Chapter 92: Couldn’t Stop Laughing
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the end, Carl won the bid at 60,000 dollars.
He was confident that he had the most detailed information amongst the treasure hunters at the auction. He knew exactly which storage unit the Ferrari parts were at.
But he couldn’t understand why Li Du and Hans seemed so self-assured as well.
Earlier on, he had provoked the duo because he had planned to embarrass them with the Ferrari parts after he had successfully taken the unit. He thought that he was the only one with the insider information.
If he had known that the duo had the same piece of information as him, he definitely wouldn’t have infuriated them and made them his enemy.
At the end of the day, it simply meant that he had looked down on and underestimated the duo.
Nevertheless, it was too late for regrets; there was no point crying over spilled milk. He smirked, "Young man, thank you for the information you shared on this storage unit."
Li Du put on a remorseful expression and replied, "Count yourself lucky, b*stard!"
His defeated look made Carl feel very satisfied; so much so that the thought of having spent a lot of money to obtain the Ferrari parts didn’t bother him at all.
Rambis was even happier than Carl; he began to sing and danced around the duo, vigorously shaking his butt: "F*ck-F*ck-F*ck-F*ck you! The awful Chinese man—cry your eyes out! And you Big Fox, listen hard—this is Phoenix, you gotta know, for in Phoenix it’s our show. Let us all sing ho ho ho!"
Hans made a throat-cutting gesture. "God d*mnit, this is the worst rap I have ever heard—does anyone has a knife? I need to cut off his tongue!"
The auction started once again. The fourth storage unit was opened up, and many could easily see some car-related parts and accessories.
The sight greatly improved the credibility of both Li Du and Hans, and someone asked, "Hey, where did you get hold of such information?"
Hans pointed to the sky and replied, "Ask God. He will tell you the answer."
"F*ck!"
"Thank you!"
The bidding for this unit was pretty intense as well. Although Li Du had specifically said that the Ferrari parts were in the unit that Carl had successfully taken, some treasure hunters wanted to try their luck, as Li’s information could be inaccurate.
The bidding price went up from 1,000 to 5,000 dollars. Li Du also added fuel to the flames by placing a bid of 6,000 dollars.
And when he did so, the bid continued to rise to 10,000 dollars.
Ten thousand dollars for a unit of miscellaneous car components did not seem a good deal for Li Du; he shook his head to signal that he was withdrawing from the bidding war.
The final bidding price sold at 10,000 dollars; a big Mexican guy won the unit.
When the fifth storage unit was opened, a pile of crooked logs appeared in front of the treasure hunters. Many of the logs were termite-infested. Some treasure hunters left after seeing this.
The unit also contained some backpacks and a flatbed trolley. One of the backpacks was stuffed full and was half-zipped, revealing the tarpaulin inside. Hans immediately recognized that this was a tent.
The auctioneer, having made quite a sum from the previous two storage units, was eager to get this unit sold so that he could collect his commission. Therefore, the starting bid was very low compared to the previous units.
"Okay, 200, 200, 200 dollars—it’s a reasonable price, for there are plenty of logs in here. Who wants it, who wants it?"
Many of the treasure hunters either curled their lips or shook their heads. Some were hesitating.
Hans instantly said, "Hey old buddy, this is just a pile of trash, nobody’s going to buy this at 200. If you can even sell this unit for 100, he will help you clear out the trash!"
While saying that, Hans pointed to Li Du.
Li Du wore a dumbfounded face upon hearing what Hans said.
"D*mn, stop your prank, I’m not a cleaner…"
The auctioneer quickly continued, "Ok, if nobody wants this unit at 200, then I will sell this unit to this Chinese man at 100—as all of you can see, the logs in there are worth more than 200!"
"Give it to the Chinese man, let him help you do the cleaning up," a black man said, shaking his head.
The rest of the treasure hunters were also shaking their heads. The unit ended up with Li Du for 100 dollars.
Li Du looked at the auctioneer who was pointing at him, and shoved Hans, "F*ck! Big Fox, I am not going to clean up this unit—you do it!"
"D*mn, no one wants this unit? How about 150?" Hans asked, self-deprecatingly.
The treasure hunters were already making their way to the next storage unit. Li Du winked at Hans, and whispered, "We really are the god-d*mn villain duo."
"The Soviet Iron Fist is punishing Phoenix! Hooray for Communism and sharing wives!" Hans teased.
Ah Meow immediately leaped off from Li Du’s arms just before Li Du could throw the ocelot at Hans. Looking at his empty hands, he could only yell, "Shut up!"
Ah Meow looked at Li Du’s hands, its expression fuming. I just knew it! You were gonna throw me again!
The next storage unit was opened up. When it was their turn to inspect it, Hans started to investigate what he could see.
"That red box over there looks ancient. We might be able to fetch 500 to 600 dollars.
"Hmm, not bad, I see two jackhammers—the workshops will love them."
"What are those beneath the table? Is that a little car for kids, or a small all-terrain vehicle? Okay, that’s just a worthless toy car…"
Their estimated value for this storage unit was 3,000 to 4,000 dollars, with 2,000 dollars as the maximum bid.
However, they decided they had to give up bidding for this unit; once they filled up their small truck with all those logs, there wouldn’t be enough space for anything else.
It was afternoon when the auction finished. The treasure hunters wasted no time in cleaning up the storage units they had won in the bidding, while others became onlookers.
The storage unit that had the most number of onlookers was the one belonging to the mustached guy, Carl. An estimated 30 to 40 people were waiting to see the Ferrari parts.
Carl unlocked the storage unit proudly, waving to Rambis and everyone else. "Find Schumacher’s seat and the steering wheel, be careful not to damage anything—if anyone damages these two items, I’m gonna kill you!"
"Cut it out, Carl! You’re not gonna find Schumacher’s driver seat and steering wheel!" said someone in a jealous tone.
Schumacher was a retired German racecar driver who raced for Formula One and held the record for the most World Championship titles. He was the only racer who had a custom-made steering wheel; a tribute to him by the manufacturers.
They found the racecar seat first; it looked like a miniature space capsule.
"Sh*t, this is so cool, I feel like I am lying on top of Rihanna!" said Carl, who excitedly sat in the seat.
Rambis energetically opened the box next to where the driver’s seat was found, revealing the blue steering wheel with colorful buttons and glow-in-the-dark features.
Rambis lifted up the steering wheel with both hands and shouted excitedly, "The steering wheel is here!"
The treasure hunters were envious.
"Sh*t, this is a treasure. I bet they can earn at least half of what they paid."
"The minimum should be at least twenty thousand, d*mn!"
"It’s such a pity I do not have a lot of money with me, or I would definitely bid for it!"
"Hey, did I see it wrong? Why did the steering wheel look as if it’s a toy? Ain’t it supposed to have electrical cables hanging from it?
Upon hearing this, the treasure hunters began to scrutinize the steering wheel. Carl jumped up from the driver’s seat, snatched over the steering wheel, and inspected it closely. His facial expression became hideous in an instant.
Rambis quickly defended himself."Bro, I swear it wasn’t me—I didn’t damage it!"
"F*ck!" Carl snarled when he saw the silica gel inside the steering wheel.
Li Du, who was one of the onlookers, his arms crossed over his chest, asked, "What happened to the steering wheel?"
Hans announced a quick explanation: "There’s no electrical connection. It’s a problem with the circuit board—one could spend big bucks to fix it—or it was made for display."
"Thank God I didn’t win the bid," said a relieved, plump treasure hunter who had nearly won the unit, now broken out in cold sweat.
Many of the treasure hunters were gloating over Carl’s misfortune.
"How much did they spend on this unit? Sixty-five thousand? It’s certain that even if they fix up the steering wheel, it still won’t fetch a good price."
"Maybe they could get rid of the wheel by paying someone 60,000 dollars to take it. Carl, you misjudged the value this time."
"Sixty thousand dollars? No idiot will spend such an amount for a useless item. The seat should be able to fetch 40,000, the steering wheel, at most 10,000. In all, 50,000—this amount is more realistic."
Hans couldn’t stop laughing!
Li Du remarked sarcastically, "Now that the truth is revealed, the awful Chinese man is definitely crying his eyes out!"