"800 U.S. dollars, and I have to wait three days! Alice, do you know what this means?"
Sarah pointed out the window, her fingers trembling violently, the scent of hospital disinfectant still lingering in her fingernails.
"In this damned New York, for people like us, a car isn't just a means of transportation. St. Mary's Hospital, where I work, is in the southernmost part of Brooklyn. If I don't drive myself, I have to take three subway lines and transfer to two buses. A one-way trip takes two and a half hours, five hours round trip. Add that to my work hours, and I have absolutely no time to rest."
Sarah's voice grew louder, like the roar of someone pushed to the edge of a cliff.
"And my night shift ends at three in the morning. At that time, there are no buses and no subways. If I want to go home, I have to pass through that neighborhood full of gang members, drug addicts, and homeless people."
When Sarah said this, tears finally couldn't be held back and burst forth, washing away the cheap foundation on her face, leaving mottled streaks.
"So, Alice, I might lose my job. If I lose my job, we won't be able to pay next Tuesday's rent. If we don't pay rent, that mean old hag of a landlady will throw our things, along with that unopened school uniform package of yours, out onto the street."
Sarah buried her face in her rough palms, her shoulders trembling violently, her voice coming out between her fingers with sobs.
"We'll end up sleeping on park benches, then get chased away, and finally become those homeless people pushing shopping carts. Why, why does life always have to stab me at a time like this? I've already been working so hard!"
The living room echoed with the woman's suppressed crying—not a wailing, but a tragic sound squeezed out bit by bit, as if her chest were being crushed by a heavy weight.
Alice stood quietly in the shadows, watching this woman who was usually clawing and biting, armed with a sharp tongue, and capable of arguing with others in the supermarket over a few cents for groceries, now curled up like a helpless child.
800 U.S. dollars, is it a lot?
It should be said it's not a lot.
But here, at the bottom of Queens, it is the Sword of Damocles hanging over one's head, and it might just be the final straw that breaks the camel's back.
A broken car, a worn-out gear, can determine whether a family continues to struggle on the poverty line or collapses instantly and ends up on the streets.
This is the truest logic of poverty.
There is zero margin for error.
Alice looked at the crumpled car repair quote on the corner of the table, the death warrant for this family.
"Don't worry, Aunt Sarah."
She stepped forward, reached out her slender little hand, and gently patted Sarah's trembling back.
The spine under her palm was bony, taut like a fully drawn bow.
"There will be a way. The car will be fixed, and there will be rent money."
Sarah raised her head, her face tear-stained, her eyes unfocused: "What way? Unless money falls from the sky, or I go rob a bank."
"Maybe there will be a miracle."
Alice didn't continue with more useless comforting words, nor did she promise anything.
She just helped tuck Sarah's loose hair behind her ear, then set down the Water glass.
"You're tired, get some sleep. Maybe when you wake up, everything will be better."
Then, she turned around and silently returned to the attic.
Rob a bank?
That's too high-profile; that's what supervillains do.
But what if she went to rob those who rob banks?
In this metropolis where crime breeds, since the tyrant named Life wanted to slaughter them, she had to draw her blade first and sever this damned fate.
Alice sat cross-legged on that hard army cot.
She closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into the System.
That line of golden numbers [ System Points: 0.25 ] appeared so glaring, so ironic in the darkness.
"If there is only one disease in this World, it can only be the disease of poverty."
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"