America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 99 Poor Old George

After leaving the No. 19 Bridge Cave Camp, Zhang Ailun said goodbye to Sig and headed alone to the No. 126 apartment community in Zhilin Street.

Upon arriving here, I discovered that there were no security guards at the entrance of the community, no police officers patrolling, and the location was part of a poor neighborhood.

Zhang Ailun went directly into the community and began checking the house numbers one by one.

They quickly found apartment building number 369, a standard detached house with a yard, fence, lawn, water tap, and an old pickup truck parked in the garage.

An oven, a sofa, cardboard boxes, a gaming chair, and other odds and ends were placed in front of the yard.

Zhang Ailun didn't disturb the family, nor did he rashly cross the yard. He simply buried himself in the old items outside the yard and searched for a while. In a cardboard box, he found red and white sneakers with Dr. J's signature on them.

The item is in relatively good condition.

"Hey! Do you need any help?" The apartment door opened, and a tall, thin boy wearing glasses walked out.

Seeing Zhang Ailun rummaging through old items, he came over and asked enthusiastically, "Is there anything you need in here?"

"Dude, I just think this gaming chair is nice. And these shoes, are you sure you want to throw them away?" Zhang Ailun replied.

"These shoes are from my dad's old collection, I think they belonged to a Black player? But I don't really like him, I like LeBron James. We're moving soon, and this gaming chair is really great, it's been with me for years! If you want it, take it," the bespectacled boy said optimistically, in his opinion the gaming chair was far more valuable than the sneakers.

Zhang Ailun didn't know much about gaming chairs. It seemed to be a Corsair brand, and it even had multi-directional adjustment. He took out his phone, took a picture, and searched for it. The market price seemed to be around $500.

The price is much lower on the secondhand side; an old gaming chair that has been used for several years might not even be worth a few dozen dollars.

A gaming chair costs so much.

What kind of family is this? Did they buy it for free?

"You're moving? What's the reason? Is there a problem with this community?" Zhang Ailun asked in surprise, and they started chatting.

"Nothing much, actually it's because of some good news. You know Valorant, right?" The tall, thin boy smiled slightly. Seeing Zhang Ailun's hesitant expression, he pushed up his glasses. "Okay, you might not follow the gaming scene much. I'm an FPS game streamer, and I'm even a top 100 Empowered player on the North American server. I recently signed with a professional team and did well in tournaments, earning some money. So my family and I are planning to move to a new house soon. We probably won't be coming back."

"Congratulations, buddy. You have a bright future ahead of you at such a young age!" Zhang Ailun also congratulated him happily.

To be born into such a hellish environment and be able to rise from poverty on your own is truly remarkable.

"I wish you a wonderful tomorrow too," the boy replied cheerfully. "Everything in this house that you can't take with you is being sold at a low price or given away. If you need anything, you can pick a few more to take with you."

"These shoes are pretty good." Zhang Ailun waved the sneakers in his hand. "If I really take them, you probably won't ask for them back, right?"

"It's just a single sneaker. I can buy hundreds of these with the money I earn!" The boy smiled. "Are you sure you don't want this gaming chair? It has my autograph on it. Once I become famous, it will definitely be a valuable collectible."

"Dude, you're really confident!" Zhang Ailun admired this kind of person.

However, he doesn't have much talent for games. He basically doesn't touch competitive games. He just plays games like Maze Bank and being a kind and good guy in Western American Izayoi.

"I can't move this thing right now. Maybe I'll go back and ask a friend to drive it over? I hope it's still here."

Zhang Ailun said, "What's your game name? I'm waiting for the day you become famous!"

"I'll save it for you," the boy told Zhang Ailun his game ID.

Zhang Ailun also followed him on social media, saying he would definitely watch his games if he had the chance.

The boy was also very happy and enthusiastically pulled Zhang Ailun to take a picture with him as a souvenir, which made Zhang Ailun a little socially awkward.

After parting ways with the e-sports boy, Zhang Ailun went straight to Old George's pawn shop, only to find it closed.

I searched for the store information and found that Old George's pawnshop had also become a hot topic on short videos. It was robbed by black men! A tragic incident occurred, resulting in 2 deaths and 3 injuries.

The perpetrators were a group of Black men from the neighboring Sixth Street neighborhood; they have been arrested and imprisoned. Old George himself was also cut by broken glass and had to go to the hospital for treatment.

Well, so this old Texas gambler has finally met his end? What else could this unscrupulous businessman be but reaping what he sowed?

Zhang Ailun clapped his hands happily, but he could only try his luck at other pawnshops.

"Welcome to The Magic Flute Pawnshop." After searching for a pawnshop in the nearest neighborhood on the map, Zhang Ailun pushed open the door and saw a strangely dressed pink-haired woman behind the shop counter.

One glance revealed its immense evil.

"Salepani?"

"You recognized me?" the girl said in surprise, then explained, "This is what our boss requested."

"Your boss must be a man of taste," Zhang Ailun nodded in agreement. So today is an anime mania symphony?

"Sir, are you looking to sell something or buy something?" The female shop assistant began enthusiastically introducing the goods in their store.

There's no history to speak of, the fame is fabricated, and the blue and white porcelain is a fake. Zhang Ailun glanced at it without much interest, then took the sneaker out of the cardboard box and introduced it: "This is a signed game shoe from Julius Erving, the NBA legend of the 70s. I want to sell it here."

The female shop assistant picked it up, glanced at it, took a picture, and sent it to me, asking, "How much do you want to sell it for?"

"$2500," Zhang Ailun offered a reasonable price. Having sold so many things, he knew the rules, and besides, this shop might not be as skilled as Old George in wielding his dragon-slaying sword.

"$400." The girl casually made a cut, which sent chills down Zhang Ailun's spine.

Zhang Ailun's lips twitched. "I'm not selling."

Damn, this store is even more of a rip-off than Old George's! As he packed up his shoes to leave, the female shop assistant quickly stopped him, saying, "Sir, we can discuss the price if you're not satisfied!"

"If you're not sincere, how am I supposed to talk to you?" Zhang Ailun was very dissatisfied.

He bluntly stated, "If Old George's Pawnshop next door hadn't been closed today, I would never have come here to sell my items!"

The female clerk paused for two seconds before patiently explaining, "This shop is owned by Mr. George's son, and the person who just gave the price was our boss, Mr. George."

"..."

No, you guys are also engaging in monopoly, aren't you!

No wonder it smells like that.

Zhang Ailun never expected that Old George's territory was so large, and he was impressed. "2000 US dollars, I'll sell it if I can."

"Just a moment." The female clerk picked up her phone and did a few more operations, then said with satisfaction, "Our boss said that because you're a regular customer, $2000 is acceptable! That's the highest price we can go."

"Give me the money, I want cash."

Zhang Ailun compromised, handing over the shoes and taking the money in one hand, and Old George finally got his way! He didn't try to haggle any further.

Perhaps his rough edges had been smoothed out by Lao Hei, because even lying in the hospital, his murderous aura wasn't as strong anymore.

Poor old George, hehe.

(End of this chapter)