Macaroni and a fragrant, roasted steak were brought to the table one after another. Henry couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he’d eaten such delicious food. There was no need to elaborate on prison meals, and after being released, he had always lived below the poverty line. The only two hundred dollars he had came from Ross’s sponsorship, and his job search had been extremely unsuccessful. In the past period, he had to pinch every penny, eating only the cheapest fast food, never once enjoying the taste of steak.

Picking up his knife and fork, he cut off a small piece of steak and slowly chewed it in his mouth. Henry closed his eyes in enjoyment—this was simply the most delicious food he had ever tasted in his life. It wasn’t just because of his straitened circumstances and hunger; there was also a taste called success in it.

After going through countless hardships, Henry had finally earned his first money since coming here. All the bitterness and struggle were mixed into this steak, and for a moment, the rich flavor almost brought tears to his eyes.

Henry knew what he needed to do now was to keep breathing, because no matter what, the sun would still rise tomorrow, and he would have to continue facing this real world.

But he still wanted to savor this moment—the moment of tasting the fruits of success after countless trials!

At a very slow pace, without wasting a single bite, he finished the steak and macaroni. Henry ordered another cup of coffee, treating all this as a reward for himself, because starting tomorrow, he would have to fight for his future once again.

During the meal, Henry gradually formed a preliminary plan, especially after hearing what that woman named Sarah had said, which undoubtedly pointed out a way to make a living.

Henry would not give up on Hollywood easily, but he also understood the need to wait for the right opportunity. He could continue working in his previous profession, shooting news footage to earn the money he needed to live, then write scripts or apply for related jobs, looking for a real chance to break into Hollywood.

Establishing oneself in Hollywood is not easy, and now Henry was well aware of this, so his thoughts were more focused on jobs that could support him.

That woman named Sarah, although she didn’t admit it, had given enough hints. Having seen all kinds of hype before, Henry knew that if he wanted to get news videos that could sell for a high price, he first had to consider whether the public would be interested.

For example, bloody car accidents that happened in bustling areas like Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood.

Or, as Sarah said, crimes spreading from downtown to the suburbs.

Those living in the suburbs were not the working masses, but the truly wealthy people of this country.

Ordinary people just love to see the elite and the rich fall on hard times, don’t they?

Chapter 7 Armed Robbery

When he got home, the eastern sky was already tinged with pale light, but Henry wasn’t sleepy at all. He went to his workspace, opened his laptop, took out the police car radio receiver he’d brought back from the car, and started reading the user manual stored on the computer, as well as the Los Angeles police radio codes.

The memories left by the previous Henry told him that if he wanted to make money as a freelance journalist, this was an essential tool.

As long as an emergency occurred, this police receiver could pick up every public communication from the Los Angeles police.

For example, last night’s car accident—if someone had called the police, the control platform would have contacted the nearest officers by calling their car receivers, so they could get to the scene as quickly as possible.

With this police receiver, Henry could receive similar messages, pick the types he wanted, and rush over to film them.

However, the police often used codes that outsiders couldn’t understand.

But the previous owner had been thoughtful, and the laptop contained detailed records of the types and meanings of Los Angeles police radio codes.

For example, a 148 incident meant resisting arrest, a 187 incident meant homicide, a 211 incident meant armed robbery, and so on...

After reviewing the police codes for a while and studying how to use the receiver, Henry finally couldn’t keep his eyes open and went to another room to sleep.

He slept until mid-afternoon, then went downstairs to grab some fast food. After eating, Henry returned to his shabby apartment, sat in front of his laptop, and focused on typing, continuing to improve the script he’d been working on for a long time.

Even though he knew the chances of a newcomer selling a new script were almost zero, Henry hadn’t given up hope.

For the next half month or so, Henry quit his job at the auto repair shop, and his life was divided into two parts. After dinner, he would take his camcorder and police receiver, drive around West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica, searching for any valuable news leads. As soon as he got useful information from the receiver, he would rush to the scene to film it. The previous Henry’s familiarity with the entire Los Angeles area played an extremely important role.

On the other hand, after returning to his shabby apartment in the early hours, Henry would sleep for a while, then get up in the afternoon to work on his script or check public job postings, never missing any real opportunity to break into Hollywood.