26: Chapter 26 Incredible, The Magic of Vanishing Coins

"Mom, I need $1,200!" the little boy shouted happily to the person behind him.

"I don't have it, Rowan. This is all a scam." A woman with platinum blonde curls, wearing a custom red Valentino bodycon dress, walked over and frowned. At this moment, the little boy was clutching the grimy hem of the homeless man's clothes.

"Let go quickly, it's time to go home."

"No, Mom, please," the boy named Rowan returned to the woman's side and begged, "Just once. The toys I just bought cost $2,000; $1,200 isn't expensive."

"Please, Mom, Mom,"

"..."

Lin Fang, also known as Murray Hawthorne, was watching this scene. His expression was calm, but inside, he was screaming wildly:

"Kid, come on, just like that, keep it up! Cry, you're almost there! Be a little more pitiful. Right now, you're the real hero!"

"Fine, just this once."

This stylish mother couldn't resist his offensive and had to give in, "But Rowan, you need to practice the piano for an extra hour when we get home."

"No problem!"

Rowan pulled his mother to the front of the weathered-looking homeless man and said expectantly, "Quick, let me see your space magic."

"You need to pay first, kid." Lin Fang remained unmoved.

A hand wearing an exquisite bracelet took a dozen banknotes out of a bag. The young woman looked at the homeless man with a scrutinizing gaze, "If your trick can't fool him, I will call the police."

"Respected lady, I won't let you down."

Murray Hawthorne deftly took the $1,200 and stuffed it into his tattered pocket.

Yuni, who was nearby, stared at the stack of money, his eyes nearly popping out. He couldn't believe someone was actually willing to spend so much money to watch this deceptive trick. He quickly tugged up his shorts and walked over, wanting to see how he would wrap it up.

Likewise, there were also passersby.

In front of the previously ignored homeless man, a circle of people of different skin colors quickly gathered: white, yellow, black, and... colorful.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, this weathered-looking middle-aged homeless man rolled up his sleeves, half-squatted down, and looked at the little boy in front of him, saying, "Kid, your name is Rowan, right? Can you give me a coin?"

"Sure." The boy was in high spirits and, without hesitation, took a 50-cent coin out of his pocket and handed it to him.

Just then, someone in the surrounding crowd sneered, "The vanishing coin trick. I've seen it on short videos. This homeless man must have stuck a layer of double-sided tape on his palm, or he has a tension rope buckle on his waist."

Whoosh—

Everyone looked at the black man who had spoken loudly, their expressions varying.

The young black man wearing an earring spread his hands toward the crowd and chuckled, "What are you looking at me for? I just can't stand this con artist."

The beautiful woman behind the boy curled her lips at the young black man who was still "exposing" the trick, her eyes showing disdain, but she dismissed the idea of calling the police.

"Fuck you, that's very rude behavior." Yuni's eyes blazed with fire, and he stepped forward, ready to punch him.

Just at this moment, "Rowan, do you believe in space magic?" Lin Fang called back the boy who had also turned to look at the young black man.

The boy looked into the homeless man's eyes and hesitated, but finally shook his head: "Actually, I know this is fake."

"Rowan, you must remember, nothing is impossible." Lin Fang smiled and held up the coin in front of him: "Come on, let's try. You hold half, and I'll hold half."

"Okay!"

The latter's eyes revealed a glimmer of hope, and his small hand tightly pinched the other half of the coin.

Seeing this, the people around quieted down. This seemed different from what the young black man had said.

"Rowan, now you need to recite with me."

Lin Fang moved his mouth and looked at the boy, continuing, "Oh deity containing the power of space, please manifest your true power before me."

"..."

"What's wrong, Rowan, are you unwilling to recite it?" The homeless man looked at the stammering boy with affection.

"I... I'll try."

The boy looked at the surrounding crowd, his face flushing slightly, and his fingers gripping the coin tightened.

After taking a deep breath, Rowan's clear but still childish voice rang out, "Oh deity containing the power of space, please manifest your true power before me."

"I establish a contract with you here. Please let me feel the surge of magic; I will sing your true name..."

The boy, Rowan, followed the homeless man in front of him, reciting word by word. His whole body felt hot, and his heart pounded. It was as if something was really flowing inside his body. Was it magic? The boy suddenly had a very strong premonition.

"Make the coin disappear."

The homeless man softly spoke the last sentence.

"Make the coin disappear!" Rowan shouted along, his face flushing red, his eyes fixed tightly on the coin held by his fingers.

Then, he witnessed the most incredible thing. The coin disappeared, like a dream bubble bursting between his and the homeless man's fingers.

"Ah!!!!" In an instant, the boy let out a sharp, piercing, high-decibel scream, "Mom, did you see that? Did you see that? It's gone! The coin disappeared!!"

At this moment, Lin Fang saw light in the eyes of this American child.

The beautiful woman was stunned. She was certain that she hadn't blinked just now. How did that coin disappear?

Incredible!

"Oh my God! My God! Uncle Murray, you really know magic!" Yuni, the colorful youth in the crowd, reacted and screamed as well. He rushed forward, shouting, and grabbed Lin Fang's hand, "You must teach me! I'll do anything you want!"

Clap, clap, clap—the crowd reacted and burst into thunderous applause. This unimaginable scene had happened right under their noses. Regardless of how the homeless man had done it, they hadn't seen any flaws.

"This is impossible, impossible. He must have used some mechanism." The words of the young black man wearing an earring were drowned out by the excited crowd.

"Thank you all for your support."

Lin Fang looked at the crowd gathering around and bowed gracefully to thank them, then elegantly took off his coat and gestured to everyone. After all, who would complain about having too much money?

Suddenly, various banknotes and coins were thrown onto the homeless man's spread-out coat as if they were worthless.

"Do it again!" someone shouted.

"Sorry, my magic is already exhausted."

The homeless man said apologetically. He walked over to the boy, Rowan, who was looking at him with fanaticism, and snapped his fingers. A 50-cent coin suddenly appeared in his hand, "Little magician, is this your coin?"

This magical scene triggered another round of gasps, and the hands throwing money became even faster.

After it was all over, Lin Fang counted his earnings in a corner of San Francisco. It was a full $6,625, several times more than his goal, and that was even after rewarding Yuni with $1,000 for paint supplies.

"Making money is really simple." The homeless man sighed: "Except for the part about tricking kids, that's a bit bad."