As fragments of memories flashed, Zhang Jie also roughly understood how the original owner and the Old Lady had met.
It was the summer of 2006.
A very serious shooting incident occurred on Broadway in New York, resulting in over 100 casualties.
When the shooting happened, the original owner, Zhang Jie, was in a mall looking at shoes. When the gunfire erupted, everyone panicked, and even a stampede occurred.
At this time, Schneider was only 53 years old, dressed in what appeared to be not-too-fashionable attire, carrying a handbag, and leaning against a wall, observing her surroundings.
When Zhang Jie saw someone with a Pistol rushing over from the other side, he didn't know why, but he immediately rushed forward, pulled Schneider, and hid in a nearby cloakroom. At the same time, a burst of bullets shot over from that direction, hitting the wall.
"Thanks, little guy," Schneider elegantly took out her Pistol and racked the slide.
She peeked around the corner, fired several shots outside, and took down the gunman.
Deafening gunshots exploded in his ears. This was 15-year-old Zhang Jie's first formal encounter with a firearm.
At this time, he, of course, knew that in happy America, shootings happened every day, but when a shooting truly occurred next to him, he realized how desperate and helpless he was.
Schneider, whom he had inadvertently saved, after swiftly dealing with the gunmen on the first floor of the mall, took Zhang Jie's hand and walked out.
"Staying in a place like this is not a good habit, little guy."
Schneider settled Zhang Jie at a street corner outside. This spot was a full 300 meters away from the shooting, and hiding there could temporarily ensure his safety.
"These damned bastards ruined my good mood for the entire day!" She cursed as she walked towards the direction of the shooting.
This was Zhang Jie's first meeting with Mrs. Schneider.
But good times didn't last. Bad news arrived: Zhang Jie's parents, while searching for him in the chaotic crowd, were shot and wounded by gunmen, and ultimately died despite rescue efforts.
The inheritance left to Zhang Jie by his parents was not much.
As a result, Zhang Jie didn't have an easy life.
At Zhang Jie's parents' funeral, Mrs. Schneider, dressed in black and holding a black umbrella, looked at Zhang Jie, who was standing in the distance getting wet in the rain, and a pang of heartache arose within her.
From then on, this little guy was also all alone, so she took the initiative to rent her apartment to him. He only had to pay rent when he had money; if he didn't, he could owe it, which was a way to repay him for saving her life.
However, she never intended to guide Zhang Jie into the world of assassins, but rather hoped he could live a normal life. But due to his hatred for gunmen, Zhang Jie eventually slowly entered the underground dark world.
The recalled memories were short and didn't contain much content, but they roughly explained how Zhang Jie came to know the Old Lady, Schneider.
He also understood why he had never thought of leaving this apartment; it wasn't that he didn't want to leave, but that he had grown dependent on it, treating it as a home.
It was a pity that the details of the memories were too vague, and many things could not be remembered clearly, which made Zhang Jie extremely annoyed.
But one thing could be confirmed: the Old Lady was indeed not simple; before becoming an assassin landlady, she must have also been a top assassin.
What would happen next, he didn't know; perhaps memories would tell him.
He opened the notebook, which contained fragmented entries, such as how much rent and utility bills were collected—all just a running ledger.
The only valuable thing was probably this photo. He put the photo back exactly as he found it, and Zhang Jie exited the Old Lady's room.
Sitting in the living room, he began to recall some memories of the original owner, but unfortunately, there weren't many.
Perhaps because he had been dead for a while, he couldn't actively recall them and could only wait for certain scenes to trigger his emotions.
"Assassin landlady, assassin, original owner saved her, she gave the original owner a house to live in."
Fragmented clues could not form a complete memory line, but they were at least a starting point.
Thinking of this, Zhang Jie got up, tidied himself, and drove to John's villa.
Indeed, money makes a difference; Hades was very well taken care of and seemed to have gained some weight. After playing with Hades in the villa for a while, Zhang Jie went upstairs.
He arrived at the heavy metal door at the end of the second-floor corridor. He had seen it when he first came to John's house, but he didn't know what was inside—perhaps guns, or something else; he wasn't sure.
It had a biometric lock, so he couldn't get in. Zhang Jie also gave up the idea of looking inside; perhaps John would be willing to show him one day.
Returning to the living room, he found Hades holding a photo frame in his mouth and shaking it.
Zhang Jie walked over and took the photo frame from his mouth, "You, don't you dare damage things in the house."
He then glanced at the photo frame, which contained a photo of John and a young man. The young man was probably in his twenties, clearly Asian.
He was smiling very brightly, and John, with his arm around his shoulder, was doing the same.
"Hmm? Who is this?"
The plot of John Wick that he knew didn't seem to feature this man. Could it be that this world wasn't truly John Wick?
Was it a parallel world, thus containing some things he didn't know?
Perhaps he was one of John's friends, but logically, if it were a friend's photo, it shouldn't be displayed at home, especially framed.
"Never mind, I'll ask John when he gets back."
He casually placed the photo frame on the refrigerator.
After teasing Hades for a while, Zhang Jie sat on the sofa to rest. His injuries hadn't healed, and everything felt a bit strenuous.
Hades, on the other hand, would get very excited whenever he smelled blood on him and would always deliberately press his paws on his wound.
As a result, Zhang Jie was always in a bit of a mess; he couldn't bear to hit him or scold him, so he could only hide.
He wondered what John was doing now.
He felt like he was a little different after returning to New York this time. Perhaps he had grown?
Zhang Jie had subconsciously ignored the proficiency panel. This thing was truly useless to him, except for showing his progress during training; otherwise, it was utterly worthless.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Zhang Jie frowned. John wasn't home, so why would someone come knocking?
Gripping the MP9 in his hand, he walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was a curly-haired man.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Jie still opened the door.
"Is John not here?"
Looking at the man in front of him, Zhang Jie's eyes involuntarily grew a degree colder. Then he calmly replied, "John went hunting. He's not home right now."
The man scrutinized Zhang Jie for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"You must be John's new guy, right? I've heard about you. Nice to meet you, I'm Santino." Then, he extended his right hand.
Indeed!
This guy was the main boss of John Wick 2, a double-crossing bastard.
To be honest, Zhang Jie hated his behavior of using the blood oath to force John back into the game.
But there was nothing he could do; after all, this was someone who had helped John in the past, so using a blood oath to bring John back into the game was understandable.
It was just his final act of betrayal that was truly disgusting.
This time, he wouldn't let him succeed, no matter what.
"Yes, that's me, Zhang Jie."
Looking at Santino's extended right hand, Zhang Jie put his Pistol back in its holster and reluctantly extended his hand.
Their hands met, but each harbored their own thoughts.
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