About 17:00, Mei Nation time, a commercial flight flying in from Ri Nation touched down at the Washington Airport. This aircraft belonged to Mei Nation Airlines. Although the Ri nation’s satellites had all crashed, they had the Mei nation’s satellites protecting them, so there was no interruption to the flight schedule.

  Xiao Luo’s new identity was Xiao Lin, a Hua Nation researcher. He was supposedly in the Mei Nation on a vacation, and also to experience this country’s customs and cultures. This was what he planned to say later when he was going through customs.

  This was an international airport and a gateway to the Mei Nation, so it was not surprising to find countless foreigners from every corner of the world converging there.

  There were many people at the customs, and there was a long queue at the security checkpoint. The scene looked rather similar to the ticketing platforms at Hua Nation train stations during the lunar new year. The only difference was that ticketing platforms at the train stations were abuzz with boisterous people, and the din was horrific—one’s ears would be assaulted by the cacophony that sounded like there were thousands of angry flies. A person would feel disoriented, and it added to the anxiety of the waiting crowd. But here, it was much quieter. Although there was a lot of activity, everyone had the civic consciousness to keep their voices down. After all, once you stepped out of your own country, everything you did reflected on your country’s image, so many foreigners tried not to misbehave when they were in Mei Nation.

  Suddenly, a loud argument broke out—and unsurprisingly, they were speaking Mandarin.

  This attracted the attention of everybody at the customs checkpoint, and they all turned their gaze toward the source of the disturbance. When everyone saw it was a group of people from the Hua nation, they all had looks of disgust and contempt on their faces.

  Xiao Luo was quite shocked when he saw the group of people because he knew those people. He did not just know them, but he was also very well-acquainted with them. His life at Huaye University in Jiangcheng flashed before his eyes like a sped-up movie reel.

  Zhu Xiaofei, Ding Kai, Huang Ruoran, Wang Ling, and their teacher Zhong Meili.

  Their names immediately flashed in Xiao Luo’s mind, for the experiences he had at Huaye were indelibly etched in his mind. He would never forget their faces, so young and full of vigor, especially those two class jesters: Zhu Xiaofei and Ding Kai. He had wanted to visit them many a time, but he deferred for good reason.

  As he listened in to their argument with the security officers, he understood, more or less, what was going on. As it turned out, Zhong Meili had been careless, and she filled out the dates on their Form I-94 wrongly. She had written it in the format they used in Hua Nation, and so the security officer instructed her to fill in a new one.

  Filling in Form I-94 was such a tedious thing!

  \r \r \r

  Zhu Xiaofei and Ding Kai could not suppress their anger. It was just an issue of changing the numbers. Why did they have to fill in a new one? And so they argued with the female security officer.

  But Zhong Meili, unwilling to escalate the matter, quickly calmed them down and ushered them off to a counter some distance away to fill in another arrival form as instructed by the security officer.

  What a small world it was!

  Xiao Luo could not help but feel emotional. Seeing how Zhu Xiaofei was still so plump and how Ding Kai still as thin as ever, he felt elated and in better spirits. However, the female security officer’s remark made him frown a little.

  “Uneducated Chinese!”

  It was jarring, and all the Hua Nation people there who heard it felt slighted. Xiao Luo was not too happy either, but the fault lay with his countrymen so he could only grin and bear it. A lot of the Hua nation people nodded silently. They felt helpless and embarrassed by how Zhu Xiaofei and Dingkai had acted and wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.

  It took a while before it was Xiao Luo’s turn. He handed his visa, passport, Form I-94 arrival form and customs declaration form over.

  Xiao Luo finally got a good look at this security officer who had insulted the Hua nation people earlier. It was a blonde woman about 32 or 33 years old. When she saw his nationality on his visa, she sneered. “Another one from Hua nation!” she muttered under her breath.

  The undertone of mockery in her words was plain as daylight.

  Xiao Luo picked up every word she said. This upset him, and he spoke to her in a native Mei nation accent with a slight smile on his face, “Do you have anything against Hua nation people, miss? Why are you targeting us?”

  “Targeting you?”

  The female security officer mocked, “And so what if I am? You’re all just a bunch of uneducated and poor losers!”

  “Poor losers?”

  A fit of fiery anger swelled in his chest.

  “Am I wrong?” the female security officer asked.

  Xiao Luo laughed and replied, “In 2008 when the global financial crisis hit, it was the poor losers of the Hua nation you speak about who kept the global economy alive. We injected hundreds of billions into Europe and tens of billions into Africa. Hua Nation was the country that shouldered the burden of the global financial crisis, the first to offer aid to the smaller countries, and the first country to emerge from the global financial crisis. That year, Hua Nation’s GDP surpassed that of the Mei nation.”

  Yes, it had only been a year, but who can deny the Hua nation’s immense contribution to the global economy before the crisis? Did you think your Mei nation people could survive the global financial crisis on your own? No! You people relied on us for help to survive it. By the end of 2015, Mei nation had piled up a debt of USD1.2645 trillion owed to the Hua nation.”

  In recent years, Hua Nation has accumulated a sizeable portion of foreign exchange reserves because of an increase in trade surpluses. Within the composition of those reserves, the Mei nation’s national debt serves as the most significant component. If we were to get technical about this, then Hua nation is the largest creditor of the Mei nation. You’re a debtor, and you dare insult your creditors and call them poor losers? How obnoxious of you, Miss!”

  Xiao Luo’s words carried weight as the facts he laid out were indisputable.

  A crowd had gathered to see Hua nationals make fools of themselves. Instead, they all drew in a quick breath, for Xiao Luo’s words shocked them. They all thought that this Hua national went for the jugular as he presented his facts well. The entire world knew that Hua nation people these days were really rich, and they were Mei nation’s largest creditor. Under such circumstances, this was a poignant riposte.

  The female security officer’s face instantly flushed. She stood up as her embarrassment turned into a rage and pointed at Xiao Luo angrily. “You march yourself to the back of the queue right now!” she hissed. Then she gathered all of his documents and dumped them on the counter in front of Xiao Luo. Her eyes bulging with rage as she glared at him. “Scram!” she shrieked.

  Resentment flashed across Xiao Luo’s gaze, but there was a slight smile on his face. “You should give me a reason for that, Miss!” he said.

  “A reason? I don’t need to give you one, but if you want a reason, then it’s because you’re a damned Hua national. You’re dirty, poor, and uneducated. Dog sh*t like you should be wiped out from the face of Earth!” the female security officer spat.

  She has crossed the line!

  Hmm, it seems like this Hua national is really in trouble!

  The international travelers who had gathered around them were all muttering to each other and shaking their heads. They were deeply empathetic to Xiao Luo’s plight. Being fellow countrymen, the other Hua nationals present were infuriated, and they felt sorry for Xiao Luo.

  The smile immediately left Xiao Luo’s face. “Please call your supervisor here, Miss!” he said.

  “Huh, just who do you think you are? You think our supervisor is someone you can meet just because you want to?”

  The female security officer had her arms crossed in front of her chest and a nasty look on her face. “Hurry along now, scram! You go to the back of the queue. Stop holding things up for the other people who want to clear the customs, or I’ll get the police and charge you for obstruction!”