The deserted alleyway was right in its sense— deserted.
Weeds sprouted literally everywhere, waste metal scrap lay here and there on the ground, littered broken glass scattered on the floor.
The mobile kitchen was sitting there, left at the mercy of nature, and it had reclaimed most of its physical appearance.
No one cared enough to claim the vehicle, and no one had reason enough to want to be here except crack head and drunkards, but they'd usually show up at late hours.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Maximus's boots slowly smashed the broken glass, and gravel under his weight as he made his way toward the truck.
From his upclose position, he realized that it was in worse condition than he'd anticipated.
The side mirrors were shattered to shards, holes were puntureed on the roof, the tires were flat and the windows were clouded with mist and cobwebs.
He hesitated before opening the door, almost imagining what he would be able to find inside.
He pulled the door handle with a considerable amount of force, it didn't budge.
He pulled and pulled until it eventually pried open, introducing him to the offensive stench that hovered inside the truck.
Maximus swiftly shoved his arm against his nose to shield himself from the odour. It was an offensive mix of dust, greese and something far worse…
"... Is that… pee?" he muttered to himself in disgust.
He soon mustered the courage to look inside deeper, and just as he predicted, the interior was complete shambles— way worse than the outside.
The countertops were chipped and stained, with food scraps that looked like they'd been sitting there for years… and even so, they probaby have been sitting there for years.
Maximus froze solid on the floor as one rat ran across the length of the space and into a hole in the corner. Another rat poked its head out from underneath a cupboard and ran away into the same hole as well.
"For christ sakes…"
He reached into his right pocket and pulled out his phone and his fingers hovered over the lit screen for a couple of seconds as he thought of his next move.
The Investment God System had given him a task, but there was no way he could work with this mobile kitchen in its current state. He didn't want to accept it, but he definitely needed some help.
He typed into his search engine— MECHANICS NEAR ME…
Scrolled through reviews until he found one that seemed not to look fake and was trustworthy enough.
He tapped the call button immediately.
An hour later, a low truck rolled into the deserted alleyway and a middle aged man with grey beard and a frowned face poked his head out from the drivers seat window…
"You don't wanna how it took me to find this place… why is so deserted?"
Maximus just shrugged his shoulders and gave the man an encouraging nod.
"Good day to you too sir…"
The mechanic chuckled and existed his vehicle before walking over to the truck and giving it a thorough visual inspection.
"Phew! She has definitely seen better days!" he said as he bent flat on his belly to inspect the underside of the vehicle.
"But it ain't something Ron and Jons can't fix…"
Maximus raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"It's not the worst lady I've ever danced with… by the way we are the best in the area so she's in good hands…"
After a few more minutes of inspection and mumbling to himself, the mechanic dusted off his hands and leaned against the truck, still giving it detectives glare.
"We can tow it to the workshop and take care of the basics… you know the usual, clean it out, change the engine and patch up them leaky holes on the ceiling…"
Maximus nodded as he listened to the mechanic speak.
"So how much do you think the whole renovation is gonna cost…"
"Huh! Tsk tsk tsk…" the mechanic stroked his grey beard several times over.
"You're looking at about twelve hundred bucks my friend.."
Coincidentally, or not, The rennovation cost was exactly the same as the system predicted.
Maximus gave him the money and they towed the truck on the way to the workshop.
The destination wasn't far, and they arrived within 15 minutes to a modest building just behind a car wash and an old hardware convenience store.
As soon as the truck unloaded at the workshop, the mechanics team got to work immediately. The hosed down the truck and scrubbed away as much as they could, eliminating years of dirt and debris.
The engine had been blocked with mountains of dust and random junk. It was carefully dismantled and cleaned out too.
Maximus watched from a nearby bench as the whole process was unfolding before his eyes.
Soon enough, the truck began to look like it had a tint of life it is.
By the time the mechanic called him over, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon.
"Well… it not new, but it's a hell of a whole lot better than it was" he said, wiping his hands with an oil rag.
Maximus walked towards the truck, the exterior was scrubbed clean and the dents on the body were smoothed out as much as possible.
The worn out tires were replaced and the mushy windows were now transperent as it should be.
"I said its ready to use," the mechanic said as he tapped Maximus on the back.
Maximus nodded slightly as a proud smirk arched across his lips. "I can see that…"
He climbed into the front seat and inserted the new key into the ingnition hole and twisted slightly.
Grrr!
The engine roared to life.