Free Web NovelChapter 1: Ranting About Life
In the sweltering heat of summer of May 2025, in one of the largest and busiest cities in Manila lies a Divisoria. It’s basically a central market where anything you want, the place has it all.
And in one of those markets are the cellphone repair shops, and in one of the hundred stalls, Richard Apostol, a 22 year old college dropout was working.
He was repairing a Samsung smartphone whose screen broke due to the customer accidentally dropping it.
"Uhm, ma’am, so we’ll have to replace the screen since the screen is completely damaged already."
Richard carefully removed the cracked display assembly from the phone while speaking.
The customer, a middle-aged woman carrying several shopping bags from Divisoria, sighed heavily afterward.
"Haist... how much again?"
"Three thousand two hundred if original OLED, ma’am. Two thousand if replacement LCD."
The woman immediately winced. The translates to about 40 to 50 dollars.
"That’s too expensive!"
Richard only gave an awkward smile.
He had already heard that sentence hundreds of times. Every single day.
The tiny repair stall was barely large enough for two people to stand comfortably inside. The glass display shelves surrounding him were filled with secondhand phones, cracked tablets, replacement screens, old chargers, and random electronic parts stacked carelessly on top of each other.
The ceiling fan above barely worked.
Sweat clung to his neck as jeepney horns echoed outside the crowded market streets.
"Okay, let’s just go with the LCD replacement," the woman finally said reluctantly.
Richard nodded.
"You can come back after an hour, ma’am."
After the customer left, Richard leaned back against the plastic stool and stretched slightly.
"Damn..." he muttered under his breath.
His back already hurt.
And it was only noon.
Beside him, another technician laughed while scrolling through short videos on his phone.
"Another customer trying to bargain with you?"
Richard snorted.
"When do they not?"
As he began to work, his mind raced again with a thought. A thought that he hated the way his life is going on right now. He was once an honor student, straight from elementary to high school and even college, but then their family just had to have miserable luck. Their father died to cirrhosis due to his vices, his mother was a diagnosed diabetic and was in need of maintenance medicine every single month.
Debt piled up almost immediately.
Hospital bills.
Funeral expenses.
Loan sharks constantly visiting their tiny home in Tondo.
Richard still remembered those nights vividly.
His mother crying quietly while checking unpaid bills.
His younger sister pretending not to hear anything while studying at the corner of the room.
And him?
He dropped out.
Just like that.
One missed semester became two.
Then eventually, he stopped going entirely.
Computer engineer was gone.
His professors once praised him.
Some even believed he could eventually become one of the top students in their department.
Funny.
Now he spent his days replacing cracked phone screens and bargaining with customers over a twenty-dollar difference.
Life really had a twisted sense of humor.
Richard continued disconnecting the battery flex cable while suppressing the bitterness building in his chest.
At the corner of the stall, an old television mounted near the ceiling was playing a morning interview program.
The volume was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
A clean-looking politician wearing an expensive suit smiled confidently on-screen while sipping coffee.
Even through the cheap television display, Richard could already tell the man probably lived a life completely different from his own.
Air-conditioned offices.
Luxury cars.
Private subdivisions.
No worries about hospital bills.
No worries about missing meals.
The interviewer smiled politely.
"Senator Villanueva, many people today are struggling financially. What can you say about the belief that money is the key to happiness?"
The politician chuckled lightly.
"Well, honestly, I think people place too much importance on money nowadays."
Richard’s hand stopped moving for a second.
On-screen, the senator leaned back comfortably.
"Money is not everything. Happiness comes from contentment, family, faith, and perspective. Even poor people can live happy lives if they learn to appreciate simple things."
The interviewer nodded like he had just heard the wisdom of the century.
Richard stared at the television blankly.
Then he scoffed quietly.
"Bullshit."
The technician beside him glanced over.
"Hm?"
Richard shook his head while continuing to work.
But internally?
The irritation kept building.
Money is not important?
Easy for a rich politician to say.
People only said things like that when they never experienced true poverty before.
Because when you were poor, everything revolved around money.
Everything.
Medicine cost money.
Food cost money.
Tuition cost money.
Rent cost money.
Transportation cost money.
Even dying cost money.
Richard still remembered watching his mother ration her insulin because they could not afford another box yet.
He remembered pretending he already ate outside so his sister could have the last portion of dinner.
He remembered commuting under heavy rain because he could not afford ride-hailing apps.
He remembered studying engineering while wondering if they could still pay electricity next month.
Money dictated everything in life.
Your comfort.
Your opportunities.
Your future.
Even your dignity.
People loved saying money could not buy happiness.
But money could buy security.
And security solved most problems people cried about every single day.
No money?
Then suddenly one sickness could destroy your entire family.
One accident.
One emergency.
One missed payment.
That was reality.
Not whatever nonsense rich people liked preaching on television.
Richard glanced at the politician again.
The senator continued smiling calmly while discussing "mindset" and "gratitude."
Meanwhile the watch on the man’s wrist alone probably cost more than Richard’s yearly income.
To hell with him.
If money truly did not matter, then why did rich people keep chasing more of it?
Why did billionaires exist?
Why did politicians fight so hard for positions of power?
Why did corporations destroy each other over profits?
Because everyone knew the truth.
Money controlled the world.
People just liked pretending otherwise because it sounded morally nice.
It was all ridiculous. Heck, what’s the point of living when every day is survival mode? He was starting to lose hope in his future anymore. Like there’s no future in repairing phones.
Not in this economy.
Not in this country.
Not when inflation kept rising every single year while salaries barely moved.
Richard tightened another screw before setting the phone down briefly.
Sometimes he genuinely wondered what exactly he was working toward anymore.
A better future?
What future?
At twenty-two years old, he already felt exhausted with life.
Like he was stuck running on a treadmill that never stopped moving.
Every month was the same cycle.
Salary comes in, bills eat everything, and repeat.
There was never progress.
Never breathing room.
Just survival.
And the worst part?
No matter how hard he worked, it still felt meaningless.
Sometimes Richard envied rich people for one simple reason.
They actually had the luxury to dream.
Ordinary people like him?
Dreams were dangerous.
Because dreams cost money.
He once dreamed of becoming an engineer.
Gone.
He once dreamed of designing machines and technologies.
Gone.
He once dreamed of buying a house for his mother someday.
All gone!
Heck, he can’t even have a girlfriend in this state. As he was dirt-poor.
While ranting in his head, something unexpectedly happened.
"This is a robbery!"
Two armed men burst into the repair stall.
Everything happened so fast that Richard’s brain failed to process it immediately.
One of the men wore a black hoodie with a surgical mask covering half his face. The other was taller, skinny, and carried an old revolver in his trembling hand.
"Don’t fucking move!" the taller robber shouted.
The entire repair stall instantly froze.
The technician beside Richard nearly dropped his phone in panic.
Even the customers from nearby stalls outside immediately backed away after hearing the shout.
Richard’s heart slammed hard against his chest.
Shit.
The taller robber pointed the revolver around wildly.
"Phones! Cash! Everything! Hurry the fuck up!"
The shop owner, who had just returned from lunch seconds earlier, immediately raised both hands.
"O-Okay, okay! Relax!"
The shorter robber quickly moved behind the counter and began shoving displayed phones into a black backpack.
Secondhand iPhones.
Samsung units.
Chargers.
Power banks.
Anything valuable.
Richard remained frozen on his stool.
His mind raced rapidly.
This was bad.
Very bad.
The revolver looked old, but real.
And desperate people were dangerous.
Outside the stall, people were already scattering away from the area.
Nobody wanted involvement.
Nobody wanted to get shot over phones.
The taller robber suddenly pointed the gun toward Richard.
"You! Open the drawer!"
Richard swallowed hard.
"O-Okay..."
Slowly, he stood from his stool. ƒreewebɳovel.com
His hands slightly trembled while opening the cash drawer beneath the counter.
Inside was the shop’s earnings for the day.
Not much.
Maybe around twenty thousand pesos total.
The robber immediately cursed.
"That’s it?!"
"We’re just a small repair shop," the owner quickly said nervously.
The robber looked furious.
"Bullshit!"
Meanwhile the shorter robber continued stuffing gadgets into the backpack aggressively.
One of the displayed phones accidentally fell to the floor with a loud crack.
"Move faster!" the taller robber barked.
Richard quietly stepped backward after opening the drawer completely.
Please just leave already...
That was the only thought inside his head now.
But then the taller robber suddenly noticed the Samsung phone Richard had just repaired sitting on the table.
Without hesitation, the man grabbed it.
"Hey!" Richard instinctively said.
The word slipped out before he could stop himself.
The robber slowly turned toward him.
The atmosphere instantly became dangerous.
"What?"
Richard immediately realized his mistake.
Because that phone belonged to a customer.
And if it got stolen?
The shop owner would probably deduct it from his salary.
Money he absolutely could not afford to lose.
"That’s... a customer’s phone," Richard said carefully.
Wrong move.
The robber’s eyes narrowed.
"You trying to act brave?"
"No, I’m just saying—"
"Shut the fuck up."
Richard clenched his jaw.
The frustration that had been building inside him the entire day suddenly mixed with fear and anger.
Everything already felt unfair enough.
And now even this?
Getting robbed while barely earning enough to survive?
The taller robber stepped closer aggressively.
"You got a problem?"
Richard stayed silent.
The robber suddenly shoved him hard on the shoulder.
"Answer me!"
That tiny push instantly ignited something inside Richard. Weeks. Months. Years of frustration. Debt. Poverty. Humiliation. Hopelessness.
Everything exploded emotionally at once.
"Yeah," Richard snapped suddenly.
"I do have a fucking problem."
The stall went silent.
Even the other robber paused briefly.
Richard’s breathing became heavier.
"You people rob poor people who are barely surviving already," he continued bitterly.
"You think there’s money here? Look around!"
The taller robber’s expression darkened immediately.
"You got balls, huh?"
Richard laughed bitterly.
"No. I’m just tired."
And strangely enough?
He meant it. He really was tired. Tired of life. Tired of struggling.Tired of always being powerless.
The robber suddenly raised the revolver and slammed it directly into Richard’s head.
CRACK.
Pain exploded instantly.
Richard’s vision violently blurred as he collapsed sideways into the shelves.
Phones and accessories crashed loudly onto the floor around him.
Someone screamed.
Warm blood immediately ran down the side of his forehead.
His ears rang violently.
For several seconds, he could barely hear anything properly.
Only muffled noise.
Distorted shouting.
The world spun around him.
"Idiot!" the robber shouted furiously.
Richard groaned weakly while clutching his bleeding head.
His vision doubled.
Everything felt dizzy.
The technician beside him looked horrified.
"Bro!"
The shop owner panicked immediately.
"Stop! Stop! Please!"
But the robbers were already rushing out of the stall with the stolen bag.
"Move and I’ll shoot!" one of them yelled toward the crowd outside.
People scattered immediately.
Within seconds, the two men disappeared into the crowded streets of Divisoria.
Gone.
Just like that.
Richard remained on the floor breathing heavily.
Blood dripped onto the white tiles beneath him, his head throbbed painfully, and he could feel drifting out of consciousness.
As he was about to lose it, something chimed in his head.
[The Goddess of Fortune has randomly selected you to become the bearer of a system]
Richard inwardly grumbled. Was he hallucinating?
[Entertain the Goddess of Fortune for a chance to change your fate.]
The robotic voice echoed clearly inside his head.
Richard’s eyes twitched weakly.
Yeah.
Definitely hallucinating.
