When Fellow Countrymen Meet, Two Shots to the Back of the Head

"I can't get an AK, but I can still get a shotgun..."

As the saying went, when fellow countrymen met, the one behind... Ahem, their eyes filled with tears.

Lin Xu's little joke made the atmosphere more cordial.

Unfortunately, Lin Xu couldn't understand the Minnan dialect, and the fishing tackle shop owner couldn't speak Mandarin, so they had to communicate in English.

"My surname is Chen. You can call me Chen Sihua, or Tom, whichever works."

The shop owner took down some of his best-selling fishing rods from the display case as he spoke.

"My dad came over a long time ago. He couldn't speak Mandarin either. I've lived here for more than thirty years. I'd really like to go back and have a look, but..."

Lin Xu understood. China was still quite unstable at this time...

"My name is Lin Xu. I don't have an English name. If you're not used to pronouncing it, you can just call me Lin. I've gotten used to hearing it over the years."

"Okay, Lin, did you bring your FL? I need to register it."

"What?"

"Fishing licence. You do have one, don't you?" Boss Chen paused with his hand on the register, then asked, "Did you just get here? You need an FL to fish in British Columbia!"

"I'm not fishing in British Columbia. I'm just fishing by the river..."

Chen Sihua: ...

"BC is short for the province..."

Having made a fool of himself twice in a row, Lin Xu nearly lost his composure. Did people here really like abbreviations that much? Even Old Sam didn't have that habit.

"Ahem, I just arrived here and haven't had time to get one."

"I thought so. That's no problem. There's a building 300 meters up ahead with a fisheries department office inside. You can take your visa and get a temporary one. It's only three Canadian dollars for a day."

Lin Xu: A visa? What's that? I don't have one!

"Uh, what happens if I don't have that FL thing?"

"...It's fine as long as you don't get caught. If you do, they'll confiscate your fishing gear, ban you from fishing for life, and fine you 300 to 500 Canadian dollars."

Lin Xu silently tightened his grip on the 300 Canadian dollars in his pocket, which he had gotten from Old Sam. He did have money on him, but it was all 2013 US currency, and he couldn't use it here.

What about stealing or robbing someone?

Give me a break. Agamotto is watching through time. A man's got his pride...

After thinking it over, Lin Xu decided he didn't absolutely have to fish.

"Don't be so hasty, buddy!" Seeing his customer about to leave, the shop owner hurried forward and grabbed Lin Xu, then stuck his head out the door and looked both ways. "As my dad used to say, a living man can always find somewhere to piss."

Lin Xu's eyes lit up. There was a chance!

"What do you mean?"

"Five miles upstream along this river, there's a bend where nobody patrols. There are fishing rods there too, so you won't need to buy one separately. As for the price..."

The shop owner rubbed his fingers together, then said quietly, "Just 80 Canadian dollars a day. Of course, the equivalent in US dollars would be even better. And don't worry, the relevant authorities have all been taken care of. There won't be any risk!"

Well, damn! He found a loophole in the government's rules and opened his own fishing spot at no cost!

If that's really the case, I'll have to give it a try!

After a brief conversation, they struck a deal. Smiling, Boss Chen went to the landline and dialed a number. "It's me, Tom. One VIP!"

He had said 80 Canadian dollars, but it was actually 100. The extra 20 was for the ride, because other vehicles weren't allowed into the fishing spot. They could only use their own cars!

Ten minutes later, a Ford pulled up outside the fishing tackle shop. Lin Xu looked at the car, then at the shop owner, and climbed in with a mysterious smile on his face.

Shortly after he left, "Chen Sihua" dialed that number again.

"This time I want thirty percent!"

"Hmph, he's dressed strangely, but those shoes are definitely real leather, and excellent quality too. He's no ordinary mark. Also, don't call me Chen. Call me Tom!!"

Meanwhile, Lin Xu, who had been "resting his eyes" in the Ford, finally opened them.

"So that's how it is."

Sure enough, when traveling, especially somewhere without a soul to turn to, you had to watch out for a fellow countryman stabbing you in the back. That bastard had taken him for a fat sheep!

Things had been fine at first, but the shop owner had grown enthusiastic after Lin Xu showed reluctance to get a licence.

As for that fishing spot being his?

Give me a break!

It was 1979. In this era, Asians ranked below black people, and the politicians wouldn't hand Asians a good deal like that.

So after getting into the car, he had opened a two-centimeter-wide portal behind his head, connecting it to the cabinet behind the fishing tackle shop counter. It worked much better than a listening device.

You dare take me for a fat sheep? Let's see what kind of dragon's pool or tiger's den this is.

It was true that he didn't steal or rob, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill. Agent Zero's corpse hadn't even gone stiff yet!

More than twenty minutes later, the Ford had left the city and arrived at a ranch.

"Get out!" The driver had lost his initial friendliness.

"Weren't we going fishing? What are we doing at a ranch?" Lin Xu continued playing dumb.

"Hahaha, it's a ranch. Of course it's where we slaughter fat sheep."

As he spoke, the ranch gate opened, and three extremely politically correct men walked out: one black, one white, and one Asian. The only thing they had in common was that each carried a shotgun.

Seeing the scene before him, Lin Xu's first thought was: That guy's first sentence was actually true. He really can get shotguns!

"Delivered to your door. I'm leaving. Don't forget my share." With that, the driver started the engine and sped away.

"Don't worry. You two, bring him inside!" The white man was clearly the one giving orders.

Hearing that, the Banana People stepped forward and pressed his shotgun against Lin Xu's forehead. "You heard him. Get inside!"

Lin Xu said nothing and silently pretended to be afraid as he walked inside. He wanted to see just what these people intended to do.

After all, there were no telecom scams in this era, and medical care wasn't very advanced. Harvesting kidneys wasn't popular either. Were they going to sell him to some logging camp to chop trees?

Without handcuffs or ropes, Lin Xu was led into a relatively spacious room. Clearly, the three men had absolute confidence in their shotguns.

"Search him!"

Lin Xu still didn't move.

His wallet, phone, car keys, driver's licence, and the folding fan Gungnir had transformed into were all placed on the table. As for the Eye of Agamotto and Hoggoth's bone armor hanging around his neck, he had cast Shuma-Gorath's Gaze on them before getting out of the car. They couldn't see or touch them.

The white leader picked up the car keys. "Oh, a Chevrolet Suburban. That's a nice car. But I don't think I've seen this style of key before. It isn't fake, is it? Kid, where's the car?"

"The car's... in Houston." Lin Xu wasn't lying. The car really was in Houston, still parked at Adrian's house.

"Are you fucking messing with me? The car's in Houston, and you brought the keys to British Columbia? And what's this thing? What does Vivo mean?"