a flashbang and shifted his stance, preparing to kick the door open.

Then he heard something behind him.

He immediately drew his gun, spun around, and aimed toward the corner.

For a moment, he actually aimed right over his target.

Because...

“You really are bad guys!!”

A child was hiding around the corner, watching them.

He had just started to step out when he saw Alan raise his handgun, the muzzle pointing above his head.

His curiosity vanished instantly.

Only one thought remained.

Run!

“Hey, you’ve got the wrong idea... Ah, forget it.”

Alan sighed, readjusted his stance, and exchanged another glance with Leon.

The next instant, the wooden door exploded inward with a deafening crash as Alan kicked it open.

The flashbang went off inside the house.

Leon rushed in immediately, with Alan right behind him.

“...Clear. Looks like they already left.”

Leon sounded disappointed, though not particularly surprised.

He looked around before his gaze finally settled on the scraps of meat that had been trampled into mush across the floor.

“Alan, it looks like they did something to the family who lived here...”

Alan fell silent for a moment.

“We need to find them as soon as possible.”

He raised his weapon and headed toward the back door, checking to see whether they had left any clues behind.

Leon crouched beside the ruined food on the floor and spoke quietly.

“Sorry. Looks like we interrupted what should’ve been a nice dinner...”

He slowly stood and began searching the room as well.

“If you want, eat something good down there. Put it on my tab.”

“Put my share on there too.”

Alan came back over and shook his head.

“The back door opens onto a main street. Too many overlapping footprints.”

“That’s not good.”

Alan looked over the worn furniture inside the house and suddenly remembered the child from earlier.

“That kid we saw around the corner might know something.”

“You sure?”

“Kids are naturally curious about everything at that age. There’s a good chance he saw something.”

Leon watched Alan immediately run outside and had no choice but to hurry after him.

Could a kid really remember enough to help them?

Alan followed the alley the boy had escaped through, but by the time he reached the other end, there was no sign of him.

“He’s fast.”

Leon came up beside Alan, and together they looked down the street.

It was almost completely deserted.

“So what, everyone decided to take the day off?”

“Looks like whatever happened last night scared the hell out of everyone.”

Meanwhile, inside a wooden house not far away...

“...Hey, Mom. Look! It’s them!”

“Shh! Nate, did you already forget what happened last night?! Get down and stay away from the window!”

Nate clearly didn’t want to.

Then he saw the two strangers walking toward their house.

“...Oh, shit.”

Realizing he had probably drawn their attention, Nate hurriedly shut the window.

“What happened?”

“I think I might’ve led the bad guys here...”

Nate’s father froze.

Then his expression immediately turned wary.

“You little... Forget it. Hurry, take the kids and hide.”

“Okay... No, what about you?”

The man picked up the shotgun beside him and aimed it at the front door.

“I’ll protect you.”

“Well, this place isn’t exactly soundproof. You know we can hear you in there.”

The man tightened his grip on the shotgun.

“We don’t mean you any harm.”

“I’m not gambling with my family’s lives!!”

“...Fair enough. You’re right.”

Outside, Alan scratched his head and searched himself from top to bottom, but couldn’t find anything that could prove he was one of the good guys.

Leon rolled his eyes.

“How exactly were you expecting to find something like that?”

“Haha... Then what do you suggest?”

Leon thought for a moment.

“Use the language.”

“...Oh. Right.”

Alan understood immediately and cleared his throat.

“Don’t worry. We’re here to help you.”

Then he repeated himself in Chinese.

The man inside froze when he heard the language.

“You speak Chinese?”

“I know them!” Nate blurted out. “They’re with the people who brought us those toys!”

“Shh! Nate?!”

“Oh, sorry. But those people helped us before, right?”

“Hide, Nate!”

The man shouted at Nate, then tightened his grip on the shotgun again.

“I still can’t let you inside! Just leave.”

Alan thought for a moment before continuing.

“I’m sorry, but you know where the people from last night went, don’t you? We need that information.”

“So... what?”

“You saw what happened last night. You know we weren’t with those men. We’re trying to find them before they hurt anyone else.”

Leon, standing beside him, added in the same language, “You don’t want what happened last night to happen again, do you?”

Alan turned toward Leon in surprise.

Leon gave him a look that clearly said, What? Am I wrong?

Alan opened his mouth, slowly closed it again, then shook his head and gave Leon a thumbs-up.

Sure enough, not long after Leon spoke, movement came from inside the house.

The wooden door slowly opened.

A shotgun barrel appeared through the gap first.

Once the man got a better look at Alan, he relaxed slightly.

Then he noticed Leon standing beside him and immediately tensed up again.

“Relax. He’s with me.”

“...Come inside. This isn’t a good place to talk.”