The two left the apartment, chatting as they walked.
“Zach, I heard the public security around here isn’t great.
Why not find a better apartment?”
“Alright, boy, you need to understand your guardian is still a pauper.
I have my lawyer’s license, sure, but unfortunately I haven’t made any real money yet.
Once I do, we’ll definitely move somewhere better.
Besides, the security here is actually not bad.
Look around, it’s all people of color looking out for each other.”
“Alright.
I hope you make money soon.”
John Leighton had suggested using his own money first, but Zach firmly refused.
…
“Bang…”
As soon as the two stepped out of the elevator and began walking toward the apartment entrance, gunshots rang out.
“Go, hide!”
“Oh my God, Zach, this is what you call decent public security?” John Leighton watched as Zach pulled him into a corner of the apartment lobby.
“Hi, handsome boy, it’s actually very safe inside the apartment.
Don’t worry.” The plump woman at the front desk smiled warmly at John Leighton.
John Leighton could only roll his eyes.
In the eighties and nineties, Americans, regardless of gender, were simply too carefree.
…
As the gunshots quieted down and police sirens approached, John Leighton knew the fight outside had ended.
For now it was safe.
The American police had arrived.
“Damn Mexican gangs, fighting again.
Boy, well, the public security in Los Angeles has always been like this.
We can’t go to the rich areas, so we’ll just have to make do.” Zach stood up and said with a smile.
“Mexico?
Is it Mexican gangs fighting over territory?”
“Sort of.
You don’t need to worry about these things.
Once I make money, we’ll move as soon as possible.” Zach said optimistically.
“Alright, Zach, then you had better make money quickly.
I really don’t want to stay in this hellhole for another moment,” John Leighton complained.
…
Stepping out of the apartment, there was still a lingering smell of gunpowder in the air.
Gang members and homeless people could still be seen wandering the streets.
“John, since you’re temporarily living here, you need to be careful.
Don’t go out at night, and during the day try to avoid secluded alleys.
Also, try to keep your distance from some of the rougher crowds around here.”
“Rougher crowds?
Does that include you?
Looks like I should stay away from you too,” John Leighton joked.
“Boy, that joke isn’t funny at all.
Let’s go in.
The McDonald’s here is pretty good.”
“Zach, after we eat, take me to the supermarket.
I want to cook my own food at home, so I’ll need to pick some things up.”
“Oh, you can cook?”
“Of course.
For a genius like me, nothing is a problem,” John Leighton said proudly, pointing to himself.
In his previous life, he had spent decades developing real cooking skills.
As for American food, even though John Leighton had eaten it for over ten years, he still wasn’t used to it.
It was always potato chips, macaroni, or hamburgers.
Honestly, he could do much better himself.
“Alright, I hope you’re truly a genius at cooking.”
…
After dinner, Zach took John Leighton to the supermarket to pick up some groceries.
There really was everything: rice, various vegetables, and meat.
They returned to the apartment, greeted the woman at the front desk, and headed back upstairs.
The apartment building itself was actually quite decent.
There were all kinds of shops for daily necessities nearby and transportation was convenient.
“Zach, I saw a place to go online next to the apartment.
Can I go there?”
John Leighton hadn’t touched a computer in a long time.
Having grown accustomed to the convenient, connected world of later generations, living this monotonous life was truly agonizing.
It was also one of the reasons he had wanted to leave the orphanage in the first place.
“Oh, that place is run by a local.
It’s not bad, but you’re not yet sixteen.
Never mind, I’ll take you.
I’ll go online for a bit too.”
“I’m not an adult.
Can I even go in?”
“Don’t worry.
With your lawyer Zach here, nothing is a problem.”
…
After speaking, he took John Leighton out of the apartment and across the street toward the internet café.
It was essentially a web café, though Americans simply called it an internet café.
They entered a dimly lit hallway, went up to the second floor, and walked into a computer room with only thirty or forty machines.
It looked exactly like the rundown internet cafés of his previous life.
John Leighton couldn’t help but feel a little speechless.
He had always assumed American internet cafés would be something special.
He hadn’t expected this.
It was partly his own ignorance.
In this life, he had spent most of his time shuttling between the orphanage and school and hadn’t had much exposure to the wider world.
Internet cafés in America existed, but they were very rare.
The main reason was that computers were relatively affordable, only a few hundred US dollars.
Even people with modest means could save up and buy one if they truly wanted to.
On top of that, America’s network infrastructure was already quite good.
Even now, in 1995, home internet was not particularly expensive.
This was precisely why internet cafés never really flourished in America the way they did elsewhere.
Most of the ones that did exist were run by minorities.
It is said that the earliest internet café computer rooms emerged in the UK in 1994 before gradually appearing in America afterward, so the owner here could be considered someone who had caught up with the trend early.
The internet price was reasonable too, at only two US dollars per hour.
…
“Hi, Zach, what have you been up to lately?
Haven’t seen you in a while.” A middle aged man of East Asian descent, around forty, called out to Zach.
“Mike, hello.
I’ve been busy with work and haven’t had time.
Set up two computers for us, would you?” Zach greeted him and gestured toward John Leighton.
“Oh, is this your brother?
Your son?”
“Sir, are you serious?
Do I look like him?” John Leighton said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh!
You speak the language?
You don’t look like you would.”
“I taught myself.
I’m not sure exactly where I came from.
I just came out of the orphanage and Zach took me in.
Pretty good, right?”
“Oh, very good.
Much better than most kids born here.
You sound like you grew up back home.”
…
“John, what are you two talking about?
There’s an American audience here, you know.” Zach cut in with mock frustration.
“Sorry, Zach, we almost forgot about you.” The middle aged man chuckled.
“It’s rare to hear such clean, natural speech from someone so young.”
“So John’s really that fluent?
John, who did you learn from?”
“I taught myself, Zach.
It didn’t seem that difficult.”
“Good Lord.
That is supposed to be one of the hardest languages in the world and you say it wasn’t difficult.
I’m starting to actually believe this self-proclaimed genius of yours.”
Zach turned to John Leighton.
“Mike Yang has been here over ten years.
Good man.”
“Don’t listen to him.
Just call me Uncle Yang,” the man said warmly.
“Alright, Yang, enough chit chat.
Set up the computers.
We’re going online.” Zach, completely lost in the exchange he couldn’t follow, interrupted with good natured impatience.
…
Watching how naturally Zach and Uncle Yang interacted, John Leighton gathered that Zach had helped him with some legal matters in the past.
As the computer booted up and he entered the system, John Leighton looked at the familiar yet strangely nostalgic hardware and software in front of him, and his thoughts drifted.
By his standards it was antique level.
The Microsoft Windows 3 operating system, the boxy monitor, the clunky keyboard and mouse.
Windows 95 hadn’t been released yet, though version 3 already had the basic bones of what would come.
Thanks to America’s network infrastructure, he could go online directly, which was genuinely impressive for the time.
The internet price was only two US dollars per hour, reasonable by any standard.
…
Opening the Netscape browser on the desktop, he spotted a link that read: “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web.”
John Leighton stared at it and went still.
Jerry and David’s World Wide Web Guide.
Anyone from a later generation would know exactly what that was.
Holy cow.
This was the predecessor of Yahoo.
Jerry’s full name was Jerry Yang.
David was David Filo.
Anyone who knew anything about the history of the internet would recognise those two names immediately.
Staring at the Netscape browser and that link sitting quietly on the screen, John Leighton felt something shift in his mind.
He was already thinking.