Chapter 213: Unexpected Guests
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He had checked out this kind of thin board online, and it was easily pliable. Patterns could be engraved on them by using a saw and a hydraulic press, and then they could be affixed to the wall as a decorative item.
In "The Lord of the Rings," their use was even greater—this was the material used for building the castles on set.
In the movie, the exterior walls of the many towering, majestic castles were made of polystyrene splint. Patterns were engraved onto them before they were fixed into suitable positions.
Then plaster would then be sprayed onto the surface, using a huge plaster machine. Lastly, polystyrene and paint would be brushed on to give the city walls a perfectly melancholic, ancient look.
Li Du assumed that the polystyrene splint in the storage unit had been discarded after the movie’s filming was done. He saw that on the Internet, there were people asking to buy this—many "The Lord of the Rings" fans had wanted to buy this to decorate their homes.
The second storage unit was much smaller than the first one, but unlike what Hans had said, the small storage unit was worth a lot.
There were many books in this storage unit: thick, expensive books such as Bibles and encyclopedias. Some looked as though they were made using leather, bamboo slips, or wood, just like antique books.
Li Du knew this was not so: they were props. Most of them only had covers and were actually hollow within. They could only be used as decorative items in the movies.
Many of these books had stains or had been damaged. They probably could not be used in movies anymore, and hence had been placed in storage.
Based on appearances, the old books in the second storage unit should have been very valuable. But after the little bug had taken a look, Li Du deduced that they did not have much value.
The third storage unit was more than 300 square feet in area and was filled neatly with wooden racks. There were toy figurines on a rack, some human and animal models.
After Li Du had taken a look, he shook his head and retrieved the little bug.
He could not determine the value of this storage, but as he could see all the toy figurines from the entrance, it would be unlikely that anything expensive had been left behind.
The purpose of using the little bug was to find what valuable items were left behind and not to investigate thoroughly what was within each storage unit.
After looking into the first ten storage units, Li Du was a little exhausted.
The storage units were too large, and had too many items. He needed to search carefully, which took up a lot of time and energy.
Directing the little bug to fly into storage unit 11, he felt quite fatigued. His eyes could barely stay open and all he wanted to do was find a place where he could sleep.
Godzilla saw how he was and walked over to hand him an energy bar. "Hey, you look very tired; maybe it’s a good idea to replenish some energy."
Energy bars were available only at large supermarkets. Most athletes liked to eat such stuff: at professional competitions like the NBA and the NFL, the athletes would chew on such bars during their breaks to replenish their lost energy.
Li Du ate two energy bars, and felt that he was mentally alert. Through trial and error, Godzilla had given him a great idea for replenishing his energy.
The little bug was flying faster in the storage unit. This unit was messier, as there were many rare weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds at its entrance.
Some of the rare weapons looked shiny, but in actual fact, they were made of wood and merely coated with a coat of shiny paint. They were not made of metal at all.
Further in were some bookshelves. On them were some decorative household items like vases, fish tanks, and bottles. There were also some boxes, which contained many such items.
Among the dozens of boxes was a long wooden box. After the little bug had flown into it, it saw a strange-looking motorcycle.
This motorcycle was very long and wide. It had unbelievably thick tires. Its handles were parallel to the seat, which meant that the rider had to practically crouch down on the bike to ride it.
There were tubes extending from both tires: the narrower tube in front was a gun’s barrel, while the one at the back was a machine gun’s barrel.
Li Du gulped in a mouthful of cold air—this was a military vehicle!
He had thought that this was a prop but the little bug had flown in the body of the motorcycle, and he had seen the engine, oil box, the complex electric circuitry and the intricate parts.
Evidently, this motorcycle was not merely a prop.
Noting down the storage unit number, Li Du directed the little bug to move on to the next storage unit.
Storage unit 12 was filled with furniture and appliances. However, they were mainly props as well—the appliances were mostly just shells while the furniture was made of plywood. Although they looked beautiful, they could not be used.
He persisted and searched four more storage units. He was completely exhausted after checking storage unit 16, so he returned to the car.
Hans asked, "How is it, buddy?"
Li Du said, "Not done looking, and I also need to assess the actual situation before deciding. It’s too warm out there. Let me wait in the car for a while, and see what I can do about those I haven’t checked yet."
In the end, he took two days to finish looking at the 45 storage units.
After looking at these storage units, he was completely depleted. Each time he had returned to the car, he would doze off in an instant.
Naturally, each time they returned to the motel, outside of mealtimes, he would be sleeping. Hans had changed Li Du’s room to the one with the large bed, while he shared a standard room with Godzilla.
While Li Du was dozing off as usual, Hans was negotiating with Godzilla. "Dude, can you not snore? You’re too loud and d*m, I thought there was a train in here last night."
Godzilla cackled, "Ha!."
Hans said helplessly, "Li, say something."
Li Du said, "You guys have to settle this yourselves. Don’t you disturb me when we get back, I need to take a nap before dinner."
On the contrary, once they had stepped through the doors on their return to the motel, they saw two familiar faces.
The Rick father and son pair.
The father and son pair did not look as aggressive as before. Lil’ Rick had a bruise on his face, and his right eye was so swollen that it was as thin as a line. One of his arms was in a shoulder sling, and he looked very pathetic.
Dog Ears Rick was not any better off than his son. There was a Band-Aid on his forehead and the back of his hand was wrapped in a bandage. He sat there despondently; even his ears were hanging downwards.
On meeting them, Hans laughed, "Dogsh*t, did both of you get beaten up?"
Rick glared at them. Lil’ Rick tugged at his shirt, and whispered, "Dad, don’t forget why we are here."
His son’s words made Rick sigh, and with the manner of a fallen hero, he looked at Hans and Li Du. "Both of you, I think we need to talk."
Hans looked at him and said, "Talk? Talk about what? Looks like you two really got beaten up. Don’t you go looking up the wrong guys, we here are law-abiding folks—"
Li Du interrupted him and guessed, "Were you guys beaten up by those people from Comanche Casino?
Rick’s mouth quivered and Lil’ Rick wore a woeful expression. Seeing their reactions, Li Du knew that he had made the correct guess.
When he had left the casino earlier, he knew that with Marlin’s wickedness and Harris’s deviousness, the father and son would run into trouble.
Afterall, Li Du had won more than five million US dollars from the casino. The casino was not a big one—they would count their blessings to have five million US dollars in profits in a month.
Which meant that Li Du’s winnings were equivalent to their one month’s profit. Why would the Native Americans be willing to let this go?
They would not take this lying down and had vented their displeasure on Rick and his son, since they were the initiators.