Chapter 84: Cla.s.sified Info
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was not that diamond storage units had diamonds; this was a nickname for valuable units.
Hans had bought many valuable storage units by this point, and had earned quite a fair amount of money. Everyone in the bar knew that.
This knowledge, combined with the claim of some storage unit being a diamond unit, left everyone imagining how valuable those storage units would be!
The crowd suddenly went silent. This unusual atmosphere made Hans sober up.
He glanced at the people around him in panic, and then grumbled in embarra.s.sment, "Diamond storage unit? What diamond storage unit? D*mn, I think I was dreaming. I think I’m drunk, time to go…"
As he spoke, he wobbled out of the bar.
Reginald went up to him and helped him stand, while holding him back. "No, no. Big Fox, a drunk person would not admit that he’s drunk. Your drinking capacity is one we know well."
Hans stuck his neck up proudly and said, "Of course, I’m not drunk! I’m going to f*ck some girls! The Soviet’s iron bat will punish all the women in the world!"
"It’s still early," Reginald said, "and Big Fox will continue drinking. I’ll introduce you to some good girls later. The real Soviet b*tch has b.r.e.a.s.t.s as big as volleyb.a.l.l.s. It’s great!"
A man beside Reginald brought a bottle of beer to Hans, and someone else pushed away the bottle and replaced it with a gla.s.s of whiskey.
Hans just took what was there and poured it into his mouth without looking.
Drinks were constantly being pushed to him. He didn’t reject them and drank them down as if they were water.
Soon, he was unable to take it anymore. With another gla.s.s of whiskey in his gut, he turned, grabbed onto Dog Tail Reginald, and vomited.
"F*ck!" Reginald shouted furiously.
It would have been better if he didn’t open his mouth. With that shout, some of the puke went into his mouth.
The bartender at the counter had a disgusted grimace on his face and looked like he was about to vomit too.
The guts of the surrounding treasure hunters also began to churn. They looked at Reginald with pity. They then decided to continue fis.h.i.+ng out information from Hans.
Reginald was infuriated. He wanted to cuss but he didn’t dare to speak. He wanted to push Hans away to wash his mouth, but Hans wouldn’t budge; he was puking painfully, bent over at the spot.
After he finished puking, Hans pushed Reginald away and stumbled away from him.
"I’ll kill your whole family!" Reginald finally could open his mouth to vent.
But no one paid any attention to him. A few of them fought with each other to try to support Big Fox, and asked with concern, "Where are you going? Do you need a ride?"
"Big Fox is definitely going over to check on the diamond storage unit, right?"
"Be careful, Big Fox. There is a chair here, don’t b.u.mp into it."
Hans waved and said, "Diamond—oh, diamond storage. Sat… Sat.u.r.day. Do…do…don’t fret. I’ll… I’ll get some girls! F*ck Diana! Diana!"
"What’s in the diamond storage unit? WiIl you tell us?" Jack asked.
Hans smiled idiotically and said, "Great! This unit is great! I’m…I’m… gonna be rich! Li’s people—oh, oh, Chinese are rich! Chinaware!"
Hearing this, the crowd started heating up. A few begun discussing excitedly:
"Sh*t, is it true? Chinaware?"
"Flagstaff has never had any china. I don’t believe in it!"
"I don’t believe it either, but what of the slight chance it turns out to be true? We heard it from Hans!"
Hans then continued mumbling gibberish, but the treasure hunters pieced together the information and somewhat understood.
There was a Chinese shareholder from the National University of Flagstaff who had gone on the run. He invested the money he swindled into Chinese antiques, and then hid them in a local storage company.
When the diploma mill was being investigated, the shareholders ran. The family of the original owner of the unit resided in San Francisco. As they didn’t know the value of the storage units, they wanted to auction them off for cash.
Through his connections as a Chinese man, Li Du was able to figure out the information of those storage units, and the pair had decided to make a killing off of this auction.
Besides this information, Hans did not say anything more except mumbling that he wanted to find Diana.
Diana was a well-known lady in the red-light district. Pretty, loving, gentle, and energetic, treasure hunters who had made some money would find her to spend the night.
Waiting until Hans left, Blackjack and a few others discussed things for a bit, and then called Diana. They persuaded her to try to get more information out of Hans.
Of course, they were not the only people who had called Diana.
The next two days the weather was clear, but the skies in the hearts of the treasure hunters were cloudy. Everyone was nervously searching for information.
After Hans had his drunken fit on the sixth, he didn’t leave his house on the seventh. Neighbours spoke about how they saw that he had a fight with his Chinese companion.
The only company having an auction on the eighth was Smith Storage Co. The treasure hunters could easily obtain this info.
Someone contacted the manager of the storage company to obtain another piece of info; he found out that the delegator of this auction was a Chinese lady with a child.
Diana was also able to pick up pieces of information from the drunk Hans: "A few sets of china in the storage unit," "some sets of redwood furniture," "some had used books to cover," "the valuables were covered in Styrofoam boxes…"
Another day pa.s.sed, and Smith Storage Co. began the auction. A total of four units were up on the list.
Since early morning, the storage company had been packed with treasure hunters. Almost all the people who were involved in storage unit business in Flagstaff had arrived.
When Li Du and Hans arrived, their expressions darkened quickly.
When someone went to the toilet, he overheard quarreling from the two:
"…If you ever drink again, I’ll kill you! You’ve screwed us over!"
"F*ck, I don’t know how the news got out—it wasn’t me…"
At 9 am, an old auctioneer with a cowboy hat slowly walked out. When they saw him, a few treasure hunters couldn’t bear the wait and shouted:
"Move faster, Ol’ Humphries. Hurry up and start!"
"You’re going to make a lot of cash today, old friend. D*mn, you definitely know what’s going on."
"You’re all a bunch of idiots; don’t believe these rumors so easily. They’re probably fake!"
"If so, then why are you here? What’s so good about false info for you to show up?"
The old auctioneer, Humphries, raised his hand and said quickly, "Everyone shut up and listen; now is the start of the auction. I’ll open the doors, but, as everyone can see, we have too many people here, so enter in groups of four!"
Li Du and Hans stood in the center of the crowd, their expressions still grim.
One of the two men who joined their group smiled and said, "Cheer up, buddy. Later you two will find a great unit."
"Shut up Chalton," Hans said viciously to the man. "You don’t have to speak! We promise we won’t treat you like a giraffe if you can stay quiet."
Giraffes were considered mutes amongst the animals. Throughout their lives, they never made sounds from their mouths that humans were capable of hearing.
The storage units were opened, and a few boxes were stacked at the entrance. There were neatly arranged books in the boxes, and further into the unit were large shelves all covered up.
"D*mn, there really are some books at the door!"
"Stop talking and look carefully. What’s on the wooden shelves? More books?"
"No, it’s a painting. A Chinese painting!"
Everyone stared with their eyes wide, and desperately shone with their flashlights, trying to investigate every corner.
When the viewing was over, the old auctioneer took a deep breath and started the bid.