AWACS - An American With A Chinese System
Copyright© 2025 by PT Brainum
Chapter 42
I sent an email to Anthony, asking for a wish list from the islanders. I hadn’t figured out how to get the 90% discount yet, maybe I had to buy something for someone in particular, instead of for a group as a whole. Then I gritted my teeth and leveled up.
0/75,000,000 (105) Level
150,000/750,000,000 positive points
58,893,592 neutral points
175,000/750,000,000 negative points
28/29 Active Skills
26 Passive Skills
47,605 Bonus Neutral Points
If I didn’t spend much I could level up again this time tomorrow. I checked to see what Scribe recommended:
Pick a New Active Skill:
~维妙维肖 maintain wonderful maintain resemblance (0/1)
~骑虎难下 riding tiger difficult dismount (0/1)
~自由自在 naturally you naturally free (0/1)
~热锅上的蚂蚁 on hot pan is an ant (0/3)
~请君入瓮 please sir go into the pot (0/1)
Scribe had two that were blinking. Great. Naturally you naturally free, was blinking. As was riding tiger difficult dismount.
I knew from previous conversations that both were escape skills. I asked Scribe how urgent having one of these skills was, and he blinked them both faster. Crap.
“Which is cheaper to use?”
Neither blinked, which must mean that they were both about equal, or couldn’t be compared because they worked differently.
I really wanted the one that would help me build stuff. But needs must:
骑虎难下 riding tiger difficult dismount (1/1)
- immediately escape any situation or place regardless of danger or difficulty to a place of safety, cost 1,000,000 points
The price was expensive. I had my back to the main casino, and could hear the commotion start up behind me. Making sure that my forget me skill was still active, and everyone who saw me, and any recordings would disappear when I did, I activated the skill, and found myself sitting on a rock.
It was warm, a big white sandy beach was below me, as was a rather pretty blue sky with some white puffy clouds above me. The ocean in front of me was equally blue, as large breakers noisily rolled in, but crashing on the sand below the rock I was sitting on.
I had no idea where I was, but apparently it was very safe. It was definitely earth, as the beach was covered in plastic garbage and fishing debris. I pulled out my phone, to discover somehow it wasn’t in airplane mode anymore. Rat bastards at the FBI must have turned my phone on by remote.
I opened google maps, and at first, it insisted I was still at the Casino. Then the screen blinked. I was on Henderson Island. Yep, nobody is going to get me here. If I didn’t have a flying skill and I used this, I might just die here. From old age.
At least I got a discount, it only cost me 750,000 neutral points. I asked navigation to give me a route back home. It showed it was just under 200km. I guess I was mad, because I lifted into the air, and was back at the RV in less than a second.
I called Aida.
“Hi Koby, you missed a great beach weekend.”
“Yeah, I got caught up here helping people out.”
“So, quick update, Pete is out, and not likely to go back in. He denies you were ever there, and the photo they have claiming you were there is blurry, so nothing to say he’s lying. They did try that, ‘lying to us is a crime’, but his lawyer just had him not say anything, no lies possible.
“A guy came by this morning to check out your statue. Said you were right, that it’s an original Rodin. He also said because it has been cleaned, and missing its natural patina, it’s worth much less than it could have been. 25k compared to 70K.”
“Ok, how’s my prospecting company coming along?”
“Will be all finished tomorrow. If you send me funds I can open an account for it, but I recommend you don’t, because the FBI might have it frozen.”
“Right, I’ll be taking the statue back, it’ll patina quickly here in the salt air of Mexico.”
“You really shouldn’t tell me where you are.”
“Why not? I put an app on my phone that randomly finds locations, and tells the GPS that’s where I am. I set it to pick Casinos.”
“That’s funny.”
“I’m sure they’ve wired my phone, and know everywhere it goes. A wiretap these days is much more than just listening on your call, it’s recording your data, and phones normally report back where you are and what you are doing six to ten times a minute.”
“Interesting. Be sure to do what you can to stay safe. I’m working on getting your truck released.”
“If you do, just sell it, and keep the money. I’m sure that if they do release it, it’s because it’s wired for video, sound, and location.”
“Ok, I’ll make a note of that. Is it a nice truck?”
“I liked it. I liked being able to sleep on the back seat.”
“The only place you can get a big comfy back seat these days seems to be a truck,” she agreed.
I thanked her for her help, and offered again to do another video conference with the FBI if she thought it would help. She didn’t think it would, or that it was a good idea.
I called Pete, let it ring three times, and hung up. A couple minutes later I was on a video call with him, after showing that I was alone inside my RV.
“Where are you?”
“I’m not going to tell you in case they left any bugs behind.”
“Ok, that’s fine. You owe me big,” he needlessly reminded me.
“Well, I’ll pay you back when we get the boat.”
“You’ve got a boat?”
“No, you’re going to find me a boat, something big enough to do the job, and it needs to be less than three million.”
“I’ve found a boat, and it’s less than three million. Problem is that they want cash, and it’s in Germany.”
“Germany is fine. Cash is fine, what is it?”
“It’s a 2003 cargo ship, bit over 50 meters in length, 10.36 meter beam. It’s got a shallow draft, just under 2 meters.”
“How much can it carry?”
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