Chapter 4 Shopping for groceries
“That will be $10, sir,” the cab driver said the moment Jay stepped out of the taxi.
There was an obvious relief in the man’s voice, as though he was finally escaping a dangerous situation.
Without saying much, Jay pulled out his phone and made the payment. Then, after a brief pause, he added an extra ten-dollar tip.
Partly because he suddenly could afford it now and partly to ease the tension the poor driver had been carrying throughout the entire ride.
The driver’s eyes widened slightly after seeing the amount.
“Have a good night, sir," The man said quickly.
Then almost immediately, he sped away with the taxi down the street before Jay could even respond. He didn’t even properly thank jay for the extra tip.
That alone showed just how uncomfortable he must have felt around Jay.
Jay shook his head with a faint laugh before turning toward the apartment building in front of him.
it was a old and worn down building located in one of the most local area in the city where troubles are being caused by thugs occasionally.
Not only that, the entrance of the building looked creepy with flickering hallway lights and cracked walls stained by years of neglect. It was clearly those kind of cheap apartment complex people only stayed in because they had no other choice in life.
He slowly climbed the stairs before finally reaching his small one-bedroom apartment.
Click.
The door opened.
The familiar sight of the cramped room greeted him immediately. A tiny kitchen by the side, an old couch with peeling leather, and a cheap old model television sitting on a shaky stand that had been broken for years now.
The place was nothing luxury or special. but at least it was home.
Jay stepped inside while shutting the door behind him before kicking off his shoes tiredly.
For a moment, he simply stood there in silence.
Then he took in a long deep breath before slowly letting it out.
Tonight had been extremly crazy.
Getting beaten nearly to death. awakening a mysterious system and instantly becoming thousands of dollars richer. It. it all still felt unreal.
Without wasting another second, Jay began pulling off his dirty, bloodstained waiter uniform. The dried blood clung stubbornly to the fabric as he tossed the ruined clothes onto the floor carelessly.
Right now, all he wanted was to wash away the filth, sweat, and memories of tonight.
He headed straight toward the bathroom and turned on the shower.
The sound of rushing water instantly filled the small apartment as Jay stepped under the hot stream, while closing his eyes as the water poured over his body.
Minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, drying his damp hair slowly.
The hot shower had washed away the blood, sweat, and dirt covering his body, leaving him feeling refreshed and relaxed.
But unfortunately, that refreshing feeling didn’t last long.
The moment he sat down on the edge of his bed, his stomach growled violently.
Jay lowered his gaze and let out a tired sigh.
Now that his body had finally relaxed, the hunger he had been ignoring all day came crashing down on him with overwhelming force. His stomach growled violently, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since the morning.
The first thing that should have come to mind was preparing something to eat.
Except. that wasn’t possible.
At least, not right now.
His kitchen had practically been empty for almost three months now because of his financial situation.
There was no meat. No bread. No eggs. Not even something simple to cook.
The only things remaining were a few empty instant noodle cups tossed carelessly near the trash bin and an almost finished bottle of water sitting on the counter.
For the past two months, Jay had mostly survived on the cheapest noodles he could buy from the small grocery store not too far from his apartment.
And when things became even worse…
He would quietly take home leftovers abandoned by restaurant customers after closing hours.
That was how badly he had been struggling.
He had been Skipping meals and working himself to exhaustion every single day, just to barely keep up with rent and bills.
All while still trying desperately to meet Vanessa’s expectations and needs to make her happy.
Just remembering that made jay suddenly laughed bitterly at himself.
"What a joke."
Because despite everything, she still ended up leaving him without a second leaving him for some rich jerk.
Grrruuun!
Jay’s stomach growled violently again, snapping him back to the present.
“Oh shit. I’ve got to get something to eat,” he muttered.
He quickly stood up from his bed grabbing a set of fresh clothes from the small pile near the corner of the room. A few minutes later, after changing into a clean black hoodie and jeans, Jay left the apartment.
The cool night air greeted him as he walked down the quiet street.
Not long after, he found himself standing in front of Kim’s Corner Mart—the same small grocery store he always visited whenever he needed cheap instant noodles to survive on.
The bright neon sign flickered weakly above the entrance while the glass windows reflected the empty street behind him.
Jay stared at the store silently for a moment.
Usually, whenever he came here, he already knew exactly what he could afford before even entering.
But tonight was different, he was thinking of stocking his kitchen with enough groceries that will last him on a long run.
Taking a slow breath, Jay pushed the glass door open and stepped inside.
Ding!
The small bell above the entrance rang softly.
The store was quiet at this hour, with only a few customers wandering lazily through the aisles. The hum of refrigerators filled the silence while soft music played faintly from an old speaker near the counter.
Jay grabbed a shopping basket from the stack near the entrance and held it at his side before slowly walking deeper into the store.
His eyes drifted toward the instant noodle aisle out of pure habit before he turned to his left, heading towards the refrigerator section instead.
He decided to start with the essentials—things that would actually last him for a while instead of disappearing after a single meal.
getting to the refrigerated section, he began filling the basket with frozen beef and chicken packs without much hesitation.
The cold air brushed against his face as he grabbed one item after another, something he normally would have overthing before taking because of the prices.
After that, he moved toward the shelf section and grabbed a five-pound bag of rice without even bothering to check the price tag.
Usually, buying rice in larger quantities felt almost impossible for him financially. He would settle for smaller portions because they were cheaper, even though they never lasted long.
But now having that such money in his account, he could confidently take what he needed and truth be told, the feeling felt addictive.
Next on, he grabbed a carton of eggs and a loaf of bread before continuing down the aisles.
But halfway through, Jay suddenly realized that the shopping basket in his hand was becoming ridiculously heavy.
Not only that, it was barely containing everything he kept adding.
Jay stared at the overloaded basket for a moment before letting out an amused chuckle.
“Damn what a wonderful night," he muttered amusement.
This was probably the first time in years he had ever bought enough groceries to actually fill a shopping basket.
Without hesitation, he turned around heading back toward the entrance to get a rolling basket that clearly has more space to contain almost anything. except the entire store of course.
Jay grabbed one immediately with a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he transferred everything into the larger rolling basket before he continued strolling deeper into the aisles once again.
Minutes later, after stuffing the rolling basket with everything he thought he needed, Jay made one final sweep through the aisles.
After a brief pause, he casually grabbed a pack of gummy bears and tossed it into the basket for good measure before finally turning toward the front of the store.
The checkout counter was mannaged by a woman who had probably been working there longer than Jay could even remember.
Her name tag read Denise.
she was lazily scrolling through her phone behind the counter before glancing up the moment Jay approached.
The instant her eyes landed on his overloaded basket, her fingers paused mid-scroll.
Jay rolled the basket forward and began unloading the items one by one onto the counter.
Denise couldn't help but stare at the growing mountain of items before slowly looking back at Jay with visible confusion written across her face.
Still, she said nothing and simply began scanning the items.
The total on the register climbed higher and higher with every scan.
A few minutes later, Denise finally looked up from the machine.
“That’ll be six $650 in total,” she said.
Jay kept his expression neutral as he reached into his pocket and handed her his bank card without hesitation.
Denise took the card and slid it through the payment machine.
Beep!
Transaction Approved.
Almost at the same time, Jay’s phone vibrated with an instant debit alert confirming the successful payment.
“Big spender tonight, huh?” she said while handing back his card along with the receipt. “You must’ve hit a jackpot or something.”
There was a lightness to it on the surface. But Jay heard what was underneath it clearly enough. He knew exactly what she meant.
She said this because she knew him for always walking in, going straight to the noodle aisle, picking up a single pack of Ramen that cost less than a dollar, and walking back out. That was the picture she had of him. A one-dollar customer. Dependable in his limitations.
That was why she was given him those looks when scanning the items, she genuinely never thought Jay could actually pay for any of it, which left her utterly surprised when he did.
Knowing this, he simply responded with a small nod and a faint smile as he collected the receipt, trying to keep things from becoming awkward.
Besides, even he still wasn’t fully used to this sudden change himself.
With everything packed up, Jay grabbed his shopping bags and headed toward the store exit.
After stepping out of the store entrance with several shopping bags in his hands, Jay suddenly froze mid-step.
His expression changed instantly.
He still hadn’t used his remaining daily touch.
And considering the system’s strict rules, skipping it definitely wasn’t an option.
“Shit,” Jay muttered under his breath.
He gritted his teeth slightly while his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings.
“What am I supposed to touch now that’s actually worth it?”
Jay clicked his tongue in annoyance before glancing around the parking area near the convenience store.
That was when his eyes landed on two parked vehicles near the entrance.
One was a Toyota Corolla and beside it was parked a sleek black Mercedes-Ben C-three fifty.
Jay’s eyes lingered on the Benz for a moment.
Even with his limited knowledge about cars, he could already tell the Mercedes was far more expensive than the Corolla.
And since touching a car earlier had already given him thousands of dollars…
He might as well go for the more valuable one this time.
Without wasting another second, Jay carefully set the shopping bags down near the sidewalk before casually walking toward the Mercedes-Benz.
The glossy black paint reflected the bright lights from the store windows as he approached.
Jay slowly raised his hand and placed his palm against the car window while focusing his mind on extracting its value, just like the system instructed earlier.
The moment his skin made contact...
[ DING! ]
The familiar blue holographic screen instantly appeared before his eyes.
[ Second touch Registered ]
[ Item: twenty fourteen Mercedes-Benz C-350]
[ Estimated Value: $15,000 ]
[ Reward Granted
Fifteen thousand dollars has been credited to Host’s Account. ]
[ Daily Touches Complete. ]
