Chapter 244: The Top of The Mountain
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As time had gone by, Li Du had learned more about Luo Qun.
He called the policewoman Luo Qun now. As compared to her English name "Rose," he thought this Chinese name was better, more elegant.
But he doubted himself. Perhaps he shouldn’t call her that—this name was wasted on a girl like her!
When they had first met, Luo Qun was cold and graceful, always looking cool and expressionless. Li Du thought had compared her to an ice princess.
But these impressions were just an illusion. After they got to know each other better, she started to show a different side to her. Thinking about it positively, she was naïve and innocent; thinking about it negatively, she was an absolute lunatic.
She started acting differently especially after he had given Luo Qun the Frances-autographed poster as a gift. The chemistry between them had grown and Luo Qun started to be herself; she was also acting more like a lunatic.
Li Du had no choice but to accept her. He realized that Luo Qun was cold when she was working, and she acted like a lunatic after she came home.
He understood, though, that Luo Qun was pretending. She pretended in front of her colleagues and the criminals when she was working. Then, she pretended in front of the person beside her after work.
He knew this must have been tiring—as time went by, it could even cause psychological issues. So when Luo Qun was being herself, he chose to deal with her kindly.
Well, I am a gentleman, right? Li Du convinced himself.
After he sorted through all the goods, Hans sold the chandeliers to the grocery store.
Kevin offered 20,000 dollars after Hans bargained with him—their final deal was 24,000 dollars.
There was another chandelier that was broken, and it was not as glamorous as this one. Big Quinn said, however, it was usable after he fixed it.
Therefore, Li Du thought someone might be interested in it at a second-hand goods auction. He decided to put the chandelier in an obvious spot to sell it at a good price.
But before the second-hand goods auction, there was another storage unit auction they had to attend.
"The warehouse is in Jerome, the mining town," Hans said. "We’ve been there before. Red Rock Storage Co., remember? They have six storage units for sale this time. I guess we could find some good stuff there."
Li Du thought about it. "Red Rock Storage Co….is that the place where we found the antique clocks?"
Hans nodded. "Yes, that’s the place."
Li Du was surprised. "They’re holding another storage unit auction so soon? Are they trying to have a warehouse clearance and close the business? "
Actually, it had been a while since they went to Jerome. It was mid-July now, and they had gone to the auction at Red Rock Storage Co. in March.
They departed one day later and arrived in evilest city in the West.
.
After knowing they were heading to Jerome for a storage unit sale, some of the treasure hunters in Flagstaff followed their footsteps, hoping to grab their share of wealth.
They drove to the small town; compared to spring, Jerome in the summer was much different and much hotter!
Jerome was a mining town, with tons of mining sites within its territory. This had brought huge damage to the landscape and environment. There were wild mountain ridges around the town, but there was too little foliage, grass, or trees to cool down the temperature.
As soon as he got off the car, the heat wave slammed Li Du right in the face.
Hans took two bottles of beer from the small fridge. He passed one of them to Godzilla and had the other one for himself. After he opened the bottle, he poured the beer down to his throat and got off the car. He waved his arms and yelled, "This is great!"
Li Du shouted from the car, "Where’s my cold beer?"
Hans giggled, "There are only two bottles. One for me and one for Godzilla—this is great!"
Li Du opened the fridge door to reveal the empty interior.
But luckily there was ice in the fridge. He stuffed some ice cubes into his mouth.
Then, he stuffed some ice cubes into Ah Meow and Crispy Noodles’s mouths before hopping out of the truck.
They booked another hotel this time. There was a single small room with an antique elevator in the entrance of the hotel, like one of those industrial elevators used in the mining sites in the earlier part of the last century.
It was warm in the elevator. After pressing the button for the second floor, Li Du made a fanning motion and told the whining Ah Meow, "Bear with it, baby. It’s okay—we’ll reach the second floor soon."
One minute after he finished his sentence, the elevator doors finally opened—it had taken the elevator one minute to reach the second floor from the lower ground floor.
As they stepped out of the elevator, they were outside, and could feel the strong mountain breeze on their faces.
Although the wind was strong, it was also very hot, so Li Du was sweating. "What took the f*cking elevator so long?" he couldn’t help but curse.
Hans said, "Be careful, the elevator went up about 650 feet. Don’t fall down, fella’. We are on top of the mountain!"
After the elevator doors opened, they found themselves in a rough plaza, surrounded by cliffs. There was a simple building made of cement and wood at the other side of the plaza.
Under the hot sun, Li Du walked toward the edge of the plaza—they were indeed on top of a mountain. Over the edge, there was a meandering highway and countless rocks.
"The elevator brought us to the top of the mountain?" Li Du gasped. "That’s cool!"
Hans said, "The total height of the elevator is about 1,000 feet, and it goes underground for over 300 feet. It was used in the mine, but the mine was eventually abandoned. So now it’s used by the hotel on the mountain. "
Li Du was interested. "Is this building the hotel? This must be the highest altitude in Arizona!"
Hans shook his head, "No, it’s not the highest, but what’s the big deal? You must stay here during the summer in Jerome, folks, or else you’ll die from heat stroke!"
Li Du said, "Are you kidding me? Aren’t there any other hotels in town? The mining tycoon’s villa is great."
Hans said helplessly, "That’s during spring, brother. Of course, it’s great to stay there during spring. But with this temperature, the villa has turned into a sauna room."
"Even with the air conditioner?"
"With air conditioner, it will be a breezy sauna room," Hans said. "Moreover, people tend to get sick if they’re in too much air conditioning in this weather. The natural wind is better."
The hotel looked plain from the outside, but the interior design was quite nice. There were nets surrounding the building. After they went into the building, they opened all the windows so the cozy mountain breeze filled the room.
Hans handled the check-in procedures. It cost them 400 dollars for two rooms, just as pricey as Los Angeles.
But it was an apartment on top of the mountain. The atmosphere was different from any ordinary hotel in Los Angeles. So, Li Du thought it was worth it.
There were a few treasure hunters behind them who had also used the elevator to reach the hotel. Only a crazy person would drive up to the top, and it would be difficult to drive down the mountain as well.
The three of them were chatting while drinking cold beer out of a barrel in the main hall. The treasure hunters greeted them.
"Hi, Big Li and Big Fox. Good afternoon!"
"In this f*cking hot weather, let’s hope there’s something great in the Red Rock Storage Co. If not, I’ll be broke."
"F*ck, I’m broke now. Can you buy us beer please, Boss Li?"