Chapter 101: The Crazy Little Bug
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Both Hans and the driver had been exaggerating the situation, but Whiskey Row really was full of pubs, bars, and beer houses, as its name suggested.
A group of big guys had their arms around each other"s shoulders and stumbled out from a bar. Hans shouted to them, "Tonight is a good night!"
A big guy barely looked up and grinned, "Exactly! The sky full of bright, twinkling stars."
Another big guy murmured, "I thought it was dawn, but the night isn’t over. So why should we rush? Let’s continue drinking."
Mr. Li looked at his phone in surprise. Hmm, I think the time is right. The phone read that it was one o"clock in the afternoon...
There were lots of drunks in the streets, and there were also lots of drunks in the bars. Hans said, "There are only two types of people; the drunk, and the person who is about to get drunk."
Li Du shrugged, "I am an exception."
Hans agreed with him, "Yes, your tolerance for alcohol is really high."
Normally, Li Du had a low tolerance for alcohol. If he used the bug, which consumed a lot of energy, then the beer he drank would be converted into energy for an immediate boost, and he would be able to drink a lot. If he did not use the bug, then his tolerance for alcohol was low.
There was a bar for treasure hunters to gather at called "Agave Nights". Hans introduced Li to a few people after they walked into the bar. They were immediately hit with the smell of alcohol once they entered the bar.
Both of them were famous throughout Arizona. They quickly became the important people among the treasure hunters in the bar. A dozen people sat down and crowded around them.
A young man named Rusla asked, "What news do you have this time?"
Hans shook his head. "Just what you guys know—there"s no real information coming out about these units. But with luck, you will come across something valuable because we are in Prescott."
They all booed him.
"Big Fox, you are so stingy."
Hans lifted the bottle and said, "We swear in the name of this good wine that we really did not get any insider news."
"Then please bless us with something valuable the day after tomorrow. Perhaps there are some hidden antiques," A red-haired middle-aged man laughed.
They drank until sunset. Then, the two of them finally left the bar.
By this time, Whiskey Row had become crowded. People in all different kinds of clothing gathered here. There were middle-cla.s.s men wearing suits and ties, slum punks who were naked, and the scantily clad girls they had left behind in the bar.
The next morning, The ML Hotel where they settled down provided breakfast: a set of biscuits and a sausage gravy. There was a large bottle of chili sauce on the table which could be added to the dishes at any time.
"Make yourself at home. Just eat whatever you can," Hans said and began to enjoy the cookie.
Li Du had a bite of a biscuit. The biscuit was quite similar to the multi-layer steamed bread in his hometown; it was very soft and loose, and was divided into many layers, each one with a little honey jam. The biscuit was sweet and delicious.
The sausage gravy was cut into pieces and mixed well. Hans added two spoons of chili sauce on top of it. It was spicy, yet tasty. With the fresh taste of vegetable soup to go along with it, the meal was truly delicious.
Mr. Li’s appet.i.te was enormous. He ate the soup and the biscuits while Ah Meow ate the sausage. They barely felt full, even after finis.h.i.+ng two sets of dishes.
Wiping his mouth, he sighed, "I never expected the breakfast here would be so delicious."
Hans proudly said, "Of course, that’s why I chose this hotel."
The company that carried out the auction was called "Railway Station Storage Company". With all of the railroads pa.s.sing through the city, this led to the local booming warehouse and storage industry.
A total of six storage units were up for auction. There were two medium-sized units and four small-sized units.
After Hans got this information, he and Li Du went there to have a look.
The first storage unit they approached was unit 11. Li Du waved his hand and allowed the small bug to move inside.
The small bug moved around the inside of the unit in a circle, but it did not find anything. This was a trash storage unit, used for the family trash, abandoned furniture, and the remaining material after renovation. It had no value at all.
The second storage unit was number 15. There were some construction tools: a small cement mixer, a chainsaw, a welding machine, a mortar machine, and so on.
These things were not very valuable, but they were practical. Selling off these things could make some money.
The two following storage units had little value. Then they found the fifth storage unit, which was number 58. After entering the unit, the bug suddenly broke free of Li Du’s control and flew crazily to a leather bag.
Li Du was shocked. It was the first time the bug had acted completely independently. Before this, he was the one who controlled the bug.
After flying into the bag, the bug rushed inside a pile of old, yellowing papyrus. It seemed like it was going to eat it all.
Li Du quickly controlled the bug and made it lay in the bag quietly. Then, he looked at the papyri strangely.
The papyri looked old, and stacked together were two centimeters thick. There were tears on the edge of the papers that were gray-yellow in color. On the papyri were words that he could not understand.
Two centimeters of thickness would usually mean that there was a lot of paper, but there were only a dozen papers here. The papyri were thick. It looked like they were made with a papermaking technology from an ancient time.
He could not read the text, nor did he know when these were produced. But he knew that these papyri would be antiques, and that paper hadn’t been produced like this for a very long time. Otherwise, the bug—which liked to absorb the time-energy of antique things—would not be so excited.
He wrote down the number of the storage unit. Then, he pulled the bug out and moved it into the last unit.
He could not continue to keep the bug in unit 58. As long as the bug was near the thick papers, it would keep trying to fly into them to absorb the time-energy.
The last storage unit was similar to the first one with a lot of household garbage inside. But Li Du was happy because he found a safe deposit box in the corner!
A safe deposit box was used to store valuables. They were very common in The United States. Many families mainly used them to store firearms.
When Americans saw a safe deposit box, the first thought they had was to store a pistol or a shotgun instead of money or jewelry.
Li Du let the little bug fly into the safe deposit box. As expected, he saw there were two well-preserved handguns in holsters.
A handgun cost at least a few thousand dollars. There were two handguns here which made the storage unit valuable.
However, storage unit 58 still held most of Li Du’s attention. The papyri in there were absolutely antiques. He had to get the unit and then look at them seriously.
Among these six units, there were three of them that seemed valuable. However, these still might not bring him big money—including unit 58. The papyrus papers seemed like antiques, but, in fact, their value was unknown.
Not everything from the old days was worth a lot of money.
It was the third day of their stay in Prescott. It started to rain early in the morning. In the new truck, they drove into the units parking lot, ready to begin bidding.
Seeing this car, the surrounding treasure hunters whistled and greeted them.
"Cool! The Iron Knight! This is a good car!"
"Big Fox, you guys are really making big money now. You even drive an Iron Knight to partic.i.p.ate in storage auctions!"
"What a great car it is! Are you guys going to buy all of the units?"
Hans laughed, "We only want the most valuable ones."
Li Du shook his head. "No, today we must bid as many storages as we can. I do not want to go back to Flagstaff with an empty car!"