Chapter 28: Chapter 28
Ray turned around slowly. His eyes narrowed the second he got a clear look at the dude behind him.
The guy’s name was Kevin.
Ray knew exactly who he was. Kevin was the neighbor next door — the same asshole who made Julia moan so loud every single night that it blasted straight through the thin apartment walls. Those "ahh... ahh... harder!" sounds always made Ray hold his breath, half pissed off, half with blood rushing to his head. And now this same motherfucker had the balls to call him "soy boy."
Kevin slapped Ray’s shoulder again, harder than before.
"Yo, soy boy. You deaf or what? I’m talkin’ to you."
Ray stayed quiet for a few seconds. His breathing was slow but deep. Inside his chest, the anger was already boiling over. His body — all that muscle in his arms, shoulders, and chest from hitting the gym — itched to move. One solid punch to Kevin’s sunken jaw would drop him straight onto the sidewalk. Shit, even two or three good hits would be enough. Ray knew he could beat the shit outta Kevin in seconds.
But he held back.
Because he knew Kevin wouldn’t fight alone. This skinny, druggie-looking motherfucker had a whole crew of unemployed delinquents who always acted like wannabe rockstars. They used to roll up to Kevin’s unit all the time. Ray wasn’t about to start some bullshit that’d bring the whole pack down on him later.
Still, Ray wasn’t the type of dude to just stand there and take it like a little bitch.
This was different from earlier that afternoon when Julia called him a "boring loser." Back then, Ray had chosen to shut the fuck up. Because she was a girl.
But this? This was Kevin. A guy.
Ray turned all the way around. He stared Kevin dead in the eyes without blinking. His voice came out low, cold, and full of challenge.
"What’d you say, huh?"
Kevin froze for a second, like he didn’t expect Ray to actually talk back. But then that stupid smirk came crawling back across his face. He let out a short, sarcastic laugh.
"Damn, soy boy got some balls now? You usually just stay quiet every time I walk past. Now you tryna fight back? Your body’s jacked but your brain’s still weak as fuck, man. You’re—"
Ray cut him off before he could finish. His voice stayed calm, but there was a cold edge to it that made Kevin unconsciously take half a step back.
"Huh?" Ray’s tone got sharper, the anger starting to leak through.
Kevin opened his mouth, ready to clap back, but Ray had already stepped forward. Now they were way too close. Ray way more built, and the heavy, cold vibe coming off him suddenly felt dangerous. Kevin, who was acting all tough just a second ago, now looked a little unsure.
Kevin laughed again, but it sounded forced this time. He took two steps back, hands still stuffed in his hoodie pockets.
"Yo... yo, chill, man. You gettin’ way too worked up," Kevin said, trying to play it off like a joke. "Not cool, dude!"
Then he turned and walked away, trying to act like he wasn’t in a rush.
Ray stood there without moving. His eyes followed Kevin’s back until the guy completely disappeared around the corner. Only then did he let out a long, heavy sigh.
"What a fuckin’ weirdo," Ray thought to himself.
Even though he knew — in this world, there were always gonna be people like that. The type who loved starting shit and putting others down, just because they thought nobody would ever push back.
----
Ray finally stepped into his apartment unit. His hands were still shaking a little from the leftover anger. He shut the door harder than necessary and tossed his jacket onto the messy bed.
His mood was completely fucked.
"Fuckin’ Kevin," he muttered.
The day had started off decent — laughing his ass off earlier, then getting all worked up after rubbing his cock across Lena and Sonya’s faces. For once, things actually felt good. But now that solid mood was gone, ruined by one annoying-ass slap on the shoulder and that stupid "soy boy" comment.
Ray let out a long breath and grabbed his phone.
"Whatever... might as well just scroll," he thought.
He opened Instagram first. Scrolled through stories without much interest. Old friends flexing vacations, new cars, food. Ray only gave a small smirk. Back when he was still busting his ass as a janitor, he used to feel bitter seeing shit like that. Now? He just felt relieved. He could get the same things they had — maybe even better — with nothing but a few taps on his screen.
But the second he switched to X, his timeline was flooded. Gambling sites were everywhere. People were posting massive wins, jackpot screenshots, and nonstop "gacor banget hari ini" spam. Trending topics were full of site names that were apparently hitting like crazy.
Ray tapped on one of the usual gambling accounts.
"Shit..."
He let out a short laugh.
It was way more than usual. Normally only a few people would be flexing big wins. Now it looked like a goddamn flood. Dozens of posts in the last hour alone — 50 million, 120 million, even some guy claiming 300 million from a regular spin.
Ray kept scrolling, shaking his head with a crooked smile.
"Why the fuck is online gambling blowing up even more? What the hell..."
The deeper he went, the more obvious it became. People were saying they hit jackpot on their first try, that certain sites were "unreal right now," asking for night spin recommendations. It was like half the timeline had suddenly turned into gambling addicts overnight.
Ray stopped scrolling. His smile slowly widened, but there was no real humor in it.
"Ah... right."
He finally connected the dots.
Using Global Alter on those gambling sites earlier had let him walk away with a fat stack. But of course there was a side effect. All those grown men desperate to get rich quick were now also hitting big just by tapping their phones. He hadn’t just made money for himself — he’d basically fed the addiction and made it spread faster.
Ray leaned back in his busted gaming chair and let out a quiet, amused scoff.
He was still staring at his phone when someone suddenly knocked on his door.
Ray frowned.
"Who the fuck is that?"
