Chapter 137: Chance Encounter
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du, who was cleaning the antelope specimen, heard faint shouts and cursing. He looked out curiously, and said, "Seems like someone is in a fight."
Hans was busy looking through the box that Godzilla had moved out, and casually said, "Ignore them—is fighting not uncommon?"
After saying that, he used an army knife to slit open a box, then crash!, two crocodile heads had been stacked together dropped.
These two crocodile heads had been very exquisitely made into specimens. Their skin was well-kept, their eyes big and lively, and the teeth sharp. They looked very lifelike.
When crocodile head specimens appeared, Hans was thrilled instantly. He grabbed one of the crocodile heads and shouted, "Hey, buddies, come and take a look. Look at what I discovered!"
"Wow, did you manage to hunt down a crocodile?" Li Du said playfully.
Hans chuckled and said, "Of course, I am the Marsh Hunter King! Continue searching and see if there are any other specimens. This type of crocodile head specimen is not bad—the value is higher than that of antelope and reindeer."
"How much is it worth?"
Hans said, "Based on this quality, it would not be a problem to sell each one for 2,000 dollars."
"So expensive?" Li Du was truly surprised. He had searched online previously, and discovered that such crocodile head specimens were probably worth a few hundred dollars only.
Hans quickly answered his query: "If they were common crocodile heads, such as South America’s Amazon crocodiles, African crocodiles, Indian crocodiles, and the South Asian crocodiles, then they would not be that valuable.
"But this is not a crocodile at all; it is a type of alligator from the Mississippi River. This type of alligator has been banned from being hunted, so its value is higher."
As he said this, Godzilla moved another box out, which opened up to reveal two more alligator heads.
Hans was thrilled again, and his happiness continued to grow until all five boxes were moved out. There were a total of twenty-two alligator heads; eight adult alligator heads, and four small, young alligator heads.
The discovery of these specimens gave them the opportunity to make money. The twelve alligator heads could be sold for almost 30,000 dollars; the small alligator heads were even more expensive because there were fewer young alligators.
There were still boxes behind, but these boxes need to be closely examined, as they contained the cow leather and had been bundled up.
Hans opened them carefully, and when he saw the leather items inside, he appeared stunned, and said, "Hey guys, come over quickly. Come and look here!"
Li Du went over and took out a piece of leather. This leather was shiny and cool; it could make one unconsciously feel better when touching it on a hot day.
"What kind of leather is this?" he asked.
Hans looked at the grains on it, and then looked at the alligator head, and slowly said, "I guess this is alligator leather, and alligator leather that is specially used for watch straps."
Li Du was definitely unable to make this out, so he asked, "How did you deduce that? Even if it is alligator skin, it could possibly be used to make belts or leather shoes."
Hans carefully put the alligator skin away, and said, "This is just my guess. We should go back and find a leather shop to take a look at this."
The alligator skins were gathered in two boxes made of cow leather. There were twenty pieces in each box, with a total of forty pieces, and weighed about ninety pounds.
After placing the specimens and alligator skins into the truck, Godzilla began to clean up the storage unit.
He worked nimbly, but the sky was already dark. There were a lot of storage units up for auction, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon by the time the earlier auctions had ended.
Having to switch on the lights to clear out the storage with the specimens, the remaining unit with homeware would have to be cleared out the next day.
Li Du knew that there was nothing valuable in the storage unit with homeware, so the next day he did not follow them to pack up the storage unit. He prepared to go around Sedona to enjoy the sights of this extremely beautiful, small town.
Sedona was situated within Oak Creek Canyon. It had beautiful scenery, a comfortable temperature, and a cool mountain breeze. There were many tourists coming from Phoenix, as the city turned into a "flaming phoenix" during this period.
Li Du carried his knapsack in front of his chest. Ah Meow was kneeling inside, popping its furry head out and looking around curiously. A man with a cat had entered the city.
There were many shops in the urban area that were linked to the New Age movement. There were also many restaurants and art galleries, as well as outdoor sports shops.
The followers of the New Age movement believed that Sedona’s rocks, the cliff, and the river, radiated Mother Earth’s magical power, and that they could find four big energy centers here.
Li Du researched the centers of the four big energies. He was not thinking of supporting the movement, but these four places had very scenic landscapes.
There was the Village of Oak Creek on the east of Highway 179, and there was an energy center at Bell Rock near the village. One could experience Sedona’s true country style here.
The second energy center was next to the red rock tunnel, called Cathedral Rock. There were many red rocks nearby, and the view was spectacular.
The other two were Airport Mesa and Boynton Canyon; the latter was perfect for viewing the sunrise and sunset.
Li Du bought a tourist map, and after much consideration, decided to head to the Village of Oak Creek. It was said that many beautiful guest houses, creekside cottages, motels, and resorts, as well as great camping sites could be found there.
He bought a tent and an outdoor burner, and along with some other tools and food, spent a total of 280 dollars.
In addition, he had also gone to the car rental company and rented a Ford F-150; this model was really common in America.
Driving the car out of the rental company, Li Du had just stepped on the accelerator when he saw a few girls waving to him from the side of the road.
One of the girls looked like Eva Green, with black hair, a fair complexion, and a decisive demeanor. Li Du blinked his eyes when he saw her; he seemed to have met this lady before.
Winding down the window, he popped his head out and asked, "Hi girls, what’s the matter?"
"Eva Green" smiled at him and said, "Hey, Li, don’t you remember me? We met before at Humphreys. I’m Tina, this is Hilton…"
A black pearl was smiling and waving at Li Du, who had an intense impression of her personality; Hans had previously attempted to flirt with her but was not successful.
He also had an intense impression of Tina, who was a smart, smiling lady, but he had forgotten her name.
After hearing what Tina said, he wore a surprised look. "I remember: you are the girl pursuing your dream in music! Pardon my forgetfulness, as I did not expect to see you here!"
Tina smiled and said, "I did not expect to meet you here either. When I saw you walking in there, I thought I must have been mistaken. Luckily, my memory is not bad."
The girl’s memory was really good. Many foreigners had "face blindness" toward yellow-skinned people; there were not many westerners who could remember acquaintances after only a single meeting.
Li Du asked, "I’m glad to meet you again. I’m preparing to go camping at the Red Canyon—how would you feel about coming along?"
Tina laughed happily, "We’d love to! We are thinking about going camping at the Canyon, but we have neither a car nor the extra money to rent one. It is a good thing that we ran into you! This is really great."
Suddenly there spoke a loud, cheeky voice: "Hey, sweethearts, how about getting into my car? My Mustang is powerful—you’ll get wet after you get in it."
Two black Mustangs stopped at the side, and a golden-haired teenager was smiling at them sleazily.
Tina firmly flashed her middle finger at him. "Have you converted your car into a bathroom? Might as well go get wet with your gay partner—I’m not interested in your bathroom!"