Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

"That's $13.5 in total. Thank you for your patronage."

The driver arrived at the Ximen car rental shop and quoted the price on the meter.

These ride-hailing services are at least one-third cheaper than traditional taxis.

Ma Jie gave $15 to pay for the ride, of which $1.5 was a tip, which is usually calculated as 10% of the bill.

Regardless of whether it's considered bad or not, when in Rome, do as the Romans do; the environment won't adapt to you.

Looking at the familiar scene before him, Ma Jieke felt as if he had returned to his homeland.

This place is located on the edge of the southern industrial area of ​​Los Angeles; you can see it by going under an overpass.

At the entrance, there is a distinctive yellow inflatable noodle figure that sways its body back and forth in a mesmerizing way.

The entire building is made of steel frames and transparent glass, and several modified luxury cars that are out of place with the surrounding environment are parked in the parking lot outside.

The Truffaut Viper is inspired by the Bugatti Veyron, while the Gurlotti Panther incorporates design elements from Ferrari.

In addition to these, there are also very common adventurer banshees, infernal demons, and Vypie bullets.

The sunlight shone on the car, giving it a cool metallic sheen that made someone's eyes turn green with envy.

If I could get one of these and take a girl for a spin on Highway 1, I'd be absolutely thrilled.

Never mind, I'll think about it later. There aren't any car models I like here.

You don't even own a Xiaomi Mavic 7, yet you drive a car dealership.

Pushing open the glass door, you enter the car dealership, where the interior space is even larger.

On the greasy black and white checkered floor, several display cars for sale were parked in a circle.

From budget sedans costing a few thousand dollars to fully equipped sports cars costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, their business covers everything.

The other side, divided in two by the partition, is the maintenance and painting area and a dedicated driveway leading to the back door.

"Wow, good afternoon, guys! Welcome to Ximen Auto Service. Feel free to browse and take your time. We can fulfill all your car fantasies here."

My gaze had just settled on a Toyota AE86 when I heard a pure California accent, clearly from the West Coast.

The other person walked out from behind the cashier, carrying a can of light lager beer.

Ma Jieke was stunned on the spot. This outfit... a white long-sleeved shirt over a blue work shirt, sloppy sweatpants paired with dirty sneakers.

He was physically robust, with dark skin, thick lips, and a wide nose—typical African American features.

"Franklin?" Ma Jie asked almost instinctively.

For old GTA players, even if he were burned to ashes, no one would recognize him.

"What?!" Xiao Fu leaned back in shock. "Bro, how do you know my name?"

"It's on the wall: the worst employee of the month."

Faced with his exaggerated reaction, Sandy couldn't help but roll her eyes, thinking to herself that being hosted by him was really unlucky.

Ma Jieke then noticed that behind the counter, several picture frames hung in a pyramid shape, with the one at the top reading "Model Employee of the Month".

Franklin's photograph can only be found in a corner.

Clearly, his performance this month was not ideal, and he was still in the street hustler stage of life.

"Oh girl, you really have a good eye." Xiao Fu said with a beer, making a self-deprecating remark: "To be honest, the reason I was rated as the worst employee by the boss this month is not because I didn't produce any results."

"It's because I dozed off while on night shift, and a few car thieves took advantage of the situation. Although their skills were a bit rusty and they didn't cause any real damage to the shop, I still got my salary cut. So now I urgently need to close a deal, otherwise I'll have to starve or go to the slums to fight with the homeless for food."

"I heard that people over there tap their anuses shut at night, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"Watch your tongue, buddy." Sandy immediately objected when he mentioned homeless people: "My name is Sandy, I'm from Skid Row, and his name is Jack. He lives in the same camp as me. Nobody in our area would be so bored as to do that kind of thing. That's just online slander."

"Even if sexual violence occasionally occurs, who do you think would be interested in a black man?"

Franklin gave an awkward smile: "Alright, girl, I accidentally offended you, and you insulted me back just as badly, so we're even."

Upon learning that the two guests came from the poor neighborhood, Xiao Fu immediately lost interest. How much business could he possibly do with homeless people?

However, out of professional ethics, I still asked politely.

When he learned that Ma Jie wanted to buy a police car, he immediately changed his attitude: "You should have said so earlier, bro. I'm an expert at this."

"I didn't realize that." Sandy was still incredibly sarcastic. "Where's your boss, Simeon? I want to talk to him in person."

"He went to Vanilla Unicorn to have some fun and won't be back until later."

"Who are you trying to fool?" Sandy said angrily, hands on her hips. "I used to work as a bartender at that club. It's not open during the day at all. Right now, the strippers are sound asleep in their apartments, hugging their pillows. Do you think homeless people are idiots?"

Being exposed to his face, Xiao Fu looked a bit embarrassed. After all, he wanted to complete this commission independently, which was completely different from skipping him and talking directly to the boss.

Out of respect for his old friend, Ma Jie stepped in to help him out: "Oh Sandy, I admit you're very good with your mouth, and I'd love to try it myself, but this guy doesn't mean any harm. He's just short of money and sales, and I happen to have the same needs. Why should I turn him away?"

"Buddy, I'm the buyer. I'm in charge of this. This job is entirely yours."

"Thanks, bro." Hearing this, Xiao Fu excitedly bumped fists with Ma Jie: "You are the most humane customer I have ever met. Those customers who choose employees based on photos have no idea what they are missing. The best car hunter in all of Los Angeles is standing right in front of them, but unfortunately no one recognizes his worth."

"Oh shit, I can't listen to this anymore, my ears are going to explode."

Sandy put on his headphones and walked to the French windows, swaying back and forth.

"Don't take it to heart, buddy, that's just her temper."

The two sat down, and Ma Jie got straight to the point: "Here's the situation: I need a police car, one that hasn't been restored. The condition of the car doesn't matter, as long as it can be driven away."

"This is a bit of a problem." Xiao Fu frowned. "Of course, I'm not talking about the car, but the price. A police car with police markings is an illegal vehicle. If you drive it on the road, you'll easily get caught by the cops."

"That's not something you should be thinking about. Just tell me directly how much it will cost and how long it will take."

Xiao Fu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I can't really say about the price, but it will be at least five times that of a regular scrapped vehicle. If you can accept that, I'll take you there now."

"OK, do I need to bring any identification?"

"No need," Xiao Fu shook his head. "You can't possibly register a police car in your name. Besides, people there only care about money. The only thing you need to worry about is whether your wallet is fat enough."