American homeless people, surviving in the city

As Lynch walked out of Old Man Wilbur's pawnshop clutching a wad of banknotes, he couldn't contain his excitement.

Including the $800 he earned from selling the platinum ring, he made a whopping $1250 in just two days!

This speed at which they make money is somewhat exaggerated, even for a normal American.

Just a few days ago, he was worried because he had been robbed by thugs and was left with no money.

As a result, they even had to choose the cash reward given by the system task and give up the permanent passive ability that they could have chosen.

He could never have imagined that just a few days later, he would have a huge sum of $1250!

Although you don't have to worry about money for the time being, carrying this money with you will only bring new troubles.

Carrying such a large sum of cash on your person while out on the street is definitely not a wise move.

But Lynch's little tent was not a good place to store money either; its security was close to zero.

After a brief moment of thought, he decided to seek advice from old James.

He truly didn't know how a homeless person could safely preserve this property.

So Lynch returned to the small camp and found that old James was not there.

Knowing his movements well, Lynch immediately guessed that old James had returned to Third Avenue to beg, and immediately headed towards Third Avenue as well.

As he walked through the increasingly familiar streets, Lynch pondered how to safely protect his property.

This is a problem not only for homeless people, but also for many ordinary Americans.

Due to the Great Depression, financial crises, and various historical reasons, the American public generally distrusts banks, and many people prefer to keep cash and valuables at home rather than deposit money in banks.

In rural American South states, such as Mississippi and Louisiana, where this phenomenon is most pronounced, more than 30% of the population does this.

The figure of 30% may not seem like much, but it is actually quite staggering.

Because, in addition to this proportion, a large portion of Americans are influenced by consumerism and do not have the habit of saving, so they have no money to save at all.

Therefore, this proportion would be even more exaggerated among people who are willing to save.

However, even those who keep cash in their homes are not guaranteed peace. In the United States, where everyone can own a gun, various home invasion robberies are commonplace.

根据FBI的统一犯罪调查和国家犯罪受害调查，2025年约发生了10w至15w起入户抢劫案；2024年甚至发生了约25w起。

The vast majority of home robbers target the property stored in the victim's home.

Banks are untrustworthy, and homes are unsafe; trying to protect oneself from both ends has resulted in being caught in a bind. For many Americans, there is simply no way to protect their assets.

Of course, for Lynch, the worries of an ordinary American are still too much of a luxury.

He also couldn't deposit money in a bank or keep it at home, because he had neither legal status to open a bank account nor a home.

The phrase "living in abject poverty" would be considered a blessing in the case of Lin Qi.

Regardless, Lin Qi didn't feel at ease walking down the street with this money in his hand.

As he walked along, the idle people on the street—beggars, scavengers, and thugs—all seemed to emanate a faint red glow in his eyes, and his intuition kept feeding back a sense of unease.

He understood that this was precisely because he was carrying too much money with him.

It's fine if they don't flaunt their wealth, but once it's discovered, these idle people who drift on the fringes of society may become Lynch's enemies under the influence of greed.

As Lynch arrived at Third Avenue, his intuition told him that his unease was growing stronger.

It's probably because there are more homeless people here that the "Rat Senses" feedback is more pronounced...

Lin Qi guessed at the reason and sighed slightly in his heart.

While this "mouse perception" is quite useful, perhaps because it originates from rodents at the bottom of the food chain, this skill makes them extremely sensitive to every slight movement around them.

In his daily life, being too sensitive caused Lynch distress.

After all, living in a treacherous society, surrounded by hostility, made it impossible for him to live a good life.

Forget it... I'll just find old James quickly and ask him for a way to hide this money.

Lin Qi quickened his pace while mentally calling out to the system and opening the task panel.

The pervasive sense of danger was too unsettling, so he decided to find something else to do and decided to take advantage of the time to accept some new daily quests.

With a thought,

[Ding~ You have used one of your daily application attempts.]

[A new mission has been issued: Emergency Evacuation! Mission objective: Survive for 60 seconds during an impending attack.]

[The survivor has been detected to be in a high-risk environment, and two danger sources are rapidly approaching their location!]

[Due to the survivors' negligence, a dangerous beast has quietly approached them and is about to attack!]

In the wilderness, dealing with unexpected attacks from wild animals is an unavoidable part of survival. Attacks can be deadly, but they can also mean opportunities. Whether you fight desperately to evade an attack or try to confront the beast, both can bring unexpected gains to the survivor.

[Special Influencing Factor: Upon completion of this task, the system will provide survivors with the ability to fight back against the attackers.]

When Lin Qi read the mission description, he was suddenly startled.

What's going on?!

In the city of Seattle, the largest wild animal one can probably see is a coyote about the size of a dog.

Is there really an unexpected and dangerous beast lurking nearby, or is the system malfunctioning again because it can't recognize the urban environment?

Lin Qi quickly raised his head.

However, before he could even get a good look at his surroundings,

Two familiar local figures, one tall and one short, stood in front of him.

Lin Qi's memory of the two figures was somewhat vague, and it took him a moment to process it before he finally remembered them.

These two were the same thugs who had stolen the woven bag that originally belonged to this body when he first transmigrated and before he could figure out what was happening!

Seeing Lin Qi standing there blankly, the thugs DeShawn and Martin both revealed cruel, sinister smiles.

The two slowly walked forward, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiching Lin Qi in the middle.

DeShawn spoke first, stepping forward and patting Lynch on the shoulder in a seemingly friendly manner:

"Hey, isn't this so-and-so? We met just a few days ago, remember?"

He tugged at Lin Qi's sleeve, his greedy gaze undisguised, and laughed:

"You're doing pretty well lately, even wearing new clothes. What brand is this?"

Lin Qi stared at him coldly, without saying a word.

In the face of crisis, his mind calmed down. He carefully examined the two people and their surroundings, and quickly analyzed how he should act next.

Looking around, the two people in front of him clearly had ill intentions.

The surrounding crowd simply watched indifferently; clearly, for these homeless people, being extorted on the street was all too common.

The vast majority of people were busy skating and using the booster, and the few who were sober looked indifferent and had no intention of helping Lin Qi at all.

At this distance, escape is probably impossible.

Now, all Lynch can rely on is himself!

Meanwhile, the system's "hold on for 60 seconds" countdown has only just begun!