Chapter 99: The Fastest Truck
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du took a deep breath as Hans and Nicole left him and Sophie behind.
"So, do you want to accompany me to look at the trucks?"
"But you don’t need to look around since you already know them so well, right?" Sophie chuckled.
Li Du smiled with a tinge of shyness, as he had won the challenge due to the little bug, not by his own ability. "You know what I am doing for a living, right? I am still considering if I should go for a light truck or a transporter truck for my line of work."
"What are we waiting for then? Let’s go."
Sophie chatted with Li Du as they walked along checking out trucks.
"I saw the news. The charity event you helped put together for the welfare home was great," Sophie complimented.
Li Du smiled. "I just contributed a little. Many other people donated a lot more than me."
"You don’t need to be shy, Li. Mother Mesa told me everything—you’re the one who made the event happen. You did a lot of good, and you should be proud of it."
Sophie’s sincere praise made Li Du embarra.s.sed. He rubbed his hands together unconsciously and said, "She told you everything? Actually, Big Fox also played a major part, and Ah Meow too …"
Li Du suddenly paused, his eyes widened.
"What is it?" Sophie was puzzled.
By now, Li Du looked panicked. "Ah Meow—where did Ah Meow go?"
Over at the entrance, a chubby, but fuming, ocelot was sitting on top of the majestic looking beast, F-650. How dare you forget about your child the moment you see your G.o.ddess. I’m not going anywhere until you come back for me!
The visitors going in and out of the dealers.h.i.+p noticed the ocelot. In no time, a crowd had formed.
"The big cat’s expression is interesting—am I seeing it wrong? It looks as if it’s annoyed?"
"That’s an ocelot, a long tail ocelot. Are they giving away the ocelot for anyone who buys the F-650? I want to get one if that’s the case!"
"Hey kitty, look at me! Here, I have some dried tuna for you."
"Come kitty, come to me, I’ll give you nice food if you come to me."
Ah Meow took a glance at the people around it coolly. Daddy says good cats do not eat food from strangers!
Li Du managed to make his way through the crowd, and carried Ah Meow in his arms. "My apologies everyone—this is my child, I am a new daddy. Everything’s ok now."
Sophie couldn’t help giggling as Li Du explained the situation to the crowd.
"Hi Doctor Sophie, when did you become the mommy of an ocelot?"
Doctor Sophie became fl.u.s.tered and waved her hands. "Oh Uncle George, it’s not like that, I’m not Ah Meow’s mommy."
"I’m going to inform your dad that our little Sophie is all grown up now. She’s starting to go on dates with boys," the bearded middle-aged man cackled.
Li Du and Sophie left the crowd together with Ah Meow.
"Is that your uncle? He sure is jovial."
Sophie stuck her tongue out and said, "You ain’t seen nothing yet! When they’re all gathered together at the church, their roaring laughter is like... I can’t even … argh!"
The light trucks showroom was behind the heavy-duty one. A small two-seater car caught their attention. The height of the car barely reached Li Du’s shoulder. It looked like a sedan but with an extra storage unit latched on nicely behind it.
"What a sweetie, it is so adorable, right?" Sophie said, amused by the size of the vehicle.
Li Du thought that this was a good opportunity to impress Sophie; he immediately let the little bug out to look at the information panel.
"This is a tiny electric car from Rinspeed, called ‘Dock and Go’. You know the Mercedes-Benz ‘smart car’ series? This is similar to a smart car with an on-demand third axle. They refer to the third axle as a ‘backpack on wheels’."
"These ‘backpacks’ also provide their own power, along with giving you additional cargo room. Basically you choose the ‘energy pack’ module, either the battery range extender or a combustion engine, and it can power you along as it recharges the car’s batteries when you lift off the accelerator."
Li Du opened the door of the Dock and Go and Sophie hopped into the driver’s seat.
"This is a 12.1-inch, in-dash monitor. This cradle here on the steering wheel is for you to place your smartphone, and you can see the second screen here."
Sophie touched the screen on the steering wheel and smiled, "This feels so high-tech."
"Yes, there’s a learning navigation system that actually learns the driver’s habits and preferences, and it will also alert you of obstacles ahead. It displays information like the battery power and how much mileage you have traveled."
"Wow, you know a lot, don’t you?" said an amazed Sophie.
"Oh, it’s nothing really. I do read news about trucks sometimes."
Mr. Li was embarra.s.sed again, as he really wasn’t a truck fanatic; he owed his knowledge to the little bug.
Sophie’s big, beautiful eyes blinked. She looked Li Du in the eyes and said, "Li, you are different from other guys around me. You are humble and have a heart of gold; most girls like such guys ..."
Sophie felt the atmosphere turn awkward.
"But this car really seems too small. I wonder who would want to buy it?" She quickly changed the subject.
"Well, I beg to differ—I think youngsters would love it. As there are many different types of ‘backpacks’ to choose from, including a ‘pizza delivery driver backpack’ that has a built-in isothermal box. There’s also one specially made for storing winter sports gear and equipment. Techies might love to experiment with the learning navigation system, and you can even ask for your emails to be read to you while driving." Li Du spewed all of this information quickly; he wanted to get out of the awkward situation as well.
The two continued expressing their opinions when Hans called up, "Come to area D4. There’s a really cool one here."
When the two arrived at Area D4, Hans excitedly pointed to the truck he liked.
The heavy-duty truck had a height of about seven and a half feet; it made the trucks around it looked small. The words "THE IRON KNIGHT" on the truck’s fibergla.s.s winds.h.i.+eld made it look aggressive, as well as elegant, with its majestic square face.
"Volvo, The Iron Knight. Buddy, this will be our partner, just like the Going Merry in One Piece!" Hans cheerfully introduced the truck, the corners of his eyes crinkled.
"You seemed to really like this Iron Knight, why is this so? Li Du asked.
There was a salesperson beside Hans. He answered, "Because this is the world’s fastest truck! It comes with a 12.8-liter V6 turbo diesel engine. But this still sounds ordinary, right?"
Li Du nodded his head.
The salesperson opened the front cover of the truck and continued, "There are four turbochargers as well as a water-cooled intercooler. All of these things make the Iron Knight very capable of generating an amazing 2,400 horsepower and 6,000 Newton meters of torque!
"The cab is made of fibergla.s.s and is designed to cut air-resistance to an absolute minimum. The side-skirts give the truck an impressive stance with their large air ducts that supply the engine with cooling-air.
"Unlike most other Volvo trucks, the I-s.h.i.+ft Dual Clutch transmission was not custom built for the Iron Knight. That means you can change it out without affecting …"
After the detailed sales pitch made by the salesperson, Hans looked at Li Du in antic.i.p.ation.
Li Du concluded, "I have to admit, this is really a beast."
"Yes, this is a beast. Volvo is known to do cool, innovative things with its semi-trucks. They made the Iron Knight to set new speed records for the 500- and 1,000-meter runs," The salesperson said, and nodded in agreement.
"You like this one?" Li Du asked Hans.
Hans responded by nodding eagerly.
"But our driver’s licenses…" Li Du said hesitantly.
Hans rubbed his nose, and with his eyes darting all over, said, "Actually, I can drive heavy-duty trucks like this. I didn’t like the other one because I would have felt like a redneck driving it …"
If Sophie weren’t around, Li Du would have lashed out at Hans.