Chapter One Hundred: Journey
Eliminated a Chinese invention that nobody had ever heard of, the four of them set off on their journey, embarking on the great undertaking of crossing several states to Montana.
It took almost an hour to reach the foot of San Antonio Mountain, and the road ahead was lined with closely packed houses. As we drove further, the high-rise buildings gradually decreased in number, and eventually, there were mostly two-story small houses. Occasionally, a vast pasture would appear amidst the small houses. After entering the valley at the foot of San Antonio Mountain, the roadsides were lush forests. However, after leaving the valley, the land became increasingly desolate, although this desolation was relative to Los Angeles. Compared to Montana, it was still bustling. Even after leaving the valley, there were still occasional clusters of houses and pastures along the highway. There were more cars on the road, but people rarely greeted each other when passing, feeling much colder than in Montana. Occasionally, a large pickup truck would be seen towing a small boat, heading towards Los Angeles.
Miles turned on the radio, playing easy music. He was wearing a pair of brown sunglasses and a white baseball cap, with one arm resting on the car door, swaying his body to the rhythm and nodding his head to the beat. From time to time, he chatted with Yu An for a couple of sentences. As they headed north, the traffic gradually thinned out, and they stopped to rest for a while in Barstow, where they had a drink before continuing on their way. Once they left Barstow, Miles loudly announced: Next stop, Las Vegas!
As soon as I left Basto, the scenery changed suddenly. Everywhere was desert, not a tall tree in sight, only sparse withered shrubs dotted the desolate land, the sun shone on the desert, everywhere was dazzling grayish yellow, fortunately I found my sunglasses when I was still in Basto.
Miles turned off the radio, put in a CD, and cranked up the music to maximum volume. As he sped up, Juran felt the car shake, and clearly heard the howling wind and roaring engine. Listening to Green Day's "Holiday", his blood suddenly boiled over. Then, from behind, came a loud shout of "Ah~~~~". Juran turned around to see that Jeniffer had unbuttoned her shirt and stood up from her seat, holding onto Miles' headrest with both hands, shouting at the top of her lungs, her skirt fluttering like a flag, revealing the black lace bra she wore underneath. And Molly also stood up, shouting along.
Putting aside everything in his heart, Ju An also sang with Miles:
A national flag covers a group of people
A plastic bag is flying on the monument
I pray that I can uncover that sacred lie in my dreams
This is the twilight of our remaining life
On this sacred day
Driving a speeding car in the desolate desert, shouting out loud along with the music from time to time, Ju An was experiencing countless Hollywood movie scenes - a speeding convertible, a beautiful woman standing up against the wind on the car, intense rock and roll, plus the faint smoke trailing behind the car. At this moment, your brain can't think of anything, actually doesn't need to think of anything, just emptying your mind is joy!
Before everyone's excitement had dissipated, the four of them saw a city emerging on the horizon - Las Vegas had arrived.
Las Vegas is a household name in China, and almost every young Chinese has heard of this gambling city. It's really famous, with countless movies telling the story of this magical city in the desert, from cheating at casinos to winning hundreds of millions of dollars. If you want to see the scenes of betting with tens of thousands of dollars on the tables like in the movies, don't come here, because they simply don't exist.
Las Vegas is not just about gambling, there are various performances to watch and visiting the big hotels is also a great option. When we arrived in Las Vegas it was already after 5pm, so we checked into a hotel. Miles brought us to stay at the Bellagio Hotel, which is a five-star hotel that's much cheaper than New York, no wonder people say this place has the cheapest equivalent hotels in the world.
In the hotel room, they took a short rest, then the four of them went to the buffet restaurant and had a free meal. After everyone was full, they strolled into the hotel's casino. To be honest, my only memory of gambling is from when I was in junior high school, playing mahjong with some older cousins for a day or two, and all my pocket money ended up in their pockets. It took several years before I lost interest, and even after entering high school, I hadn't touched mahjong again, nor did I know how to play slot machines.
In front of two slot machines, two beautiful women were playing enthusiastically. Juren and Miles stood behind them with big smiles on their faces watching them play.
"Why don't you want to play a couple of rounds and try your luck?" Miles asked with a smile, looking at the two excited women in front of him.
"Uninterested," said Ju An with a shake of his head, "why don't you go play instead."
Miles explained: "The odds of making money are at most one in ten, this is not a good investment, who would invest in this except those who want to get rich overnight, luck is the most unreliable thing" He pointed to the crowd nearby and continued: "Most people here think they are that one in ten or one in a hundred, but actually they are all here to give money to the casino".
Juwon took a look around and found that at least half of the people in the casino were Asians with black hair and yellow skin, while real whites were actually in the minority.
No wonder the newspaper said that Las Vegas, due to poor economy and now mainly tourists from Asia, many free projects have started charging. Asian fat sheep may be more tender and delicious for casinos.
Watching the two girls happily in front of the slot machine, Jasmine played for a couple of rounds and finally got lucky, earning back some of the lost chips. She let out a delighted "wow" and continued playing, only to lose the over $20 in her hand at an even faster rate than before. Jennifer beside her was no exception, and soon the over $20 in the hands of the two girls had been donated to the casino.
After spending the money in their hands, the two girls were satisfied and clapped their hands, pulling the two people to watch the performance of the Sun Horse Troupe. When they walked to a twenty-one-point platform, a middle-aged uncle with glasses attracted Miles' attention, saying to Ju An and others: "We'll go see it later, let's take a look at this person's luck first."
After watching for a while, Jū ān secretly gave this middle-aged uncle with yellow skin a nickname: Calm Brother. Every time he bet several thousand dollars, when he lost, his face didn't show any expression; when he won, his face still didn't show any expression. The overall feeling was that of Mount Tai pressing down, unflappable and unchanged. After watching for a while, this brother had already lost nearly $100,000, yet his face still showed no emotion - neither happy nor angry, neither humble nor proud. Watching this, Jū ān couldn't help but feel secretly impressed.
After a while, the two girls felt bored and pulled Miles and Ju An towards the theater. Miles smiled at Ju An and said, "What do you think of that guy?"
Suddenly, Ju An blurted out a Chinese phrase: "Niu bi!" Miles was taken aback for a moment, and then Ju An said in English, "Awesome!"
"The biggest difference between him and these people in the casino is that others are just gambling, while that gentleman is truly playing cards. The state of mind is different, so naturally the atmosphere is also different." Miles said with a smile.
Looking around at the several gambling tables, indeed, there were those who had lost and were clutching their hair in distress, while others who had won were beaming with joy. Even a couple quarreling was spotted by Ju An, truly a microcosm of all human emotions. On just one small gambling table, the full range of emotions - happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy - could be seen.
Four people left the casino and entered the theater, where they felt that there were really a lot of people coming to watch the performance. All the seats were basically full. When the four found their seats, they discovered that the central stage was a swimming pool filled with water. In the center of the pool was a small circular stage, surrounded by a group of girls performing synchronized swimming in the water, and several little girls performing acrobatics on the stage.
After the performance, Miles suggested that everyone go out for a stroll. As soon as they stepped out of the hotel's lobby, the first thing that caught their eyes was the famous large fountain in front of the Bellagio Hotel, which looked even more magnificent and stunning under the lights. Behind the fountain stood the Eiffel Tower, the iconic landmark of Paris Las Vegas, along with the hotel building, all bathed in a warm golden hue by the night sky and the lights.
Then they strolled through a few more characteristic hotels, and finally, at the strong request of the two girls, the four of them rushed to the boutique store, where almost all the world's famous brands could be found. The two girls who had been shopping were overjoyed, while Miles and Ju An were complaining endlessly. After finally finishing their shopping in the brand-name store, it was already nearly midnight.
Due to the exhaustion from walking, Miles and Gwan decided unanimously to change their departure time for the second day to noon. The four of them walked and stopped occasionally, taking in the scenery and trying local snacks. The over 1,200-mile journey took the four people four days and three nights to complete, crossing California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and finally arriving in Montana. When they arrived in Livingston, Gwan and Molly parted ways with Miles and his group, one heading east back to Lewistown and the other west to Helena, the capital of Montana.
When Ju An drove the car rented from Che to send Jasmine back home, Jasmine's mother warmly invited Ju An to come in and have coffee. Fortunately, her old father was not there. On the way, Ju An suggested that Jasmine move to his place, but unexpectedly, Jasmine refused without hesitation. According to her explanation, people in Lewisburg are relatively conservative. If two people live together, it basically means telling others that they are going to get married.
