Chapter 44: Big Mistake

After spending two days in Glacier National Park in Montana, when Carter arrived in Washington, it was already August.

Upon reaching the state of Washington, Carter realized that he had made a huge mistake. Located in the northwest of the United States, Washington State was not the same as the District of Columbia, where the capital, Washington D.C., was situated. Washington D.C. was not in the state of Washington, but rather near Maryland and Virginia, where he had passed through earlier.

After completing the check-in procedures in Seattle, the main city in Washington State, and hearing the news from the receptionist, Carter was dumbfounded. So, what was the point of rushing all the way here?

Fuming with anger and nearly dropping his cup, Carter muttered curses under his breath as he returned to his room. Coincidentally, the television was broadcasting the news of Paul Volcker taking office as the 12th Chairman of the Federal Reserve, mentioning that he would preside over the first Federal Open Market Committee meeting in a week.

This felt like twisting the knife in Carter's already wounded heart. After traveling across almost half of the United States, from the southeast to the northwest, he suddenly realized that he had ended up in the wrong place.

Even the joy of witnessing Paul Volcker's inauguration, as Carter had anticipated, seemed tasteless now. The once comfortable and cozy room now seemed irritating to him.

"Melissa, do you want to go out for a walk?"

"No, I'm too tired! I just want to lie in bed and not move!"

Melissa, who had spent several days sleeping in a sleeping bag in the park in Montana, was now sprawled out on the bed. Anyone who tried to separate her from the bed would be considered the number one villain in her eyes.

"Then I'll go out. Be safe, and let's have lunch at the hotel at noon. Don't wander around, okay?"

"I got it, I got it! Just leave!"

With a bang, Carter closed Melissa's room door and went downstairs to his car. Seattle, the city, was quite unfamiliar to Carter. Even in his previous life's memories, he only recalled seeing this city in a TV series called "The Legend of Bruce Lee."

Not knowing where to go, Carter decided to look for Bruce Lee. Wing Chun, "Hua!" sounded very exciting, and Carter, feeling frustrated, wanted to punch a sandbag. Of course, he wasn't planning to fight Bruce Lee; he hadn't reached the point of wanting to end his life.

But finding Bruce Lee's martial arts gym, becoming his disciple, and punching sandbags there seemed like a good idea. And it was undeniable that Bruce Lee, the kung fu superstar, was highly regarded in Seattle.

Carter randomly asked a passerby about Bruce Lee, and everyone nodded, affirming that they knew him, and pointed Carter in the direction of the Wing Luke Museum.

Half an hour later, Carter stood contemplating in front of the tombstone, with the years 1940-1973 engraved on it. After quietly offering incense he had bought from Chinatown, he left the cemetery feeling even more frustrated.

From the moment he entered Washington State, everything seemed to go wrong. Getting lost in big things was one thing, but even in hobbies, Carter was now reminded of Bruce Lee's early death, which he should have known.

Forget it, let's not mention it!

Without Bruce Lee, Carter's impression of Seattle was basically nonexistent. If he didn't want to go back to the hotel, he could only drive around aimlessly. And let's not forget, in the sparsely populated northwest of America, the performance of a Mustang sports car could truly be unleashed.

On the roads with sparse traffic, Carter stepped on the accelerator, and the Mustang roared forward. Starting from 80 miles per hour, he accelerated to 160, and the speed was still gradually increasing.

In this part of the United States, the farther north he went, the fewer people there were. Because north of Seattle was the border between the United States and Canada. Although the border between these two countries seemed like nothing, don't forget that most of America's northern industrial zone was in the New York-Baltimore-Chicago region. Even though Seattle was close to Vancouver, there weren't many cars coming from that side.

As long as there weren't too many cars on the road, Carter didn't care about the several speeding tickets he might get. He drove at high speed, and after a short while, he reached the U.S.-Canada border.

Normally, U.S. citizens didn't need a visa to enter Canada for six months. But Carter thought to himself, what was the point of going to Canada when he had nothing to do here? So he turned around at the border checkpoint and headed back.

However, luck was not on Carter's side on the return journey. Just as he was enjoying the thrill of speeding, he suddenly noticed a police car with flashing lights behind him.

After slowing down and driving forward for a while, when Carter confirmed that the police car was indeed following him, he could only reluctantly pull over. American police checks were quite interesting; they didn't shout at you, they just turned on their lights and followed you like a stalker. If you saw them, you had to stop. If you kept running, then you were in trouble. The police even had the right to shoot or stop your car.

Once Carter stopped the vehicle, the police car behind him also slowly pulled over. Soon, a police officer walked up to Carter's car, checked the trunk to ensure it was securely closed, then approached the driver's side. Through the rearview mirror, Carter could see another police officer standing by the car door, staring at him.

As soon as Carter stopped the car, the police officer nodded, indicating for Carter to continue. Soon, Carter slowly retrieved his documents from the glove compartment and handed them to the police officer, with one hand still on the steering wheel.

The police officer took the documents and lowered his head to examine them, while asking, "You were speeding significantly and are suspected of illegal street racing. Do you have any prohibited items in the car?"

Speeding was one thing, but accusing Carter of street racing left him frowning. "Officer, I may have been speeding, but where's the street racing? Did you see any other cars racing against me? Also, there are no prohibited items in my car."

"Are you saying there's nothing just because you say so? If there's street racing, we'll find evidence, but for now, I need to inspect your car!"