Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The government has launched a disaster relief program. Fortunately, the earthquake
was not excessively destructive. Its epicenter was in the desert. The magnitude was
reduced to a small amount when it passed Phoenix.
Although the buildings in the city were tall, their construction was qualified, and their
earthquake resistance ability was very good. Scenes such as the buildings falling and
people dying did not normally happen. Only trample accidents occurred as a few people
ran away in fear when the earthquake happened.
A high number of houses in the towns and villages in the area have collapsed. Many
houses in American villages were self-built, and while these small buildings were
beautiful, they were not earthquake resistant.
Overall, the earthquake was a blip, with a death toll of five persons.
These five deaths were not directly caused by the earthquake, but rather, after the
earthquake some car owners were frightened and drove in a careless panic, resulting in
a series of car accidents. All five people died in the car accident.
Exhausted, Li Du kicked over a bucket of water and glared at Hans. “Where did you get
the news that there will be another earthquake?”
The Earthquake Administration denied the rumors. They said an earthquake could not
be predicted, and that the news spread about a second big impending earthquake was
fake.
“Well,” said Hans with a smile, “There is nothing wrong with being a little more careful, is
it? You see, the Earthquake Administration also said that these days we had better stay
in the open.”
Li Du was restless the day before. He did a lot of work in the afternoon. It was cold in
the evening and he was exhausted.
After all, the earthquake had just happened, so they had to be careful.
Although exhaustion was really getting to him, Li Du dared not enter a room to sleep.
He could only stay in the doorway so that if the situation got bad it would be easy for
him to run quickly.
In fact, he couldn’t even sleep at the doorway. Sophie had to go to town to help the
victims, and Li Du volunteered to help out in the ruined town.
Another day and not even an aftershock occurred.
After testing and checking, the Earthquake Administration declared that the earthquake
was over and this matter had come to an end.
Li Du finally could have a good night’s sleep.
When he woke up, he felt sore all over. He went to Hans and said, “Come on, fulfill your
promise and give me a massage to make me feel good.”
Hans grinned and said, “You want to feel good, don’t you? I’ll take you somewhere.”
Li Du saw his expression and knew what he was going to do. He sneered, “To the red
light district? Go away, I’m not going. I want you to give me a massage, this is your
promise.”
Hans shook his head and said, “Not in the red light district. It’s a Korean massage
parlor, very famous in Phoenix. Their staff is very good.”
He also explained that the massage parlor had Korean cuisine, hot spring baths,
Korean songs and dance performances, and so on.
When Li Du heard that there was a hot spring bath he was interested. He had been
sleeping outside these two days and was chilled to the bone.
Therefore, he complied and followed Hans to the so-called high-end leisure Korean bath
center.
The massage parlor was located in a regular suburban house, and although this house
covered quite a large area, Li Du did not see that it had the imposing manner of a high-
grade recreational bath center.
He looked at Hans suspiciously. “Is this the place?”
Hans nodded excitedly, “This is it!”
After they drove in, a Korean middle-aged man came out to greet them, and his stealthy
appearance made Li Du feel even more suspicious.
“Is there a hot spring for bathing?” asked Li Du.
There were only a few places in Phoenix with hot springs, and he knew about all of
them. However, he had never heard anything about this one.
Hans laughed and said, “What does it matter? He has a big tub here, and the water is
warm and very comfortable, just like a hot spring.”
Li Du was angry. “What about the Korean song and dance performances you
mentioned?”
“You pick a girl, she girl can perform for you. They have Korean striptease too,” Hans
laughed even harder.
Li Du wanted to punch him, so he raised his fist.
Hans was afraid, so he quickly waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry, I am not lying to
you, they really have a massage service here. Really, there is a Korean pine needle
massage, very authentic.”
Reluctantly, Li Du withdrew his fist, still not trusting Hans.
Hans, who knew his way around, hung out with the furtive old man, and they thrust Li
Du into a small room and hurried away.
After a while, a row of young girls came in and stood in front of him. One of them, who
was apparently the leader, said in a pretty voice, “Is there anything we can do for you?
Should I read our service list to you?”
Li Du said, “I want a massage, a real massage.”
The young girl looked confused, but nodded and said, “Sure, please lie on your stomach
while I do some preparation.”
The girls left, and then a middle age woman came in. She had thick arms and a body
two times bigger than Li Du’s.
Li Du was satisfied. All he wanted was a massage.
The massage began. The full course was a hundred minutes. The auntie’s technique
was really good, full of strength, and Li Du’s tensed muscles soon relaxed.
He was enjoying himself when someone knocked at the door. “Hello, please open the
door.”
The aunty put a towel on Li Du’s back and went to open the door. Someone rushed in,
holding a police badge and shouted, “Police, squat down!”
There were similar shouts outside. It was a police raid to catch illegal sex workers.
Li Du was stunned. He raised his hands and protested, “Officer, I only came here for a
massage!”
This was really unfair. Why am I so unlucky? He just came here for a massage, and had
to run into the police!
The policeman was not very unreasonable or rude. He looked at Li Du, who was still
wearing his pants, and then at the bulky woman beside him. He frowned and said, “You
came for a massage?”
Li Du hurriedly nodded. “That’s right, officer, just a massage. There was an earthquake
two days ago, I have been participating in disaster relief, my muscles are very sore, so I
came in for a massage.”
The policeman looked at him suspiciously and said, “Are you involved in the relief
work?”
“Yes, yes,” Li Du said. “I also met your colleague recently. You have a colleague who is
responsible for maintaining public security there. We know each other, you can ask
her.”
“Who is that?” asked the policeman.
Li Du made a phone call to Luo Qun, ad she and the police officer talked. The cop let
him go out and wait, said he would confirm his story later, and let him leave.
More than forty minutes later, a police car roared, and Luo Qun rushed over.
They were not from the same police station, but they probably knew each other.
Seeing Li Du, she frowned. “How come are you here? Does Sophie know?”
Li Du said angrily, “Don’t talk nonsense, I came for a massage!”
Luo Qun sneered, “All men say that.”
Li Du said helplessly, “I really came for a massage, these two days I’ve been too tired!”
Luo Qun nodded and said, “No need to explain!”
“You don’t believe me?” Li Du was really angry.
“Of course I do,” she said, glancing at him blankly. “Just now I was teasing you. With a
fiancé like Sophie, I would not believe that you’d be interested in this kind of woman.”
Li Du said, “This has nothing to do with my fiancé, I would never do that anyway!”
Hans, with handcuffs on his wrists, was pulled out, and upon seeing them, his eyes lit
up and he shouted, “Help!”
