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Second World - Chapter 1712

Published at 15th of January 2024 10:37:35 AM


Chapter 1712: 1712. The Meaning of Being Poor

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Chapter 1712 1712. The Meaning of Being Poor

Wilted asked Jack about their journey from Themisphere until arriving here. Jack recounted the battles in Hydrurond and Aurebor. Everyone listened solemnly to Jack's narration. They found it hard to believe such huge battles had been happening outside this country.

Some of the players like Anotherday and Blackhole wished they had joined those battles. They were professional gamers. A big battle like what Jack recounted would surely be an exciting one to experience. Not to mention the exp and loots they could gain.

They were considered to have the highest level in the rebel force. But as they looked at the players who came with Jack, they could see that these players were generally two to three levels higher than them.

The natives in the room didn't share their regret. Instead, they were relieved they were spared from those wars. From Jack's tale, there had been uncountable casualties. Unlike the players, they had only one life. If they died and were not resurrected, then that's it. They were gone.

The mentality between players and natives was different in response to Jack's tale.

After Jack finished his tale, they talked about mundane things. They continued chatting until late at night. Some excused themselves as time passed.

When it was close to midnight, only four people were left in the room. Jack, Grace, Wilted, and Handsome Joe.

Grace told Jack she was very sleepy so she left first. Handsome Joe said goodbye soon after.

After Handsome Joe went out the door, Jack asked Wilted, "My friends said they heard Joe called Mistress his sister during the convention in Cakra Valley. Is that true?"You can track the origins of this material back to n0velbin★

"It is true," Wilted answered.

"Wow... How did those two from the same family end up fighting against one another?"

"You are one to talk. I heard your royal advisor is the son of Master's chief strategist."

"Uh... You got me there," Jack laughed. "But isn't Mistress the daughter to the owner of the Trigitech Corps, doesn't that make Joe the son?"

"That's how blood relation works."

"My father was a loving father and husband. A responsible one. An honest one. He was also a hard-working person, but he was just an average guy. He didn't have any specialty and he had no ambition. It didn't matter. We lived modestly. We were happy. Then one day, he got fired from his job. It's not because he did something wrong. It's simply that the company found someone better. He was let go."

"That was awful...," Jack said.

"Oh, that was nothing. I haven't finished my story," Wilted said. "At that time, my father was already pretty old. He was in his fifties while I was still in elementary school. My parents got married rather late in their lives. Someone his age without any special skill. It was almost impossible to find new jobs. His experience also didn't matter much since he just did normal office work all his working years.

"He didn't know what to do. He was at a loss. Both my parents were. They still needed lots of money to cover my education. Our home was a rented house. We didn't have our own house. Out of desperation, he used his severance pay and all the money he had saved to try his luck in starting a business with a friend of his."

From the way Wilted told the story, Jack could guess that business didn't go well. Wilted confirmed it soon.

"They failed. All their money was gone... My father, he couldn't take the loss. He didn't know what else to do. He jumped from the bridge. He didn't survive..."

"I'm sorry...," Jack said.

"My mother," Wilted didn't stop. "She fell ill from all the stress. She joined my father soon."

Jack was silent. He also lost his parents at a young age so he understood Wilted's sorrow, but he didn't know what to say.

"Do you know, if this happened to Joe or the other rich kids who went undercover to work normal jobs? If they were fired from their job? I can picture what they would say. They would say something like this, 'You don't fire me. I quit!' If Joe or other rich kids tried a business and failed. What happened to them? They would feel sad and awful about themselves. Ashamed maybe. Got some scolding from their rich dads for wasting the money. Maybe feel bad about it for a few weeks, or a few months. Afterward, they got a pat on the back and they were told it was okay. Failure is the road to success or all that shit. You don't give up. You try again.

"Guess what? If you are poor. You don't get a second chance! When my father was fired, it was as if the sky was falling. He was given no option!

"Poor people can only eat at the cheapest food stall by the side of the road. Wealthy people can choose to eat at a fancy restaurant, a high-end café, Heck, they can fly a private jet abroad and taste foreign cuisine. Or, they could eat at the cheapest food stall by the side of the road. If they eat at that cheapest food stall, that is because they choose to, not because they have to. Because of that, they will never understand what it means to be poor. They can go back to their fancy restaurant any time they want. Poor people, they don't have this choice.

"Being rich is about having many choices while being poor is about having no choice. When Joe chose to work at our level, that was a choice. He could easily let go of that choice and return to the comfort of a luxurious life anytime he wished. He was a tourist. As if the life of the poor was some kind of exotic experience he wanted to taste. He didn't mingle with us to know how we felt. He was simply satisfying his eccentric curiosity.

"That's why I felt disgusted when I learned he was the owner's son. He could come and talk the talk, or walk the walk, but he would never truly understand what it meant to be poor until the day he was robbed of his options."




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