Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Indian driver’s words allowed Zhang Lisheng to drop half of the stone in his heart. It seemed like the situation had started to develop in the best ending he expected.
The young man sighed with relief and shrugged as he said, “I don’t have such a good enthusiasm to go to Washington to lash at the compromisation and the peace between White House and the aliens. If such a method worked, then there would be no meaning for the existence of nuclear weapons and the light energy warships anymore…”
When his words left his mouth, his phone began to ring. He picked it up and the respectful voice of Charlie’s secretary resonated, “Sir, American Airlines has a flight from New York to Washington in half an hour. If you can’t make it for this flight, then we can book an air route 55 minutes later. A private jet is faster than the average civil aviation, so you can reach Washington ten minutes later than the civil flight at most…”
“Ten minutes late is also late.” The female secretary eagerly offered two choices in a very magnetic voice, but Zhang Lisheng interrupter her without waiting for her to finish. Then, he asked the driver. “Mr. Driver, can we get to the airport in half an hour?”
“Sure, if there’s no jam.”
“Great!” Zhang Lisheng smiled politely and told his choice on the phone. “I can still make it, so I’ll go with civil aviation but schedule an air route too just in case. Prepare the jet for take-off too.”
“Yes, I’ve already booked a passenger plane ticket. You can board the plane directly at the ‘VIP Passage.’ After arriving at Washington Airport, there’ll be a car waiting to pick you up. I wish you a pleasant trip.” The secretary could tell that the young man was not in a good mood, so she kept the conversation short.
“Thank you, goodbye.” Zhang Lisheng said and hung up before turning his head to the window.
In the hot downtown area of New York, pedestrians of all skin colors would come and go as usual. Various advertisements and discount signs of shops could be seen everywhere. The impact of the global riots that the aliens brought a few months ago to this metropolis seemed to have long gone without a trace.
Zhang Lisheng noticed a group of young men and women who were almost the same age as him walking on the streets, chatting and laughing with each other. Seeing this, he, who was doing his utmost to analyze and calculate, while dealing with the Atlanteans to save his place of faith, suddenly sensed an inexplicable deep feeling rising in his heart, causing him to mutter in Mandarin, “Sometimes, the ordinary is a blessing…”
After sighing, the young god remembered that he had already gained the inheritance of two ancient gods. An archipelago with an area of tens of thousands of square kilometers in the foreign world would fall into his hand; conquering the world as a whole was just around the corner as well. Not only that, but he had always tricked and deceived his stalwart alien enemies.
Another gush of inexplicable determination rose in his heart as a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, causing him to whisper to himself, “But only a powerful person can master his own fate in his owner’s hand…”
The taxi driver heard the commanding tone that Zhang Lisheng used when he was talking on the phone just now, so he quietly studied the young man from the rearview mirror. After seeing him hanging up the phone and just continuing to look outside the car window in a daze, with a series of expressions running across the young man’s face, he no longer bothered the young man anymore. It was only until the car had reached the JFK International Airport in New York that he finally spoke, “Sir, we’ve arrived at the airport.”
“Hey, thank you.” Zhang Lisheng snapped back to his senses. Casually throwing out a 200-dollar bill, he pushed open the door and left the car. He immediately ran to the VIP lounge, and it was just ten minutes away from boarding.
Just like this, he hurriedly boarded the plane and took off. In the evening, the young man finally came to Washington and stopped at the airport before taking a limousine to rush to the Capitol Hill in the dark night, without making any stops.
The Capitol Hill, home to the United States Capitol, had such a name because it was located on a low hill with a height of fewer than 100 meters.
Although this hill in Washington, DC was short, it symbolized the supreme legislative power of the United States of America. As a citizen of a federal state made from a constitutional union, Americans were used to seeing it as the ‘heart of the country.’ Not only that, but the highest symbol of the political power of the people, by the people, for the people was far more sacred and solemn than the political center White House.
Although Zhang Lisheng was not a democrat, nor a proud citizen of America, deep in his heart, after staying in the country for so long, he understood the meaning of the ‘Capitol Hill.’ For this reason, when he saw an endless stream of dilapidated cars lining up on the road at the foot of the hill, with countless tents blanketing it, he was so stunned that his jaw dropped in amazement, despite mentally preparing for this.
The driver who was serving the young man was about 50 years old; he was an employee of the LS Group’s Washington State branch. Although he had been silent along the way, he was respectful and drove smoothly.
Seeing that there was nowhere else to go, he could only stop the black Lincoln limousine by the side of the road and said, “Sir, if we go any further, I’m afraid I’ll drive past the Capitol Hill…”
“I know, Kent, I know. Wait here, please,” Zhang Lisheng snapped back to reality and nodded. When he was just about to get down from the car, he suddenly stopped and asked, “Are you from Washington?”
“Yes, sir. My father is a police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, so I grew up living near State Street.” The driver nodded proudly.
“State Street?” Isn’t that the long street we’re in right now? How wonderful,” The young man showed a happier expression now. He pointed at the lamplight and firelight roaming outside before asking, “Then have you encountered such large-scale demonstrations before?”
“There’ll always be one or two large-scale sit-in demonstrations every year near Capitol Hill, but I’ve only seen such a gathering of at least 100,000 people once in my memory. A long time ago, when I was about ten years old, the Capitol Hill was also ‘occupied’ like this when the anti-Vietnam war demonstrations were held,” The driver thought for a moment and kindly reminded him, “Usually, such large-scale demonstrations are difficult to control, so there’ll be floods of alcohol and drugs. Many participants would become irrational after getting drunk, and more so in this kind of rally… So, no matter what you want to do, it’s best to be cautious. Don’t argue with other people, sir.”
“Don’t argue with other people?” Zhang Lisheng’s expression became happier, “You mean, there’s no federal police among them to control the order?”
“Sir, having a rally is the freedom that the Constitution gave to American citizens. Unless there is a serious violent conflict, the police will not be dispatched. Similarly, if an accident occurs in such a large-scale rally, you can only count yourself unlucky. After all, everybody has to be responsible for their own actions.” The driver replied with hesitation.
“Looks like you have learned a lot of different ‘wisdom’ from your father, who is a policeman. Thank you for reminding me, Kent,” the young man nodded and walked out of the car. Braving the chilly wind in the wilderness, he crossed the stagnant traffic and walked up to the top of the Capitol Hill.
Thousands of car lights were shining along the way, gathering to become as majestic and spectacular as a dragon. Walking by the stream of cars, he could hear the moaning of a couple having sex, the blasting of car radios, and the sudden carefree shouts of the crowds. When Zhang Lisheng saw young and old faces dancing pleasantly in the dim light while blowing smoke out of their mouths with beer bottles in their hands, such hearty right of freedom made Zhang Lisheng feel quite uncomfortable.
He climbed the lush green highlands, the grass that was initially loved but had long become a mess. Shuttling through the gaps between tents, he carefully avoided those people who were sitting on the blanket or were enjoying themselves while smoking tobacco and weeds or were sitting around looking up at the stars while talking about their beliefs or were strumming a guitar while singing leisurely. When he reached the top of the hill, he saw an incredibly huge, entirely white, three-story building made from marble that had a length of more than 200 meters wide.
There was a three-story dome on the top floor of the central building. On it was a bronze statue of the Statue of Liberty that was five to six meters high. The north and south wings on both sides of the big dome opened wide like real wings, which were the offices of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. It was clear that this was the Capitol, the most essential heart of the entire United States of America.
Although Zhang Lisheng lived in the mountain village of Western Sichuan at an early age, he left China for New York at the age of sixteen and did not know much about China’s political situation. However, when he entered the city in his childhood and youth, he had seen the power and the prestige of the guards patrolling the town council and county administration more than once. He felt that there should be no such civilian demonstrations in front of the ‘Tiananmen,’ the Chinese national symbol.
The silly thought flashed fleetingly. The young man took out his phone to call Trish again, but he was still welcomed by the voicemail.
“I’m afraid there’s not just a hundred thousands but several hundreds of thousands of people…” looking around at the crowds where sins and ideals, uglies and nobles were coexisting together, Zhang Lisheng sighed and avoided the main entrance of the US parliament shrouded in bright light in the distance, with a unique sense of solemnity and splendor. He secretly walked to a dark corner at the edge of the high ground and sat cross-legged, before shutting his eyes and placing both palms on the grass.
In an instant, an invisible wave of waves rippled throughout the Capitol Hill from the direction of the young man. Since the sprinklers were turned off for a long time, the soil had become fresh and dry. However, they were immediately moistened by the condensation of water in the air and became wet.
After ten seconds, khaki-colored toads the size of a copper coin began to be born out of the mud. As their bulging eyes darted around, they looked in all directions with no blind spots.
“Oh, why are there frogs here suddenly? What a strange color…”;
“Aha! Even the frogs know that the aliens are unreliable and come to support our demonstrations, but those despicable politicians only know how to compromise! I really regret voting Republicans during the election…”
“Where did these damn toads come from? They keep jumping around! I’m allergic to animals…” it was already late at night, and the light was dim. The toads were small, so by logic, although they were inconspicuous when tens of thousands of them were leaping around, it still inevitably caught the attention of a small number of participants.
Many people were bewildered and stepped these little creatures to death out of shock. However, more people looked at them with interest and did not hurt them, some of them even scolded loudly when they saw other people trying to step on these animals. However, nobody noticed that even if they stepped on these animals, they did not leave traces of their corpses, but instead, when the sole of a shoe struck them, they turned into a pile of muddy water.
