Chapter 132: The Little Bug Changes Yet Again
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du didn't quite understand what the New Age Movement was, but after he had entered the city, he found out more along the way and developed a better understanding.
This movement was considered a decentralizing type of social phenomenon. The social and religious movement had originated in the West from 1970 to 1980; it covered a wide range of topics such as spirituality, mysticism, environmentalism, alternative therapies, and also encompassed elements from various religions in the world as well.
Hans directed Godzilla to stop at a Y-shaped street. This was the city center of Sedona, and the extremely busy intersection of Highway 89A and Highway 179.
There was a motel called Star Motel behind the street. Hans went in to register his mobile number and a sexy female staff member brought them upstairs.
On seeing the pretty lady, Hans’s lust was stirred up. "Hey sweetheart, is there beer in the refrigerator in our room?"
The female employee smiled and answered politely, "You would have to put that in there yourself. In our motel, you will not find sweets next to your pillow, but there will also never be trash on your bed."
Hans sighed regretfully, "That is just too bad. If I had some ice cold beer at this time, we could sit on the balcony and enjoy the sunset while drinking beer. It will definitely be breathtaking."
The female employee smiled but did not respond; she was evidently not interested in Hans. The silent Li Du was the one she was attracted to. She showed the three of them around after opening the door. The room was clean and Li Du nodded his head to indicate he was fine with it.
The female employee asked him curiously when helping him with registration, "You are Chinese? Are you here to participate in the New Age Movement?"
The New Age Movement included ancient oriental and religious traditions. By fusing the essence of these traditions with modern scientific concepts, it had attracted the attendance of many Asians and Indians.
Li Du smiled, "Oh, sorry, I am not."
The female employee then looked curiously at Ah Meow, which he was carrying. "This is a long-haired cat? It’s so beautiful, but also really fat."
On hearing this, Ah Meow, which was enjoying Li Du’s stroking raised its head and glared: Little b*tch, what do you mean? Who are you calling fat? I am what they call strong!
Hans carried Ah Meow away and said, "Yes, I have fed this cat too much and it is a little fat. But I do not know how to help it lose weight. I think you are probably an expert in that area."
Ah Meow extended its claw and had wanted to scratch him: Who is fat? Who was the one who fed me? B*stard. Here is a scratch from me!"
Many people came and went at the motel; the female employee was an expert at figuring out men. She could tell what kind of a man Hans was and would not give him a chance.
Not long after Li Du returned to the room, Hans came back holding Ah Meow by the fold at the back of its neck. He said despondently, "This girl’s legs are too tightly shut, I can’t open them."
Godzilla said, "Go train your arm strength?" He bent his arms, exaggerating his biceps, and triceps lines, which were filled with strength.
After packing, it was meal time. Hans brought them to a restaurant. There were many people waiting in line outside, which showed how popular it was.
On seeing this, Li Du shook his head. "Let’s go somewhere else?"
Hans took out a small piece of paper smugly; the number on it was A55. He said, "It will only be another ten-minute wait. It is now at A51."
This was the queue balloting number. Li Du asked in surprise, "When did you get this?"
Hans shrugged, "Did you think I was only courting girls downstairs? No, Big Fox always knows what to do."
Li Du laughed. Indeed, although Hans looked like a ruffian, he was not only very reliable, but was also extremely familiar with various practices in America. This was one of the reasons why he insisted on the two of them working together.
This restaurant served Mexican food, and offered giant sandwiches made from homemade bread. Hans ordered ten of those for Godzilla, which he gladly accepted.
Li Du ordered grilled corn with lime and cotija cheese, smoked tender pork cheeks, grilled veal and a dish of fried cactus.
Hans wanted two sauces: a smoked chili sauce and a salsa sauce. Salsa sauce was mainly made using onions, garlic, and herbs blended together. With the addition of tomatoes—or "tomatillos"—its flavor contrasted with that of chili sauce.
Li Du dipped the pork cheeks into the salsa before eating it. He had never tried such a flavor before, and kept nodding his head as he ate it.
In the end, Hans also ordered a Pozole soup, which was a clear soup served with several corn kernels and meat; it did not look that appetizing at all.
However, Li Du’s eyes lit up after drinking it. This soup had a pork stock base and had herbs, smoked chili sauce, and corn kernels. The flavor was indescribable; spicy, fragrant, tasty, and with a unique mouthfeel.
After finishing the soup, he said, "Buddy, I underestimated this soup."
Hans said, "You definitely underestimated it. It is complex to prepare—takes ten hours of preparation time. But what’s even better is tequila—want one?"
Li Du declined the offer with thanks. He could hold his liquor but he did not like to drink.
Hans understood his temperament, and so, together with Godzilla, started to drink a large bottle of tequila each.
After that night’s delicious dinner, they went to the Jungle Path Storage Company the next morning. There were ten storage units up for auction.
The first was storage unit 18. In it were some old tents, old bicycles and parts, as well as all sorts of camping equipment. It probably belonged to a travel agency.
There was no value in this storage. Li Du directed the little bug toward the second unit, which was storage unit 26.
The little bug flew into this unit, and became excited, fluttering onto a red stone sculpture.
Storage unit 26 was filled with stone sculptures. This did not come as a surprise to Li Du. Sedona was an area rich in artistic culture, where there were many art galleries for tourists and art lovers to visit.
The sculptures came in different colors; some were white, black, grey, red, brown etc. Some were as small as a thumb whereas others were as tall as a man, there were many different ones.
On seeing the little bug’s action, Li Du’s heart pounded. There should be some densely stored energy in these stone sculptures, otherwise the little bug would not be so agitated.
He could not figure out the value of the stone sculptures and decided to leave the little bug in there to absorb the energy.
There were hundreds of sculptures of different sizes in the storage. The little bug did not fly to each one but instead fluttered in between sculptures and then chose the red and white sculptures to absorb energy from.
Gradually, two bumps appeared on its abdomen. Then they split open and two short legs grew out.
No, the little bug had two wings and four legs, just that the two legs at the back were slightly shorter.
This change had shocked Li Du. He could not understand how the little bug had changed. Could these sculptures have been filled with time energy?
The little bug flew around inside for more than ten minutes. It did not feel tired at all, but instead felt even more energetic.
After a last flight around, the little bug flapped its wings and returned, not giving the rest of the sculptures another look.
Li Du directed the little bug to fly back there; he wanted to figure out what was so special about these sculptures.
There did not seem to be anything extraordinary about the sculptures. He guessed that it could have been the material of the sculptures that had caused this change.
With the exception of the red rock, he was not sure of the other types of rock. He was thinking that, unless he had seen what these rocks looked like before being sculpted, he would not be able to deduce what they were.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the little bug’s vision become unreal, and a new scene appeared before him:
In the wilderness, a middle-aged man with a large beard was hammering at a brown rock. Then the scene fast forwarded and the brown rock became this half-completed sculpture…