Leon was about to speak when he noticed a little girl walking over from behind.
Her eyes were dull, her skin pale, and her arms hung loosely at her sides.
There was none of the liveliness a child should have.
A sharp pang hit Leon’s chest.
“Your daughter needs help, sir.”
“I don’t need you telling me how to take care of my daughter!”
Kendo angrily shoved the barrel of his gun into Leon’s back.
“Put the gun down.”
Ada Wong stepped out from the shadows as well, her weapon trained on Kendo.
Seeing another person appear, Kendo took a step back, his gun shifting between them.
Alan Han, meanwhile, moved past Claire and took out the photo Marvin had given him.
“Sorry, this is a misunderstanding.”
“You must be Kendo, right?”
Kendo immediately turned his gun toward him.
“So what if I am?”
“Do you know Officer Marvin?”
Kendo paused, lowering his gun slightly, but after glancing at his daughter, he raised it again.
“That’s right, but don’t come any closer!”
“…Alright.
We were sent by Officer Marvin.
He died in the line of duty.
Before he passed, he asked me to find his daughter, Meryl.”
“Meryl?”
The little girl behind him tilted her head, her expression vacant, softly repeating the name.
Ada Wong noticed the girl’s obvious signs of turning and shifted her aim toward her.
“No.
Wait!”
Kendo stepped forward, placing himself between the gun and the girl.
“We have to deal with her before she turns.”
“Deal with her?
She’s my daughter!”
Leon hesitated.
“Ada, don’t interfere.”
Ada Wong looked at him, then lowered her gun.
She had not actually intended to kill the girl.
It was just a way to push Kendo.
She never involved herself in family matters.
Claire stepped out from behind and put her gun away.
Sherry stood beside her, looking at Emma.
Isn’t that the girl I often see at the park?
She even came over to play with me.
Is she going to become a zombie?
Why?
“Emma?
Sweetheart, I told you not to come out.”
Kendo’s face showed affection, reluctance, and fear all at once.
“Dad?”
Kendo glanced at everyone, then finally stepped back to his daughter, crouched down, and lowered his gun.
“Emma, Daddy’s here.
I’ll stay with you, okay?”
“Aren’t you police?
You must know what’s going on.
Why is this happening?”
Leon felt uneasy watching them, but he turned to Alan Han.
“Han, you mentioned Marvin just now.
And his daughter.
What’s going on?”
Seeing Leon’s urgency, Alan Han explained again.
“Before Marvin died, he said his daughter had come to Kendo’s gun shop, which is here.
He asked me that if I made it out of the station safely, I should try to save her.”
Leon looked shocked.
Why hadn’t Marvin told him?
Ada Wong glanced at Alan Han, then at Leon.
Claire thought about Leon’s personality for a moment and understood.
“Meryl?
I know her.
Actually, I know their whole family well.
But I haven’t seen her.
I’ve mostly stayed in the back room.
I only come out when someone breaks in.”
Kendo held his daughter tightly as tears ran down his face.
Hearing Alan Han’s words, memories surfaced.
A few weeks ago, Meryl and Emma had been playing together.
Since Marvin was always busy, his well-behaved daughter would come over on her own.
Meryl was just as cute and obedient as Emma, and very sweet.
She often begged him for candy.
He treated her like his own daughter.
She came to find me, and I couldn’t help her.
Kendo tightened his grip.
I failed to protect anyone.
Alan Han felt his heart sink.
Could Meryl already be gone?
At that moment, the sound of zombie dogs echoed from a narrow alley beside the back room.
Alan Han exchanged a look with Leon and moved past Kendo and Emma toward the alley.
At the entrance, the door was locked.
Alan Han shot the lock off and stepped inside with Leon.
A faint tearing sound echoed.
Alan Han spotted a small red shoe on the ground, and his eyes widened.
A child’s shoe?
“Meryl!”
He shouted and ran forward.
Leon glanced at the shoe.
Not good.
He followed immediately.
At the end of the alley, they saw a zombie dog tearing into something blue.
As they got closer, it was clearly Meryl.
She had already lost all strength.
Her lips were pale, and her body swayed weakly as the dog bit into her.
She did not struggle, only letting out faint whimpers.
Damn it.
Alan Han rushed forward, pried the dog’s jaws apart, forcing them open until the joint snapped.
With another pull, there was a crack.
The dog lost its jaw completely.
Blood splattered everywhere, and for a moment Alan Han could not tell whose blood it was.
He threw the now harmless dog aside.
Then he looked at the girl and froze.
She was wearing a police uniform similar to Leon’s, oversized on her small frame, with a warm undershirt beneath.
Two rows of bite marks were clearly visible on both layers.
Fortunately, the dog had only bitten through the clothing.
But her position was extremely dangerous.
She was lying right at the edge of the pit, completely unprotected.
If the dog had kept dragging her, she would have fallen in.
Luckily, they had arrived in time.
But her lips were pale, and she was trembling.
Alan Han instinctively touched her forehead.
Burning hot.
She had a fever.
He immediately picked her up, shielding her from the rain with his body, and ran toward the gun shop.
Leon was about to follow when he noticed something glinting on the ground.
He bent down and picked it up.
It was a keychain with the Raccoon City Police Department emblem.
R.P.D.
…
“Kendo!
Do you have any fever medicine?”
“You should leave.
Let us have some time alone.”
Kendo held his daughter, crying, calling out to Ada Wong and Claire.
Sherry clung to Claire’s leg, watching them, reminded of her own mother.
Hearing Alan Han, Kendo froze, then saw the girl in his arms.
He looked closely.
“Meryl?
She’s still alive.
No… she’s in bad shape!”
He wiped his tears with one hand, hesitated, then gently placed Emma on the ground.
“Emma, Daddy needs to help Meryl.
You remember her, right?
Your best friend.
You used to play together all the time.
So just wait for me a little, okay?”
He knelt down, unable to stop crying, then quickly stood back up and wiped his face.
“Yes.
There is medicine in the back room.
But my wife is in there.
She has already turned.
I’ll open it.”
“I’ll help.”
Alan Han stepped forward with Meryl in his arms.
“I’ll go, Han.
Leave the girl to you.”
Leon walked in and patted his shoulder.