Chapter 421: The Glen Canyon
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The storage company was called "Glen Canyon Storage." But the Glen Canyon was not only a canyon; it was also a dam. The full name was the "Glen Canyon Dam."
Strictly speaking, Glen Canyon Dam was part of the Black Canyon, which was not far away from Page. The dam controlled the flow of the Colorado River and could generate electricity.
Before Li Du had come to the United States for his overseas education, he had diligently looked up some modern American and Arizona projects. He did that to better understand the country and its society.
As one of the most spectacular projects in modern America and one of the world's most magnificent and complex works of architecture, the Glen Canyon Dam had naturally caught his attention and focus at that time.
The life of the dam was rather legendary.
Since a hundred years ago, the local government and Congress of the United States believed that it was an unforgivable act of wastage of resources by allowing any western American rivers to enter the ocean while there was so much desert land around them.
They thought that, besides agricultural irrigation and hydroelectric power, the abundant water resources could also be guided into lakes, turning them into attractive tourist spots and at the same time, granting the lakes the ability to regulate water.
Pushed by the belief, the federal and associated state authorities cooperated with the private industries and over 600 large and small dams were built in the arid western areas of America.
Among the many dams, the Glen Canyon Dam shined brightly with the beautiful Colorado landscape as its background. It was built on the Colorado River in Arizona and was close to Utah, connecting all the three locations.
Since ancient times, the area these three states encompassed was relatively dry. Large areas of land could not become fertile farmland because of the lack of water. The mission of dams was to store the scarce water resources in the particularly dry areas of the United States.
After the completion of the dam, the dam carried out its mission well, with a height as high 710 feet, and the top of the arch was as long as 1,560 feet. It was as though a giant had stretched out its arms, embracing the majestic canyon.
The main entrance of Glen Canyon Storage had totally adopted the look of the main dam: a smaller version of the dam was in front of them, with the wall extending from both ends of the dam, surrounding the area of the storage company.
Their truck stopped outside the storage company. Li Du looked up at the entrance of the company and said, "When the auction is over, I must make a trip to Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. It must be spectacular!"
"Let's go together," said Hans. "I want to go as well. Who knows? It might be gone in a few years."
That was why the Glen Canyon Dam had a legendary life. As per what Hans had said, it was likely that the dam would be gone in a few years' time. This was because the United States government had plans to tear it down.
The reason for the call to demolish the dam was that although it supplied water for the three states, it had a fatal effect on the local flora and fauna. The existence of the dams not only disrupted the works of nature that kept ecological balance, it also led to the death of countless salmon because of they were blocked from swimming to the sea.
Over the past two years, the House of Representatives of the United States had organized two hearings to investigate the matter. The investigation would be completed soon, and the government would begin preparations to demolish the dam. Some small dams had already been demolished.
Hans started to complain and nag about "wasting the taxpayers' money" and "how corrupted the politicians were" and "Why wouldn't God strike lightning at those *ssholes…"
Li Du took out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, which he had specially prepared for the security guard. When the security guard accepted the cigarettes, he would let them go inside the storage company.
They had adopted such tactics to gain entrance into the storage companies. Of course, if a storage company was too lax with their security, they would just go inside quietly and unnoticed; but for this case, they were unable to do that.
Glen Canyon Storage had strict security management. Even after Li had given him the pack of cigarettes, the security guard on duty looked them in the eye and said, "Only one of you can enter."
Hans placed his hand on the security guard's shoulders and laughed, "Hey pal, we're not here to cause any trouble. We're just treasure hunters wanting to familiarize ourselves with the company."
"Only one of you can enter," the security guard repeated his words coldly.
Hans started to try and persuade him with his eloquent speech but it apparently had no effect on the guard. "Say what you want, only one can enter the company."
"Fine then," Li Du said. "I'll go in by myself."
The security guard kept the cigarettes and let him enter the company premises.
This storage company was a big one. From the news he had heard, this company had an area of more than two hundred acres and a total of close to 500 storage units.
However, once he entered the company, he was sure that there weren't 500 units—maybe only about 100. Most of the units were big and spacious and they were all lined up nicely on the ground like cargo containers. It was pretty impressive.
Li Du walked deeper inside the premises and noticed a bulletin board hanging inside the company.
As the bulletin board looked rather old and the patterns were simple and old-fashioned, Li got curious and used the "Relive the Past" ability of the little bug.
This time Li saw many short scenes of workers gathering around the bulletin board.
He realized that these storage units were probably built by the former dam engineering team. After the dam was completed, the place was sold to a businessman. These units were now being used by tourists and local residents.
Li Du then released the little bug and when the bug entered a unit, he was certain of his speculation.
The unit was very big and was split up into smaller units by using flexible partitions. One huge single unit could instantly become four to five smaller units in this way. If one did the math, there could really be 500 units in the company.
As there were many units to check for this auction, it would be very draining for him. Li Du could not do a thorough check on all 45 units; he could only perform an adequate scan of what was inside.
That was also why he valued the information that Zhang Kai had told him. He would not be checking out the 14 units between unit number 51 to 100—he could do so during the auction tomorrow.
The first unit on auction was unit 15. The little bug entered the unit and it looked spacious as there wasn't much stuff in there. There was only a mountain bike with wheels and some torn tents, rusty grills, and so on.
He immediately sent the little bug to check out the next unit as he didn't see any valuables.
Next was unit 21. There were more things inside, but nothing valuable. There was also some food that had gone moldy, attracting lots of ants.
He scanned four units consecutively and found nothing of great value. When the bug entered the fifth unit, Li Du finally found something worthwhile.
A motorcycle was hidden below a protective cover.
The motorcycle had an attention-grabbing appearance and an overbearing aura, like a monster. One could say that it really was a monster: a monster made of steel.
This was not a description. The motorcycle that Li Du saw through the little bug must have been handmade by hobbyists. The body of the motorbike was a torso, the motorcycle head was the head of the beast, the handles were the beast's horns, and the end was the beast's tail, and the bracket was the foot of the beast!
He controlled the bug to look for the engine and gearbox. The rest of the motorcycle parts were mainly common items that were normally seen in storage auctions, and the most important parts were the engine and gearbox. Usually people would take away the engine and other valuable parts with them, leaving only a useless shell behind.