America 2009: Survival of the Underclass

"Hey buddy, you've had a good time. Here, have a drink." The Latin guest handed over two bottles of Dr. Pepper.

"Thanks, buddy." He gestured for John to take it and casually bumped fists with him.

"Click—" He closed the white wooden door, turned to look at John, and smiled, "It's over."

"Boss, I'm exhausted." John put down his tools, exaggeratedly wiped his sweat, and then revealed his true colors. "Can we still have tarts tonight?"

He smiled and nodded slightly, patting John on the shoulder: "You did a good job today, I couldn't bear to refuse you."

"Thank you, boss!" John's face instantly lit up with a smile, and he nodded excitedly.

The two carried the cleaning supplies back to the disinfection room, returned the tools, and then, wearing green volunteer vests, pressed the elevator call button.

33 seconds later, with a "ding," the elevator arrived at its destination and opened its doors.

Inside stood a sophisticated white woman in a white trench coat. She frowned slightly upon seeing the two men, then immediately adopted a professional smile and politely asked, "Sir, may I leave first?"

The two of them sidestepped a few steps, the black Dior high heels clicking as they passed by their worn-out canvas shoes.

"Thank you~" The polite voice floated into my ears.

"Let's go." He patted John on the shoulder, and John nodded silently.

The two stepped into the elevator, and he turned to look at the lit-up first-floor button, then reached out and pressed the close button.

"Sir, please wait a moment."

A polite greeting made him pause with his left hand, which was pushing open the glass door.

The two turned around at the same time and looked at the receptionist with a formulaic smile.

Silence, as if waiting for a command.

He also put on a formulaic smile and asked, "Is there anything else, ma'am?"

She raised her hand and waved lightly as per procedure: "I have something for you."

The two approached the front desk, and she bent down to pick up a paper bag from beside her feet.

After another moment of silence, Li Ang spoke up: "Thank you, ma'am."

She handed him the paper bag, which he took and turned away from.

"Click—"

The glass door closed, reflecting two silhouettes.

"Pfft!" Li Ang spat out a mouthful of water, coughed twice, and his face turned red instantly.

He slammed the can on the ground, startling the homeless Black man lying nearby.

The homeless man looked up and saw two people. The difference in their fighting abilities was too great, so he immediately swallowed the profanity that was about to come out of his mouth.

"Ugh~ Jesus! Christ! What is this? It tastes awful."

"Ha~ Boss, this is the real Dr. Pepper." John couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly suppressed it and whispered.

"It's like licking the Hulk's armpit." He shook his head slightly, wiped his mouth, and joked.

"That makes sense, boss." John took a sip of Dr. Pepper's drink, frowned, and nodded in agreement.

"That bastard flew to Los Angeles yesterday, Regent," the man in the beanie reported in a low voice, looking at the man behind the desk who was completely absorbed in his work.

"Hoo~" The Regent slowly exhaled a puff of murky smoke and opened his eyes: "Send the gunmen to Los Angeles to stand by, and have the brothers in charge of the flash mobs in the homeless areas slowly dig up the ground to find people."

He paused, tapping the table lightly with a marijuana dab between his fingers, and added, "Remember! Don't fight those bastards on the West Coast. Our quota for this year is almost gone."

"If you exceed the limit because of this trivial matter, and the king comes after you, you'll be the ones to bear the consequences."

The man in the beanie swallowed hard, then nodded and replied, "I will give detailed instructions, Regent."

"Leon!"

The sweet shout made him shudder, stop in his tracks, and turn sharply toward the source of the sound. He breathed a sigh of relief and put down his half-raised foot.

Across the street, a rainbow beanie, a red hoodie, long, fluffy, slightly wavy blonde hair, and an incredibly sweet face.

Karen — Karen Smith.

We both grew up on South Homan Street, but lived across the street from each other.

In my memory, the two of them had been together for two years before she left the South District with her father's death benefits.

The sight of them embracing under the tracks at night, on a blanket, the roar and screams of passing trains—though not something he had personally experienced—still brought a faint smile to Li Ang's face.

"Karen, what are you doing in Los Angeles?"

Seeing her crossing the road with a big smile on her face, he asked.

"This is the last stop on my round-the-world trip. I was planning to go back to see you." She walked closer, tilted her head slightly, pouted, and closed her eyes.

Looking at the beautiful woman before him, Li Ang had a sudden thought. Now that he had logged into the original owner's account, he would just have to deal with this capitalist sugar-coated bullet! Haha!

After a brief touch, they separated. She licked her lips and smiled, "You're still as amazing as ever."

"You still have such a sweet tongue." He smiled and extended his arm.

"Of course, Mr. Smith," she replied matter-of-factly, crossing her arms and shaking them.

"Let's go get some tacos," he said, nodding slightly as he looked at John, who was filled with envy.

"Oh, oh, let's go, boss." John nodded, snapping out of his daze, and started walking away.

"He's such a coward, Leon," Karen whispered in his ear, gently licking his earlobe as she left.

"Let's go, don't judge others so casually, Karen." He pinched her chin and quickly followed John.

"Jesus~~, Mr. Smith, are you being controlled by the government's electromagnetic waves? Or have you been injected with the Virus Virus by the government?" she joked.

"Shut up, bitch!" he said coldly.

"Cool!" Karen's eyes lit up, and she licked her lips.

"Hey! Sir!" The Mexican woman greeted the two familiar faces warmly.

"Should I pay first?" he joked as he led the two of them closer to the stall.

"No need!" She smiled and shook her head, deftly making tacos.

Li Ang pulled out the last of his money from his pocket and slammed it on the table: "That's all the money I have. Don't exceed the limit."

"I can give it to you tomorrow, sir," she said with a smile, handing over a taco, counting the money as she did so.

"Here you go, Ms. Smith." Leon took it and handed it to Karen.

"Cool! That's so kind of you, Mr. Smith~" Karen took it and took a big bite with a smile.

"Of course, Ms. Smith." Leon patted her on the shoulder.

The three of them stood in front of the stall and ate 24 tacos. John patted his belly, satisfied with the eight tacos he had just eaten. Karen looked at them in surprise and joked:

"I was full after eating three. You guys are amazing. If everyone could eat that much, the Amazon rainforest would be gone long ago."

"Jesus~~, beautiful Ms. Smith, are you being controlled by the government's electromagnetic waves? Or did the government inject you with the Virgin Mary virus?" Li Ang smirked and patted her shoulder.

"Hey! You plagiarized! You damn Korean!" Karen pretended to be angry and raised her hand to hit him.

"If you hit me, you're dead tonight," he said calmly, looking at her.

As soon as she finished speaking, Karen's eyes flashed, and she slapped him on the chest with a "smack!"

"Jesus~ Christ~." Li Ang realized what was happening and raised his hand to his forehead.

"Here's your change of $1.20, sir!" The Mexican woman held out her hand and smiled at him.

"Your tacos are delicious." Li Ang took them and put them away, then stretched his arm out to Karen.

"As long as it tastes good, sir."

The two walked ahead, with an envious John following behind, slowly making their way back to the Seventh Street warehouse along the sidewalk under the trees at dusk.

"Have a good blisters rash," John joked, turning around as he held the blanket and paper bag.

"Fuck you! Is this how you treat your boss?!" Li Ang raised his shoe to throw it at him.

The door slammed shut. Karen chuckled and turned to look at him: "You coward, you've fallen to such a wretched state?"

"Karen, go back tomorrow." He looked directly into her eyes, his tone calm.

"Jesus! Why! Leon!" Karen's smile vanished instantly, and she called out in a low voice.

He raised his hand, revealing the mark between his thumb and forefinger, and pursed his lips at her.

"You fucking joined a gang and then fucking ran away, you're such an incomprehensible idiot." Karen grabbed his hand, gently stroking the burn marks on it, and said in realization.

"This is the fate of us Southerners—either we get shot or we shoot others," he sighed softly and said slowly.

"Black gangs?" She looked up at him, her tone serious.

He nodded slightly. "GD."

After a nearly twenty-second silence, she finally spoke softly, "Leon, how long do you think I can live?"

Li Ang looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"When I was sixteen, my father died; when my father was sixteen, his father also died."

People like us know from birth that we'll never see our children's weddings.

She spread her hands, smiling nonchalantly: "I don't even care if I'll live tomorrow. What difference does your trivial matter make to my life?"

He was silent for about ten seconds, then nodded slightly. "Alright, Karen, whatever you're willing to do."

"And, Mr. Smith, have you forgotten... what I like best?" She lightly licked the corner of her mouth with her tongue, her eyes revealing a wild and seductive look. "I like excitement."

Li Ang shook his head with a smile, his tone relaxed: "Of course I haven't forgotten. The lucky one who liked to have demons banished on the railway tracks, and who always managed to avoid being hit by a train the very next second after the demons were banished, was Ms. Karen Smith."

"Don't tell me you don't like it, Leon. Sometimes the length of life isn't important, it's how intense it is." She smiled and licked her lips.

Li Ang abruptly pushed her onto the bed, looking into her burning eyes, and hissed, "I like it! You bitch! I fucking—"

John got up from the blanket on the cardboard box, walked to his shopping cart, took out some toilet paper, crumpled it up and stuffed it into his ears, then went back to the blanket and closed his eyes.

Goodnight, Los Angeles!

Goodnight, Chicago!