Supreme Trader

Chapter 5 Ripped off

‘If I keep up this good work, I'll be rolling in it before long,’ Edward thought happily.

As he was lost in his reverie, the two corrupt cops returned to check him, their jaws dropping at the immaculate floor.

“Well, well, well, looks like you’ve done me a solid here,” the mustached cop remarked,

“But that doesn’t mean you're off the hook for my bills. What do you say? Ready to fork over that five grand?”

 “Can I get a discount for cleaning up this place for you?”

 Edward attempted to negotiate, but immediately realized that he made a big mistake—he should have never bargained with others. As a promising trader, haggling was a bad habit.

“Not a chance, kiddo,” the sneering cop retorted, “You know the drill - pay up, and you can waltz out of here scot-free.”

“I was only kidding,” Edward stammered, pretending to be confident, “Five grand, huh?  No problem! Can I just swipe my card here?”

 “Absolutely,” the mustached cop replied, smoothly pulling out the card reader. It was evident that he'd done this many times before.

A few moments passed, and the crooked cops were over the moon, relishing in the cash they'd extorted from Edward.

“You're free to go now, kid,” Bill gloated, “and I sincerely hope we never cross paths again.” “Likewise,” Edward murmured.

Yet, as he turned to leave, a vengeful fire burned within him - he vowed to show them who was boss when he had more power in the future.

As he strode out of the police station, a notification popped up on the screen before his eyes.

[Quest: dear owner of the Super Trading System, now that your balance is naught, you have to find a noble deed to gain a handsome reward. Otherwise, your aspirations of becoming an aspiring trader will remain a pipe dream.]

With a wink, his status quickly appeared on the screen. His heart sank when the word ‘zero’ at the balance line greeted him with a mocking smile. Edward let out a deep sigh, realizing he had no time to waste.

With his nose to the grindstone, he searched high and low for a task to complete. However, as he cast his eyes upon the motley crew of people on the bustling street, he was at a loss as to where to start.

"Damn it," Edward cursed under his breath, "what a cutthroat world we live in. Even when I try to do some good, it's a Herculean task."

He shuffled down Bridge Street with no clear destination in mind, the blazing sun beating down on him mercilessly, sapping his energy. As he was about to throw in the towel, fate miraculously intervened.

In the distance, he spied an old-timer sprawled out on the pavement like a discarded rag. Edward felt a glimmer of hope that his chance to do something worthwhile had finally presented itself.

The old geezer looked to be in his sixties, but now he resembled a block of ice that had seen six winters and was on the verge of melting under the unrelenting sun. It was palpable that he had suffered either a heart attack or heat stroke and passed out.

Without hesitation, Edward sprang into action, knowing that he had to save the old man before it was too late.

"Hey, old timer, wake up!" he yelled, but the man remained inert, as motionless as a statue.

Soon, Edward realized that he was out of his depth except for yelling. He had no medical expertise, and the only thing he could conjure up was giving the old-timer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

However, as he peered at the old man's parched mouth, he lost his appetite for the task at hand. Besides, the rancid odor emanating from the man's mouth hit Edward like a ton of bricks.

"Good Lord, are you cutting the cheese with your mouth?” he recoiled in disgust, abandoning the idea of administering CPR.

‘911, that's the ticket!’ he thought, fumbling for his phone immediately. But then he remembered the old man's perilous condition and the fact that help wouldn't arrive in time. The old-timer was as good as gone if he didn't act fast.

"I gotta think outside the box," Edward muttered to himself, racking his brain for a solution. Then, a glimmer of hope emerged from the recesses of his mind.

"Ah-ha! I know this area like the back of my hand," he exclaimed. He knew he could send him to the hospital nearby. He knew there was a hospital just 500 meters down the street.

"This is my only shot to save the old-timer," he thought.

Without a second thought, Edward summoned every ounce of strength in his body and hoisted the old man up onto his shoulders.

The weight was unbearable, and because his stomach rumbled with hunger pangs, he instinctively stumbled back, almost losing his grip on the poor old man.

Edward felt like he was in over his head, but he wasn’t one to give up easily. He steadied himself before trudging forward, determined to see the task through to the end.

“You lucked out today, old man,” Edward muttered to the unconscious old-timer, “Look! I just happen to be kind today, or I’m afraid you’ll die a horrible death on the street like an unnoticed rag. Well, I just hope you’ll be safe and sound and say thank you to me when you wake up. And then I’ll be pleased.”

As he trudged forward with all his might, he felt as though a ton of bricks were weight down on his shoulders. Not before long, his shirt clung to his back like a second skin, soaked in sweat that dripped down his spine.

Despite the burning pain in his muscles and the pounding in his head, he refused to give up. And he even did not bother to wipe away the beads of perspiration as they were streaming down his face.

He told himself with gritted teeth that he must hang in there, for the sake of the poor old guy, of course, above all, to get the balance in his system filled up again.

As he stumbled into the emergency room, Edward's legs felt like they were about to give way. It looked like it was he that needed first aid himself.

“Help, help,” Edward yelled, his voice hoarse while he was panting and huffing, “I’ve got an emergency case here.”

A beautiful nurse, dressed in her white coat, appeared before him with an air of quiet confidence about herself.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I think he’s passed out,” Edward gasped, beads of sweat still trickling down his forehead.

"I’ve got it. Place him on this stretcher and into the emergency room," the nurse instructed, pointing to a nearby bed.

“Okay!” Edward replied, lowering the old man onto the bed. As the medical team wheeled the old-timer away, Edward heaved a relieving sigh and then slumped onto the bench outside the emergency room.

Suddenly, with a ‘ding’, his eyes twitched and a new notification appeared on the screen before his eyes.

[Congratulations, Edward! You’ve successfully finished your task. Since you’ve saved an old man, 2,000 bucks have been rewarded to you.]

Edward’s pulse quickened as he scrambled to check the balance.

“Yeehaw!” he whispered to himself while spreading a broad grin on his face, “This system is as solid as a rock. I love it!”

Now, the system gave him a fresh start, a glimmer of hope in his life. Though doing noble deeds and getting rewarded was not a get-rich-quick strategy, it laid a solid foundation for him to survive and develop later. Now, the world was like an oyster. He dreamed of riding the waves of fortune.

As he was lost in his reverie on the bench, the stunning nurse who had talked to him before sauntered over.

Her name was Lisa Carpenter, a thirty-something with an air of sophistication and grace. Despite being married for several years, Lisa had yet to have any children with her husband.

They were college sweethearts. However, their relationship had taken a turn for the worse in recent years. Lisa’s husband had been unfaithful and constantly cheated on her, causing their marriage to fall apart at the seams.

He even went so far as to deceive her of her hard-earned savings in order to buy an expensive limited-edition bag for his mistress, leaving her with a double loss.

"Hello, I’m Lisa Carpenter, the nurse in charge here," said Lisa as she greeted Edward with a warm smile, "Is the old man in there your father? You're such a good son!"

Edward shook his head and replied,

"No, he's not my father. I don't really know him, actually. I just happened to be passing by when I saw him faint and then brought him here."

“You’re a good man then. They say good things come to good people. May I know your name?”

“Thank you, my name is Edward Addison, you can call me Eddie if you want. Can I leave now?”

“Not, not yet.”

Suddenly, Lisa's cheeks burned with a bright crimson hue. It looked like she wanted to speak more. Finally, she hesitated a few moments before she let the words spill from her red, rosy lips.

“Look, Eddie, can you make it happen?” she asked, her tone betraying a hint of uncertainty, “Can you foot the bill for his medical expense upfront?”

Edward’s mind reeled, his thoughts spinning faster than a hamster on a wheel. Actually, he was taken aback, his speech faltering as he struggled to find the right words,

“That’s quite a request,” he muttered, “you know I’m not…”

“I know it sounds ridiculous, Eddie, but you know, I can’t reach his family and I’m just doing my job. It is not expensive. You just need to pay 500 bucks upfront.”

Edward knew she was simply performing her duty. Looking at the gorgeous-looking Lisa, Edward found it difficult to say no. He hesitated for a while and stammered,

“I…I just…”

Suddenly, the door of the emergency room was swung open, revealing a white-coated physician.

“he’s come to, but he’s had a doozy of a heat stroke. Luckily, with some rest, he’ll be right as rain,”

Lisa’s eyes lit up with joy, “That’s fantastic news! Let’s mosey on over and take a gander at the old coot, Eddie.”

Edward and Lisa hustled into the emergency room. the old-timer lay in bed, looking like a wilted flower, his chest rising and falling with a steady rhythm, and his vacant gaze transfixing on the ceiling.

“Well, butter my biscuits! You’re finally back in the land of the living, my good sir,” said Lisa, heaving a deep sigh and beaming from ear to ear.

But the old man remained unresponsive, his eyes still fixed on the ceiling, lost in deep thought, as if he was grappling with some existential dilemma.

After a few moments of silence, he finally muttered,

"How in tarnation did I get here?"

"You owe your thanks to this young man over here. He's a real hero, and he saved your life," Lisa stepped forward and explained.

Edward beamed with pride as the old man's gaze landed on him. Edward prepared himself for a heartfelt expression of gratitude, but instead, the old man responded coldly with only one word, “Oh!”

Lisa and Edward looked at each other, puzzled, having no idea about what was wrong with the old man.

Before Edward knew it, the old man suddenly got up and grabbed him by his collar.

“You lied, bastard,” shouted the old man furiously, “You plowed me down, and now you gotta foot my medical bills and grease my palms with a grand for my chow. Or else, we ain't through here." The old man growled at Edward, leaving him dumbstruck.

What the heck was going on in this world? Was it truly this tough to do a good deed? He wondered.

“I am not a liar,” Edward protested, shooting Lisa an imploring look, “you have to trust me, Lisa.”

Then he said to the old man, “Hey, I saved your hide, how could you treat me like a patsy? You can’t badmouth me.”

“Badmouth? I’m only spilling the beans,” the old man clenched his fist around Edward’s collar, unyielding.

“Lisa, please trust me and lend me a hand,” Edward pleaded.

Lisa shook her head and let out a deep sigh, “Looks like you’re more snake-bit than me.”

"Let's get the cops involved," Edward proposed.

The old man let out a cold snicker, stilling gripping Edward’s collar tightly,

“Getting the cops on board won’t do you any good.”

“He’s right, Eddie. You know, there’s no eye in the sky on Bridge Street, so it looks like you won’t be able to prove your innocence,” Lisa sighed, throwing up her hands in resignation, “I’ve been in a similar pickle before. It’s just like a melon-dropping scam. It appears you have no choice but to cough up the dough.”

“Damn it!” Edward said angrily, letting out a sigh, “let me go first, old man. I’ll pay you now.”

Although reluctant, Edward paid 500 bucks for his medical expenses and transferred 1,000 bucks to the old man’s account for nutrition, leaving him with only 500 dollars in his account. After getting the money, the old man hastily jumped off the bed, making his way out of the emergency room.

Edward knew he couldn’t let this slide. He had to find a way to get even with this crooked geezer. Without saying goodbye to Lisa, he exited the room, too, determined to get his justice this time.

After leaving the hospital, Edward trailed the old man like a hound on the scent of a rabbit, determined to give him a taste of his own medicine and reclaim the 1,000 he'd been taken for a ride. He decided to catch the old codger alone in a dark corner.

The geezer trudged on until he arrived at a fast-food joint. He went into it and a few minutes late, he emerged with a stack of burgers that looked like they could feed an army. Edward’s eyes bulged in disbelief—what was this old-timer up to?

The old man marched on, finally turning into a dingy alley. Edward crept closer, thinking his time had come, but the old guy stopped in front of a rundown shack and rapped on the door like he was a long-lost friend.