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Ring the Doorbell, Scan the QR
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When I go home for the holidays, I find out that my dad has installed a facial recognition machine at the front door. "You'll have to pay an entry fee of 50 thousand dollars. Will you be paying by card or payment code?" I thought my dad was joking at first. As I laugh, I attempt to walk through the front door while pushing my luggage forward. But my mom passes me a price list with an icy look. "That'll be 200 dollars for dragging stuff across the floor. You'll also be charged 1,000 dollars per hour for using up the air." I'm stunned by her words. "Mom, stop messing around already!" But when I walk into the house, I realize that the air inside has disappeared. Unable to breathe, my face soon turns bright red out of suffocation as I kneel down on the floor. My mom huffs coldly again. "If you want to live, then pay up!" With great difficulty, I dig out my phone and pay the fees. Once the transaction is done, I can feel air rushing through my nostrils and into my lungs. For a few moments, I pant heavily. As I stare at my cold-looking parents, I finally feel that something is off. So, I scramble up to my feet and rush for the door. But that's when I find out that the front door is already welded shut. There's a payment code pasted on the door as well as a message. "Exit fee. One million dollars."
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Ring the Doorbell, Scan the QR Chapter 8
Mom suddenly let out a shrill, anguished scream, her voice so hoarse it barely sounded human."He's awake! Nate's awake!"A figure jolted upright from the folding chair beside the bed. Dad wore a faded blue hospital aide vest, his face covered in stubble. He rushed over and nearly tripped over the IV stand."Nate? Can you see me?"He waved his hand in front of my face. That hand was rough and cracked.I wanted to speak, but my throat was blocked. I could only blink slowly, and tears slid down from the corners of my eyes.Dad's legs gave out. He dropped to his knees beside the bed, buried his face in my palm, and his shoulders shook violently. His tears burned against my palm.This man who'd been tough his whole life, who never bowed to anyone, now cried like a helpless child.Doctors and nurses rushed in moments later. They checked my pupils, listened to my heart and lungs, and reviewed the data."A miracle." The doctor removed his stethoscope and exhaled deeply. "All the indi
Ring the Doorbell, Scan the QR Chapter 7
The pull from the darkness grew stronger, trying to swallow me along with them. But my parents clung like stubborn stones, rooted in place, refusing to budge an inch.Mom's fingers dug into my flesh. Her nails broke off, and blood seeped out."Nate, you haven't eaten the ribs I made for you. You promised you'd bring your girlfriend home for the holidays this year. You promised we'd go see the Capital together. You're breaking your promises. You liar…"Her rambling words wound themselves around my heart.I wasn't afraid of dying. But I was terrified they wouldn't survive. If I left like this, they'd spend the rest of their lives drowning in endless regret and debt.I couldn't be that selfish. Even if it meant crawling back from hell, I had to do it for them.I roared from the depths of my soul. Not from fear, but from fury.I looked at my aged parents, and the guilt in my heart ignited into a desperate will to live."I'm not leaving!" I gritted my teeth and summoned the last shr
Ring the Doorbell, Scan the QR Chapter 6
"I have money! I sold our house back home too! I'll sell my blood! I'll sell my kidney! As long as he's still breathing, I'll fight to save him!"Mom sobbed uncontrollably."Nate hasn't gotten married yet… He hasn't had a chance to live a good life. He's only 25 years old. How can he just leave like this?"Dad dropped to his knees in front of the doctor, his voice breaking as he begged. He banged his forehead to the floor over and over until blood smeared across the tile."Doctor, please, have mercy. He's our only son. If he dies, we won't want to live either. Don't worry about the money. I won't owe the hospital a single cent!"I floated in the air watching this scene, my heart twisting in agony. A searing pain tore through the depths of my soul, more unbearable than any physical pain.So this was it. The "greed" and "cruelty" I'd felt in the dream was their desperate madness in reality, all to save me.The 2,000 dollars for dirty water was expensive medication. The 1,000 for a
Ring the Doorbell, Scan the QR Chapter 5
The original black printed texts slowly turned blue."ECMO activation. 50,000 dollars.""High-flow oxygen therapy. 60 dollars per hour."My hand trembled, and the paper fluttered to the floor.I grabbed another bill labeled "Floor cleaning fee." The text changed again. "Blood filtration. 4,000 dollars per session.""Survival water" became "Imported human albumin.""Premium nutrition meal" became "Enteral nutrition formula.""Accommodation fee" became "ICU bed charge."I held those bills, my hands shaking violently as tears burst from my eyes.These astronomical costs weren't them exploiting me. This was the cost of keeping me alive in this world. Every breath, every drop of fluid, every heartbeat was sustained by money they'd traded their lives for."No… no…"I broke down sobbing.I looked around at the home that was both familiar and strange, at the payment codes plastered all over the walls. They weren't collection codes. They were my death warrant and my parents' contr
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