Chapter 28: Sights and Sounds Along the Way
God knows what Sherlock said to Pepper that day, but Tony never returned after he left. After waiting an entire day, Sherlock didn't hesitate to drive away.
Without Tony around, Sherlock finally experienced the true joy of a self-driving cross-country trip.
Sherlock now understood why the Ford raptor was considered a treasure for cross-country adventures.
With the powerful U.S. V8 engine, this vehicle could literally take you anywhere as long as you kept the gas pedal down, whether there was a road or not!
Not only that, but besides the thrill of the car, Sherlock also experienced the happiness of the wealthy. It's safe to say that rich people really know how to have fun. No wonder so many wealthy individuals before the transmigration were obsessed with driving raptor Tyrannosauruses on cross-country trips.
When this thing gets going, it's truly exhilarating, especially for men; they simply can't resist that feeling.
Imagine driving a large raptor with the pedal to the metal across a flat Gobi Desert. The powerful suspension and engine make the vehicle feel as if it's running on a highway.
The stirred-up dust doesn't even have time to settle on the car before it's left behind. From a distance, it even gives one the feeling of a single rider charging on a battlefield.
What male creature could resist such temptation? Especially humans, who, after thousands of years in the cold weapon era, have almost ingrained battlefield charges into their DNA.
In any case, Sherlock felt he couldn't resist this feeling, even becoming somewhat addicted. This sensation, let alone magic, not even the top-tier Iron Man armor from the technological side could give Sherlock this feeling.
Moreover, thanks to the vast and sparsely populated United States, there's no need to worry about pedestrians or other vehicles. The feeling of just pressing the accelerator and not having to worry about braking made Sherlock even more addicted.
Aside from this enjoyable feeling, the scenery along the way also fascinated Sherlock. Although it certainly wasn't as breathtaking as the legendary Duku Highway with its four seasons in a single journey, as rumored in his previous life.
Nor was it as magnificent as the Sichuan-Tibet line, but thanks to the sparse population and numerous uninhabited areas, the journey through forests, peaks, deserts, and the Gobi Desert allowed Sherlock to thoroughly indulge in the thrill of a self-driving cross-country trip.
Sherlock even concluded that if one were to camp, forests would definitely be the first choice. The fresh air and readily available materials were all enchanting.
Especially waking up the next morning to the thin mist in the forest and the fresh smell of earth was truly captivating.
If you want to step on the gas and experience the joy of crossing, then the Gobi Desert is the best choice. It's flat, and the dust forms a long dragon behind you, and with the car windows open, it makes men even more excited.
As for the desert, that's purely about enjoying the sense of conquest over each sand dune. Compared to the desert, Sherlock still preferred the feeling the forest and Gobi Desert gave him.
Of course, besides the beautiful scenery, the people Sherlock met along the way also left a deep impression on him.
Especially the people in Florida, the state that juts out from the great United States, deeply embodied the saying Sherlock had seen before his transmigration:
In Florida, you can be poor, but you absolutely cannot be boring!
The people and events Sherlock witnessed along the way had such wild imaginations and bizarre behaviors that Sherlock didn't even dare to elaborate. If he did, it would either be 404, or it would sound like things no normal human being could do.
Things like breaking into a house in the middle of the night to give a kitten a Mediterranean haircut, or coating one's hands with peanut butter for enchantment to fight a peanut-allergic neighbor, were considered minor after Sherlock understood the customs of this place.
Even some criminals were the most bizarre of the bizarre. Sherlock personally witnessed an old man stripping down to only his underwear outside a convenience store, then robbing the convenience store and even telling the convenience store to call the Police.
When the Police arrived, the guy immediately lay down on the ground, waiting to be arrested.
An extremely curious Sherlock truly couldn't understand why this gentleman had to strip before robbing, so he used a Confundus Charm to impersonate a reporter and interviewed the old man.
The old man's reason was also powerful: prison provides food and lodging, and he didn't want to work; he wanted to eat the country's meal. As for stripping before robbing the convenience store, the reason was simple: it proved he had no weapon.
Sherlock listened to the old man's self-narration, which had a strong flavor of "Brother Dali," with a "subway old man" expression throughout, then decisively left and drove away.
God knows if he lingered there, he might also become bizarre. Based on the principle of prevention, Sherlock didn't hesitate to just drive away.
Besides the "simple" folk of Florida, the second deepest impression on Sherlock was Texas, also known as the Lone Star Republic.
If Florida was "simple," then Texas was "wild."
That place, if there was a disagreement, they would truly pull out guns and fight, especially in rural towns.
Of course, wild as it was, Sherlock still quite liked the strong cowboy culture. After all, the Yellowstone TV series from his previous life left a deep impression on Sherlock, and when mentioning the United States, the most famous cultural symbol is also the cowboy.
Cowboy culture is flourishing in Texas, and various cowboy competitions greatly broadened Sherlock's horizons. If nothing else, the American quickdraw skill of the cowboys in the competitions alone was enough to shock Sherlock.
Damn it, two shots fired in zero point something seconds, both hitting the target, and even the sound seemed like a single shot.
To Sherlock, this was no different from magic.
And that amazing lasso; Sherlock tried for a long time at a gathering but couldn't get it to form a circle. Others would swing it and it would be a circle, but every time it was Sherlock's turn, it was a stick.
This also made Sherlock mocked by the old cowboys for a long time. Of course, they didn't mean any harm, and they even bought Sherlock a drink at the end.
Of course, there are things one isn't good at and things one is. Sherlock's rapid-fire rifle shooting also impressed the old cowboys, as such speed and accuracy indicated that Sherlock had undergone extensive training, and cowboys never mock hardworking people.
Aside from these, what made Sherlock feel most uncomfortable were the wild cowgirls.
Sherlock truly wasn't good at dealing with these wild women. Each time, he could only blush and flee in embarrassment amidst the laughter of the crowd.
Texas was also the place where Sherlock stayed the longest on his cross-country journey so far.
Next, Sherlock had already planned to travel from Mexico through Ohio to Yellowstone National Park, then drive all the way to Hollywood on the West Coast to see it, and then head home to end this long cross-country trip.