Chapter 4: The Leather Throne
Translator: Vicky_ Editor: Vicky_
As the sun dropped near the horizon, the streets of Flagstaff were dyed red with its lingering rays. The houses and apartments along the road were also shimmering in their reflections of the sunset.
Hans's Ford F-150 was currently blowing down these roads like a howling wind. Even though it was rush hour and the roads were filled with cars returning home from work, it didn't seem to hinder the speed of the Ford F-150 at all as it passed the other cars.
"Pay attention, Hans!" Li Du exclaimed. "Can't you slow down a little?"
Hans gave him an angry look. "Can you slow down your speed of eating that pizza? Dammit, didn't we agree that three quarters is mine? In addition, don't call me my name. Call me Big Fox, got it?"
"No, two thirds!"
"Ok, then it's two thirds, but why are there only two slices left You've already finished six slices! That's three quarters!"
Li Du could only smile back awkwardly. It took a lot of energy to control the little bug, and he was ravenous.
The storage warehouse was situated in the northeastern corner of Flagstaff. It used to be a barren area of about 100 acres. Later on, it was developed into several hundred storage units, which were laid out in a very orderly manner with similar box-like shapes.
By the time Hans stopped the car, there was only one slice left in the pizza box. He cursed, "Hey bast*rd, when did you eat another slice?! "
Li Du pretended that he had not heard anything as he walked toward the entrance of the storage company office. There was a notice posted on the advertisement wall:
[Entrusted by the Property Tribunal of the Flagstaff District Court, the Smith Storage Company of Flagstaff will, on 9 AM on February 1, begin the auction of eight storage units within the Smith Storage Company (unit 202 to 209) in accordance with the law. For more information, please see "Evaluation Report"]
[Total size of the eight storage units being auctioned: 40,578 sq. ft. The winners of the auctions will retain the right to all materials inside the storage units.]
[In addition, the buyer will have full rights to the storage unit for 24 hours from the moment the auction is ended for that unit After 24 hours, all rights to the unit will return to the Smith Storage Company.]
[Registration deadline: February 1, 9:00 AM.]
[Registration location: Storage Company Office.]
[Auction location: 10 Train Street, Flagstaff.]
[Please note: according to the rules of the auction, the items from the auctions will be sold "as is". Our firm is not responsible for any defects of the materials inside the units. For more information about the auction, please contact us at…]
Li Du had never attended an auction before, so to him, everything was new and interesting.
But for Hans, on the other hand, this information was already old news.
After finishing the last slice of pizza, Hans said impatiently, "Alright Chinese boy, don't waste any more time. Let's go check it out."
Li Du said, "You should learn to be more patient, Hans…"
"Call me Big Fox! As long as we are near the auction platform, call me Big Fox, please!" Hans interrupted in a serious tone.
"Then please don't call me Chinese boy either, call me Li!"
"Alright, Li, then let's going. What exactly are we doing here? I've already told you that the storage unit will only be accessible to the buyer who wins the bid and no one else."
Li Du swept his gaze around the surrounding area before replying, "Have some patience, Big Fox. Us Chinese have a saying: 'Sharpening the spearhead when battle nears will at least make it shiny, if not sharp.' I can't go into a battle without any preparation. I at least need to investigate those storage units before I can advise you on which one to pick."
Hans pointed towards the units. "It's these eight storage units. All of them belonged to the manager of an insurance firm who had some back problems. He bought the massage chair and left it in one of the units here. However, as for exactly which one of the eight it is in, no one knows."
"Why didn't he want it anymore?" Li Du asked as he walked around the first unit.
At the same time, he summoned the little bug before opening his hand. The bug poked its head out from Li Du's palm and quickly jump onto the ground.
"I'm not sure, perhaps he earned a large sum of money. They moved to a better mansion in Los Angeles," Hans answered.
Li Du nodded his head. At that moment, his consciousness switched over to the little bug and guided it into the warehouse.
The entire storage unit was constructed using concrete and locked with shutter doors. Even the air probably had a hard time finding its way into the room.
However, this was not much of a problem for the little bug. It phased through the storage walls just like how it had previously disappeared into Li Du's palm. The other awesome thing was that the little bug was able to see everything clearly under any circumstances. Even though the warehouse was shrouded in darkness, it didn't hinder Li Du's search at all.
Li Du, however, didn't have much time. According to prior experiments, he could control the little bug for a maximum of five minutes. And even then, he would become exhausted afterward and would need to rest for a long time before recovering his stamina.
On the way to the facility, Li Du had already planned out what he would do. He would spend about a minute in each storage unit, giving him five in eight chances of finding the chair.
That probability wasn't too bad!
The little bug only had two short legs, so its speed wasn't very fast. However, thankfully, it had the ability to phase through objects without obstruction.
Li Du was praying that the chair wasn't located in an obvious place, otherwise, he would have wasted his time. According to the regulations of the auction, the participants could only stand outside of the storage, but could not enter or touch any of the objects inside.
As the little bug entered unit 202, he performed a quick sweep but did not see the massage chair.
The unit was quite big, however, and was filled with various objects. There were various motorcycle parts, tires, and other valuable objects. There was also other worthless stuff like garbage, broken furniture, and wood chips.
There wasn't any sign of the massage chair. Hans mentioned earlier that the massage chair was the flagship item made by the Kasrrow Pneumatic Machinery Co., and it should be very large and luxurious.
Not a small item, so Li Du didn't need to search closely. As long as it was in the storage unit, then there was no doubt that Li Du would find it.
In addition, there wasn't much space in the units to hide an item of that size. Li Du only needed to look under the tarp and sheet covers, in the corners, or in other large boxes. Only such spaces would fit a massage chair.
That was the first time he controlled the little bug to do very complex work, so Li Du was unable to correctly calculate the time. As a result, he lingered for too long in the following two storage units.
As the bug entered the fourth unit, Li Du realized that there wasn't much time left. He could only let out a tired sigh before preparing to retrieve the little bug and go back to rest.
At that moment, the little bug passed through a cover. Just as it raised its head, the image of a dazzling leather chair immediately entered its sights!
The chair was about six feet tall and three feet wide. Covered in authentic brown leather, it also had two armrests and a LED screen. It was very luxurious!
Seeing that chair, Li Du let out a sigh of admiration. No wonder Hans said that he could earn a lot of money selling it—that wasn't a chair, that should be called a throne!