Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

Jimmy clutched his head in anguish, tearing at his scalp. "If only I could remember," he muttered. "I just hid it in my backpack. Who would have thought that tattered bag would have a hole in it? It was probably stolen by a thief."

"I hope it was really a thief," Sandy said, arms crossed. "I know most of the pickpockets in Los Angeles. They rarely come to the poor streets. What's there to steal from homeless people? Are they going to steal your cans and bottles?"

Max sighed helplessly, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it then. We've been searching for so long; if it had really been lost around here, we should have found it by now."

"Fuck! fuckfuckfuck!!!"

"I'm an idiot, I'm useless, I can't even watch a paper bag properly, what's the point of my life!"

In excruciating pain, Jimmy pounded his fists against the rough pavement, until sharp pebbles pierced his skin.

"Calm down, buddy, what are you doing?" Sandy grabbed his arm to stop him from self-harming.

The latter was already emotionally distraught. After getting up, he pushed Sandy hard, almost knocking him over.

"Hey kid, what's wrong with you?!" Max grabbed Sandy and yelled angrily, "Has anyone ever called you a piece of trash? This was just an accident, and you're going to talk about your life's worth? Is your life only worth a thousand dollars?"

"No one here will blame you. Everyone is trying to help you. Jack hasn't said anything either, and I believe that even if he knows you lost the payment, he won't make things difficult for you."

"Apologize to Sandy now. I will not tolerate your behavior, even if it was just a momentary impulse."

"Um... no need, Max. He didn't do it on purpose. Let's think about how to make up for the loss."

"How can you make up for it?" Max looked at Jimmy, who was filled with guilt. "Kid, don't blame me for being blunt, but I know you've saved up a lot of money and want to pay off the debts your family owes. But you can't escape this debt. There's no way out except to face it like a man."

After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Forget about my share. You don't need to pay me back. I'll also try to persuade Jack to let you off the hook. He doesn't need that little bit of money anyway."

"Thank you, thank you Max." Jimmy wiped his slightly moist eyes, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

"Call me 'sister'." Max smiled smugly. "From the first day you joined the camp, I've always treated you like a younger brother. All these years I've protected you because you're my brother, we're family, understand?"

"Alright, stop crying, kid. I like men, I have no interest in sissies."

"Me too, especially the timid and submissive type," Sandy added, delivering another blow.

The two girls were comforting him as the camp members who had been searching for the payment gradually returned.

Everyone looked at each other, and couldn't help but hang their heads in dejection.

Finally, perhaps instigated by someone, a very unfriendly voice came from the crowd.

"Jimmy, everyone works hard all day and then has to work for you for free at night. You should pay for this out of pocket no matter what."

The speaker was a dark-skinned man, the kind of person who looked particularly difficult to talk to.

Seeing someone take the lead, those who were originally hesitant to confront the other party immediately gained confidence.

"Exactly, this strange thing has happened on the very first day. Who knows if you embezzled the payment?"

"I think it's very likely. He's the one in the camp who's short of money the most, and he never shares good spots for collecting cans with anyone."

"Maybe it's a setup they orchestrated together with Jack. If this happens several times a month, who can stand it?"

As the criticism grew, conspiracy theories were eventually brought up.

"Damn it, shut up, all of you!" Max roared angrily at everyone's malicious speculation. "Anyone with a problem, just step forward and say it. Don't fucking start this up. Is Jimmy that kind of person? Is Jack that kind of person? Would they be worth the money you make from collecting junk?"

"You all want compensation, right?" he said, pulling open the RV door. "Come on, if you want compensation, go inside and take your things. Take whatever you think is valuable, don't be polite with me."

"Take it! Are you deaf?"

The crowd looked at each other, and no one dared to utter a sound.

"Take it if you want, it's no big deal. I put in the work, so I should get something in return."

As a result, the guy who had started the trouble earlier glanced at Max and then walked in as if he didn't see him at all.

But just as he was halfway into the RV, he was suddenly pushed out from the inside, stumbled twice down the stairs, and fell flat on his back.

Ma Jie was wearing tight boxer shorts and flip-flops, completely exposing his upper body muscles, and carrying a can of iced cola that he had just taken out of the refrigerator, acting as if he were at home.

He dried his wet hair with a towel, a cold smile playing on his lips: "You think you can just come in like that? Are you out of your mind? This isn't a place you can just walk into!"

Ma Jie felt there was no need to be polite to someone who couldn't distinguish between kings and queens.

If you go out to dinner with your boss and he tells you to sit down first, do you really sit down first? Then whoever promotes you is an idiot.

"Jack, you... you're done showering so quickly?" Max crossed his arms, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

"Otherwise what?" Ma Jieke looked at her. "You don't have a bathtub here, otherwise I could stay a little longer."

"Tch, don't push your luck. Am I going to have to be your maid from now on?"

"No need, just rub my back for me."

"Rub your head my foot!"

"Haha, I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Ma Jie turned around: "Little Pudding, give the things to your brother."

"Here." Fanny handed him the brown paper bag that had been resealed with transparent tape.

Ma Jie took it, glanced at it, and tossed it to the restless Jimmy.

The latter caught it, his expression instantly changing drastically: "Where...where did you find this?"

"In the garbage dump outside the camp." Ma Jie couldn't help but shake his head. "You almost got carried off by wild dogs. I'm not saying this to you, but you're too stupid. Why didn't you just get yourself killed?"

Jimmy excitedly opened the package and saw stacks of US dollars inside—it was indeed the payment for the goods he had received that day.

"Damn, so you knew all along! And you were just pretending nothing happened!"

This infuriated Max, who immediately reached out and pulled down MaJack's underwear, wanting to embarrass him in public.

"Be more reserved, lady. It was just a joke." Ma Jie hid and walked over to Jimmy, who was crying tears of joy. "The main thing is to teach this kid a lesson so he won't be so careless in the future."

"Oh, so you're saying you don't plan to fire him?" Max was somewhat surprised, but rather than worrying about the bigger picture, she preferred to believe that the two were having an affair.

"Do you think you should be fired?" Ma Jie asked his jungle mentor, his face expressionless.

"I should," Jimmy replied without hesitation. "I can't find a reason to forgive myself for such a serious mistake."

"Then who do you recommend to take over your job?" Ma Jieke paused for a moment, then continued, "Among the people around here, you can pick any one of them. Who understands waste recycling better than you, and who can do things as well as you do?"

Jimmy looked around and realized he really couldn't find any. Most people were just getting by and didn't have the ability to do this kind of meticulous work.