Chapter 514: You Have A Wall, I Have A Ladder
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Flagstaff and Tucson were far from each other. Most of the treasure hunters had heard of the Tucson Brotherhood"s bullying, but had not experienced it personally until now.
Also, even though the Flagstaff treasure hunters had rushed over to meet up with Hans and Li Du, only Turis, Olly and several others were there. Not everyone had come along.
Apparently, some of them had come to Tucson before and knew how obnoxious the auctions here were. Even though they knew that Li Du was leading the team, they still didn"t want to come. In the back of their minds, they knew they would be unable to get any unit and that it would be a wasted trip.
Although the Tucson Brotherhood was overbearing and abominable, they didn"t want to incur the wrath of the Treasure Hunter a.s.sociation. They still abided by the rules and regulations of the auction.
In addition, the head of the Tucson Brotherhood, Princeps, was a quasi-member of the Million Dollar Club. Although this was the case, he wasn"t as good as he thought. Princeps might have depended on good luck to get where he was today, not his foresight or ability.
Or, perhaps, his foresight and capabilities were not enough to worry Li Du.
Li Du had wanted the second unit, which was unit number 10. He"d been worried that Princeps knew what was inside and that was why he"d played dirty to get it.
But with the way they had behaved for the third unit, he realized that this was not the case after all. Princeps didn"t know what was inside the second unit; he didn"t know the actual worth of the third unit on auction either.
If he did, he wouldn"t have spent several thousand dollars on the third unit. He was doomed to lose money on that unit with that kind of bid price.
It was now the viewing of the fourth unit. This unit had some value. There was a car engine that was rather well-kept inside. Li Du estimated that it could be sold for a good three to four thousand dollars.
And what was good about this unit was that the engine was inside an iron chest; n.o.body could know about the engine except him. That meant he could get the unit for a much lower price.
He decided to fight for the unit with Tucson Brotherhood. He gathered the Flagstaff treasure hunters and spoke in a low voice. "This unit is good for any price lower than 3,000 dollars. All of you scatter around and place your bid!"
After giving the instructions, he called G.o.dzilla.
Soon, G.o.dzilla and Big Quinn appeared. Both wore sleeveless black tops and had grim expressions on their faces. There seemed to be something around their waists underneath their s.h.i.+rts. It appeared they had brought some defensive weapons with them.
The Tucson treasure hunters who were chatting happily with each other instantly became silent when they saw the two big men. They looked at both big guys seriously and without much fear. In fact, they appeared to fill with even more fighting spirit.
This was the scary aspect of the Tucson Brotherhood. The locals were aggressive and not afraid to fight. It was not a good choice to be enemies with them.
However, Li Du was not afraid to brawl. G.o.dzilla and Big Quinn were not only good at deterring perceived threats or trouble, but they also possessed actual fighting power. If they were to actually fight, they might not be the disadvantaged party.
The Tucson Brotherhood was not intimidated by the two big, brawny men. However, they didn"t dare to openly provoke Li Du again.
Being the leader of the Tucson Brotherhood, Princeps had to show an even tougher att.i.tude. He coldly glared at G.o.dzilla and Big Quinn, then he walked over to Li Du and said, "Hi Miracle Boy. I"ve heard you"re very good."
"Thank you," Li Du replied coolly. "I"ve heard you"re very good too."
Princeps smiled and wanted to say thank you. But before he could speak, Li Du continued, "You are good at dirty tricks and underhanded means. For this, I must salute you."
Princeps was enraged by these words. His expression rapidly turned black as thunder. "Chinaboy, you sure you want to be enemies with us? You want to be enemies with us on our turf, right?"
Li Du didn"t back down. "I want to be enemies with you? Ha! In 1937, the n.a.z.is, led by Hitler, said that to Poland."
The German army had swept through Poland and that had marked the beginning of World War II. Li Du had said this to compare Princeps to Hitler. The Tucson Brotherhood attacking the Flagstaff treasure hunters was similar to the Germans attacking Poland—it was pure bullying; they were bullying Li Du and the other treasure hunters.
"Tucson"s my turf, everyone knows that," reasoned Princeps. "You"ve come to my turf to s.n.a.t.c.h our things. Isn"t this equivalent to making us your enemy?"
Li Du felt like laughing when he heard that. "Wrong, Tucson"s the turf of the Native Americans. It"s Spain, Mexico and America who s.n.a.t.c.hed their things. If this is the case, we should all leave. The storage units belong to the Native Americans."
Princeps patted Li"s shoulders and said, "Very well, Miracle Boy from China. You have a smooth-talking tongue."
He turned to walk away after saying that. His back faced Li Du as he added, "Since you"re willing to challenge us, let the war begin—but don"t you regret it!"
Another Tucson treasure hunter came over and said, "Big Fox, you"re no longer an ignorant and rash greenhorn. You know the rules, don"t you? Convince your partner; don"t fight with us for the units."
"The news you"ve heard is outdated," said Hans. "He"s no longer my partner—he"s my boss now."
The treasure hunters from the Tucson Brotherhood were confounded by the news and looked at Li Du in surprise. For the first time, now they looked at him cautiously.
The circle of treasure hunters in Arizona were not that big; the people there knew each other rather well. They knew how unruly, slick and sly Hans could be. If someone like Li Du could make Hans downgrade from being a partner to being a subordinate, they felt that Li Du must be a very capable person.
When the viewing ended, the auction for the fourth unit began.
"Those who want to bid for this unit come up, come up to me! You have to let me see you. If I can"t see you, I may not be able to hear your bid price!
"Now I"m going to start. This is a unit with some value. I think 500 dollars is a fair price for the starting bid!"
Five hundred dollars was indeed a fair price. Li Du quickly raised the price. "Why 500 dollars? How about 1,000 dollars!"
Princeps rubbed his chin and shook his head.
Li Du waved Big Quinn and G.o.dzilla over. "You two stand beside each other and squat down."
The two of them squatted down and Li Du sat on their shoulders. They were each nearly seven feet tall. G.o.dzilla was only slightly taller than Big Quinn, so he could still sit quite comfortably on them.
Sitting on the shoulders of two seven-foot-tall men dazzled the Tucson treasure hunters. They wanted to block Li Du with their "human wall," but most of them weren"t even the height of the two men"s shoulders.
Li Du knew that resorting to this was rather laughable and absurd but it was the best option he could think of right now. To overcome the "wall," he had to get a "ladder!"
Those from the Tucson Brotherhood looked up at Li Du in exasperation. They surrounded the two big men but they could do nothing to prevent Li Du from placing a bid.
Hans and the Flagstaff treasure hunters broke into hearty laughter. "Li, what are you doing? The Mormon leader accepting the wors.h.i.+p of the believers?"
The Tucson treasure hunters glared fiercely at him. They were extremely embarra.s.sed. They were at a loss of whether they should leave or go. Their "human wall" was ineffective against Li Du, but if they left it would be humiliating for them.
So, they were caught in a dilemma.
The auctioneer was dumbfounded as well. Maybe it was the first time he had encountered a challenge to the monopoly like this; he was dazed and forgot to continue with the auction.
"One thousand dollars, one thousand dollars," Li Du said. "Anyone want to bid a higher price?"
Hans and the Flagstaff treasure hunters laughed even more merrily when Li Du said that. Turis shook his head with laughter. "Big Li, you want to become an auctioneer?"
"If you"re an auctioneer, you"ll be a fair and impartial auctioneer. You"d be a great auctioneer—unlike some tras.h.!.+"
The Mexican auctioneer was furious when he heard that, but he was unable to say a word about it.