Chapter 90: The Irritable Joe
"Goddammit! Goddammit! Why isn't this working anymore!?"
A thunderous roar from next door jolted the still-sleeping Griffin family awake.
"Shut the hell up, you cripple! If you make another sound, I'll turn your wheelchair into scrap metal!"
"Sorry, Peter! I'll get Joe to quiet down right away."
A gentle female voice apologized, and then Joe's roaring became muffled, as if his mouth had been covered.
"Finally, some peace. Lois, get me a dragon blood drink, I need some energy."
But Peter's command had no effect; instead, Lois scolded him: "Peter, that's completely uncalled for! Joe is our friend—how can you talk about him like that!"
"What?" Peter opened his eyes to see Lois glaring at him fiercely, then exclaimed, "Oh my God! Joe is our friend? I totally forgot about that—I'm such an idiot!"
Watching Peter smack himself in the forehead, Lois sighed in exasperation: "Alright, I forgot that your IQ when you first wake up is lower than the mice in our attic. Now go wash up, and then go apologize to Joe!"
At that moment, the two mice living in the Griffin family's attic exchanged glances, ignored Lois's recent insult, and continued busily shelling acorns—their rent payment for next month.
Chris, listening to the commotion from his room, felt his eye twitch a few times before returning his attention to his comic book.
He'd already somewhat adapted to the Griffin family's daily chaos. Peter's moronic behavior no longer caused even a ripple in his心.
After Peter followed Lois's instructions and washed up, he grabbed a case of dragon blood drinks to take to Joe's house—he needed to apologize for his earlier harsh words.
In Quahog these days, dragon blood drinks had become the go-to gift. The stuff was practically currency now.
And the Griffin family had no shortage of it, so Peter didn't even think twice about carrying over an entire case as an apology gift.
"Sorry, Joe. I shouldn't have said that to you."
Looking at Peter's sincere expression, Bonnie accepted the gift Peter brought, her eyes still a bit teary, and said, "It's okay, Peter. Joe really did disturb you."
But Joe, who'd caused all this commotion, waved it off dismissively: "Yeah, yeah, totally my fault. I promise it won't happen again."
While offering insincere words, Joe's eyes were fixed on the dragon blood drinks Peter had brought.
He couldn't wait to test the effects of what Peter delivered, so after a few brief exchanges, Joe immediately started ushering them toward the door.
When Peter walked out Joe's front door and heard it close behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Wow! Apologizing isn't that hard after all! Maybe I even have a talent for public relations?"
Having completed Lois's instructions, Peter returned home feeling accomplished.
But inside Joe's house, chaos erupted. Bonnie confronted him: "I've really had enough! Do you know how humiliated I was just now? You've completely disappointed me!"
But Joe ignored Bonnie's scolding. He immediately wheeled to the coffee table, reached out and tore open the case of dragon blood drinks, then pulled out a bottle.
Quickly twisting off the cap and downing the entire drink in one gulp, Joe felt a tingling sensation in his legs, then exclaimed, "This is it! This is the real deal!"
"Are you even listening to me, you jerk?" Seeing Joe ignore her, Bonnie lost control and yelled.
That comment hit a nerve. Joe's face hardened and he snapped, "Yeah, that's right! I'm a cripple! But if it weren't for this cripple supporting you, you'd be scraping by on welfare right now. Now shut up and make me a proper breakfast!"
"You... you..." Seeing Joe's authoritative side emerge, Bonnie was too intimidated to speak, just standing there frozen.
"What are you still standing there for? Get moving!"
It wasn't until Joe shouted again that Bonnie hurried into the kitchen, working despite her visibly pregnant belly.
Having vented some of his accumulated frustration, and feeling his confidence returning, Joe closed his eyes and savored the effects of the dragon blood drink.
But a moment later, Joe suddenly opened his eyes as a realization crystallized in his mind.
He absolutely could not miss this opportunity to restore his dignity—absolutely not!
Ever since dragon blood drinks first appeared on the market, after Joe started consuming them, he'd noticed that in addition to feeling energized, his long-paralyzed lower limbs had begun regaining some sensation.
At first, he'd thought it was wishful thinking and had been disappointed for a while.
But over time, every time he drank dragon blood drinks, he could feel more and more sensation returning to his legs—until a few days ago, when he'd actually felt an itch in his ankles.
Originally, Joe had believed that with continued consumption, it wouldn't be long before he regained full sensation in his lower body and once again became the top cop at the Quahog Police Department.
But it seemed fate had played a cruel joke on him. This morning, after drinking his usual dragon blood drink, the feeling of recovery didn't come.
Although he still felt energized, he no longer experienced that crucial sensation of limb restoration.
That's precisely why Joe had lost control and shouted so loudly.
However, after drinking the dragon blood drink Peter delivered, the feeling of recovery returned, and Joe immediately understood the problem.
His previous supply, purchased two days ago, had been exhausted, and what he'd consumed this morning was from a newly purchased batch.
So after comparing the two types, Joe realized that only the standard version had no therapeutic effect, while the effective one was the Mighty Gym special edition.
"Son of a bitch! These corporate bastards are all the same—I even praised this company before!"
Upon discovering the truth, Joe immediately complained and cursed, completely forgetting that the original price point for dragon blood drinks had been incredibly affordable.
Even now, the standard version of dragon blood drinks remained practically charitable.
But complaining aside, he still needed to drink these beverages—after all, restoring his mobility depended entirely on them.
"Joe, I made bacon and egg sandwiches. Do you want hot sauce?"
Hearing Bonnie asking for his preference, Joe looked down at his legs and muttered, "Soon. Very soon. I'll be able to stand up again, and Bonnie and everyone else will respect me again."
"Add extra hot sauce, and fry up some more bacon too!"
While giving instructions for his wife's cooking, Joe wheeled himself to the dining table.
He hadn't felt this confident in years. If Bonnie weren't pregnant, he wouldn't even consider leaving the house today—he'd just stay in and keep drinking these miracle beverages.
But thinking about his legs recovering soon and Bonnie being close to giving birth, Joe felt the future was full of hope.
"Perfect timing! Good things come in pairs."
Smiling genuinely, Joe accepted the breakfast Bonnie brought and ate with genuine appetite.
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