America: Starting from collecting corpses, leveling up to godhood

In the following days, Chen Ming neither took on the job of transporting corpses nor rushed to fight again—after winning tens of thousands in one night, the people in "Blood Cage" already remembered him, and he wouldn't earn much more if he went back.

Besides, after working so hard for so long, it's time to treat yourself to something nice.

He first threw his laggy, broken phone in the trash and bought the latest iPhone. Then he ordered several sets of durable, easy-to-move-in clothes and tactical boots, various small tools, and even chemical agents and precision knives online...

In less than three days, piles of Amazon parcel boxes almost filled the living room.

"Good heavens..." Sofia walked out of the bedroom carrying a bag of corn chips, struggling to step over two large cardboard boxes on the ground.

"If you have money to burn... why not learn from other boys your age?"

Chen Ming was using a utility knife to open a box full of high-protein energy bars without even looking up.

"What to study?"

"Let's go to a bar, or go to a strip club and party!" Sofia stuffed a piece of corn chip into her mouth.

"Stuff all the money into the dancers' thongs, and you'll quickly go bankrupt again and have to struggle back to pay rent, instead of lying in your apartment unpacking cardboard boxes..."

"I'm not going." Chen Ming cut the tape.

"I don't want to get syphilis or AIDS. The money I earn should be invested in myself, not spent on women..."

Sofia swallowed her food defiantly and put her hands on her hips.

"Bullshit! You just haven't met a hot enough woman yet!"

As she spoke, she took a deep breath, deliberately puffed out her chest, and struck what she considered to be a very seductive pose.

"Once you've seen a truly hot body, your wallet will open on its own..."

Three seconds passed.

Chen Ming continued inspecting his newly purchased tactical boots without even lifting his eyelids.

"..."

Sofia's shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon, and she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"You're nothing but asexual reproduction in human skin," she muttered, kicking aside an empty cardboard box and walking dejectedly toward the refrigerator.

Chen Ming ignored her complaints and threw the tactical boots into the bedroom.

"You've been in Los Angeles for so long, do you know any auto repair shops that do special modifications?"

Sofia pulled out a can of soda and unzipped it.

"Modifications... like adding hydraulic shock absorbers or underbody lights? If you want your car to look a bit more festive, the corner auto repair shop can handle it."

"No, I need to reinforce the protection." Chen Ming stomped on the empty cardboard box to flatten it.

"Weld steel plates inside the car doors, replace all the windshields with bulletproof ones...and it would be best to replace the engine as well."

"Cough cough—"

Sofia nearly choked on the soda she had just swallowed.

"Bulletproof steel plates and a high-powered engine? Don't tell me you're planning to drive a food truck into a Chase Bank vault..."

"Los Angeles isn't safe, I'm just trying to be safer on the road," Chen Ming said calmly.

Only he knew how dangerous it was when he drove his food truck out of the underground parking garage late at night to escape police pursuit.

His physical condition is still acceptable, but the shell of the second-hand Ford food truck he's using is as flimsy as paper; a stray bullet or even a minor impact could damage the doors or even the fuel tank...

With ample funds at hand, a comprehensive upgrade of the vehicles is imperative.

Sofia looked at Chen Ming suspiciously.

"Your requirements are definitely not what you'd expect to get for selling fried rice..." she muttered under her breath, but still pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.

"There's an old Latino man in the Boyle Heights named Hector who used to modify bulletproof cars for drug lords at the border."

"Thanks, send me the address." Chen Ming immediately turned around and took the car keys from the table.

"A hundred dollars, please." Sophia gave a very standard business smile and extended her palm.

Chen Ming stopped abruptly in his tracks as he reached for the keys.

"Sophia, I thought we were friends."

"Precisely because we're old friends, that's why it only costs you a hundred." Sophia confidently spread out her palm and waved it.

"If someone else asked me for Hector's contact information, it would cost at least two hundred dollars."

Chen Ming looked at her quietly.

"Just fifty, forget about it."

"make a deal!"

Sophia snatched the banknotes Chen Ming had taken out, her face beaming with joy.

"So where does he live?"

"He's a neighbor of Big Taco, you know the area, just go there."

"..."

Looking at the cunning woman in front of him, Chen Ming felt a certain part of his body harden.

If it weren't for the fact that renting another place in Los Angeles would cost at least two thousand dollars a month, he would really want to move out.

……

Half an hour later, Chen Ming drove into a dead-end alley filled with discarded tires and industrial waste, based on the address given by Da Ta Ke.

Several muscle cars, stripped down to their frames, were parked in the dimly lit workshop. Sparks flew everywhere, and the pungent smell of welding filled the entire space.

An elderly Latino man with gray hair, wearing a jumpsuit, was busy using a welding torch under the chassis.

Chen Ming walked to the worktable and knocked on the iron frame.

"The big tower can introduce me here." Chen Ming didn't waste any words and pointed directly outside.

"Weld bulletproof steel plates onto the inside of the car doors, replace all the glass with bulletproof glass, reinforce the chassis...and if possible, refurbish the engine."

"You're going to put bulletproof armor on this pile of junk?" The old man crawled out from under the car and looked at Chen Ming's food cart with a puzzled expression.

"You're selling fried rice, not noodles... I'm too lazy to modify this vehicle."

"I'll pay everything, in cash."

Chen Ming took out three stacks of neatly bundled hundred-dollar bills from his pocket and slammed them directly onto the iron table.

"...On the other hand, I'm always friendly to my friends' friends."

The old man's eyes immediately lit up, and even his hunched back straightened up considerably.

"Consider yourself lucky, kid. I happen to have a set of bulletproof glass salvaged from an armored truck in my backyard that I can use as a makeshift installation..."

But before he could finish speaking, a violent engine roar suddenly came from outside the door.

Three black muscle cars rudely drove into the dead-end alley and stopped sideways, blocking the already narrow entrance of the auto repair shop. Several burly men with shaved heads and tattooed arms strode into the workshop.

"Hector, what kind of crappy engine did you build!" The burly leader pointed at the old man's nose and cursed.

"Last night, the car's RPM dropped halfway through the race, and you made me lose $20,000! Pay me back right now!"

Hector grabbed a rag and wiped his hands, refusing to back down.

"Don't talk nonsense to me... I've watched the race footage. You turned the steering wheel too slowly when you were overtaking in a corner, and the car behind you bumped you out of control. Don't blame my engine for your bad driving skills!"

Chen Ming leaned against the iron frame to watch the show.

In Los Angeles, these kinds of street disputes are so common that he has no interest in getting involved. He just hopes that these people will finish arguing and leave so as not to delay his car modification.

The burly man was enraged when the truth was exposed to him.

"You old fool, don't you dare try to get yourself killed!"

He roared and grabbed a pipe wrench from the workbench, hurling it at Hector, who immediately ducked and crouched down.

"Splash!"

"!"

Realizing something was wrong, Chen Ming suddenly turned around.