Chapter 20: The Fallen Soul

  Robert walked out of the police station, his head hung low, stumbling and staggering with one foot high and the other low, completely ignoring Zhou Shaoming who was following closely behind him.

  "Hey, where are you going? Didn't you agree to star in my movie? Where are you off to now?" Zhou Shaoming said with a sense of foreboding, hastily grabbing Robert's arm.

  "Knock it off, pal! I don't want to make a movie! Thanks for the help back there, but I've got more important things to attend to right now!" Robert, in the throes of withdrawal, didn't have time to reason with this Oriental guy who suddenly wanted him to star in a film, and irritably shook off Zhou Shaoming's hand.

  "How can you be like this? I just spent $20,000 to bail you out! You can't treat me like this!" Zhou Shaoming was somewhat angry and chased after him, scolding.

  "Alright, alright, don't make a fuss, wait for me, let me handle this first!" Robert was getting impatient, his eyes were red now and he didn't want to argue with Zhou Shaoming anymore. His hands and feet started shaking involuntarily: "I need to hurry up, faster!"

  Zhou Shaoming was extremely anxious, but didn't know what to do for the better. In front of him, there wasn't even a pop-up of Robert's personal data; he looked ordinary, just like a beggar wandering randomly on the street.

  Perhaps he wasn't an actor at all, he was just a bomb that the system had planted on me! Zhou Shaoming thought indignantly.

  Helpless Zhou Shaoming had no choice but to follow him through the streets and alleys, afraid that his $20,000 would turn into a duck with wings and fly away.

  Dark corners, walls filled with messy graffiti, naked women, firearms, death, countless black and bright red colors forming patterns on the wall, although the painting is not bad, but the meaning is lowly, vulgar and decadent.

  Sewage flows in the alley, all kinds of garbage scattered everywhere, a few black men sit on rusty iron stairs, smoking and laughing loudly.

  Robert trudged through the muddy water, jumping and skipping as he went, with tears in his eyes and snot on his nose, saying: "Tom, do you have any goods? Hurry up, I'm about to collapse."

  A middle-aged black man, called Tom, wearing a baseball cap on his head and a thick gold chain around his neck, grinned at Robert with a wide smile, the glint of gold teeth flashing in the dim light: "Hey, buddy, you're out? That's good luck! Who is he?"

  Tom pointed at Zhou Shaoming who was following behind Robert without saying a word and asked vigilantly.

  "A friend, don't say so much, quick, I need goods! I have money, I have money..." Robert rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a crumpled wad of cash.

  "The cops have been cracking down hard lately, my old buddy. My goods don't come easy, you know!" Tom said, standing up and jumping down the stairs, patting Robert on the shoulder.

  "What? You're going to raise the price? I don't have that much money! Didn't we agree on the original amount before? How can you just raise it like that?" Robert's face turned red with anger as he said this.

  "You gotta add 50 bucks! Otherwise, no goods! Sorry about that!" Tom flashed his gold teeth, sporting a cat-and-mouse grin.

  Robert, having been tormented by his addiction, ran to Zhou Shaoming and said with a humble tone: "Hey, I'm really sorry, can you, can you lend me another 50 dollars? Please?"

  Zhou Shaoming was both angry and amused, glancing at Tom not far away, gritting his teeth and lowering his voice to say: "You still ask me for money? I just spent $20,000 for you! Don't dream on!"

  With a splat, Robert carelessly waded through the flowing sewage, kneeling on the ground like a mangy dog, as if his backbone had been pulled out, and tugged at Zhou Shaoming's hand, pleading: "Please, just help me one more time! Just this last time! Damn it, I'm begging you!"

  Drug addiction has turned a normal person into a madman, a madman with no dignity and personality!

  Zhou Shaoming stared incredulously at Robert, who was panting softly, wanting to shake off his hand, but was held tightly by Robert, with a hint of heartbreaking light in his turbid eyes.

  Although tormented by addiction, Robert still knew that he was acting extremely undignified by kneeling down and begging a person he had just met for $50, which is why he felt so miserable.

  A chill ran down Zhou's spine as he thought, how could someone like this, who was so deeply poisoned by heroin that there was no cure, become the main character of his movie? What if he had a relapse during filming? Was he supposed to run out and buy him drugs to revive him, so he could be refreshed and continue filming? This was simply ridiculous!

  What a joke!

  With a surge of sympathy welling up in his heart, Zhou Shaoming said with a heavy tone: "Robert, no, you can't go on like this! You'll be killed by drugs! You can't take it anymore!"

  "No, give me $50! Just $50! I'll do anything for you! I can go make a movie for you!" Robert wailed in agony, as if countless ants were burrowing into his bones, ravaging everything in their path. The unbearable, gut-wrenching craving twisted his face, causing him to struggle and kneel unsteadily before collapsing into the filthy water, convulsing like a dying fish.

  "You're beyond salvation, really beyond salvation. I don't know why heaven chose you for me, maybe this is the biggest failure of my life." Zhou Shaoming said slowly, extremely disappointed, staring at that painful and distorted face.

  Gold Tooth Tom didn't even glance at Robert, who had fallen to the ground, and continued to chew on his cigar while loudly flirting with a black girl in his arms, this kind of thing he had seen too many times.

  "Maybe you need to suffer a bit, let this endless pain tell you that you can't go on like this anymore, I'm really sorry." Zhou Shaoming stood silently for a while, then turned around and wanted to leave.

  His boots splattered in the muddy water, making a disgusting squelching sound. Robert, who was lying on the ground, suddenly let out a loud yell: "Get out! Get out of here! You hypocrite, don't pretend to pity me!!"

  Turning his head, Zhou Shaoming glared angrily at Robert, who was struggling to get up, sitting on the ground with difficulty, half leaning against the wall, mouth agape, and chest heaving in painful breathing.

  "This is unbearable!" Zhou Shaoming was truly enraged.

  "Hahaha, how could anyone pity me, pity this junkie, pity the guy who drove his wife away with his addiction!" Robert's head leaned against the cold wall, perhaps having survived the first withdrawal, listlessly gazing up at the bright moon in the dark sky, muttering to himself: "I used to be so full of life, the center of attention for everyone, I thought nothing could stop me, I was intoxicated with the pleasure that drugs brought, it was endless pleasure. What about now? Haha, damn those drugs, they ruined me, ruined my life, ruined everything! Everyone looks at me with mocking eyes. Hahaha, that's the Robert who used to be invincible! Now look at him, look at him! He's like a dog! A dog that would kneel down and beg for 50 bucks! Hahaha, a dog... a... ...dog..."

  Robert slowly drew up his legs, his thin bony hands tightly clasped around his bent knees, and buried his face in them, sobbing uncontrollably.