Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

"I cannot accept rewards without merit; please give me a reasonable explanation."

Ma Jie couldn't figure out what this guy was up to, but judging from the situation, he didn't seem to have any malicious intent.

"Oh, stop pretending, bro. Do you think I can't see through you?" Simeon walked over, raising his eyebrows. "I bet you're a professional stolen car hunter, specializing in collecting abandoned vehicles in the city. Wherever there's crime, there you'll find your hardworking figure."

Stolen car hunter? Is that even a profession? American players are really something else.

Ma Jie remained calm, while Simien continued to speculate: "My mechanic told me that the time difference between when this old Ford F-150 was abandoned and when it arrived here was no more than 30 minutes. This means you followed it all the way to the abandonment location. I don't know how you did it, but if possible, I'd like to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with you."

"If you're in this line of work, you should understand that, given the crime rate in Los Angeles, several of these stolen cars appear on average every 24 hours. But those idiots using AC software have to wait at least ten days to locate them and classify them as zombie cars. They might even pull out guns and shoot each other in the street to steal the same car."

AC software? What kind of slang is that? I don't understand it at all.

However, Ma Jie reacted quickly, immediately bringing up the AR virtual panel and entering keywords into the browser.

That's when I discovered that the full name of the AC software is Abnormal Car.

The direct translation into Chinese could be "abnormal vehicle" or "unusual vehicle," referring to a paid software developed by hackers.

Its function is to use big data and intelligent recognition technology to find vehicles in the city that have not moved for a long time.

If you upgrade to VVIP, you will also have access to advanced features such as trajectory playback and vehicle owner information lookup.

The United States is a country built on wheels, with 2.9 million cars nationwide, or 864 cars per thousand people.

This will lead to an extremely large industry chain, and recycling zombie cars is a highly profitable business.

There are many reasons why zombie cars appear in cities: abandoned by criminals, the owner died in an accident, the owner went missing or was imprisoned, traffic fines were too high, maintenance costs were too high, public vehicles were idle, and some people even forgot where they parked after drinking, resulting in them being unclaimed for a long time.

For idle scoundrels like Xiao Heizi and Bai Juyi, this is simply a way to make a living.

If the wrecked car is drivable, it is resold to a car dealership for illegal refurbishment; if it is undrivable, it is towed to a dismantling plant to sell for parts.

As long as the mind does not slip, there are more solutions than difficulties.

Of course, opportunities and risks go hand in hand. In this case, the authorities will not investigate unless the public reports it. However, once the original owner calls the police, your actions will change from "I picked it up" to "car thief".

Therefore, even when targeting stolen cars, hunters dare not act rashly. They still need to make rational judgments based on experience and avoid risks in advance.

After learning about this industry background, Ma Jie took the opportunity to say, "Okay, buddy, I admit I do have a bit of a talent for recycling vehicles."

"Haha, I knew it!" Seeing him forced to admit it, Simeon laughed happily. "Then would you be willing to cooperate with Simon Autos? I guarantee you won't be shortchanged, you'll make lots and lots of money. What's 1,800? What's 18,000? As long as you're bold enough, even the First Lady can take maternity leave!"

He's all talk and no action, spouting rhymes like that. Are you preparing for graduate school?

Looking at his greasy, smiling face, Ma Jieke said expressionlessly, "Sir, if your promise not to mistreat me is just empty words, then I really need to think about it carefully."

As he said this, Ma Jieke kept looking at his old pickup truck.

The implication couldn't be clearer: stop with the nonsense and show me your sincerity.

Simeon quickly understood what he meant, rubbing his bald head with his smile undiminished: "How about this, bro, the $1,800 is the price for external customers. We'll use an internal discount for you and me, so you can just pay me $1,200."

"Twelve hundred?" Ma Jie immediately pulled out his Dragon-Slaying Saber: "Three hundred."

"Huh?" Simien was dumbfounded. Was this haggling or robbery? However, he didn't want to miss out on a talent over such a small matter, so he had no choice but to back down and say, "How about a thousand? That way I can still earn some hard-earned money."

"Just three hundred, take it or leave it? If not, I'll go to another place."

"No, no, no, how about eight hundred? I really can't go any lower, or I'll lose money."

"..." She responded with silence.

"Six hundred, bro, I've already lost money."

"What about five hundred?"

"Four hundred and fifty! That's the final price!"

"OK, OK, don't go, buddy. Let's do it your way, let's be friends, let's be friends."

"It's a pleasure working with you, Boss." Only then did the man show a relieved smile, but he felt that this guy could still make a profit of $300.

"When can I pick up the car?" After paying, Ma Jie added, "Oh right, I forgot to mention earlier that I also want to get a custom paint job."

"No problem." Simien forced a smile. "Send me the style of pictures you want."

"According to the standard procedure, it takes 2 to 3 business days to pick up the car, but our partners have priority. Our dealership has the best mechanics and painters, and the most advanced paint booth on the market."

"By noon tomorrow at the latest, you will see a brand new pickup truck. You can drive it and pick up whoever you want. All the girls in Los Angeles will fall for you."

"Oh, come on Simeon, this piece of junk wouldn't even get you a pick-up from the cleaning lady," Ma Jie muttered, then glanced at Franklin, who was bending over mopping the floor, and couldn't help but say, "Sir, Franklin really works hard, at least to me. As a customer, can I give him a good review?"

Hearing Ma Jie speak up for him, Xiao Fu looked at him with gratitude.

At Ximen Auto Service, the best employees are evaluated not only by performance but also by positive customer feedback.

"Of course, I'll add it for him."

"Thank you, goodbye Mr. Simeon." He then walked up to Franklin and gave him a friendly fist bump: "Keep it up, buddy. Come visit me in Skid Row sometime."

"Definitely, I like the bars and clubs there."

After leaving Ximen Auto Shop, Ma Jie checked the time. There were still two hours until dark, so he continued riding his scooter to check out the item refresh points.

After a lot of work, I got quite a few good things: a Samsung phone with a cracked screen, a 2KG coil of copper wire, and a pair of Valentino high heels.

Finally, just as I was about to finish jungling, I unexpectedly encountered a purple epic question mark.

Upon arriving at the location, I was delighted to find an unclaimed, second-hand Trek carbon fiber mountain bike.

The car is in pretty good condition, at least 90% new.

According to the forensic information, the original owner of the car was accused of multiple serious crimes after driving under the influence of alcohol in a busy urban area due to company layoffs and bankruptcy, resulting in the deaths of 6 people and injuries to more than 20 others.

The judge sentenced him to 857 years in prison with no possibility of parole, using an extreme, cumulative sentence.

That makes perfect sense. Would humans still be using bicycles more than 800 years from now?