12 Potential gains (1/2)

The next morning, Ensen woke up early to do some necessary chores. Foremost he needed to pay both his rent and various bills. Launching his banking app, he quickly paid the bills, trying to ignore the feeling of emptiness from his dwindling bank account.

After randomly grabbing a purple shirt and some sweat pants, he quickly put his shoes on and walked out the door heading to the elevator, walking with stiff legs like a possessed man. After entering the elevator and slowly descending before entering his car. At this point, his legs began to wake up.

Slowly accelerating the vehicle, Ensen slowly pulled out onto the open road heading towards the closest supermarket.

About an hour later, he returned to his parking spot. In the trunk were a few grocery bags full of a random assortment of food pre-prepared food and ingredients to cook with. Ensen was oddly dedicated to improving his cooking after all.

Shutting off the car, Ensen opened the trunk and grabbed all the bags, unwilling to make another trip. After spending a disappointing amount figuring out how he could walk fast while holding the bags, he made his way back into the building.

This time he was not so lucky as to avoid other people. While he was approaching the elevator, the doors suddenly opened revealing a rather old woman, around 70 years old. Seemingly taken aback by the sudden sight before her, she slowly stepped out of the elevator and stood to the side. She did not move one bit after that, staring directly at Ensen in what seemed to be in confusion while he was slowly approaching the elevator doors.

Embarrassed by the unyielding stare of the old lady, Ensen focused on keeping a straight face and making his way towards the elevator as fast as he could. But his flushed cheeks exposed how embarrassed he really was.

After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he entered the elevator and quickly elbowed the button corresponding to his floor. As the doors were beginning to shut, Ensen gave off a relieved smile. He could feel his cheeks slightly burning from the embarrassment.

He waited for just a short while before arriving on his floor. With no further incidents, he quickly unlocked and opened the door to his apartment. Not bothering to take his shoes off, he slowly made his way to the kitchen counter. He slowly began placing each bag on the counter, making sure to avoid placing any around the metal box to avoid getting rust anywhere near his food.

Swiftly returning to the front door, he took his shoes off before promptly putting away all of the groceries.

After the groceries were put away, Ensen stood before the metal box with a menacing glare.

He muttered out loud ”I will open you even if it's the last thing I do.”

In his left hand was a flat-head screwdriver with a tag still attached to it. Ensen didn't have many tools around his apartment in the first place. None of his tools would be suitable for this, so he resorted to buying a screwdriver just for opening the box. Who knows if he would find a use for it afterward, but that didn't matter to him right now.

After trying for several minutes to wedge the head of the screwdriver into the tight opening, he finally succeeded. It was only the very tip of the screwdriver, but he was making progress. After wiggling around the screwdriver aimlessly to try to get a better grip, he managed to find a good position.

Next, he gently began applying force in a downward motion, trying to get the old rusted lock to break from the pressure. But it stayed firm. Only after a few minutes of constant pressure did the lock begin to show signs of giving way.

By this point, Ensen's hand was beginning to ache in pain. He was not a particularly athletic individual if you couldn't already tell. But he persisted, his curiosity growing stronger with each passing minute.

After only about 30 seconds longer, an audible crack was heard from the direction of the box. With his excitement being fueled even further, Ensen pushed down harder.

Suddenly, another distinct loud crack was heard, and the box flew open.

Thrilled by the quick change of events, Ensen quickly laid the screwdriver on the counter.

After doing a victory fist pump he turned his attention to the contents of the mysterious box. But what he saw left him... underwhelmed, to say the least. A small old notebook laid in the center. While the cover was visibly worn, it was still in relatively soon condition.

Although slightly disappointed, he still wanted to satisfy his curiosity. Trying to get the notebook out, he realized just how perfectly it fit into the box. Only after flipping the rusty old box over and shaking it did the notebook come out. After ensuring there were no bits of rust on the floor or countertop, he lightly grabbed the book and walked over to his old couch.

Sitting on it, he began reading with a gentle and delicate touch, trying to minimize the damage he would do to the book. Ensen sat for the next few hours there, attempting to comprehend the book before sighing and giving up.