Chapter 005 - Bad news

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Although Alex was physically and emotionally broken to the extent that he could barely stand up straight, he knew he mustn't be lazy, not yet, not even if he was only left with just a thread of life.

So, upon leaving his former workplace, Alex instantly rushed to his and his grandmother's house which was located in a slum area.

On his way there, it was as if he was a jinx or something nobody wants to get close to. Everybody he passes by would Immediately cover their mouths and run away from him as far as they could, but Alex simply wasn't bothered by this.

He doesn't even have the time to notice them.

Rushing back home, he took a cold water bath to wash away all the dried blood and dirt on him despite the extremely biting pain killing him.

When he was done, he hurriedly treated himself with the expired first-aid kits in a corner at home.

Just as he was done and deliberating on where to go work next, Alex received a call from one of his customers, and although his face changed slightly when he saw the caller's ID, he still Immediately picked up the call.

"Bastard, where the fuck are you, I need you here ASAP!"

This was what Alex Johnson heard the moment he connected the call, but not having the courage to complain, he told the caller he would reach him very soon.

But before he could even finish his sentence, the call was already hung on him. Thankfully, he wasn't bothered about this.

Cringing with intense pain, Alex forced himself to stand up, then he limped out of the neat but dark old apartment.

....

"Bastard, didn't I tell you I need you ASAP, how dare you be this late?"

At this moment, a young boy in his 16 – 17 years could be seen seated facing a gaming computer in a café while howling at the utterly sweating Alex Johnson who just arrived.

Upon hearing this boy's roar, the groups of equally jobless young boys also in the café instantly paused their respective games and turned their gazes at the duo interestingly, while Alex Johnson only shook his head gently.

Although he was already used to things like this, his heart still couldn't handle the fact that everybody, including the people younger than him, always treated him in ways worst than a useless piece of trash.

Knowing that there was nothing he could do to change this, Alex could only lower his head and apologize.

"I left where I was the moment you dropped the call. But because I was somewhere very far away and I had to trek, I was late."

"How the hell does that concern me, hun? I told you I needed you here ASAP, but here you are, only arriving five minutes later, I'm I not going to pay for your service?"

The boy snorted coldly, then gazed at Alex Johnson as though even his life and death meant nothing to him, the boy put the headphones he had removed just now after Alex reached him back on and continued playing his game.

Seeing him like this, Alex could only remain quiet while standing at the side as he continued gazing downward with a soulless look in his eyes.

As for the rest of the boys, they also returned to their respective games when they realized that nothing interesting was going on.

Just as Alex Johnson was about to become helpless again and start thinking of a way to ask the young boy what he want him to do, he saw a twenty dollar bill flying toward him before landing before his feet, then Alex raised his head with a start.

But as if he knew nothing, the young boy who looked utterly engrossed in his games continued enthusiastically.

Just as Alex was about to think the money has nothing to do with the dude, he heard him.

"I need those pieces of trash to be dumped into the recycle bin."

Alex, "_"

He was directly left speechless as he watched the young boy point his mouth toward the pieces of trash. He then looked towards the nearby bin which was only three steps away. Despite himself, Alex Johnson ended up shaking his head speechlessly.

'All these wealthy people.' He moaned softly to himself, then he bent over and picked up the money before pocketing it.

But just as he was about to pick up the pieces of trash which contained all sorts of junk food receptacles, a slight thud sounded, then Alex felt a tinge of pain on his head, the sign of something hitting it.

Immediately, a frown formed on Alex Johnson's face as he raised his head with question marks in his eyes.

"Oops, sorry about that. I never knew I would actually miss and mistakenly throw the can on your head." He heard the young boy apologize with an unhidden sarcasm in his voice, which instantly made the group of young boys gaggle hysterically.

Once he heard this, the expression on Alex Johnson's face returned to normal as he wasn't new to this treatment, then he continued parking all the refuses before depositing them into the nearby trash can.

"Is that all you have for me, sir?"

"Yes."

Alex instantly sighed and turned around.

"The next time I call you and you delay, I'm done with you."

Alex's footstep instantly faltered when he heard this, then sighing softly to himself again, he began to think of a solution to quicken his pace the next time so that he wouldn't lose another source of income again.

Just as Alex was about to exit the café, his little buttoned cell phone began to ring, then he instantly became enthusiastic and forgot how animalistic he was just treated.

Thinking the call was from another customer, Alex directly connected it, but the moment he placed the cell phone against his ear, what he heard directly shattered and broke him completely, making his head start ringing and causing him to feel like he was descending into the deepest layer of hell rapidly.

"How… how… where…. Where would I find one million dollars in an hour?"

Alex muttered to himself with dead eyes, then his blood pressure began to increase at a fast rate with each passing second.

He felt like he was going crazy and he would soon die from depression.

Suddenly, his eyes slightly regained focus as he convinced himself hysterically. "No! I must find it or else I wouldn't be able to see my grandmother again!"

The call he got just now was from the hospital where his grandmother had been admitted for over a year, receiving treatment.

It was because of this grandmother of his he had been enduring all sorts of humiliations and the entire world's bullies, just so he could find the money to foot her weekly hospital bills.

Just now, he received a call from the hospital t his grandmother had entered critical condition, and an amount of one million dollars is needed in less than an hour to rescue and perform surgery on her.

"Where would I find that huge amount of money?"

Alex began to fidget and rack his brain when suddenly, he remembered something, then a drop of tear-filled with a massive amount of joy fell from his eye.

"I… I almost forgot I still have some savings with Shana. Although it wouldn't amount to much, I would beg anybody I could and add everything I get together, then I should be able to beg the hospital to accept and start grandmother's surgery first, before finding the rest."

Thinking like this, Alex Johnson became out-of-the-world excited, then without bothering about the busy road, he limped across, causing the drivers of the passing-by vehicles to start cursing and roaring furiously at him, but he simply doesn't care.