Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du paid the bill. The small bar was inexpensive, and he was charged less than five hundred dollars for over ten people, even though Godzilla alone drank a small barrel. He told Tina that he needed to visit the warehouse, so he had to leave. Tina gave an understanding nod. Li Du left right after paying the bill. He walked away in an unrestrained and natural manner. They didn’t even arrange a time and place to meet again. They both wanted to try and see if it was really fate that brought them together. Li Du just walked out when Brother Wolf, who disappeared previously, suddenly showed up again. “Is everything fine after the gunshot of earlier?” Li Du asked. Brother Wolf smiled and said, “There’s no camera around. Nothing whatsoever to record it.” Li Du was relieved. Mr. Bicycle Warehouse was located in the northern part of Wynwood. It was an old- fashioned warehouse company with no wall protection. The warehouses were built one after another on vacant land. Wynwood was considered to be Miami's most artistic and historic place. There was a row of announcement boards in front of the warehouse company. On top of the announcement boards, there were some old photographs and introductory information. The reason behind the name “Mr. Bicycle” was that the company took over from the largest bicycle department store in Miami. Some of the warehouses were formerly used to store bicycles. Since there was no wall, Li Du could go in and check things out. This time, there were not many warehouses up for auction, just about five in total. He wouldn’t usually bother to participate in such small auctions since the chance of getting valuable items was extremely low. However, this time, Hans wanted to participate in the topless event. Therefore, he convinced Li Du to stay for the auction. As Li Du was wandering around, he released the little bug into the first warehouse. This warehouse was about 20 square meters in size. It mostly contained moldy mattresses, tattered coffee tables, some books, tables, and chairs. There was also some cutlery, bowls, and plates on top of one of the tables.
Seeing this, Li Du understood that someone used to live in this warehouse. Living in a warehouse was quite inconceivable to most people. After all, there was no water, no electricity, and no windows. It was just a block of cement, extremely uncomfortable to live in it. However, for some poor people, this was a place to stay. The rental of a warehouse was cheap. It could be one or two hundred dollars, or even less than a hundred dollars a month, which was much cheaper than renting a house. Moreover, Mr. Bicycle Warehouse Company had no surrounding walls, so one would be free to come and go. If it was only a place to sleep, one could bear to use it as a temporary residence. Li Du had seen this before. This was the kind of warehouse that treasure hunters hated most. It was even more annoying than a garbage storehouse of a residential area. In an auction, this kind of warehouse was usually categorized as a one-dollar warehouse. No one would buy such a worthless warehouse. People who lived in a warehouse had to be extremely poor. Thus, what valuable items could one hope to find there? Although a garbage storehouse mostly consisted of household waste, sometimes people would throw away some valuable things, unaware of their potential cost. However, this kind of poor people’s warehouse would not contain anything worth picking up. Whatever they might have had, they would have sold a long time ago. Li Du was always thorough at handling matters. He gave it another search. But no, there was nothing valuable in there. He entered the second warehouse, had a look, and his spirits fell. Another poor people’s warehouse! The place was a mess. The people who had lived there were even worse than in the previous one. There was not even a bed, just a bunch of moldy rotten cardboard. This warehouse was like a garbage dump. There was a bunch of empty spray paint cans, tattered clothes and damaged shoes lying around. The wall was painted with messy patterns. It was disgusting to watch. Li Du helplessly shook his head and was about to withdraw the little bug. However, as the little bug was looking at the patterns, he frowned when he found a signature at the corner. Banksy!
There was a drawing behind the letters. It was a figure with a backward cap and a black bandana. As Li Du saw this name and drawing, he recalled a person that a few art hunters had mentioned during the drinking session. After carefully looking at the portrait on the wall, he pondered and withdrew the little bug. Then, he walked into the next warehouse, which was no different from the two first. Li Du was speechless. The poor people in Miami really prefer staying in a warehouse? However, on second thought, for some people, it was good enough simply to have a place to stay. Although it was difficult to live in such conditions, in Wynwood it was a common temporary shelter for some so-called “street artists” who had fallen into poverty. After he had inspected the five warehouses, Potter asked, “Seen anything interesting, Li?” Li Du sighed. “Maybe you’d better ask if I smelled anything interesting. My senses are more sensitive than an ordinary person’s. Anyway, it was just a pile of garbage.” Potter agreed with a nod. “Just a pile of garbage. That really stinks.” Li Du asked, “Do you want to join us for the auction the day after tomorrow?” Potter seemed to be quite excited. He nodded, “Yes, definitely.” After checking the warehouses, Li Du went back to Hans. He found Hans waiting by the roadside with an ugly look on his face. “What’s wrong?” Li Du asked. “Have the ladies exposed your evil intentions and chased you away?” Hans replied, clearly in a bad mood, “Get out of here! It's not like that.” He paused and said with a depressed face, “You guys been to Wynwood? Apparently, there was a shooting incident there, right? The police forced our party to withdraw because of the security problem.” Li Du laughed and then presented a sympathetic expression. “That’s too unfortunate.” “Who would disagree?” Hans sighed with regret. “I just met a stunning girl.” Having said that, he couldn’t help but shake his head mournfully. Li Du looked at Brother Wolf, thinking whether he should tell Hans the truth. In the end, he decided not to.
It’s not that he didn’t trust Hans, but based on his current state, he felt that Hans might get furious once he found out the truth. On Monday morning, they drove towards Mr. Bicycle Warehouse to attend the auction. This was a small-scale auction. There weren’t many treasure hunters, just about twenty people in total. Li Du and Hans were complete strangers here. As they appeared, some of the treasure hunters were studying them, whispering to discuss them, but without any particular interest. The first warehouse was opened. The treasure hunters curled their lips as they saw it, and someone exclaimed, “Smelly shit!” As Li Du expected, this warehouse was aborted. The second warehouse was opened, the treasure hunters continued to curse. Some of them left straight away. There were about fifteen or sixteen people left. Li Du, not having much else to do, stayed in the crowd. The dispirited auctioneer lowered the price to one dollar. At this moment, Li Du made a move. “One dollar, Okay.” He thought the warehouse was his, but to his surprise, someone followed up. “Ten dollars!”
