889 A Slum
His brief statement on the matter created an uproar in the crowd. The treasure hunters seemed quite stupefied. A few people loudly asked, "Are you kidding?"
Li Du smiled. "People of Lightning Ridge, please pass this message to everyone you know. I should have quite the reputation in town."
Conrad was stunned. He yelled, "That's impossible. You think that money is disposable? You think you can use money however you want?"
Hans looked at him and said, "Alright, whatever. Let's not talk about the gemstone mine in Lightning Ridge. We made few million just from the black abalones in Tasmania. I'm not going to share the details since you won't believe me anyway."
Even the magician was surprised. He asked, "Are black abalones that valuable? A few million in six months?"
Hans talked about the female diver, as well as the government award they obtained from cracking a child trafficking case in Australia. This allowed them to fish for black abalone throughout the year.
What he did not mention was that Li Du specialized in locating black abalone. On top of that, they had found a black abalone habitat. There was also a gemstone mine nearby.
The child trafficking case could be easily found on the internet. The news about the fishing permit given by the government and fishing bureau was also on the internet.
Thus, Li Du and Hans became celebrities at the party. Everyone regardless of the members of the Million Dollar Club or treasure hunters from other places gathered around them to ask about the matter excitedly.
Conrad and Princeps were extremely jealous of them. However, there was nothing that they could do. They did not even have the courage to argue with Li Du and Hans.
At the very moment, any argument would be useless. They would just seem bitter to the rest of the people.
The next day, Chris Bell led a group of treasure hunters and drove toward the southern region of Los Angeles.
The development in the City of Angels was inconsistent. The northern region was much more developed compared to the southern region. It was obvious just based on the housing prices.
Li Du had been to the southern region. They had visited Long Beach and found that it was a place with beautiful scenery and packed with tourists.
This time, they were heading to Harbour Salem. It was well known as a run-down neighbourhood, a slum.
Harbour Salem was not far from Long Beach. It was two stations away by train. The cities were so near to each other yet their difference was vast.
They sped all the way to Harbour Salem.
Throughout the journey, all Li Du saw were single-story houses, rusty steel houses, and worn-out brick and wooden houses. However, as he looked south, he could only see high buildings in Long Beach.
They ran into an inconvenient situation as they arrived in Harbour Salem. Police had set up a roadblock for inspection.
Li Du took this opportunity to look back. Comparing both of the cities, he gasped in surprise. " Unbelievable. Is this really one city? The differences are too vast."
Hans had been to Los Angeles before. He knew a lot about the city.
He was listening to Slim Shady's rap song as he tapped on his keyboard and said, "You would be even more shocked if you looked at Los Angeles from the plane."
Li Du looked north and said, "The north is way more luxurious, isn't it? Beverly Hills is over there. We've been there."
"Yeah, a lot of the Hollywood celebrities live in Beverly Hills. It is a high-class residential area. Plus, there is also Malibu, Jewish bankers' and investors' beach house.
Hans counted and said, "And there is San Marino, it is simply a forest city. The air there is extremely fresh. Also, there is the well known Huntington Manor, Pasadena . . . " He shook his head after saying, "There are countless numbers of them, mate. That's Los Angeles. City of Angels lives up to its name. Those places are for angels, like heaven."
Police had blocked the road. Nobody was able to enter. Of course, it wasn't just them. The other cars and pedestrians were stopped too.
Bell went to a store nearby and got some coffee in order to keep the group calm.
Li Du took a cup and asked, "What's going on?"
Bell sighed. "That's the Los Angeles narcotics squad. A type of synthetic weed was found in Harbour Salem. It's really cheap and a lot of homeless people are saving money just to smoke it. It's also very bad for your health. Over thirty people were sent to the hospital."
"It's Galaxy X," a magician said, walking over. "Very affordable. One dose for a dollar. It's too appealing to these poor people. It has become a trend in many slums."
Li Du was surprised. "One dose for a dollar, and these people still have to save money to buy it? Just how poor are they?"
Hans patted his shoulder. "You've spent some time in America but you haven't yet witnessed hell. It's true, it's hell. No one could survive there."
"It's our mission to save them," Bell said seriously. "Obviously, we can only save those with bright souls who want to be saved."
Li Du nodded. He had no sense of belonging in America. He had never thought of rescuing these people. However, he was willing to help those who want to help.
There were things that he didn't want to do and things he believed he was incapable of doing. But that didn't hinder him from admiring those who worked hard, and Bell was the type of person that he admired.
He also respected Bell for his connections. The sheriff who blocked the road was a close friend of his. As soon as he realized it was Bell, he came over to greet them.
The sheriff was tall, muscular, bald, and wide-mouthed. He looked quite a bit like Bruce Willis.
"Hi, Chris. How've you been?" the sheriff asked.
Bell smiled. "Just been doing what we're supposed to, Officer Willis. How's the current situation? I heard you're here for Galaxy X."
Officer Willis nodded. "Right, damn this Galaxy X. It's best for you and your friends to stay away from here. This place is a disaster. Bunch of lunatics around."
"It's just weed, right?" Hans asked with surprised. "Why is it so serious?"
After hearing that, Li Du knew that Hans had tried smoking weed.
Willis was strangely calm. He looked at Hans and said, "You think this is the same thing you smoked? Ha, you're childish. Two puffs from this will make you feel irritated, nervous, woozy, nauseous, you'll heavily sweat, and even display symptoms of epilepsy.
"And what's worse is that even secondhand smoke from this can be harmful. One of my men went into a house just for a while. The poor guy didn't put a mask on and he was rushed to the hospital."
"Why are they still smoking it?" Li Du asked.
Officer Willis looked at him curiously and said, "Who's this little angel? Haha. This is the most interesting question I've heard this year."
He paused for a moment. "You and Jesus are the same, right? Treasure hunters, is it?"
Li Du nodded. "Yes."