Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 388 Telekinesis (Part 1)

Inside the antique shop, Zhai Da looked at the inscription on the back of the "Five Generations Longevity Lock" with some confusion.

Having probably been looking at it for a while, the young Black man said impatiently, "Have you finished looking?"

Zhai Da temporarily handed the longevity lock back to the other party: "I am indeed very interested in an object that is closely related to Chinese culture."

The young Black man immediately asked, "Is it gold?"

Zhai Da shook his head hesitantly: "I can't confirm, it requires specific testing..."

He had a pure gold cane that weighed several kilograms, but he still couldn't distinguish it by sight, especially since even extremely stable gold can change color due to environmental factors. Not to mention the variations in purity.

The shortest lifespan of this longevity lock is at least a hundred years, having lived through five generations. Not to mention, its last owner has been dead for who knows how long, and its surface appears even duller than brass.
Without melting it or soaking it in potions, who can be sure? But can he really melt this equipment?
The young Black man glanced at the longevity lock, feeling somewhat resentful; in truth, he didn't believe it was gold.

"Listen, $300 is yours, but I want cash!"

This is almost a default price for gold, but as I said before, Zhai Da doesn't care about this amount right now.

But the problem is he doesn't have that much cash left.
I brought five or six hundred yuan with me when I left home, thinking it would be enough for everything. I chose to pay in cash earlier because I figured it wouldn't be of any use back in China.
Zhai Da looked at the female shop owner and said, "I don't have any more cash. How about this, I'll swipe my credit card at this shop, and you can give me back the cash I just paid you, and then I'll give it to him. How about that?"

The female boss could only nod blankly, but her eyes never left the black youth's pants pocket.

After a series of actions, Zhai Da swiped his card and got back the 505 dollars he had paid earlier. He then picked out 300 dollars and handed it to the young black man. The young black man glanced greedily at the remaining amount in Zhai Da's hand, but in the end, he didn't say anything and just kept what he had.

Seeing that he had some sense of propriety, Zhai Da silently put away the cane from his sleeve.

He wasn't naive enough to trust a black guy, but he wasn't weak enough to be threatened by a gun that hadn't even been drawn yet.

From beginning to end, if this person wanted to use American-style Iaijutsu, he wouldn't mind using Chinese-style handshake tactics.

However, this person was quite law-abiding and passed the test.

However, one frustrating thing after another happened to him. When the young black man was counting his money, his right hand was out of his pocket.

The female owner of the antique shop slowly pulled a pistol from a drawer and pointed it at the other person's back.

Zhai Da:
No, is this never going to end?
Are there more guns than people in Los Angeles? Or do you all share a common racial trait?

He couldn't predict the young black man's reaction to being held at gunpoint; they might end up shooting each other in the store. Seeing that the young man was still basking in the joy of the cash, Zhai Da silently gestured to the female boss to stop messing around.

The female boss paused for a moment, then nodded: I understand.

Then I pulled the safety on the side of the gun—I almost forgot about that!

Zhai Da took a deep breath. "Wow, they're so hospitable!"
Then, with a sudden movement, he snatched the pistol, which had its safety off, in a flash.

It was fast, but not by brute force. The skillful hands disarmed the gun smoothly, as if by magic, and the gun changed hands in the blink of an eye.

The young Black man turned his head sharply and immediately reached for the gun in his pants pocket. Zhai Da did the same, but before he could fully pull it out, it was taken away.

The two of them then behaved themselves.

Zhai Da held one in each hand, examining them for a moment.

This thing is definitely more effective than magic.

But that's not his style.

He placed both handguns on the table to the side: "I still have work to do and don't want to be taken to the police station. Now you can talk to me properly, right?"

The young Black man stammered out, "Japanese ninja?"

"If you keep nagging me, I'll kill you."

The guy immediately shut up.

Once he was sure both of them had calmed down, Zhai Da continued speaking, pulling out a few remaining banknotes from his hand:
"See, when you don't have a gun, aren't you more clear-headed? Now answer a few questions for me, and if I'm satisfied, I can give you an extra tip."

The Black man was taken aback: "What's the problem?"

"Where did you get this?"

The answer was completely unexpected by Zhai Da.

Half an hour later, Zhai Da and the young black man got out of the taxi and arrived at a house in a remote suburb, or more accurately, a house ruin.

It's still a classic wooden house in Los Angeles, but it's so dilapidated that only half of it remains. It's unclear how many years old it is, and it may have even been rebuilt many times.

The "Five Generations Longevity Lock" was discovered by a young Black man who, after living at home for two days, found it in a dark underground room.

“I removed a broken floorboard and found a rusty iron door. That’s what I took out of there.”

Zhai Da looked at the area where the floor had been stripped bare. The heavily rusted iron door was only the size of a manhole cover, with a small hole rusted out of the brittle metal. The young black man had reached in and touched it.

Are you really not afraid of tetanus?
"I shone a flashlight inside, and there wasn't anything good there, just some dirty stuff."

"for example?"

"A skeleton? You're not interested in that, are you? Or are you an Eastern sorcerer?"

Zhai Da was somewhat surprised. He had only intended to check for clues about the owner of the [Lock of Immortality], but instead found the owner's true form directly.
Zhai Da observed for a moment and saw that the handle was still intact. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, used it as a pad, and tried to pull the door handle.

"Don't waste your energy, this door is completely rusted shut, even I... holy shit!"

Zhai Da adjusted his posture and then exerted force suddenly.

The door wasn't opened, but he pulled it down directly.

Ignoring the bulging-eyed Black youth, Zhai Da covered his mouth and nose and looked inside.

It was indeed a skeleton, completely skeletal. It had probably been lying there quietly for decades.

Judging from its contorted posture, it was probably not trapped inside to death, but rather killed and thrown in.

Zhai Da sighed inwardly, after all, he had taken the other party's [Five Generations Longevity Lock].

According to the equipment description, he had planned to return to his home country before his death.

Let's try to send it back, but it will be a bit troublesome.

------

Back at the hotel, Zhai Da had a box in his hand.

Of course, he wasn't crazy enough to run around carrying a skeleton; there were other things in that space, all ravaged by time: a broken pocket watch, shattered glasses, and half a decaying ship ticket.

The ticket looked very old-fashioned, but unfortunately the half that recorded the name was completely gone, leaving only the ship number and other information, written in cursive English that made me dizzy.

These items might contain the deceased's identity information. Since they are to be sent back, Zhai Da harbors a certain hope of finding traces of their past.

Consider it a farewell to someone in the east.

As for the remains themselves, Zhai Da did not impulsively choose to call the police. People die in Los Angeles every day, let alone such old remains. He might just throw them away after calling the police.

So he contacted the embassy.

It's perfectly reasonable to look for your mom when you're away from home.

Although this need is somewhat abstract, the idea of ​​returning to one's roots is culturally acceptable. Moreover, Zhai Da doesn't need the embassy's free services; he just hopes the embassy can provide some guidance on local procedures and how to bring his belongings back. He will cover all expenses himself.

Zhai Da handed the matter over to a member of the production team to help follow up.

Back at the hotel, Zhai Da temporarily focused on preparing for the final episode of "Magic Talent Show".

After two days of emergency rescue, the chaos caused by Li Lianjie's absence was barely smoothed out. The filming process and program content were heavily modified, and on the fourth day after arriving in Los Angeles, the program was finally ready to begin filming.

The number of guests has been reduced from four to three, but the original process continues, only the groups are no longer divided. Each of the three chooses a type of magic trick and sets off to gain the approval of passersby.

In the Avenue of Stars, a place teeming with street performers and eccentric characters, it's not too strange to grab someone and perform magic tricks. Lu Siwen and Liu Yifei, both with good English skills, had a relatively smooth experience.

Huang Xiaoming's game is purely a Pictionary game.

"Not at all, baby!"

"Yes! Yes!"

Actually, there aren't many locals here; most are tourists from all over the world who come here because of its reputation. Of course, there are also many Chinese people. After failing a few times, Huang Xiaoming learned his lesson and started targeting locals and Liu Zi.

However, during their magic performance, they had an extra task: to invite these passersby to the "Chinese Grand Theatre" on the Avenue of Stars that evening to watch a thrilling magic show.
As night falls, colorful banners are hung outside the renowned TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Although to a Chinese person the style here seems more like an Asian hodgepodge, it is indeed often associated with China.

It's worth mentioning that it was fortunate that the theater was sponsored by the domestic brand TCL; otherwise, with their two-day delay, they probably wouldn't have been able to secure the venue. It was Zhai Da who made the call.

After all, TCL also collaborates with research institutes, and they also make mobile phones.

Tonight, this historic theater seems to have returned to a century ago, an era when magicians were respected and treated like movie stars.

The logo of "Magic Talent Show" is very eye-catching, but most of these tourists from all over the world are unaware of its origin, with only a small number of tourists from China, Japan and South Korea having heard of it.

To ensure sufficient audience capacity, the theater was opened to the public 10 minutes after admission, allowing not only those invited by the daytime mission but also passersby to participate.

The three guests no longer need to worry about punishment; tonight they are simply spectators.

Twenty minutes after entering.

The theater was already packed, and the lights went out instantly.

Only five spotlights flashed continuously on the stage, forming a line.

With a "bang," the magician appeared under the beam of light on the far right, nodded to the audience from all over the world, and was greeted with applause.

But then, under the spotlight of the second exhibition, another figure appeared, his arms outstretched as if to provoke cheers.

Under the third beam of light, the magician reappeared and twirled his stick.

Under the fourth beam of light, accompanied by increasingly rousing background music, the fourth magician appears, standing with his hands behind his back like a proud king.

Under the fifth beam of light, the last magician slowly stepped forward through the white smoke and removed his top hat.

The five consecutive sudden appearances that deceived the eye completely stirred the audience's emotions.

Then, when the spotlights flashed all at once, all five magicians turned into mannequins!
Wearing the same clothes and maintaining the same posture.

The perfect combination of lighting and music created an excellent viewing experience, which surprised the audience who had low expectations.

Is this something they can watch for free?

The mannequin in the middle suddenly moved, as if it were a dream, and turned into a real person, walking in front of everyone, while the other mannequins turned into sand and disappeared.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, until the atmosphere was deafening.

Zhai Da stepped onto the stage, raised his head, and his chin resembled a sharp blade: "Welcome everyone to my stage!"

This isn't arrogance, but rather the atmosphere needed for the performance. After all, there's a saying in the magic world:

You can practice your techniques, but whether you're sexy or not is something you're born with.

That's why the "Mystic Code" includes the "Cloak of Faith"—it's very important!
This is Zhai Da's first performance on stage in the four episodes. Unlike the previous three "single" magic tricks, this time it will be a series of performances.

It has dialogue, a process, and interaction.

This is used to gradually shape the audience's perception and understanding of his "mind control," so that he can accurately obtain what he wants.

At the same time, unlike the press conference, this time it was purely for show... cough cough, purely a performance.

On the empty stage, Zhai Dalang said in a loud voice, "Everyone, I wonder what your expectations are for tonight's performance."

"For example, the limit of hand speed in a game?" As he spoke, he rubbed his thumbs together continuously, firing out countless playing cards like a machine gun, and then constantly changing the cards in his hands, throwing them out one handful after another.

"Or perhaps a quick change of clothes?" With a flick of his hand across his chest, the cyan outfit with silver patterns transformed into a sharp black suit.

"A magical transformation?" Zhai Da pulled a piece of silk cloth from his chest, squatted down, and immediately stood up.

Dilraba, the magic assistant who had been running alongside Zhai Da for half a month, walked out gracefully in a bunny girl outfit and came to his side, draping one hand on his shoulder and exuding charm.

"Or perhaps...hypnosis?" A pocket watch appeared in Zhai Da's palm, but it only swayed briefly before he decisively put it away after four seconds.

Because something terrible could happen in five seconds.

"No matter what you expect, tonight will far exceed your expectations, because I will show you how to control matter with your mind!"

"Let's start with the viewing rules: Recording is allowed! Sharing is allowed! Exclamations of amazement are allowed at any time!"

Zhai Dalang said in a loud voice.

(End of this chapter)