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"The West Coast is truly fascinating,"
the female lawyer began to smooth things over, signaling with her eyes for Kalinda to go and consult her boss.
She, too, felt the salary was unrealistically high.
Just then, Diane Lockhart, a partner at the law firm, walked outside with her client, Mr. Bauer. Kalinda immediately stood up and headed out in her high heels.
"$60,000 a week?"
Kalinda asked in a stern tone as she escorted her client out.
As the firm's top investigator, she felt she had been sufficiently restrained.
Following cases, she was busy day and night, dealing with all sorts of people, facing constant legal risks, and even life-threatening situations. And yet, she only made $100,000 a year.
This cocky man named Chuck, ready to sit in court and watch the jury's so-called micro-expressions, would easily collect a whopping $60,000 a week.
Is there any justice in the world?
"Two weeks!"
Diane snapped.
"Seriously?"
Kalinda was incredulous.
"As long as the client is willing to believe it,"
Diane said with a smile. "We're not the ones paying anyway."
Kalinda was speechless and could only turn back into the conference room. She nodded to the female lawyer watching her and said bitterly, "Two weeks first."
"Dr. Wolf, can we discuss the case now?"
The female lawyer smiled. "Here are the files. Take a look."
"No need to discuss."
Chuck shook his head. "After the court appearance, my only responsibility will be to observe the jury members' expressions and convey their thoughts to you. It's your job to formulate the specific defense."
"Then you have it easy,"
Kalinda said sarcastically.
"It's always been that way for me."
Chuck nodded matter-of-factly, then met Kalinda's eyes. "Do we need to continue?"
Kalinda instinctively avoided his gaze. She was truly afraid he would reveal her innermost secrets, which would make her socially uneasy. And she had quite a few.
Fortunately, Chuck's phone rang. He took it out, checked it, stood up, and said, "See you tomorrow in court!"
With that, he left.
Only Kalinda and the female lawyer remained in the conference room. They exchanged a glance, tacitly forgetting Chuck's words of admiration. The female lawyer assigned Kalinda to continue her investigation while she studied the case files and formulated a defense strategy for tomorrow's court appearance.
Chuck was waiting for the elevator when Diane and her two nephews arrived. After greeting them, Chuck glanced at little Leonard.
Leonard looked up at him with an ingratiating smile.
Chuck remained expressionless.
The elevator arrived.
Chuck stepped inside.
Having lived in this world for many years, he had become accustomed to seeing familiar characters from American television series.
Even without considering the novelty, his physical condition prevented him from offering a warm greeting to little Leonard.
As Leonard's disappointed gaze fell, Chuck left the office building, got in a taxi, and disappeared into the night's bustling traffic.
A luxury hotel near LAX airport.
"You're here."
Chuck got out of the car and saw a blonde beauty in her thirties, with an intellectual and melancholic temperament, walking quickly towards him. When Chuck looked over, she stopped about a meter away from him, her ice-blue eyes filled with joy.
"Alex."
Chuck nodded and walked inside.
Alex hurried after him, cautiously speaking from a distance, "I'm staying next door to you, and I'll be back on my flight tomorrow morning."
"I have a court appearance tomorrow morning,"
Chuck replied, checking his watch. "One hour and twenty-three minutes."
"I can wait until you're done..."
Alex paused,
knowing that was impossible.
They entered the room, one after the other, and Alex casually put up a Do Not Disturb sign.
One hour and twenty-two minutes later.
Alex closed the door, glanced at the Do Not Disturb sign for a moment, her icy blue eyes filled with sadness. She walked into the next room and sat on the bed, lost in thought.
Next door.
Chuck meticulously pulled items out of his suitcase.
The first was a digital timer alarm.
The second was a small speaker.
The third was a flashlight.
The fourth was a bottle of prescription medication.
The fifth was a short stick about the size of a police baton.
After Chuck arranged everything, he stood up and turned off the lights in the room, instantly plunging into darkness.
Then, a deafening burst of heavy metal music blared,
accompanied by flashes of bright light flickering in the darkness.
Chuck, his eyes etched with pain, sat on the edge of the bed, his hands holding the short stick and began to roll his thighs repeatedly, over and over.
The numbers on the digital alarm clock kept jumping: 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes...
In the next room, Alex, listening to the relentless noise that continued to penetrate the wall, pressed her face against the wall, looking at an old photo in her hand, tears already streaming down her face.
Time is relative.
Ten minutes, which seems short to most people, felt like an eternity to Chuck and Alex.
When the digital alarm clock hit 10:00, the alarm rang. Chuck, sweating profusely, struggled to his feet, put down his baton, and turned off the alarm, flashing lights, and noise. Then, he picked up his prescription bottle, poured a pill from it, and swallowed it. He collapsed onto the large bed, staring at the ceiling, gradually relaxing into a trance.
He was originally an ordinary person from the Midwest. Somehow, he had traveled through dimensions and inherited this body with extraordinary abilities. While not exceptionally handsome, his appearance and figure were both exceptionally gifted. He thought he could finally enjoy a challenging life in the big city, but who would have thought his predecessor had severe autism?
No matter how much he wanted to connect with others, his body resisted.
Even the consciousness he had taken over from his predecessor couldn't control the negative effects of autism. Furthermore, due to his predecessor's superior intelligence, the slow integration over the years had gradually affected his consciousness, and his perspective on the world had gradually changed, giving the world a different hue.
If he hadn't changed, the dimension traveler would have eventually assimilated and dissolved, becoming an autistic genius with the memories of the dimension traveler, believing them to be imaginary, unable to communicate normally.
Fortunately, his predecessor's father was a resolute man and chose not to leave him in the care of a doctor, but instead personally trained him.
Since he couldn't tolerate external stimuli like bright light and loud noise, he simply needed more training and stimulation, and gradually adapted.
By the time Chuck crossed over, this training was well underway. It allowed him to barely communicate with others, strive to integrate into society according to his own values, and continue to expand his consciousness, greatly delaying the tragic dissolution of his consciousness.
However, it was impossible to completely prevent the dissolution of consciousness and gain full control over his body.
Fortunately, he still had the standard system for dimension travelers.
It was simple, but held infinite hope:
the Balance Life System.
Host: Chuck Wolfe. Positive points: 196 Negative points: 15.
The collision of 365 Positive and Negative points generated one drop of Life Essence.
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