Reborn in America: I Have an Equipment Slot

"If I stay for a week, can you give me a discount?"

After a moment's hesitation, Irving asked with an embarrassed expression.

"Of course, kid!"

Tony took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and picked up a calculator to start doing the math: "If you stay for a week, I can give you a 20% discount. A twin room for seven nights is $571.20, and a standard room for seven nights is $521.60."

Irving's expression softened a bit when he heard about the 20% discount.

Even so, the price of over five hundred US dollars for seven days was still a bit high for him.

"Excuse me, could you make it a little cheaper?" Owen asked tentatively.

Tony shook his head, his attitude unusually firm.

Seeing this, Irving shrugged and then prepared to leave.

But before he could even leave the lobby, looking at the empty records on the registration form, Tony suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Hey kid, I forgot to ask, how did you find this place?"

"It was James from Leo's secondhand shop who introduced me here," Irving said truthfully.

"What?" Tony's voice suddenly grew louder, startling a passing tenant who then glanced at Tony.

After apologizing to the tenant, Tony took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions: "Oh, sorry, kid, I got a little emotional just now. You probably don't know, but the 'James' you mentioned is my son."

Kyrie Irving: "???"

"Since you're my son's friend, I'll give you the cheapest price, $350. You can choose any room you like for a week."

Tony took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled softly, "This is the bottom price. Whether you stay for a week or a month, it's the same price."

"No problem! I'll take the standard room." Irving immediately counted out $350 from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

"There's still a $100 deposit left, kid." Tony counted the money while explaining the precautions for checking into the hotel:

"Even though you're my son's friend, I still have to remind you that if anything in the room is damaged, you'll have to pay for it at its original price. Oh, and where's your driver's license? I need to register it..."

Irving pulled out the fake driver's license he'd gotten from James, and handed it over along with a $100 deposit. After hesitating for a moment, he prepared to ask the question that had been bothering him:

"that……"

"My name is Tony, Tony James," Tony introduced himself, seemingly anticipating Irving's question.

"Tony, you seem to be white? But James is black..." Irving paused, then continued, "James... is he adopted by you?"

"Born by my own flesh and blood," Tony quickly corrected Irving's mistake.

Seeing the puzzled look on Irving's face, Tony took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions: "The James you're talking about is my son, Karl James, and his mother is Black."

When Carl was fourteen, his mother and I had a big argument about whether he should go to college. In a fit of anger, his mother slammed the door and left, which resulted in her being in a car accident.

Since then, Carl has given up on going to college and blamed me entirely for his mother's death.

Of course, I know I was wrong too. I was only thinking about how expensive it would be for Carl to go to college, and how it might bankrupt the whole family, completely ignoring Carl's and his mother's feelings.

Oh God, if I had another chance, I would never choose to do that…

Hearing this, Irving opened his mouth, wanting to comfort the other person, but didn't know how to start.

Meilijian implements a system that combines happy education and elite education. Most children from ordinary families naturally follow the happy education path, where happiness is all that matters and nothing else matters.

Only a select few from elite families and a small number of children from ordinary backgrounds who possess both intelligence and hard work can receive elite education.

But it is clear that elite education costs money, and the amount is huge, which is simply unaffordable for ordinary families.

If a student is outstanding enough, they can get a full scholarship, which is fine. But if they don't get a scholarship, the tuition fees of $70,000 to $80,000 a year are enough to overwhelm most ordinary working-class families.

This is why many people are still paying off their student loans even years after graduation.

"Tony, try to think positively, but life can't be relived."

Irving shrugged, and seeing Tony getting more and more upset, he quickly comforted him, "Instead of regretting it here, you should cherish the present. Since James sent me here, it means he still cares about you..."

"Thanks, kid, thanks for reminding me." Tony finished his cigarette, registered the information, returned the driver's license to Irving, then took a key from the counter drawer and handed it over, standing up as he said:

"Kid, your room is 205. Go check it out. I have some personal matters to attend to. See you later."

Irving stood there, stunned, until Tony left the hall.

He never expected that his fourth piece of equipment would be a key!

"Found the [Old Key] equipment. Equip it?"

Hearing the familiar yet unfamiliar notification in his mind, Irving took a deep breath, overjoyed.

He hasn't acquired any new equipment in a long time since he obtained the [Slave Master's Nine-Tailed Whip].

However, he did not choose to equip it immediately. To be on the safe side, he waited until he entered room 205 before equipping the old key in his hand.

Open the equipment menu, and the equipment information will immediately pop up.

Equipped item: Old Key

Grade: ★★.

Equipment effect: Grants Lockpicking (Proficiency).

Note: This is the key used by the notorious Miami thief Douglas. Over eight years, Douglas used this key to open more than 60 doors and steal countless riches! Equipping this item for one day will permanently grant you all its effects.

"Activate the equipment's effect?"

Without hesitation, Irving chose to activate it.

Although he temporarily lost the key to room 205 when he equipped it, he might experience some inconvenience today.

But the thought that he could acquire a new skill, and a proficient one at that, just by enduring it for a whole day, filled Irving with immense joy.

Kyrie Irving has been struggling to find new ways to make money these past few days.

Perhaps after acquiring advanced lock-picking skills, he could earn money by doing lock picking?

With this in mind, Irving immediately began searching on social media for the qualifications required to work as a locksmith.

A short while later, he saw a guy on YouTube.

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"We offer customized integrated licensing and tax services for individual locksmiths and small locksmith companies, enabling them to legally accept orders, easily file taxes, and expand with confidence!"

No upfront payment! A one-stop service including MSIS locksmith license application, EIN tax number, DBA registration, and Schedule C personal tax filing!

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