Chapter 518: A Few Conditions
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On their way back, Dickens asked, "Big Li, was this actually part of your plan? All of this happened within your expectations?"
Li Du didn't directly answer, but said, "Rest assured that I'll help solve the problem of the items in your storage units. I'll also send the trucks for repair and give you a satisfactory amount of compensation."
"Big Li, I'm not referring to that," explained Dickens. "I'm just curious about this incident."
The rest of the treasure hunters nodded; they were very curious as well. They had the absolute advantage in this situation. The Tucson Brotherhood had no choice but to admit defeat. Otherwise, their men would be in trouble.
Li Du pondered for a while, and finally nodded. "You're right that what happened was within my expectations, but I didn't plan for it to happen."
"Why do you say that?"
"I guessed that they would come to smash our trucks," revealed Li Du. "This is because Princeps said that he'd see how we would be able to transport all the items away."
He coughed and continued, "Of course, we'll be using our trucks to move these items. Since he said that, it implied that this method would not work. If we think deeper, it meant that he would do something bad to our trucks."
"That idiot!" exclaimed Dickens. "He revealed what he wanted to do!"
"Even if he didn't say that, we could have guessed," Hans said. "We went against them at the auction. Would blocking the exit of the parking lot appease their anger? No—they had to come up with other means of retaliation."
"Big Fox's right," Big Beard Carl agreed.
"Li discussed this with me," continued Hans. "We guessed that they would smash our windshields and so we waited for them in the parking lot all night."
"You two are brave. Only you guys against them?"
"This is nothing," laughed Hans. "I'm Big Fox—a tough man."
Turis playfully patted Hans's leg a few times. The pain made Hans gasp for air; he had been kicked badly in that leg.
Olly was piqued and said, "These b*st*rds are merciless! Big Li, why didn't you tell us about it? We could have given them a good thrashing!"
"That's because I needed all of you to go to bed," explained Li Du. "Tucson Brotherhood's a local gang. They are definitely monitoring on us. If all of us started acting strange, they'd be able to tell."
"So how did you make up the robbery? How did your wallets end up with them and in their pickup?" Dickens was unable to find an explanation on this.
Li Du laughed cheerfully in response to this question. He whistled and both Ah Meow and Crispy Noodles came running over. Crispy Noodles held Ah Ow in his mouth. Ah Ow looked reluctant. My wolf dignity has been insulted!
"Ah Meow snuck Big Fox's pouch into their pickup. As for my wallet, when I was brawling with them, I just slipped it in the pocket of one of the men."
The moment Hans had appeared, he was hit by the men. When Li took on the two men he had used the Time Deceleration ability and slipped his wallet into the pocket of one of the men.
After some rest at the hotel, they got up and proceeded to clean up the storage units.
The life of a treasure hunter was like this; sometimes they were so busy that they were unable to properly rest for several days.
Hans contacted a garage and sent the trucks for repairs.
Besides The Iron Knight, all the other trucks were comparatively easier to repair as they only needed to replace the windshields. There weren't any problems with other parts of the trucks.
The Iron Knight needed a good cleaning up as a bucket of human feces had been poured on the front seats.
Hans was really infuriated with that. He felt that in the future he would be reminded of human feces every time he rode in The Iron Knight.
Li Du was rather cool with it. He even felt that it was karma at work as he had previously used the little bug to cause feces to spray on the Californian treasure hunters in Page. So when his truck got feces in it, he was able to accept it.
As they proceeded to the storage company to clear their storage units, Olly asked, "So how are we going to transport the stuff inside the units?"
"There will be help, no worries. Everyone just sort the items out first."
Not too long after he said that, Princeps came looking for him with a few treasure hunters following behind.
Everyone looked fatigued. Li Du and his friends had at least been able to nap for a few hours. Princeps and his men had stayed awake all night.
Seeing Li Du, Princeps approached him without his haughty demeanor. "Big Li, I admit it: you're really a miracle. You are Miracle Boy. Say it. Say what we need to do so you'll let my men off?"
"Seriously?" Li Du asked.
Princeps sighed, "Yes, seriously."
He had to be serious. If Li Du and Hans, the victims for the case, filed a lawsuit, the men involved last night would be sentenced to jail as thieves.
Although Americans often dealt with courts and lawsuits, that did not mean they were willing to deal with prison.
No one, no matter which country they lived in, wanted to end up in jail. The Tucson Brotherhood was not a mafia gang. They were more of a treasure hunter alliance. They were described as a gang by others due to their aggressive and overbearing behavior at auctions.
Every member of the Brotherhood was a treasure hunter—they were just ordinary folks. They didn't want to go to jail. Once someone landed in prison, their lives were practically ruined.
They had acted in accordance with what Princeps wanted. They had only needed to smash the windshields of the trucks and their job would have been completed.
When a vehicle's windshield was broke, it was not allowed to be on the highway. This way, Li Du and his friends would need to find a different way to transport all their goods.
Princeps had guessed that all the Flagstaff treasure hunters would be on their guard. Before they acted, he had arranged for men to check for any suspicious activity.
They had believed that Li Du and all the treasure hunters were sleeping in their rooms and that nobody was inside the trucks.
With that, they chose to strike, and as a result, they realized they were in a rather grave situation. Not only were Li Du and Hans not asleep, but they were waiting for them and even contacted the police!
The Tucson Brotherhood did not expect the police to arrive so quickly. In addition, the local Tucson police had seemed to side with Li Du. That was also the reason why Princeps decided to make peace with Li.
What he didn't know was that Li Du had recently found a corpse in a hotel and that this had helped the police solve a 70-year-old cold case. The police were pleased with Li's cooperative attitude and had a good impression of him.
After examining these facts, Princeps had given up trying to teach Li Du a lesson. In fact, it seemed like he was the one being taught a lesson.
When Li Du heard him "admit" that Li was "Miracle Boy," he smiled and said, "Okay, I have several conditions. Agree to them and I'll retract the charges."
Princeps listened attentively. "Please say them."
"First," said Li Du, "apologize to me and all of my friends here."
Princeps's brows furrowed. "What did I do wro—Alright, I apologize!"
Princeps changed his tune when he saw Li Du frown and therefore he quickly apologized. Princeps was a smart one; he knew that he was not in the position to haggle over this.
"Second, compensate us by paying for the repair charges. Each truck will be 10,000 dollars and you also need to contact a truck rental to clear out all the items in our storage units."
"Fine, I agree." Princeps felt like he was an animal waiting to be slaughtered, and he was being slaughtered by Li Du. But he had no other choice!
Li Du had gotten ahold of his weak point—his men at the police station could not go to jail, or their lives would be ruined. This was a sin that Princeps could not bear.