Chapter 1

On a summer afternoon, the sun was scorching, making the road surface appear almost white. In such weather, few people ventured out, making the already quiet highway even more deserted.

On Highway 26, an old pickup truck roared, its obviously modified engine making as much noise as a small train.

As the truck sped by, it left behind not only the roar of the engine but also faint traces of dynamic music, clearly indicating that the person inside had the radio or CD player turned up to a volume that could almost pierce the eardrums of a normal person.

"Hey, can you turn the volume down a bit!" The young man in the back seat seemed to have had enough, reaching out to tap the fat driver on the shoulder and shouting at the top of his lungs.

"What?" The fat man turned his head slightly, then turned it back, his whole body jiggling with the music.

Next to the fat man, in the passenger seat, sat a handsome guy, really handsome, with a charm that could rival the young Wu Yanzu.

The fat man and the handsome guy were shaking uncontrollably to the music, thinking they looked cool, but to the young man in the back seat, they looked like two fools. As the saying goes, fools have more fun!

"Don't be so gloomy, cheer up! Come on, let's dance to the music!" The handsome guy turned to look at the young man in the back seat and said cheerfully.

"Go to hell!" The young man in the back seat finally couldn't take it anymore: "Are you here to take me to the doctor or to tease me all the way?"

The handsome guy ignored the young man's sullen face, swaying and saying, "The doctor said there's nothing wrong with you, you're just too stressed. Take a few days off, go on a trip, and relax. Young man, work is important, but you need to know your limits. You can't..."

"Get lost, if I don't work, will you support me?" The young man in the back seat said irritably.

"Hey, Sushan, seriously, relax a bit. You're working too hard. You haven't taken a day off in two or three months. Are you trying to kill yourself?" The fat man, who was swaying, finally turned the music down a bit.

The young man in the back seat, Sushan, said, "I set a small goal for myself: by the end of this year, I want to buy a small farm and settle down, then bring my parents over for a few days."

"The situation in China is better than here in the U.S. now. With the pandemic, I think bringing your parents over here might not be a good idea. Besides, it takes forty minutes just to buy groceries or go to the supermarket. This place is like a big rural area," the fat man said.

"I know, but I want to bring my parents over to see how well I'm doing here," Sushan said.

Sushan's journey to the U.S. was different from most people's. About ten years ago, going to the U.S. was a very enviable thing in China. At that time, an uncle from the U.S. came back and said he wanted to bring a child back to the U.S. to inherit his farm when he passed away. He chose Sushan.

When this was mentioned, Sushan's parents naturally agreed. They completed the procedures and sent their son to the U.S. with the uncle. A few years later, the uncle passed away, and Sushan discovered that the farm was leased. The old man had brought him over just to save on labor and have someone to take care of him in his old age.

Complaining was useless, and returning to China was not an option because his family still owed money. So, Sushan started working various jobs. Later, he got into construction, building houses. Because he was hardworking, his life gradually improved, and he saved some money.

He set a goal for himself: to buy a small farm by the age of twenty-six, become a small landowner, and then he wouldn't have to work so hard anymore.

During his struggle, Sushan met the two people in the car and became close friends with them.

Both were from China. The fat man was named Jia Yicheng, with the English name Mike, known as Fat Jia. He was a broker who sold everything from yachts and houses to cars and watches. As long as it made money, he would sell it. His lack of scruples suited him well in the U.S., so his life was quite comfortable, and he was the highest earner among the three.

The handsome guy was named Li Jingyu, with the English name Leonardo, a name he shared with Leonardo DiCaprio! He was from South China, known as Handsome Li. Tall and handsome, he was a veterinarian who graduated from a top veterinary school in California. Although doctors in the U.S. generally earn well, he lived more casually than most Americans, so his income was only mid-range among the three.

The three of them were an odd combination. Sushan was a high school graduate from China, Fat Jia had a college degree, and Li Jingyu was a top student from a prestigious U.S. university. Despite their different backgrounds, they became close friends, sharing everything.

The events of today started two weeks ago. One morning, Sushan woke up to find an extra voice in his head. At first, he didn't pay much attention, but the voice persisted, becoming increasingly annoying. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to go to Twin Falls to see a psychiatrist, thinking he might have a mental issue.

When they heard Sushan was going to see a doctor, the two guys, who were rarely idle, volunteered to accompany him. At the hospital, Fat Jia spent half an hour reading the fortune of a Mexican nurse, while Handsome Li discussed medicine with the bored doctor for half an hour. The doctor's conclusion for Sushan was that he was too stressed and needed to relax.

So, as they left the clinic, the two guys tried to help Sushan relax by turning the music up to the maximum, almost making Sushan's head explode.

"Hey, be careful, there's someone ahead!" Handsome Li warned Fat Jia, who was driving.

Following the road, Sushan noticed an old pickup truck about fifty meters ahead, towing a livestock trailer. Next to the trailer was a white-haired old man with a full beard, and beside him was a particularly beautiful purebred horse.

As Sushan's gaze fell on the horse, the annoying voice in his head spoke again, a continuous chatter that he couldn't understand.

This time, the voice was clearer, and Sushan tried to understand it, as if it were a dialect.

As he focused, Sushan heard another sentence, and this time he seemed to understand. The voice in his head said something like, "Can't wait anymore."

Just as he thought this, Sushan felt a flash of white light in his mind, like a TV with no signal. Fortunately, everything returned to normal after a second, and he saw the blue sky and white clouds, with his two silly friends still shaking in front of him.

However, when Sushan looked at the horse again, something strange happened: five semi-transparent grids appeared on the horse's body, located on the head, chest, waist, buttocks, and legs. Two of the grids had something like equipment.

At the same time, a radar chart appeared in front of the horse's head, with six indicators at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 o'clock positions: bones, agility, endurance, temperament, resistance, and strength. Each indicator had a value: bones 78, agility 70, endurance 60, temperament 80, resistance 55, and strength 77, forming an irregular polygon.

In addition, there was a small box-like object above the horse's back.

Sushan was curious and tried to touch it with his mind, and a small line of text appeared: Furnace.

When Sushan focused on the two 'equipment' items, two lines of dark gold text appeared, making him a bit unhappy: "This item does not belong to you. You have no right to view this equipment."

As Sushan was playing with the new thing, Fat Jia stopped the pickup truck by the roadside and leaned out to ask the old man, "Hey! Need any help?"

The old man replied, "Do you have water? Clean drinking water?"

"Sure!" Fat Jia took a bottle of water from the cup holder and handed it to the old man.

The old man took the water, said thank you, and opened the cap to give it to the horse.

"Need anything else?" Fat Jia asked.

"No, thanks!" The old man turned to look at his horse.

Fat Jia started the car and drove forward, sighing after about a hundred meters and said to Sushan in the back seat, "See that? That's what a real nutcase looks like. You're just a bit silly."

Handsome Li asked, "Is the old man crazy? I didn't see it. The horse looks nice. Do you know him?"

"I know him. Not just me, many people who follow horse racing know him. The old man has a horse farm. For some reason, he suddenly said his horse is worth $120,000. At first, everyone thought he was joking, but after a while, they realized he was serious about selling his horse for $120,000!" Fat Jia said with a laugh.

Handsome Li said, "The horse looks beautiful. Isn't it a purebred? Can't it sell for $120,000?"

Fat Jia sneered, "Beauty is useless. A purebred horse that can't race and doesn't perform well is only good for horse meat. His horse is worth $120,000? No one would buy it for $120. It's so bad, who would want it? Even if you bought it, the meat would be too tough!"

Fat Jia turned to look at Sushan in the back seat and asked, "What do you think?"

"What?" Sushan finally came to his senses.

"Damn, what are you thinking about?" Fat Jia turned back to continue driving.

At that moment, the car passed a small horse farm, where hundreds of horses were leisurely grazing on the grass. When Sushan's gaze fell on these horses, he noticed that some had empty slots, while others did not.

"Stop the car!"

Sushan shouted.

Fat Jia braked suddenly and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to look at the horses!" Sushan pushed open the car door and got out.

Fat Jia and Handsome Li were taken aback, looked at each other, and almost simultaneously said, "What's so interesting about horses?"