With the purse in hand, Hans found a brocade box and lovingly placed it inside.
Li Du said, "It’s fine even if you leave the purse outside. Unless people know of its history, they won’t dare go near it."
The Playboy laughed heartily, "Yes, I bet no thief would dare steal such a purse."
"This is also why it’s so expensive," Li Du said, "it comes with an anti-theft feature."
Godzilla muttered, "Would anyone want this? I don’t. Who knows if it will come alive if I carry it on my back?"
"Maybe there would be people who’d want it," Li Du said, "and I believe that there would be even more who would like it in America, since this is the entertainment capital of the world."
He thought this thing looked a little menacing. The Chinese believed that snakes could eventually evolve into dragons since "big snakes can become pythons, big pythons can become boas, big boas can become mythical dragons, big mythical dragons can become real dragons." What had created this purse was a small dragon’s carcass.
The Playboy nodded. "Of course, I can link you up with clients. I know a few who would be interested in this thing."
Li Du smiled, "That would be great—here’s to a great partnership."
"Great partnership," the Playboy nodded in delight.
According to treasure hunting cooperation rules, if he succeeded in being the middleman, he could get a ten percent commission, which would earn him tens of thousands of dollars—not insignificant at all!
After they had tidied up the unit, they changed the locks and dashed to the next storage unit.
As soon as the unit’s doors opened, a few Middle Eastern men came up to them. A big bearded man asked, "Gentlemen, you’ve gotten this unit from the auction?"
Li Du looked at them warily. "Yes, why?"
The big bearded man beamed, revealing a set of snowy-white teeth. "Oh, it’s like this, my friend. This storage is mine. I’m the owner."
Li Du nodded, indicating for him to continue speaking.
"There are many traditional items belonging to our family in this storage. They may be worthless to you, but to us, they’re valuable gifts from Allah."
"You want to buy the unit, right?" Li Du asked.
Godzilla stared at these Middle Eastern men with vigilance. All of them were thick-waisted, had shady expressions, and the hint of violence in their eyes.
The big bearded man laughed, "Yes, you guessed right, Mister."
Hans said, "Sorry, buddy, this doesn’t fulfill the storage auction rules..."
Upon hearing this, the big bearded man stopped smiling—he interrupted Hans, "What rules? Friend, over here, our words are the rules—have we not made that clear?"
The expressions on the muscular men’s faces darkened. Godzilla pulled out a huge wrench from the truck; this was made of stainless steel and could smash a cow’s head with a blow.
The men’s expressions changed as they took out sharp weapons such as machetes and small axes from under their robes.
Realizing that a violent conflict was impending, Li Du waved his hand. "Godzilla, be quiet."
The Mexican man sniffled and then he hid the wrench in his shirt.
Li Du turned to the big bearded man and said, "Mister, I suppose you must be from the most influential gang in Kingman."
The big bearded man said arrogantly, "Allah above, we’re not a gang. We’re fervent believers—Allah’s warriors. Like the horsewhip that is used to chase sheep!"
Li Du smiled, "So you absolutely have to get hold of this storage?"
"Yes! I’m representing my family to get it back, as we had forgotten to renew the contract. Only a few days late. If you’re a kind-hearted man, you should understand our position right?"
Li Du said, "I paid 10,100 dollars to get it. I can understand your position, but you also need to understand mine."
The big bearded man stroked his beard and said, "This storage was originally ours, I can’t be concerned with how much you have spent—"
"Then let’s call the police and let them manage it," Li Du coolly said, interrupting him, "and I can show them these incriminating photos I took of you earlier."
He waved his cell phone; on the screen were photos of the muscular men brandishing their weapons.
The big bearded man frowned.
Li Du then said, "Listen here, friend. While I don’t wish to resort to violence, I’m
no pushover. I hope you will not mistake my tolerance for cowardice. If a fight breaks out, you won’t be pleased with the end result—I swear, you will definitely not be pleased!"
The big bearded man’s face darkened as he hesitated. He paced around for a bit, and nodded, "Right, 10,100 dollars, I will give it to you!"
One of the muscular men lifted his white robe, removed a stack of green Franklins and threw them at Li Du.
Li Du passed them to Hans who counted them and then shook his head, "Still short ten big ones!"
The big bearded man gave them a chilling laugh. "You guys have a huge appetite, my friends."
Li Du said, "We’re just seeking fairness—the police are the ones with the huge appetite, if you would like to say hi to them."
The big bearded man snapped his fingers, and the muscular man brought out ten more notes.
With the money in hand, Li Du threw the key to the big bearded man wordlessly and turned around to leave.
"Wait," the big bearded man stopped him, and then opened the door to the unit.
Seeing that the television was in its original spot, he was reassured and said, "I want to ask if you’re interested in working with us? Make our mark together in this trade?"
Li Du smiled in response. "I only want to do so on my own. Sorry."
The big bearded man nodded, so Li Du turned around and walked off with the rest.
Then he shouted again, "Wait, has anyone entered this unit?"
Li Du’s heart took a leap but he kept his expression unchanged and frowned, "After I bid for it, definitely no one, but no idea about before that."
The big bearded man nodded again. This time, the three of them got into the car. Godzilla started the car, and drove the Iron Knight out of the storage company.
As they got on Route 66, Li Du said hastily, "Speed up, to the fastest speed. Get us back to Flagstaff quickly."
Hans knew why he had made this decision and said, "Listen to Li, buddy. Speed up and head home!"
As the car zoomed on, Hans asked, "Those fellas are there for the dagger, right?"
Li Du’s expression was grave. "Probably. Otherwise, why would they be willing to resort to violence in order to get back the storage unit from us?"
At the entrance of the unit, the big bearded man rubbed his hands together and said, "Go, find a few witnesses and then take out the Gaddafi dagger. This way, it will be out in the open—haha!"
The serious-looking youth fawned, "Uncle Farhad, you’re really shrewd to be able to solve a problematic issue just like that."
The big bearded man, Farhad, snorted complacently, and adjusted his waistband as he walked slowly to the television. Then, he used a screwdriver to open its back panel.
As he was turning the screw, he felt hesitant—how would he be able to act it out as though it were real? After all, he did not have any experience and was not adept at acting.
After the back panel was opened, the empty interior of the television appeared before him.
He rubbed his eyes and shouted out, "Allah as my witness, what has happened to my eyes?"