America 2009: Survival of the Underclass

"Shall we continue, Mr. Smith?"

"Of course, Ms. Smith."

"Crack—Bang!"

The two men, carrying bulging garbage bags, walked into two other squatting stalls, and a minute later, they both pushed open the doors and came out at the same time.

Two Latin men were lounging by the urinal, glancing at the black garbage bags in their hands without even lifting their eyelids.

He took her hand and swaggered out of the men's restroom.

The two casually rinsed their hands at the sink, took off their masks and tossed them aside, then picked up two bottles of hand sanitizer next to the faucet and stuffed them into a trash bag.

Their hands clasped again, leaving behind two hurried figures in the white corridor, and two bulging garbage bags.

"Feed? Toilet attendant?"

"What is it, sir?"

"The innermost cubicle is out of toilet paper."

"Okay, sir, I'll bring it over right away."

"Hurry up, I can't hold it in any longer!" The middle-aged white man holding the phone suddenly changed his expression and added desperately, "No need to see me off."

The elevator doors opened with a "ding," and the two stepped out of the elevator amidst the strange looks from passersby, onto the marble floor of the first floor.

"Here you go, Mr. Smith. I'll get some shampoo and shower gel. I can't use your fake stuff made by sewer rats. I don't want to end up looking like an ugly woman from St. Louis Street." Karen handed him the garbage bag, teasing him with a look of disgust.

"OK! Ms. Smith, get me a bottle of Adidas, the cooling kind, actually I don't dare use those." He smiled, nodded, took the bag, walked a few steps, put the trash bag in the corner, and sat down to wait for her.

Karen had turned around and pressed the elevator button, but after less than five seconds, she suddenly came to her senses, turned to Li Ang with a playful expression, gave him an awkward smile, and gave him the middle finger.

She withdrew her hand, turned and walked towards the escalator in the middle, circled around to the cashier next to the escalator, and walked straight into the store past the security guard.

In 2009, the United States had not yet evolved into a system of "high-end daily chemical transporters," nor had it produced livestreamers who could accept all comers and upload links in bulk to sell stolen goods.

Those shampoos and shower gels were still lying carelessly on the open-air shelves, completely unaware that they would later be locked in luxurious private rooms with anti-theft magnetic locks, and would need tickets to enter.

She went straight to the L'Oréal section, grabbed 200cc bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel, stuffed them all into the left pocket of her hoodie, and then unzipped the hoodie and stuffed four or five more bottles into her chest.

After finishing, she went to the Adidas section, grabbed two 250cc bottles of the refreshing version, and stuffed them into her right pocket.

Her bag was completely full, so she turned and headed towards the cashier. Just as she passed the security guard, the security checkpoint machine suddenly beeped.

The burly white security guard at the security checkpoint glanced at the well-dressed, pretty white woman in front of him, then reached out to stop her and politely said:

"Madam, please take your things out."

Her expression remained unchanged; she simply lifted the hem of her hoodie, causing several bottles of toiletries to clatter to the floor. Then, she smiled sweetly at him and asked, "May I leave now, Mr. Security?"

The security guard glanced at her still bulging pockets, smiled indifferently, and waved his hand dismissively.

"Let's go, ma'am."

The customers checking out and coming in all seemed quite used to it, but when they saw the white-haired woman at the competition level, they were only surprised for a moment before looking away.

"Yo, two bottles! You're so kind to me, Ms. Smith." Li Ang opened the trash bag and teased her as he looked at the Adidas shampoo she had pulled out.

"So how do you plan to repay me, Mr. Smith?" She tossed the shampoo into the trash bag, leaned close to his face, and slowly circled her tongue around her lips, her tone full of seduction.

"You'll find out tonight, bitch!" He gripped his pocket, a wicked smile playing on his lips, and whispered.

"Cool! Let's see how many points you get tonight, and whether you can satisfy me." Karen grinned, grabbed the trash bag he was handed, and slung it over her shoulder.

Just then, a sharp shout rang out from behind: "Stop! Hand over the item!"

A white security guard reached out and stopped a black man in a hoodie, shouting at him.

The black guy lifted his shirt, scattering several bottles of shampoo and bars of soap on the floor, and stared at the security guard with a smug look: "Can I leave now?"

"Give it all out! Now! Or I'll call the police!" The white security guard blocked his way and shouted sternly.

The black guy bent over, trying to slip away, but the white security guard pounced on him, pinning him to the ground and slamming his knee into his neck! Black Rhino Armor Combination!

The security guard breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the walkie-talkie on his shoulder, and decisively pressed the button: "There's a suspect at the cashier! I need backup!"

Without hesitation, the white cashier next to him frantically slapped the yellow emergency alarm button next to the cash register with both hands, like he was playing a video game.

"I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"

"Please let me go! Please, sir! I can't..." The black man, pinned to the ground, struggled desperately, crying out in a muffled and desperate voice.

The two threw their things on the ground, plopped down, and watched the spectacle with amusement as the surrounding customers gathered around.

Whispers spread through the mall, and less than two minutes later, the wailing of police sirens approached.

Ten seconds later, a series of loud footsteps rang out, and a group of neat, dark figures suddenly rushed into the mall.

Two burly white SWAT officers in the front row, wearing heavy bulletproof vests, closed bulletproof helmets, and holding riot shields.

Behind them followed a dozen or so white SWAT officers wearing tactical body armor, bulletproof goggles and helmets, and carrying fully equipped rifles and cannons.

The entire team rushed towards the checkout counter with lightning speed, and the originally pleasant atmosphere in the store seemed to instantly jump decades and plunge into the street fighting of Stalingrad.

"Black man! Don't move!"

"Put your hands up so I can see them! Idiot!"

"Don't move your hands! You piece of trash!"

"Trash! Don't move!"

"Bug! Move again or I'll shoot!"

"Mouse! Don't move!"

The entire venue was filled with shouts of insults, one after another, noisy and violent.

Five seconds later, more than twenty fat white police officers, each with a handgun in hand, swarmed in like pigs being fed in a pigsty.

They glanced at the two white, competitive-level onlookers and the bulging garbage bags under their butts, flashed a fleeting, friendly smile, and then turned and surged toward the cashier, their shouts of profanity creating a chaotic mess.

"Did some Middle Easterners drop a nuclear bomb inside?! This is even bigger than 9/11!" Karen couldn't help but laugh and turned to look at him.

"Uh... hahaha." He couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Before the laughter had even subsided—

"Get up! You piece of trash!"

"Coward! Don't move!"

"I told you to get up! You piece of trash!"

"Trash! I told you not to move!"

"Look up! Thick lips!"

"You coward! I'll teach you to bow your head!"

Dozens of police officers unleashed a barrage of insults and discriminatory commands, a mix of their left and right brains clashing and starting with the letter N, raining down from their mouths.

The black man surrounded in the middle looked at the dark mass of people with a terrified expression, his body beginning to tremble slightly.

In the instant his body trembled!

"Thick lips, time to draw your gun!"

"Fire! Fire!"

"No! No! No! Mom! Mom..."

"Bang!"

"mom--"

"Bang bang bang—"

"what!"

"Bang bang bang bang——"

"Oh my god!"

Gunshots, accompanied by screams, suddenly erupted throughout the mall, like firecrackers going off. The crossfire from the dozen or so guns surrounding the black men poured out instantly.

Looking at the officers scrambling to claim their administrative leave, Li Ang chuckled and shook his head, then teased Karen, "Jesus~ Now, will you dare steal anything again, Miss Smith?"

"Jesus! Christ! Face! Eyes!" She pointed to her face with an air of self-righteousness, blinked, then grabbed a handful of her slightly curly blonde hair and shook it. "And look at my hair! Even if I emptied the entire shelf, I'd only lose a little money at most! Mr. Smith!"

"Sir/Madam! Get out of here immediately! There are terrorists here! Danger! Danger!"

A SWAT officer with a gun at the cashier waved and shouted as he walked toward them.

"Okay! Officer! We're off right now! God bless you!" He stood up, nodded, picked up the trash bag from under his bottom, and after Karen picked it up too, the two of them walked out hand in hand.

The white SWAT officer, with a friendly smile, placed his hand back on the fully modified AR rifle, which was pointing downwards, and nodded to the two men with satisfaction.

Just then, the elevator opened with a "ding," and a black man with a black hoodie and a dirty braided hairstyle walked out carrying an open pizza box, stuffing pizza into his mouth as he walked.

"Don't move! Dirty braid!"

The white police officers at the checkout suddenly turned around in unison, leaving behind a pool of carbon-based and silicon-based mixture.

Their gazes instantly swept past the back of the white SWAT officer who was aiming his gun, then swept past the red and black figures at the entrance, before locking onto the figure at the elevator entrance on the right.

"Dirty braids!!"