After chatting with Sarah for a while, Sarah received a call from an individual who would place the new door at Max's apartment.
They welcomed the carpenter outside of the apartment building.
Just in time, Enzo returned from the school. He was currently a Grade-12 student and was about to graduate with remarkable grades.
If he kept his pace until the last quarter, becoming a valedictorian would be a guarantee.
When Enzo returned and was dumbfounded by the broken door, he was about to ask when Max suddenly hugged him tightly.
He was confused. "What happened, Brother?"
Not receiving a reply from his brother, he turned towards his aunt, who smiled bitterly at him.
She sighed and explained, instead. "The loan sharks came and broke through your door while your brother was sleeping.
He must have been traumatized."
Enzo's eyes widened. He gazed at his brother's back and hugged him back. Max's body was trembling, certainly a sign of trauma.
He sighed and patted his back.
"You should really not forget to pay it back in time."
Max didn't reply as he continued to weep. He was glad that his brother was alive and well.
They remained like that until the carpenter finished installing the new door, informing Sarah Grant immediately. Sarah handed the payment under the widened eyes of Enzo, and the latter wanted to say something but the words struck on his throat.
Sarah noticed Enzo's reaction after she paid and smiled at him.
"Don't worry about it. Also, dinner's on me later at 6pm. I have not cooked yet."
Max straightened his back, his tears already wiped, as he turned around and said to Sarah, "Let me cook, Auntie Sarah."
Sarah was quite surprised. However, recalling that one of Max's jobs was to cook, she didn't hesitate anymore to agree.
After a while, Sarah left. Max and Enzo entered their apartment and the latter was taken aback to see a box twice his size.
Enzo was about to ask when he instantly realized the content inside the box.
He frowned and gazed at Max with furrowed eyebrows.
Max was already facing him, as though the reason he entered first with him was to explain about the box.
He said, "I brought a gaming pod. Don't worry, I still have 2,000 CAD left, enough for us to last a month.
And a month is more than enough for me to earn money from the game."
Enzo gazed at his brother in long silence and sighed.
"You should have waited for me to graduate, at least. I'm about to graduate now in May and by then, I'll immediately look for a governmental job. There are only three months left, brother.
I don't mind supporting your addiction to playing games."
Max shook his head. "It's not an addiction, I just want to risk it. Also, don't worry about paying our bills. Auntie Sarah already covered your school allowance despite the fact that she has a son and daughter studying overseas.
I got everything covered, don't worry."
Enzo sighed helplessly. He couldn't trust the words of his elder brother because he knew too well how difficult it was to gain success in gaming.
Streaming? Pro-playing? Everything that might seem to be an opportunity to earn money required more than luck.
He asked, "So, how do you want to earn money specifically? Becoming a streamer? Pro player?"
Max was quite stunned. Streamer? That's actually the most profitable career in gaming.
But…
I'm too shy for that.
Max sighed. He already has an idea in mind of how to earn money.
He said, "Neither. Don't worry, what I've planned will be the most effective way to earn money."
Enzo nodded. "Alright, it seems you have already thought about it for quite some time. I won't pressure you. Take as much time as you need.
I'll study first. I'll go later at 6pm just as Auntie Sarah had said."
Max smiled. He really admired how studious and hard working his little brother was. Even before they lost their parents, Enzo was already working hard.
It was even more so after two years ago when their parents decided to go abroad to look for opportunities to improve their life.
They were living in an apartment managed by their aunt, so inevitably, their parents desired to build their own house.
Unfortunately, they got caught in the war in the middle east. One missile that targeted residential areas was enough to kill them.
They didn't receive a message from their parents, the last thing they knew, they received compensation when they died.
Just thinking about it made Max sighed. Thankfully, there's still Auntie Sarah, who looks after us.
Max didn't dilly-dally as he decided to cook for them.
…
During the dinner, Sarah and Enzo were pleasantly surprised by Max's cooking. It was undoubtedly delicious.
They asked him when his cooking improved, since the last time Max cooked for Enzo was a week ago. Enzo had been cooking for them every time Max came late from work.
Max simply responded with a smile, causing them to wonder what Max had gone through just to improve his cooking.
Afterwards, it was Enzo who took care of the chores as they returned to their apartment room.
The apartment room wasn't as cozy as others. The bed, the living room, and the kitchen were placed next to each other without a wall.
The bathroom was on the far side of the living room, quite far from the kitchen.
Enzo's study desk was beside the bed and Max decided to place the gaming pod near but at a distance from him.
Max took exactly an hour to set up his gaming pod. It couldn't be helped, the last time he set up his gaming pod was exactly seven years ago.
Although there was a notebook guide, Max still struggled. Enzo even wanted to help but Max refused, stating he must focus on his study.
Once Max was finished, he opened his phone and realized there was still three hours left before Apocalypse Online was launched.
It was exactly 12:00 am in the morning when every game was suddenly obliterated and was replaced by an unknown game.
It was exactly on March 1, 2028 when Apocalypse Online took the gaming industry by storm…