The wind in early July carried the slight dryness of early sumr, blowing through the still bustling streets of Yangcheng.
But for Luke, the waiting and preparations during this period had finally reached a critical point.
Thanks to the "rebirth" brought by the dual upgrade of Constitution and Strength, his previous ID photo had long beco "distorted."
For this reason, he specially updated his ID card and applied for a passport.
The young man on the new docunts had handso features and sharp eyes, completely different from the slightly decadent and tired unemployed youth he used to be.
A brand-new tourist visa stamped with the Arican eagle emblem rested quietly in his palm.
"It's ti."
Luke murmured, his gaze turning toward the distance, as if he could see across the ocean to that land known for "freedom" and "opportunity," yet also filled with chaos and disorder.
Earlier, he had rented a remote warehouse as a material transfer station.
The current personal space had a side length of 18 ters and a volu of 5,832 cubic ters — practically a mobile giant treasure vault.
He had transported massive amounts of supplies from the warehouse: various "in-stock goods," rice, flour, grain, oil, basic dicines, hardware tools, spare clothing, and even several sets of small solar power panels and matching batteries…
These supplies were more than enough to support his "business" in Westeros for three months.
But to avoid unnecessary attention, he didn't purchase anything too exaggerated and only filled about half the space.
Concealing his actions and keeping a low profile had always been his principle.
The purpose of this "Arican trip" was clear and ambitious:
Quick cash-out!
To sell the mountain of gold and gemstones he had accumulated — which were difficult to liquidate safely and quickly in China — in Arica, where controls were relatively "loose" and the financial market was vast and complex. He would find channels to convert them into huge amounts of "clean" US dollars, providing a continuous flow of funds for future developnt on Blue Star and "procurent" in Westeros.
Even more importantly: acquiring the "All Beings Equal Device" — modern firearms, along with related ammunition and training knowledge.
In Westeros, no matter how high one's personal martial skill, there were still limits when facing encirclent, hidden arrows, or even legendary dragons and the Others.
Hot weapons were the trump card to break the balance of power, ensure absolute personal safety, and provide decisive deterrence when necessary.
As the saying goes, within seven steps, the gun is fast and accurate. Even the "扶叼 Divine Sword" would have to piss himself again when facing "Arican Iaido."
In Arica, where gun culture was prevalent, he planned to legally — or through certain gray channels — build his own "armory."
First get so dollars, then directly go to "Peshawar" or Southeast Asia for "bulk purchases" — cheap, good quality, and all fully automatic…
Finally, establish a "base" in Arica. Transporting supplies from there would be much safer than in China… at least there weren't so many surveillance caras!
"No matter how high your martial arts, one bullet will take you down."
Luke clenched his fist, feeling the body quality from 11 Strength and 11 Constitution that could crush all humans, and the corners of his mouth curved into a cold arc.
"Night King? Dragons? When the ti cos, they'll all have to listen to my gun barrel."
"Should I prepare so dragon-slaying bullets in advance?"
He was not short of money and directly bought a first-class ticket to Los Angeles.
This was his first ti flying in his life. When the huge silver fuselage took off and shot into the clouds, the scenery outside the window and the slight feeling of weightlessness made even this "superman" reveal a novel and shocked expression.
All of this was noticed by the well-dressed middle-aged elite man in the neighboring seat, who was working on his laptop.
The man glanced suspiciously at Luke's ordinary casual clothes, which were completely out of place in first class, then confird the seat number. His eyes were full of doubt: "Did this kid get on the wrong cabin?"
Luke couldn't be bothered to care. His mind had already flown across the ocean.
Los Angeles, night.
The plane landed, he cleared immigration, carrying only a backpack on the surface.
Luke took a taxi and didn't choose an expensive hotel. Instead, he went straight to a typical Arican motel that matched his impression from TV shows.
A two-story building, rooms upstairs, parking downstairs, with a flickering neon sign in the night.
The air was mixed with car exhaust, cheap cleaner, and a certain indescribable "roadside" sll. The environnt wasn't great, but it felt real enough.
Day 1 in Los Angeles.
First stop: Hollywood Walk of Fa.
Review: You'll regret it if you don't go, but you'll regret it more if you do.
World-famous, but in reality, it's just an ordinary comrcial pedestrian street paved with stars bearing celebrities' nas, full of souvenir shops, fast food restaurants, and street perforrs in bizarre costus — or wearing practically nothing.
There were all kinds of "perforrs" busking: people imitating MJ dancing, others dressed as superheroes charging for photos.
Of course, there were also people in the corners with empty eyes "worshipping the air" — hopeless addicts.
It perfectly illustrated "heaven and hell are separated by a thin line."
Luke walked around for half an hour and didn't buy a single souvenir.
Because they were all made in Yiwu — nothing new.
For lunch, he tried the legendary "poor man's al" — McDonald's $5 burger and Coke, plus $1 for extra fries.
High calories, high fat, single flavor.
Luke took two bites and put it down. He pretended to take out a still-hot "white-cut chicken and roast duck" combo from his backpack (actually from his space) and ate it slowly under the surprised gazes of the surrounding Aricans.
Yeah, ho-cooked flavors are still the most reliable.
In the afternoon, he went to Downtown LA.
A dense high-rise area, also repeatedly warned in guides and攻略 as "relatively poor security."
The streets were a bit dirty and ssy, with quite a few holess people. The air carried a faint sll of urine and other unidentifiable odors.
He guessed it might be the sll of DP and quickly stayed away!
With his superhuman physical quality and sharp senses, Luke could clearly perceive so ill-intentioned gazes, but he didn't care. His 11 Constitution and Strength gave him enough confidence.
As long as they didn't use "Arican Iaido"…
After walking around, he felt that apart from having more high-rises, it wasn't much different from so old districts in China — even more rundown.
In the evening, he took a bus to Griffith Observatory.
Standing on the viewing platform overlooking the city, the full panorama of Los Angeles ca into view.
Just as said online, the city was spread out like a big pancake. Except for a small cluster in the city center, most areas were low-rise houses or two-to-three-story buildings.
Few high-rises, dotted with green trees. Under the sunset, it really had a unique, slightly lazy "big village" feeling.
As night fell, the area near the observatory turned into a real-life filming location for La La Land.
Several couples even wore retro clothing and danced gracefully in the twilight, trying to recreate the romantic scenes from the movie.
Luke watched for a while and found it sowhat interesting, but that was all.
For dinner, he tried another Arican Chinese food representative — Panda Express.
He ordered Orange Chicken and fried rice for $12. The taste… sweet and heavy, thick gravy, far from what he knew as Chinese food.
But at least it was hot compared to McDonald's — had vegetables and rice. He thought it was "okay" and filling.
Sa level as "拼好饭" (a Chinese food delivery app)…
On the way back to the motel, police sirens rose and fell, red and blue lights flashing across the night sky from ti to ti, like the background music of this city.
If you didn't know better, you'd think you were playing GTA!
Luke sat in the taxi, watching the street scenes flying past the window, gradually forming his initial impression of this "land of freedom" — prosperity intertwined with decay.
Day 2 in Los Angeles.
The motel provided free breakfast.
Very standard "white people food": dry hard bread slices, cold butter, bagels that could kill a dog, two oranges, self-serve coffee and crear.
Looking at this pile of stuff, Luke's mouth twitched. He decisively took out still-steaming at buns, soy milk, youtiao, and tea eggs from his space.
Under the surprised gazes of several early-rising Arican guests, he enjoyed a proper Chinese breakfast.
Today's first stop was to experience the legendary Arican subway.
Single ride ticket: $1.75, unlimited distance.
The carriages were old, so stations had impressive slls — a mix of disinfectant, body odor, and… worse things.
Luke frowned and relied on his 11 Constitution's powerful tabolism and endurance to not vomit on the spot.
The destination was to see the giant "HOLLYWOOD" sign on the hill.
On the way up the mountain, passing under a viaduct, the scene was shocking.
Dense tents packed tightly, almost filling the entire space under the bridge, forming a unique "holess community."
The air was filled with the sour sll of household garbage and long-unwashed human bodies.
This scene instantly reminded Luke of a certain "North Arican Holess Gold dal Lecturer" who had beco famous online. Reality was even more shocking than the videos.
Arican guillotine line?!
Coming down from the mountain, he took a bus to the famous rich area — Beverly Hills.
In stark contrast to the scene under the bridge, here palm trees lined the streets, luxury mansions stood everywhere, the sun was bright, and tourists and locals sat leisurely by pools taking photos, full of comfort and luxury.
Luke walked along Palm Avenue, feeling the "California sunshine." It was indeed comfortable, but beneath that comfort, there always seed to be an invisible barrier.
In the afternoon, he went to the University of California, Los Angeles — UCLA.
The campus had no walls, open design, shaded by green trees, elegant buildings, and a strong academic atmosphere.
Looking at the young faces hurrying by with books in their arms, Luke felt a slight sigh in his heart.
When passing through a security gate that required card swipe or coin insertion, relying on his long legs and a bit of mischief, he easily stepped over it without paying a cent.
"Since I'm here, when in Ro," he thought, "just consider it paid by the old Buddha."
"If caught, I'll say I'm from棒子国 (Korea), hehehe."
This was the first ti in his life he "evaded fare," and he gave it to Arica!
Day 3 in Los Angeles.
He completely let loose and had fun. Destination: Universal Studios Hollywood.
Luke bought a ticket and found that many popular attractions had "Single Rider" lanes, specifically for tourists who didn't mind sitting with strangers to pass through quickly.
He went through without obstruction, experiencing all the popular rides like Harry Potter Wizarding World, Transforrs, Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park River Adventure, etc. The experience was full, as if reclaiming long-lost childhood joy.
This was the happiest "tourism" experience of his life!
He had traveled with family before, but because they were "poor," it was always stingy and felt like suffering!
He used to particularly dislike traveling… now his view had finally changed!
Whenever he saw exquisite souvenir shops, he would go in and browse, but upon picking up items and seeing the "Made in Dragon Kingdom" label, he imdiately lost interest.
In the end, he bought nothing.
In the evening, he tried another Arican fast food — Subway.
He spent $7 on a foot-long sandwich, choosing his own bread, at, vegetables, and sauces.
Took a bite — bland taste, fresh vegetables, but overall…
He could only eat half before he couldn't swallow anymore and threw the rest in the trash.
"As expected, we Southerners have the pickiest mouths! I can tell the quality of chicken just by eating it… this thing is just shit!"
Luke wiped his mouth and smiled helplessly.
His three-day initial experience in Los Angeles was like quickly browsing a bizarre Arican drama.
There was shock, disappointnt, novelty, and discomfort.
User Comments
0 comments from readers