Reborn in America: I Have an Equipment Slot

Florida, USA.

Miami's South Beach is a beautiful spot, and the blonde beauties sunbathing on the beach are both charming and romantic.

Irving sat on a bench by the street, feeling the salty sea breeze. The scenery was pleasant, but he felt a little like dying.

He was holding a serving of chicken and pasta that he had just received for free from the relief station, along with a bottle of ice-cold mineral water.

After taking a few bites of pasta, he finally understood why the lines at the shelter had been getting shorter these past two days.

The chicken crumbles into a paste with a single squeeze, and it's been frozen for who knows how long. The macaroni has no flavor at all; no wonder the homeless people around here are scavenging for leftovers.

Irving didn't know how he became a homeless person. He only remembered that he seemed to have been hit by a dump truck and opened his eyes to find himself here.

Fortunately, he had played GTA:VC countless times before and knew Miami like the back of his hand. After all, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run, right?

After crushing the empty water bottle, Irving skillfully tossed it into the worn-out black backpack beside him.

A notification sound suddenly popped into my head.

"Ding—Proficiency +1"

[Scavenging (Proficient 8/1000)]

Collecting a bottle increases your proficiency by 1 point, so it seems that improving skill proficiency isn't too difficult.

That's right, as a perk of being reborn, Kyrie Irving also has a cheat code!

However, his cheat code was a bit special; it was the equipment slot in a mobile game he used to play.

Once the equipment is activated, he can master the corresponding skills, and he can further improve them through practice, which immediately boosted his confidence.

As the saying goes, Florida doesn't tolerate idlers.

Despite being Florida’s second-largest city, Miami may appear to be a tourist hotspot and financial center, with bustling streets and commercial office buildings complementing the sunshine, beaches, and palm trees.

But these are just appearances.

In unseen corners of the neighborhood, syringes, cigarette butts, and ashes are scattered everywhere, and colorful tents are crowded along the sidewalks, with homeless people living in them.

These small neighborhoods are filled with a mixture of smells: stench, urine, smoke, and leaves.

Looking at his emaciated body, Owen realized he couldn't just wait for the shelter to provide food every day, otherwise his body wouldn't last much longer.

To survive, you have to make money and eat meat!

Having figured this out, Irving stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and began to wander aimlessly while conducting rational analysis.

Although he is now penniless, he possesses the skill of scavenging.

[Scavenging: As a seasoned homeless person, you can find free food and unclaimed property faster than others.]

In theory, the places with the most free food and unclaimed property are undoubtedly wealthy neighborhoods like Coral Court, Biscayne Bay, and Cerfside.

But these places are either privately guarded and closed off, making it impossible for outsiders to enter, or they are frequently visited by renowned American police officers.

Irving certainly doesn't want to experience the dangerous situation of being mistaken for a thief and having his magazine emptied.

But if you go to the slums, you'll likely face competition from other homeless people.

After weighing the pros and cons, Irving decided to take a slight risk; otherwise, how could he quickly make money and escape his homeless life?

After walking for half an hour, Irving arrived at a block on Northeast Fourth Avenue in Miami Beach, panting heavily.

After crossing a traffic light intersection, a huge neon sign that read "King of Diamonds" came into view.

The twirling dancer lightbox below the sign indicates that this is a strip club.

Unlike other adult clubs, this upscale club called "King of Diamonds" is one of the largest in Florida.

If Irving remembers correctly, singer Justin Bieber once came here, ordered four dancers in one go, and was later arrested for speeding.

NBA stars Paul George and LeBron James are frequent visitors here.

In the United States, this kind of adult entertainment industry is ubiquitous; as long as you are not a minor, you can enter by buying a ticket.

Of course, even if you are a minor, these clubs will not refuse you as long as you have documents that can prove your legal age.

However, these entertainment venues generally do not operate during the day; once night falls, armed black security guards automatically appear at the entrance.

That's why the homeless only dare to come and plunder during the day.

The trash cans in the back alley of the club are a hot commodity, as they can yield many good items. If you're lucky, you might even find a few unopened bottles of brand-name whiskey.

Sure enough, as soon as Irving arrived at the back alley of the club, he saw two black men standing at the entrance.

One was wearing a white tank top, with bulging muscles and a shiny body; the other had a head full of dirty braids and an exaggerated appearance.

The two looked like they were high on vain, appearing extremely excited as they gesticulated wildly and rapped to themselves.

Several passersby, seeing the two at a distance, chose to detour, fearing they might accidentally get into trouble.

But Irving looked around, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to try his luck, since he was already there.

As Irving approached, the two men at the alley entrance immediately became alert and shouted:

"Hey buddy, I'm talking to you!"

"This alley is already occupied, please leave!"

Irving remained unfazed, pretending not to hear, and continued walking forward.

This action immediately angered the two men.

The two of them stretched their wrists and necks slightly, blocking the way from the front and back.

"Listen up, buddy, I'm saying this for the last time: squinty-eyed people aren't welcome here. If you don't want to get beaten up, get out of here!"

Before he could finish speaking, Irving, who had initially intended to ignore the two, paused in his tracks and instinctively turned to look at the black man who had spoken:

"Squinty eyes? Say that again!"

"Sorry, bro, I hit a nerve. Maybe I shouldn't have called you 'Squinty Eyes,' maybe I should have called you 'Yellow-skinned Monkey'?"

After saying that, the two burst into laughter, and one of them even deliberately pulled at the corner of his eye in front of Irving.

"F**k you!"

Just as the two were laughing heartily, Irving suddenly appeared and kicked the burly black man hard in the stomach.

"Wo——"

The burly black man was kicked to the ground, feeling excruciating pain in his abdomen. His vision went black, and he clutched his stomach, rolling around on the ground and letting out screams like a pig being slaughtered.

Upon seeing this, the other person became enraged and pounced on him.

Irving didn't take the two drug addicts and homeless men, who had never learned any fighting skills, seriously at all.

After dodging a punch, Irving delivered a powerful chop to the back of the opponent's head.

Before the black man with a full head of filthy braids could utter a sound, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

After easily dealing with the two men and confirming that they were unarmed, Owen relaxed and shook his head slightly.

They're just all show and no substance; I thought Black people were really good at fighting.

As soon as Irving turned around, a notification sound suddenly popped into his head.

"Ding! Proficiency +2"

[Combat Skills (Proficiency 9/1000)]

That's right, besides the skill [Scavenging], he also possesses another skill [Fighting].

Yesterday morning, when Irving arrived here, he was thinking of casually rummaging through the surrounding garbage to see if he could find some cool clothes.

Then, I inadvertently caught sight of a pair of worn-out boxing gloves next to the trash can.

These gloves look tattered and worn, clearly used by a skilled person. Although the surface is somewhat worn, they are still quite sturdy.

Irving had never seen boxing gloves like these before, so he reached out and picked them up, just to take a look.

Unexpectedly, just as he got started, a "ding" sounded in his mind.

"Equipment detected: [Worn-out boxing gloves], equip?"