Chapter 596: 596

Chapter 596 My Friend

It was the hottest time of the day . Temperatures on the Gobi had already exceeded forty degrees . Zhang Heng put his backpack on his head to block the sunlight, but this action proved pointless . After trudging along the railway tracks for a while, the skin exposed to the sun became tan, and his vision started to become blurry .

Finding a rock wall that offered some shade, he sat down to rest for a while, waiting for the scorching sun to go down a little before taking off again . He had a whiptail lizard for company, hiding in the same spot as him to escape the tremendous heat .

In the Apollo program training camp, Zhang Heng underwent an exercise to test how well he could survive a desert . The only difference was that he was given a supply package . NASA had done an excellent job providing proper training to their future astronauts, having accounted for every emergency that could happen and provided contingencies for them . The trainees were even given anti-inflammatory drugs . This time, it was different . Zhang Heng was being thrown into the Gobi by the game system . From his clothes to personal effects, he was sorely unprepared to survive the rigors of the desert .

Since he had found the railroad, Zhang Heng originally planned to walk along with it for a while until the train came, intending to hop onto it and get off at the next settlement . Unfortunately, it seemed like he was not in luck today . Two hours had passed, and he still had not seen a train pass . So, he could only carry on the journey with his legs .

After walking for almost four hours, water in his body was evaporating quickly . Not only did the corners of his mouth become dry and cracked, but the exposed calves and arms were also a little red and swollen, an indication that he was experiencing sunburn . Fortunately, he spotted a small town from far .

He was relieved . Like most of the small towns in the west in this era, the unknown town he spotted was built along the railroad . The railroad tracks went through the town center, with residential houses on one side and taverns, brothels, and casinos on the other side . Drunkards tend to make a lot of trouble . So, it was necessary to keep them on the other side .

When Zhang Heng got closer, he realized that something was not right with this town . It looked entirely deserted; and through the open doors of a few houses, there wasn’t a single living soul to be seen in them . Not to mention how they were devoid of furniture as well . Zhang Heng randomly walked into one and found the ground filled with dust . It seemed the owner had not stayed here for a long time . The other residential buildings of the town were no better than this one . The only one that showed the slightest difference was the bar in the town . Eight horses were hitched outside the bar . Considering that this was probably the only place with humans in the entire town, Zhang Heng did not hesitate to open the door and enter the bar .

Unlike the empty town outside, the atmosphere in the bar was vivacious . Four men gathered around a table playing poker while cursing at each other loudly . There was also a guy who was already drunk lying on a table by the window; he had a booming snore . Meanwhile, the lame barkeeper was counting the bottles of liquor on the alcohol rack . On the other table, two young men were sitting there quietly . One was cleaning his rifle, and the other played with a dagger .

The moment Zhang Heng strolled in, the racket of a bar fell into a hushed silence . Of course, such behavior was completely understandable . His 21st-century attire looked a little too trendy, not to mention the eye-catching skin color he had .

Since he was not here on a date, he didn’t really care what people thought of him . Glancing around, he walked to the bar and put down his backpack .

“Excuse me, give me a glass of water… beer is fine too . ”

The lame boss did not turn around when he heard Zhang Heng’s request, seeming as if he heard nothing, and continued to sort out the alcohol rack . Zhang Heng frowned . The United States had a very complicated immigration composition . The English and Scottish weren’t the only ones that emigrated here, and though relatively rare, the possibility that the boss spoke no English couldn’t be ruled out completely . So Zhang Heng asked him again in French and Spanish .

Yet, there was no response from the boss .

Instead, a bearded man put down the cards in his hand and walked over . Though coming off as rugged and weathered, he was unexpectedly polite . “Mind if I sit next to you?”

“Please,” replied Zhang Heng after a pause . “Since you are a patron, perhaps you could answer my next question . Is the owner of this bar deaf?”

“Hahaha!”

The man laughed when he heard Zhang Heng’s question . Instead of answering directly, he posed another question . “Where do you come from, my friend? I don’t see your horse outside the bar . ”

“It’s in… another town . ”

“Well, as far as I know, there are no towns within a hundred miles . ”

“So, as you can see, I’ve walked a long way,” replied Zhang Heng . He looked toward the table where the man was sitting and pointed to the bottle of whiskey on it . “Can you give me a glass of whiskey? I have not taken a sip of water for some time . ”

“Of course! As the saying goes, good whiskey is meant to be shared among friends . ”

The bear-like man smiled, but he did not get up . He then looked at Zhang Heng and blinked . “You are a Chinese man, right? You look stronger than most Chinese guys, and you are wearing some weird clothes . Also, you don’t have that thing behind your head…”

The bear-like man made a braid gesture . “Don’t be nervous . I had two Chinese friends who owned a grocery store in the town . I truly liked them . I did visit their grocery store frequently… you know, they were like tireless bees flying beside your ears every day . Buzz… Buzz… Buzz… Ah… forgive me; I’m not well educated . That might have been an inappropriate analogy… One day, our friendship came into a little hiccup…”

The bear-like man suddenly looked very troubled . “You be the judge . That morning, I went to their store as usual and took honey, candles, and two wine bottles . Before leaving, they stopped me and asked me to settle my debts . Their actions hurt me deeply . Considering our friendship, I never thought money could be used as a measure . So I put down the honey, candle, and the bacon in my hand . I opened one of the wine bottles and took two big sips from it . “And as that happened, my two friends kept chattering, and chattering in my ears… So I drew my revolvers from my waist and shot-off their cute little heads! Suddenly, all problems between us have been resolved!”

The bear-like man grinned widely .

“Now, let me answer your previous question . No, one-leg Randall ain’t deaf . Considering his age, this old bastard hears sharper than a dog . He clearly heard every word you said . It’s just that… he doesn’t give a f*ck about you . ”

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