1 Welcome to Srimnet
The Sun , the sunlight that illuminated the city's streets .
Summer is approaching. These wind that have been dyed gold by the blazing sun, carrying a slight moisture feel within it. Apart from the humidity, the wind is also carrying else: Heat. It's like every single god damn concrete pavements were emitting this scorching heat. And the summer breeze brought that steamy goodness into my room. The only thing that I could have felt when I closed my eyes is : Hot or maybe two : Fucking hot . My brain won't stop whining and complaining about it, and now it's starting to use word to express it feelings
"Shit, how the fuck did it get so fucking hot ???"
No, It's more like burning!! The heat is so horrible that I feel like I could melt and evaporate immediately! Honestly, just having a cold can of Coke was enough for me to consider it to be a blessing from the Heaven.
Despite the fact that I'm on my soft and comfy bed and trying to force myself to sleep, I can't seem to catch a good night sleep for a single moment. The heat was a huge issue for sure, but money is also the thing that's been clouding my head. The longer I laid down, the more problems I see. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!!! Rent, electricity bill, phone bill, bus ticket, ...
Damn it!! If this keeps going, I think might become obsessed with Mr.Benjamin Franklin . Please Uncle Ben, just look at my wallet like the American soil back in the 18th century!!
It's almost been one month since I left Vietnam to study overboard in Srimmet . To fulfill my dream, I have become a forensic anatomy student.
And now , my life along with that strange ambition of mine is slowly falling into a dead end . I'm reaching the bottom of my savings while the campus hasn't even providing me with my student code so I can start working part-time . As I painfully rolling around on my bed , I looked over to the spruce-wood cabinet in my room , filled with games and books that I just bought a couple of weeks ago
It was a dreadful story when I finally realized that these games can't fill an empty stomach . Thinking about it , when was the last time I got to savor and enjoy a piece of meat of any kind . Those thing are too fancy for a person like myself
Life in Srimnet was a lot more rough than I expected it to be . The erratic , unpredictable weather was one thing , the living expenses here is higher than most places which is another thing . I only got like 50$ left in my wallet and I have to play the "survival game" for the next 15 days . Just thinking about it , felt like a punch in the gut . With my current state , even Sir Simpson Grant would have to leave my broke ass
BRRRRRRRTTTTTTT… BRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT…
My phone screen suddenly starting to lit up – a unknown number . Although , I wasn't really paying that much attention to the caller . Cause for a brief moment when I looked at the phone , I thought to myself :"How much would I get from selling this ?". But that thought quickly left as soon as I realized how pathetic of a state it was in .
After a tired and defeated sigh , I hesitantly picked up the phone .
"Who's there ?" – I spoke in a polite demeanor
"Yo !!! Buddy , how's going . You still doing good ?
The guy on the other end let out a violent cough then talk to me in a thick foreign accent . I was quite taken back when I first heard him .
"Kolnis ? How the hell did you get my number ?
This is Kolnis . He's a classmate from my forensic class . Even though , he got the US citizenship , his Dad was a Filipinos which is why his accent wasn't that much different from any typical Asian around here .
"You gave it to me at the start of the semester , jackass . And also , this is not the first time that I called you" He sounded quite pissed .
Maybe it was really my fault . I gave my number to Kolnis quite a while ago and he has been contacting me ever since the day I first step on "the land of the free" also known as 'Merica . He's my first and only friend at that point …
Which is why , not having his name saved on my phone is kinda understandable cause he's the only guy who can call me . But after he stopped contacting me for a while , hearing him again kinda surprised me a little bit .
"Sorry man , I just woke up some I'm still a little woozy . What do you want ?" I have come up with a perfect cover up for my dumbass .
Kolnis suddenly let out a whistle . After that , I heard a sound which can be described as keys hitting each other . A keychain perhaps , maybe , it's quite a big one to since there was a lot of clinging .
"Hey Hung , are you running low on cash bro ?"
"What ? Are you gonna give me some allowances like my parent ?"
"Ok so here's the thing , I just founded a pretty tame part-time job near here"
My eyes widen like I just saw a light in a dark place . But then it was immediately dimmed as soon as I think about all of the paper works .
"Bro, you know why I'm broke as fuck ? Uhh hello ? Paper-works."
"Ay bro this place doesn't need the code to work so you can easily work here without worrying about paying the taxes . So ? are you in or out , better make it snappy so I can tell the boss about it"
This bastard , he really know how to scratch an itch .
"Calm your horses , let think about it a little … But uhhh , what's the gig ? And how much we are talking here ?
"Let's see , around 150$ per day . You show you ass to work 3 days a week , 4 hours work-shift . And the gig is a security job for a night club that just opened at the end of the 3rd Street."
Four hours a day , three days a week and that juicy payment ??? Even though the work time is quite stiff but I can just reschedule my classes . In short , this is a perfect job opportunity for a broke college student like me .
"So you got anything else you wanna ask ?" Kolnis asked me in a curious tone .
"This is not like you at all man."
My desperation for the money has stopped me from thinking straight . To be honest , I was quite hesitant about the offer , but all of my doubts just disappeared as quickly as it came as Mr.Bejamin came to cease my doubts away . And then Kolnis question made me question the offer once again: "There must be something sketchy behind this , like there is no way!!"
"Why are you asking me like that ? Bro it's the job even legal ? Are we going to do some kind of smuggling or trading in some kind ?
I asked with genuine , yet playful tone . Truthfully , deep down inside me , I was hoping that those shading business ain't a thing .
"Are you mad ? The place I'm about to introduce you too is perfectly legal . Buttttttt …"
He pondered for a bit then let out a quick "Ah!"
"Hey did you noticed that Mr.Penor class is getting busier lately ?"
The moment he mentioned Mr.Penor I suddenly had a strange feeling in my gut . Mr.Penor is my professor , who is also Kolnis professor and he's an expert in the field that I'm studying .
Recently, I have been banned from his OR (Operating Room) by Mr.Penor himself due to reason I'm not going to go too deep in . So having all of this free time for myself , I usually hang out at the cafeteria just to enjoy a few cups of coffee .
About Mr.Penor operating room incident , it's not a good news for anyone . Since my university is also collaborating with the city police precinct so when there is an "emergency", his OR will be used as the city forensic operation room.
"Sorry man, I got kicked out ever since the incident so I have no idea"
On the other end , I can hear Kolnis sigh in pure disappointment .
"Ok you don't have to bring that up again , just because of your little fuck up I had to showered five fucking times that day , not to mention putting disinfectant on my. Shit man , the smell was nauseating"
I can only laugh at what Kolnis said. Honestly , I went a little bit overboard that day and broke one of the "sample". If he wasn't there to help me , I could have been I jail just because I was being dumbass.
"So ? Is there a reason why his class is getting busier ?"
"You're kidding ? … Didn't you check the news? It's all over the place , every single news channels are covering it nonstop."
How do I say this ? … I don't really have the time to check the online news so being ignorant as I am is inevitable . Although , I did noticed that the campus have been more rowdy than usual . The ambulances are coming in and out as per usual but there was no siren. They just appeared and then silently depart without any hassle.
Which was never a good thing to hear.
"Just get straight to the point . Ever since I got kicked out , I couldn't give less of a damn about what happened."
Kolnis went silent , I can hear him swallowing his saliva.
"Serial Homicide" he said in a serious manner. "The city that we are living in , there is a serial killer running rampant."
