The System of Power is Money

Chapter 4

Ethan sighed, trying to contain his anger which was currently boiling inside him.

If only he had known earlier, maybe it wouldn't feel this painful. And it truly hurt Ethan's heart, as if he wanted to let it out right now.

His stomach, unable to be ignored any longer, suddenly stared at the wrapped rice he was holding. He really couldn't contain his hunger any longer.

Without further thought, Ethan simply grabbed the wrapped rice from the trash can.

"To hell with everything. As long as this stomach feels full, that's more than enough."

Ethan then took the rice package away from the trash can in the narrow alley.

The man brought it to another corner of the alley.

Ethan then devoured the found rice package eagerly. He truly resembled a jungle man who had just found his prey.

It couldn't be explained how hungry he felt right now.

Ring! Ethan then stopped devouring his food. He then reached into his pocket to grab his vibrating phone.

"A message from Miss Narsih."

Ethan murmured, then he immediately wiped all his fingers dirty from the rice off.

The man then threw away the empty rice package he found. His mind now fell perfectly and focused on his ringing phone, showing a message from someone Ethan had been waiting for since earlier.

"Hopefully, I'll get good news from Miss Narsih."

Ethan prayed silently in his heart, hoping for good things to come his way.

He then glanced around and spotted a half-empty bottle of water.

Without hesitation, Ethan opened the cap of the bottle, using the water inside to wash his hands.

"Oh God, please never disappoint your servant."

Ethan closed his eyes for quite some time. The words formed into a sentence uttered in his heart.

He then took out his phone from his pocket.

[Really sorry, Ethan. I'm also dealing with family issues. My husband hasn't given me my salary yet. Seems like there's been a change in the company's policy, delaying the employees' salaries. I'm really sorry, can't help you out like this.]

-Miss Narsih

Ethan smiled bitterly. No matter how long, he shouldn't have expected much.

Look at him now, disappointed with everything.

Ethan then tried to open other messages in his chat app. Not a single response from his acquaintances was different.

Not one of them showed empathy towards his situation. Ethan seemed to never have acquaintances who could help him in times like these.

This was what Ethan feared most in friendships. Betrayal that always seemed apparent when hardship came into his life.

Back then, when Ethan was on top and having fun, they accompanied him as if they declared that when Ethan faced hardship, they would be there too.

However, look at what's happening now. Everything's gone and doesn't matter anymore. They'll only accompany Ethan when he's happy, not struggling like now.

"Not one of them even asks about my condition. They don't even offer advice on where to borrow money. Oh, God. Why did you place me among such clueless people?"

Ethan lamented his fate.

He truly felt unlucky and didn't know what to do anymore.

"Enough, I have to accept what has happened in my life. Whatever it is, I can only say yes. God must have prepared a much better plan than this."

Ethan murmured in his heart.

He felt so sure that there was no point in the woman complaining anymore. It would be better if only words of gratitude came out of his mouth.

"No tears or anything. Only an open heart and a chest that must not feel tight. Everything will be fine. I don't need to think about nonsense."

Ethan tried to erase the pain in his heart. Just imagine, having to deal with three problems at once.

Where Ethan had no one to come home to and confide in.

"I have to take all my belongings." Ethan muttered to himself.

He then put his phone back into his pants pocket.

His stopped footsteps now resumed with the same purpose, to go to his rented room.

The room where all his belongings had been thrown outside the door.

"I can face it all. God must be fair to all living beings."

Ethan was determined to overcome everything.

He then resumed his journey home. Not long after, about 5 steps into his walk, something suddenly exploded perfectly in the sky.

This naturally caused an extraordinary shock for Ethan. His facial expression changed drastically, his hand reached out to touch his chest, feeling how his heartbeat was racing irregularly.

"What was that earlier? What sound was that?" Ethan monologued to himself.

He then lifted his face, looking towards the sky where he felt the source of the explosion sound came from.

Just as his eyes looked towards the sky, a small-sized meteor was now heading towards him.

Boom!

The meteor exploded right in front of Ethan where he was standing.

Bang! Along with the small explosion, Ethan then fell unconscious.

He did have a weak heart, unable to handle sudden events like the free-falling meteor.

Vague shadows of the entire event began to swirl in Ethan's head. This made him unable to think of anything else other than the shadow of his problems.

Ethan slowly felt his body becoming heavier. Not just his mind but apparently his body too.

Vaguely, Ethan could hear the chirping of birds as he was still in his subconscious.

After drifting in his sleep for a while, Ethan then opened his eyes with a blurry view.

His hand was seen reaching out to touch his head, feeling the dizziness starting to gnaw at his head.

It hurt so much. Faintly in Ethan's sight, he saw his phone, which was originally in his pants pocket, now lying not too far from where he stood.

Ethan looked around hazily, his head still feeling dizzy, making him unable to think clearly.

All the sounds seemed to blend into one, how a messy tone that couldn't be separated by Ethan's hearing.

Until everything started to calm down, Ethan could hear a strange voice but from where, he didn't know.

One thing for sure, when the voice sounded, he could feel his phone lighting up, ringing as if the sound came from his old phone.

"System active!"

Ethan ignored it. He preferred to focus on what he was feeling right now.