pjbooks Chapter 178 A Reversal of Pole and Heartbroken Jimmy
Chapter 178 A Reversal of Pole and Heartbroken Jimmy
Chapter 178 A Reversal of Pole and Heartbroken Jimmy
To put it bluntly, to make a living through shady dealings in Los Angeles and avoid being caught by the cops for so long, you need to be really skilled. If you're not good enough but addicted, you're already in jail.
Fortunately, Master Ma was no pushover either. He had a background in sports and was born with the ability to "climb walls and run at full speed," making him incredibly agile and powerful when he ran.
But this black guy was clearly desperate, his feet moving like they had wheels on fire, probably honed from years of being surrounded by the police.
Just as Ma Jie was giving chase, Sandy caught up from the other side on his skateboard.
How could two legs outrun four wheels? Once inside the attack range, the girl suddenly flipped the skateboard up with a fancy move and kicked it at the opponent's feet.
With a whoosh, the skateboard accelerated by the external force and rushed straight towards the evil fisherman's feet, trying to trip him up.
It turned out this guy was a trained athlete; he easily leaped onto the skateboard, stomped his right foot twice on the ground, and accelerated toward the exit.
"Haha, thank you, lady."
Sandy was dumbfounded when he saw this. He had originally wanted to steal a chicken by surprise, but he ended up making things worse.
With the free vehicle, the black guy was like a tiger with wings, instantly leaving Ma Jie far behind.
The latter is incredibly frustrating, making me feel all hot and bothered. Are you a spy sent by the enemy?
Now, the only one who can still be of any use is Bubu. According to Ma Jieke's instructions, his job is to be the goalkeeper, guarding the underground passage between the turnstile and the exit.
Just as he was about to intercept the ticket, the evil fisherman suddenly made a feint, kicking the skateboard at him while simultaneously performing a nimble one-handed flip over the ticket machine.
Glancing at the black man who had been tricked, the wicked fisherman excitedly swung his arms and strode around, tilting his head back and shouting, "You've got some grease on the road!"
This is a Japanese phrase that translates to "Run away quickly!"
However, just as he was shouting with joy, a disheveled homeless man walked towards him, munching on a banana as he headed toward the trash can.
Just as the evil fisherman was about to approach the homeless man, the man finished eating the banana, and even though there was a trash can just a few steps away, he still casually threw the banana peel on the ground.
At this critical moment, a very catchy line suddenly popped into Ma Jieke's mind—"The two poles reverse!"
At the same time, the evil fisherman suddenly felt his foot slip, and with perfect precision, he stepped on the banana peel, took off from the spot, and crashed down on his back.
[Reversal of Extremes]: When you encounter a negative event, there is a small chance that things will turn around (for example, the steering wheel of a car heading straight for you malfunctions, or an enemy slips and falls).
After reviewing the skill description again, Ma Jieke was overjoyed. This was the first time he had triggered the passive effect of [Bipolar Reversal], and he hadn't expected it to be so useful.
Upon seeing this, Bubu, who was closest to the target, immediately rushed forward and subdued him, with the gang leader and Sandy following closely behind.
"NONONO, don't touch me, bro, I think I've broken my back."
The other person was lying on the ground, wearing a mask of pain, begging Ma Jie and the others not to touch him.
Seeing his grimacing expression, Ma Jieke was amused and said, "Run, buddy, keep running! I think you could take over Bolt's job."
"You're not cops?" Seeing that the group neither showed identification nor pulled out handcuffs, the black man looked very uncomfortable: "What? What are you guys doing? You're not here to arrest me after all?"
"Nonsense, did I ever say I was a cop?" Ma Jieke was speechless. Only someone like you who's always getting into trouble would see everyone as a cop.
"And who are you?" At this point, the evil fisherman, seeing Homir arrive late, flew into a rage, swearing, "You bastard, how dare you betray me! Don't you know the rules of the Ghost Market? I'm reporting you to the group leader and making sure you can never work in this business again!"
"Stop!" Ma Jie pressed his fingers against his palm. "You two can settle your personal scores yourselves. I'm asking you now, where's my camera?"
"What kind of camera?"
"It's that old-fashioned digital camera that sold you this afternoon." Homill scratched his head awkwardly. "To be honest, buddy, he's the owner. I don't know how he found my house, but if you don't return it to him, I guarantee you'll end up like me."
As he spoke, he took off the hood of his sweatshirt, revealing a bruised and swollen face, with his forehead covered in bumps and bandages of all sizes.
"Wow! All for a piece of junk camera?"
The old man's face contorted with even more pain than before: "Why didn't you just tell me the truth? Why did you have to trick me into coming offline?"
"Just tell me directly, and then you can give it back to me?" Ma Jieke thought this was outrageous. "You random people, you think you can just swallow something and then spit it out?" He'd rather believe that Chuanbao was a woman.
"The bag." He lay helplessly on the ground, pointing to the travel bag that Homir had snatched from him. "Everything's in there. Find it yourselves. I can't remember which one it was."
Opening the travel bag, it was indeed full of digital products. Ma Jieke quickly found Valentina's camera, and a weight was finally lifted from his heart.
"Seriously, bro? You're carrying around cargo all the time?" Homir was utterly shocked by his colleague's bizarre actions.
"You don't know anything. It's safer to carry it on your person than to leave it at home."
Seeing that Ma Jie had taken back the camera, the guy looked at him with a pained expression: "Dude, I paid $300 for it, you can't just take it for free, I've never heard of an Asian getting a freebie from a Black person."
"That's none of my business. Whoever you gave the money to, you can ask them for it back."
Having recovered his lost items, Ma Jie was too lazy to argue with them anymore and called Bubu and Sandy to retreat.
However, Boss Ma is a kind-hearted person who can't bear to see others suffer. After leaving the subway station, he kindly called an ambulance for the other party.
Someone broke their back, and you're not going to do anything about it? Are you even human?
Ambulances aren't expensive in the US; in his case, it would cost at most five or six thousand dollars.
When Valentina was called to tell him that the camera had been found, she excitedly bounced around on the bed.
From a psychological perspective, losing items can trigger a temporary sense of loss of control, leading to anxiety in the owner.
Negative emotions such as self-blame.
This is accompanied by illogical compulsive checks, such as repeatedly checking pockets and places already searched, which makes one feel even more depressed.
The moment you find your item, your body experiences an acute release of stress, accompanied by the release of dopamine and endorphins, producing a strong sense of pleasure.
When we got back to our lodgings, it was already past midnight, and everyone was mostly asleep.
Ma Jie took a quick shower, returned to his room, and comfortably lay down on the big bed.
This is much better than living in a tent. You won't be exposed to the wind or rain, and you won't have to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes.
Through a brief review, Ma Jieke discovered that the skill [Quantum Tracking] was simply a divine skill among divine skills, and in some ways, it was worth at least five stars.
The only limitation is that it can only mark one target at a time, so it seems that next time I get a skill enhancement, I must prioritize upgrading it.
As for the next plan, needless to say, making money is the right thing to do.
My only stable source of income right now is from this scrap metal recycling station, and the money I earn each month is basically a dead end.
Because there are only so many trash cans in the poor neighborhood, other scavengers are unlikely to go to great lengths to sell their cans here unless you offer a premium.
The remaining business consisted of Jimmy's special scavenging team and the protection fees, or rather, security fees, paid by the street performers.
These sources of income are the basics, but at most they can only ensure that one has enough to eat and drink. If one wants to make more money, one has to open up new avenues.
Fighting in underground boxing matches is out of the question; it's exhausting and carries safety risks.
Participating in "Warehouse Treasure Hunt King" can be quite lucrative, but it's a variety show, and only one season airs a year.
All that's left is to rely on the treasure-hunting aura to explore the streets, but that's also very tiring because you have to keep driving and conducting high-intensity exploration of the city.
Oh, by the way, picking up job commissions at Ximen Auto Service Center is also an option. Considering everything, this is the fastest way to make money, but you have to take on certain risks.
Damn it, can't you give me a skill that allows my wealth to grow passively every day?
Lost in thought, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open a crack, and a beautiful leg encased in high heels and black fishnet stockings stepped in first.
Just by looking at her legs, MaJack knew it was Sandy. This girl seems to have taken a clingy habit to him lately, coming over every night to deliver little butterflies.
Of course, this is a very common phenomenon in Europe and America, where many middle-class couples even have their own separate lives and know who each other's partners are.
As a disciple of the Black Silk Sect, how could Ma Jieke withstand such a test? He immediately plunged into a shameless nightlife.
After their passionate encounter, the two sat on the headboard, still wanting more, conserving their energy for another round.
"Strange, did you hear anything?" Sandy asked, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"What's that sound?" Ma Jie pricked up his ears and heard a noise upstairs, like someone rubbing the floor.
"Could it be a rat?"
"It doesn't sound like a mouse. Listen again."
After listening for a while, I found that the noise was intermittent, but it was still very annoying and irritating.
The two, whose rhythm was constantly being interrupted, simply withdrew from the game halfway through, threw on their pajamas, and tiptoed upstairs.
Above the second floor, there's only Jimmy's attic left, but the guy didn't turn on the light, which means he's definitely in bed, and there might really be mice around.
Upon closer listening, the noise was indeed coming from his room.
Holy crap, could it be that a thief broke into the house?
Without a second thought, Ma Jieke twisted the doorknob and opened it, then slapped the light switch with his other hand.
The bright light instantly illuminated the entire attic, but the scene before him left Ma Jieke both amused and exasperated.
Jimmy was wearing a tracksuit he'd bought online and was lying on the floor, struggling to do push-ups.
When someone suddenly burst in, he was so frightened that his arms went limp and he fell to the floor with a thud.
"Wodefa, what are you doing in the middle of the night, bro?"
Ma Jieke's first reaction was that the kid was sleepwalking. Who the hell would be doing push-ups in the dark of a room with nothing better to do?
What's wrong? Are you a scaredy-cat? Can't you stand the light?
Besides, your actions are too indecent. People who know you are exercising might think you are having sex on the floor.
Caught red-handed by MaJack and Sandy, Jimmy looked embarrassed, rolled over and sat on the floor, panting heavily.
"Answer me, bro, what happened?" Ma Jie asked curiously, arms crossed. "Is it because you're in a bad mood?"
This is not just wild speculation. When Ma Jie is in a bad mood, he will exercise like crazy to vent his emotions, because when exercising, people are highly focused and have no mind to think about anything else.
"I haven't been in a good mood all day!" Jimmy said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, I get it." Sandy couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Haha, it must be because of what happened during the day."
"What is it? Tell me." Ma Jieke's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Please don't tell him, Sandy. I don't want to be laughed at again."
Despite Jimmy's pitiful pleading eyes, Sandy still told him about his food business: "Ahem, this afternoon, Mr. Jar King encountered a stray dog while collecting jars. No, later someone proved that it wasn't a dog, but a hybrid of a coyote and a dog. This creature is neither a pure wolf nor a pure dog, and it can't even be scientifically classified. Scientists named it the Coyote."
"Koo dogs possess two survival abilities: first, they are less afraid of humans than coyotes, so they dare to live in the city; second, they are more wild and aggressive than dogs, so other stray dogs dare not provoke them."
"And then?" Ma Jie became even more curious as he listened to Sandy's explanation.
"And then..." Sandy couldn't help but burst into laughter again. "Then Jimmy was yelling for help while being chased halfway down the street by that Koi dog. But that wasn't the funniest part. The funniest part was that Ellie and I happened to be passing by. We just shouted a few times, and the Koi dog was scared away."
"As a result, Ellie didn't hold back and mocked Jimmy mercilessly, saying that he wasn't as brave as a girl."
Upon hearing this, Ma Jieke finally understood that the woman's pride had been hurt again.
It would be hard for anyone to accept being protected by a girl younger than themselves, who would even mock them for being a coward.
"Okay, Sandy, thanks for the explanation. You can go back to your room now."
Ma Jie gave her a wink, after all, she was also one of the parties involved, and staying would only increase the boy's psychological pressure.
"Okay, I'm too lazy to get involved in men's topics."
When Sandy said "men," she deliberately emphasized it, making it sound anything but pleasant.
When she turned and left, Jimmy's eyes were red, but not from sadness, but from deep-seated anger.
He stared intently at someone: "Jack, tell me, what do I need to do to become as strong as you? I'm fed up with who I am now. I'm going to change this until I can protect others, instead of having others protect me!"
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