Chapter 233: Who Broke My Brother’s Arm?

Lucas’s face darkened the moment he saw Max lying on the side of the bed.

His roommate’s right arm was wrapped in thick bandages, his face pale with pain. Even breathing seemed difficult.

A terrifying pressure filled the room.

"What the hell happened?"

Lucas’s voice was low.

Dangerously low.

Max tried to answer, but the sharp pain shooting through his arm made him suck in a breath instead.

"...Tsk..."

Lucas clenched his fists.

For a brief second, he considered using the Soul Awakening Needles.

With the needles, healing Max wouldn’t be difficult.

But...

Luke and Ben were standing right there.

If Max’s arm suddenly recovered in front of them...

How was he supposed to explain that?

"Uh... magic acupuncture?"

Even Lucas knew how ridiculous that sounded.

He forced himself to calm down.

Not here.

Not yet.

Seeing the murderous expression on Lucas’s face, Max gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit up.

"D-Don’t worry..."

"I won’t die."

Lucas shot him a look.

"Shut up."

"You look like roadkill."

Luke couldn’t help nodding.

"...Honestly..."

"You do."

Max rolled his eyes.

"Thanks."

"Real supportive."

Even Ben scratched his head awkwardly.

"You kinda do, bro..."

Max sighed dramatically.

"I seriously need better friends."

Despite the jokes, the room quickly fell silent again.

Lucas pulled over a chair and sat directly in front of him.

"Start talking."

"What happened?"

Max took a deep breath before speaking.

"You remember..."

"I’ve been trying to join the basketball team?"

Lucas nodded.

He remembered all too well.

Originally, Max’s noble ambition had sounded something like:

"Basketball teams have cheerleaders."

"Cheerleaders have friends."

"Friends are girls."

"I’m joining."

His reasoning had been completely shameless.

Lucas had laughed at him for an entire day because of it.

Still...

After months of trying...

Max had finally made the team.

"I thought things were finally looking up..."

Max said bitterly.

"Turns out..."

"I should’ve stayed home."

He let out a painful laugh before continuing.

"Today was the Slivermont University Basketball Tournament."

"Ashford University was matched against Northlake University in the opening rounds."

"Everyone showed up."

"The coaches."

"The professors."

"Even reporters."

Lucas listened quietly.

"Coach didn’t let me play at first."

"I stayed on the bench almost the entire game."

"I figured..."

"Fine."

"I’m still a rookie."

"But then..."

He looked down at his bandaged arm.

"Northlake started playing dirty."

Lucas frowned.

"Dirty?"

Max nodded.

"They weren’t playing basketball."

"They were playing demolition derby."

Luke couldn’t help adding,

"That’s putting it nicely."

"They were throwing elbows..."

"Shoving people in midair..."

"Hooking jerseys..."

"Stepping on ankles."

Ben shook his head.

"It was ridiculous."

Max continued.

"Our starters kept getting injured."

"One after another."

"By the fourth quarter..."

"They had almost nobody left."

"That’s when Coach finally sent me in."

"I was actually excited."

He forced a smile.

"I thought..."

"This is my chance."

"For about thirty seconds."

Everyone in the room went quiet.

"I stole the ball."

"I broke past one defender."

"I had a clear lane."

"I jumped."

"I was about to dunk."

Then Max’s expression twisted.

"Out of nowhere..."

"One of Northlake’s forwards slammed his elbow straight into my ribs while I was in the air."

Lucas’s eyes narrowed.

Max demonstrated weakly with his free hand.

"I completely lost my balance."

"My hand hit the floor first."

CRACK.

Even remembering the sound made him shiver.

Luke cursed under his breath.

"I heard it from the bench."

"The whole gym heard it."

Lucas’s expression became colder.

"And the referee?"

Max laughed.

A bitter...

Mocking laugh.

"The referee looked right at me."

"He didn’t blow the whistle."

"He didn’t call a foul."

"He just stood there."

Ben couldn’t help speaking up.

"Wanna know the funniest part?"

Lucas looked over.

Ben snorted.

"Earlier in the game..."

"One of our players barely touched a Northlake guy."

"Tweet!"

"Immediate foul."

"But when Max nearly got murdered..."

"The ref suddenly became legally blind."

Luke folded his arms.

"Not only that."

"When Max was screaming on the floor..."

"The referee actually walked over."

Lucas’s eyes flashed.

"What did he say?"

Max’s jaw tightened.

"He looked down at me..."

"And said..."

"’Weak players shouldn’t complain about getting hurt.’"

Silence.

Complete silence.

For several long seconds...

Nobody spoke.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Max continued quietly.

"They carried me to the hospital."

"I thought at least the school would cover the treatment."

He laughed again.

"...Nope."

"They used my own money."

Lucas blinked.

"...Your own money?"

Max nodded weakly.

"They told me it was faster."

"They swiped my card before I even knew what was happening."

Luke slammed his fist onto the table.

"They didn’t even ask him."

"They just paid with his account."

Ben looked furious.

"And after everything..."

"The basketball coach hasn’t even called once."

"No apology."

"No explanation."

"Nothing."

Max leaned back against the wall and forced another smile.

"So..."

"I guess that’s my glorious basketball career."

"Three minutes on the court."

"One broken arm."

"And somehow..."

"I’m the one who paid for it."

Lucas listened quietly until Max finished.

Then...

He stood up.

Nobody in the room had ever seen his expression this cold before.

His eyes were calm.

Too calm.

The kind of calm that came right before a storm.

"So..."

"You got your arm broken."

"The referees looked the other way."

"The school abandoned you."

"And they even charged you for the hospital bill?"

Max gave a bitter smile.

"...Pretty much."

Lucas slowly nodded.

"Got it."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Send me your bank account."

Max blinked.

"Huh?"

"Just send it."

There wasn’t room for discussion in Lucas’s tone.

Max scratched his head awkwardly.

"Bro..."

"You don’t have to."

"I know you’re doing pretty well these days, but I can’t just~"

Lucas cut him off.

"I said..."

"Send it."

Max swallowed.

If this had been the Lucas from a few months ago, he never would’ve asked him for help.

Back then...

The two of them were equally broke.

Sometimes they’d survive an entire week eating instant noodles together.

But things were different now.

Lucas was obviously doing well for himself.

Max hesitated for a few more seconds before finally sighing.

"...Fine."

He slowly recited his account number.

Lucas typed it in without another word.

A few taps later...

He pressed Transfer.

"Done."

Max’s phone was lying on the floor beside the bed, so he didn’t even notice it vibrate.

Buzz.

Luke happened to glance down.

Then his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"...Wait."

He froze.

"...WAIT!"

Ben looked over.

"What?"

Luke grabbed the phone before Max could react.

"Holy crap!"

"I just saw a credit alert!"

Ben immediately leaned over.

"How much?"

Luke’s mouth slowly fell open.

"...Five..."

"...Five million?!"

"What the hell?!"

Ben almost snatched the phone out of his hands.

"Let me see!"

"No way!"

The two of them stared at the screen as though it had suddenly turned into a winning lottery ticket.

Meanwhile...

Max was still lying on the bed in confusion.

"...What are you idiots yelling about?"

Luke turned toward him with an expression that looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

"...Bro..."

"I think..."

"I think Lucas accidentally transferred too much."

Max frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Luke slowly handed him the phone.

"You’d better look."

The moment Max heard the number...

His body reacted before his brain did.

The pain in his broken arm seemed to disappear for a split second.

He practically jumped off the bed.

"Five million?!"

"You’re joking!"

Ignoring the protests from his injured body, he grabbed the phone and unlocked it with trembling fingers.

The banking app opened.

His breathing stopped.

Balance:

$5,000,000.04

For several seconds...

His brain completely shut down.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Max froze.

His eyes widened.

He rubbed them once.

Then looked again.

"...Four cents?"

Luke frowned.

"What?"

Max slowly looked up, still dazed.

"I..."

"I had four cents left in my account before this."

He swallowed hard.

"That means..."

"He really transferred exactly five million dollars."

The room fell silent.

Ben smacked his forehead.

"Forget the four cents!"

"He sent you FIVE MILLION DOLLARS!"

Only then did the reality finally hit Max.

His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed back onto the bed.

"H-How..."

"...Why?"

He looked toward Lucas in complete disbelief.

Lucas simply slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Use it."

"Pay your medical bills."

"Recover properly."

"If there’s anything left..."

"Split it with Luke and Ben."

The three roommates froze.

"...What?"

Lucas shrugged casually, as though he’d only transferred a few dollars.

"I’m busy."

"We’ll talk later."

Before any of them could recover enough to stop him...

Lucas had already opened the dorm room door.

He paused for just one second.

Without turning around, he said calmly,

"Oh..."

"The guy who broke your arm..."

"I’ll handle him."

Click.

The door closed.