Liam stepped out of the cab, slamming the door shut behind him before shoving his hands into his pockets.
Nothing interesting had happened after his conversation with Ann earlier.
After telling her he wasnât mad at her, he had simply eaten, taken a bath, and now here he wasâstanding in front of Dicksonâs house on a quiet Saturday morning.
He was one hundred percent sure that Dickson would be home.
Raising his fist, Liam knocked twice on the door and barely had to wait before it swung open.
Standing there was Dicksonâs little sister, a lively girl no more than ten years old.
Her eyes lit up the moment she saw him.
"Big bro!" she shouted excitedly before immediately jumping up to give him a high five.
Liam let out a small chuckle, raising his hand to meet hers before reaching out to ruffle her hair.
She pouted at the action, quickly fixing her hair with her small hands while Liam spoke.
"Whereâs your brother?"
She immediately pointed upstairs.
Liam nodded, offering her a brief smile before stepping past her and heading up.
As soon as he reached the second floor, he didnât bother knocking and pushed open Dicksonâs door.
The room was empty.
But from the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, Liam immediately figured out what was happening.
Dickson was taking a shower.
Liam sighed and was about to sit down and wait when something on Dicksonâs computer screen caught his eye.
A red digital countdown was ticking down.
10:05...
10:04...
10:03...
Liamâs entire body tensed.
What the fuck?
A countdown?!
His brain immediately jumped to the worst possible scenario.
Was this idiot trying to kill himself?
Noâwait.
Could this actually be... a bomb timer?!
Was he having the last shower before he goes to meet his maker?
Liamâs heartbeat sped up as he took a cautious step back.
Shit!
Had he just walked in at the wrong time?!
Just as he was about to run away, the bathroom door swung open, and Dickson stepped out, rubbing a towel over his wet hair.
He had only taken a few steps into the room before his gaze landed on Liam.
Dickson immediately froze.
Liamâs face was pale.
His eyes were locked onto the countdown with a look of horror.
Dickson frowned.
"Hey, Liam... you look like youâve seen a ghost."
Liam didnât respond immediately.
Instead, he simply raised a shaky hand and pointed at the computer screen.
"What the fuck is that?" he demanded, his voice dead serious.
Dicksonâs eyes flickered to the screen, and the moment he saw what Liam was referring to, he coughed awkwardly.
"Oh... that?" he said, scratching the back of his neck.
Liam narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, dumbass. That."
Dickson let out a dry chuckle before casually sayingâ
"Itâs a countdown."
Liamâs patience was already thin.
"A countdown to what?"
Dickson hesitated.
Then, under Liamâs intense stare, he finally mutteredâ
"Flora Jensonâs new album release."
For a full five seconds, Liam didnât react.
His brain was trying to process what he just heard.
Then, his jaw dropped.
"Wait... what?!"
Dickson didnât say anything.
Liam blinked twice.
Then, he suddenly snapped.
"Youâre telling me that this whole time, I thought you had a fucking bomb in your room, and it turns out you were just waiting for some slutâs album to drop?!"
Dickson coughed again, looking away.
Liamâs lips twitched in pure disbelief.
"Didnât she just drop an album like... a few days ago?"
Dickson scratched his cheek. "Uh... yeah, butâ"
Liam cut him off, his voice rising.
"The fuck? How many dicks does that bitch ride in a day?!"
Dickson visibly winced.
He desperately tried to shift the conversation.
"Anyway, why are you hereâ"
But Liam wasnât done.
His face twisted in disgust as he gestured toward the screen.
"You bastard, how the fuck do you even get hard watching a bitch get run through by hundreds of guys?
Why the fuck are you even watching this shit?!"
Dicksonâs mouth opened, but no words came out.
He just stood there, completely roasted, with no way to defend himself.
Liam shook his head.
This idiot was a lost cause.
Liam let out a deep sigh, shaking his head as if he had completely given up on trying to understand Dicksonâs obsession with Flora Jenson.
This guy was truly hopeless.
Liam decided it wasnât even worth wasting his energy any further, so he quickly moved on to the actual reason for coming here in the first place.
Leaning back against the chair, he glanced at Dickson and spoke in a casual tone.
"Anyway, forget that. I came here because I wanted to talk to you about something."
Dickson raised a brow as he continued toweling his damp hair, waiting for Liam to continue.
Liam crossed his arms.
"I have $48,000."
Dickson, who had been lazily drying his hair, suddenly froze.
His eyes slowly shifted to Liam.
Liam, pretending not to notice his friendâs reaction, continued speaking.
"I earned it from the casino."
Dicksonâs lips parted in pure shock.
"You what?!"
Liam smirked, enjoying the reaction before continuing.
"I got lucky. Thatâs all."
He made sure to say it in a way that wouldnât make Dickson suspicious.
Of course, if Dickson ever found out about Liamâs insane system-enhanced luck, he wouldnât just be shockedâheâd lose his damn mind.
To make his story sound even more believable, Liam casually addedâ
"I also borrowed $5,000 from Ann to play."
Dickson blinked rapidly, his brain struggling to process what he had just heard.
His friendâthis idiot standing in front of himâactually had $48,000?
Forty-eight. Thousand. Dollars.
That was more money than Dickson had ever seen in his entire fucking life.
His towel slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground as he continued staring at Liam like he had just grown two heads.
"This bitch..." he muttered under his breath.
Liam chuckled. "Jealous?"
Dickson scoffed, crossing his arms. "Damn right, Iâm jealous! Who wouldnât be?!"
Liamâs smirk remained as he leaned forward. He needed to be around broke fuckers like this alot to increase his ego.
"Well, thatâs why I came to you."
Dickson squinted. "What do you mean?"
Liam tapped his fingers on the table.
"How do you think I can increase it?"
Dicksonâs brows furrowed slightly as he rubbed his chin.
Liam already had one idea in mindâ
Returning to the casino.
He knew that with his systemâs godlike calculations, he could easily double, triple, or even quadruple his money within a few nights.
But...
If he wasnât careful, people would start getting suspicious.
No one was that lucky.
And once people started asking too many questions, it wouldnât be long before his identity got exposed.
That was something he couldnât afford.
So, for now, he needed a different way to increase his money.
One that didnât involve gambling.
Dickson remained deep in thought, his fingers tapping against his chin.
He considered several options, but nothing seemed fast enoughâ
Until suddenly, his mind clicked.
His tapping stopped.
His eyes lit up.
And then, he turned to Liam and saidâ
"We can try trading."
Liam frowned slightly, clearly confused.
"Trading?" he repeated. "Like... selling goods?"
Dickson blinked.
Then, he just stared at Liam dumbly.
...Did this idiot seriously have no idea what he was talking about?
Did he seriously not know about crypto?!