It was July 8th.
The last three days had flown by.
Noah hadn't just been working at the gun shop; he had also been dressing up every day, hoping to see Jill again.
Disappointingly, Jill didn't show up on July 8th. By the afternoon, there was still no sign of her.
Instead, Boss Kendo gave Noah a few hurried instructions, grabbed a specialized tactical bag, and left.
Thanks to Emma, Noah learned that Kendo had gone to the RPD station himself to deliver the weapons to Jill.
So much for dressing up.
Aside from grooming himself, Noah had been busy with a few things he considered critically important over the last few days.
First, he tried to delay Emma's summer homework as much as possible.
He hoped that if she fell behind, Kendo might cancel the trip to the suburban party to make her catch up.
But Noah misjudged the situation. It seemed the concept of "summer homework hell" wasn't as intense here, or maybe they just didn't assign that much.
Even though he successfully distracted her for a few days, neither Kendo nor Emma seemed worried.
After all, summer break had just started. Falling two days behind meant nothing to a smart kid like Emma.
Second, whenever he had free time, he told Kendo horror stories, intentionally setting them in the Raccoon City outskirts to discourage him from going to the banquet.
That failed too.
Trying to instill fear in a grown man with fictional stories over three days might work on a child, but it meant nothing to Kendo.
So Noah considered a third option: secretly kidnapping Emma to cause a panic on July 9th, forcing Kendo to cancel their plans.
The plan was simple: on the night of July 8th, while cooking dinner, he'd slip some sleeping pills into the food and whisk Emma away.
But even for someone as self-serving as Noah, this simple plan was strangled in the cradle.
Executing it wasn't the problem. The problem was explaining it afterward. He couldn't exactly say he kidnapped a ten-year-old girl on a whim.
And he certainly couldn't say she "wanted to visit his house."
That excuse might clear him of kidnapping but would slap him with attempted child molestation charges. No go.
Aside from the explanation, there was the issue of his job.
If he lost the gun shop gig, he'd have to work for Umbrella to leave the city.
And working for Umbrella right now was basically signing his own death warrant. No way.
If he couldn't explain it and couldn't work, what was left?
Jail. Or being held at the police station before trial.
Wait. What's in the police station? What's in the jail?
The police station had zombies and Lickers.
The station's underground jail had Cerberus dogs and the Tyrant.
If he ran into the main cast there, he'd probably just end up as canon fodder.
After thinking it through, Noah decided impulse was the enemy.
Besides, no matter how close he got to Kendo and Emma, no matter how much he liked them... they were just game characters, right?
What would he really gain by saving them?
He'd just be forcing a change in fate, dragging down the future Resident Evil storyline and burdening his own survival.
Plus, Jill would be guarding the party, and the timeline was moved up by half a month. It should be fine.
The ideal scenario was for them to attend the banquet safely under protection, return home, and then he could convince them to escape Raccoon City with him later.
"Why the long face? Something on your mind?"
Emma looked up from her book, concerned, as she watched Noah listlessly wiping down the counter and display guns.
Usually, Noah was the one telling her weird stories, but now he was the one needing care.
Kendo must have told her about Noah being broke and homeless.
Come to think of it, for a ten-year-old girl to be this empathetic... it just made Noah pity the kid even more.
"Sigh. I finally worked out a deal with Boss Kendo to get paid weekly. But yesterday, as soon as I got my wages, the landlord took every cent! I wanted to relax a bit, but now I'm left without a penny."
Pay rent?
Yeah, right.
He had already unplugged the phone so he wouldn't hear the landlord's angry calls.
His apartment door was locked—from the outside, by the landlord.
Let it be locked. All he needed was a bed to crash on. For the last two days, Noah had been sleeping at the gun shop. He only snuck back to the apartment occasionally to change clothes.
Climb through the window, change, climb back out.
He did this to make Kendo think he was a trustworthy guy who used his weekly pay for rent.
If he took the money but didn't spend it—and didn't even pay rent—Kendo might think he was hoarding cash to run away at any moment. That wouldn't inspire trust.
"Oh..."
Emma smiled sheepishly. She didn't doubt Noah's lie. Instead, she seemed to wonder if her dad was paying him too little—like he was exploiting the guy.
Realizing his lie might be making the ten-year-old feel guilty, Noah quickly pivoted.
"But for a guy like me with no degree who's new to town, I'm lucky Boss Kendo gave me this chance. Otherwise, I'd probably be starving on the streets right now!"
Hearing this, Emma's expression relaxed, the guilt fading.
"But look at you. So young and already reading people's moods so well? You caught me zoning out instantly."
Noah smiled at Emma.
In his view, Emma was a good, obedient kid. With kids like her, the best approach was treating them as equals and giving praise at the right moments. That was the most effective way to build their confidence.
"Hehe."
Emma smiled shyly.
Noah could tell she was genuinely happy.
"Wait, I was supposed to be comforting you. How did it turn into you praising me?"
Emma suddenly realized what happened and steered the conversation back.
"Why? Do I have to be comforted by you to feel better?"
Noah, amused by the girl's reaction, started teasing her.
"Tch. If you don't need comfort, forget it. I was just thinking... since you work so hard from dawn till dusk every day, and your cooking is so good, I asked my dad if we could get another ticket. You know, so you could come with us to the suburban party tomorrow and relax!"
Seeing she was losing the banter, Emma pouted, stood up, and dropped the bomb.
Noah was stunned.
He had only been working here for a few days, yet this father and daughter were willing to take him along on their outing. It was genuinely touching.
"You're not just worried I'll steal guns if I'm left alone in the shop, are you...?"
Before Noah could finish his sentence, Emma gathered all her strength and hurled the thick book she had been reading right at him.
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