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3.7% Marvel Plane Trader / Chapter 2: Time Traveler Josh

Chapter 2: Time Traveler Josh

After leaving the door, Josh walked cautiously for two blocks and confirmed that no one had noticed him before he finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked into a decent restaurant on the side of the road.

It had been a week since he traveled through time, and the best thing he had eaten was just a hamburger. Now that he finally had some money, he naturally had to have a good meal.

Yes, Josh did not doubt that he was a time traveler.

Initially, he was just a tiny white-collar worker in a third-tier city in China in the 21st century. But after drinking with a friend who had just broken up with his girlfriend, he woke up in Chicago in 1943 and became a 15-year-old boy wandering the streets.

Heaven pitied him. In his previous life, although he was not from a wealthy family, he was still a young middle-class man with a car and a house, living a reasonably comfortable life in his early thirties. Although he often read online novels, he never thought of time travel.

His drinking buddy had failed in his entrepreneurial venture and had been dumped by his girlfriend of eight years, leading a failed life. Wasn't he the model for time travelers? Or did God make a mistake when choosing people?

Now, Josh found himself in Chicago in 1943, living in the Starting Point Orphanage, where he had eaten one meal but had no guarantee of the next.

The only benefit was that he had become 15 years old, gaining over ten years of life. But this life wasn't easy, as it was hard to say how long he could survive in this era.

Furthermore, some good news is that the original identity was not always an orphan. The parents passed away due to an accident in less than half a year, and they were legitimate American citizens, not illegal immigrants.

In addition, although his deceased parents did not leave him much property, they left him with a small apartment, at least giving him a place to sleep.

When he entered the restaurant, Josh did not order anything particularly extravagant. He ordered a large American beef patty, a serving of fries, a portion of cheesy macaroni, a salad, and a large cup of Coca-Cola.

It was a standard American blue-collar meal with plenty of food. As for the taste, it was just okay.

However, Josh was surprised that the Coca-Cola of this era tasted more potent than the Coca-Cola of the future. Since he was still growing, he quickly finished the meal.

After finishing the meal and paying, he spent seventy-five cents. Was it cheap? It was not cheap. According to the official gold exchange rate, this cost was equivalent to more than thirty dollars in the early 21st century.

During the economic crisis a few years ago, such a meal would not have cost more than fifty cents. The high price was because of the war, which caused a shortage of supplies.

Indeed, even though the United States had not experienced the war, prices began to rise in 1941, and from May 1942, the country started a rationing system.

Everyone received a ration book, which allowed them to purchase 48 blue and 64 red tokens made of plastic each month. Blue tokens were used to buy processed foods such as canned or bottled goods, while red tickets were used to purchase meat, fish, and dairy products.

Ordinary people could only buy goods according to the rationed amount, while stores and restaurants received larger quotas. All remaining supplies were sent to the front lines.

At the front lines, the rationed supplies of an ordinary soldier were three to four times that of a regular civilian.

It can be said that everything was prioritized for the war effort.

This rationing system was not expected to end until the second half of 1944 when the production of various goods in the United States peaked and became surplus. Of course, just like the private liquor business during the prohibition era, if you were willing to spend money, you could buy more goods.

After finishing a meal, Josh left the restaurant and relaxed as he walked down the street, ensuring no one was paying attention to him before calling a taxi. Don't be surprised; taxis were available in both Shanghai and Chicago during this time, not to mention in the United States.

He gave the driver an address and soon arrived at a used car dealership. As the world's leading industrial nation then, the United States had an extremely high number of cars, reaching 25% in 1937, or one car for every four Americans on average, with the majority concentrated in major cities like Chicago.

However, due to the country's entry into World War II, civilian car production was temporarily banned, and companies focused on producing military vehicles. As a result, new cars were difficult to come by and were subject to rationing, with only certain occupations like doctors and priests receiving quotas. Gasoline and tires were also subject to rationing.

Despite basic traffic regulations already being in place for some time, they were not as strict as today. Therefore, even though Josh was a bit younger than the legal driving age, he could obtain a driver's license with some extra money. He didn't need a new car, just a used one to make things easier in Chicago.

And with money, everything was possible, even with rationing. Eventually, Josh bought a good-condition used Ford for $200, nearly half what he had.

Driving the manual transmission car took some time, but with more specific traffic regulations, Josh could navigate the roads without any issues. He soon arrived at a gun store in a remote location.

Inside the store, Josh saw a variety of firearms. Although not as advanced as modern weapons, there were still light automatic weapons like the Thompson submachine gun, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and the Colt automatic pistol. However, they were too expensive for Josh.

His target was an old rifle from World War I, the M1917, which was cheaper due to its simple structure and large surplus stock. He bought four of them, along with an M1911 pistol for self-defence.

The store owner, a chubby man, didn't question Josh's purchase of four rifles at once. He had seen worse during the Great Depression. As long as he paid, it was none of his business what he did with the guns.


Chapter 3: Interdimensional Trader

With the boss's help, Josh loaded the guns into his car, paid the money, and left.

However, after turning a few corners, Josh stopped again and waved his hand over all the guns and bullets, making them disappear instantly.

Then he calmly got back in his car and hit the road.

Half an hour later, Josh finally returned home and was fortunate he didn't run into any trouble.

Possibly due to the influx of unemployed youth joining the military at the time, the level of public safety in Chicago appeared to be quite satisfactory. Josh, did not observe any significant criminal activity during the week he returned.

He had never seen those scenes in gangster movies where the mobsters wielded Thompson guns in the streets.

Of course, just because Josh hadn't seen them didn't mean they didn't exist.

After all, whether it was the past two or three decades or the next two or three decades, it was a period of savage growth for the American Mafia.

If Josh had come a few years earlier, those scenes in gangster movies where the mobsters wearing overcoats, fedoras, and wielding Tommy guns in the streets would have been more common.

The neighborhoods Josh visited had relatively strong public security, which was why sightings of them were infrequent. During an era when segregation was still prevalent, black individuals were notably absent from the streets.

Another reason was the war.

But don't think the war had anything to do with the gangsters.

Their relationship was much more complicated.

As Josh had thought, one reason was that many unemployed youths who used to loiter on the streets had joined the military, and the fresh blood for the Mafia had decreased.

The second reason was that most gangs were busy making money.

Why did people join gangs in the first place? Ultimately, it was to make money.

And during the war, what was the easiest way to make money?

Smuggling!

No, it couldn't even be called smuggling. It should be called transportation.

During the war, to support the European war effort and due to the enormous risks involved in sea transportation, the United States had almost wholly lifted its restrictions on shipping to Europe.

As long as you had the guts, any freighter loaded with goods could bring back wealth several tens to hundreds of times its original value from England, Europe, or Asia.

Isn't this better than fighting over territories in the United States?

Therefore, during the years of World War II, most American gangsters were busy with "foreign trade".

Of course, this was certainly not all of them. The rest either operated underground or had nothing to do with ordinary people.

Therefore, overall, the white neighborhoods during the war period had much better public security than before the war.

At home, Josh locked the door and sat down on a chair.

"System! Contact Daenerys," he said.

As he spoke, a virtual screen appeared in front of him. This system was Josh's important guarantee for survival in this era; it was his golden finger, a system called the "Dimensional Trade Device" from an unknown higher-dimensional civilization.

The system's function was simple: it had a dimensional beacon that would randomly be sent to an unknown world and choose a host. Then, Josh could trade with the host of this beacon. Additionally, the system would produce a new dimensional beacon to search for new dimensions every year.

In addition, the system had a powerful storage function. The guns in the car disappeared because Josh had used the storage function. The first-dimensional beacon that the system found was the world of the TV show "Game of Thrones," which Josh had watched in his past life. The host was none other than the famous Daenerys Targaryen.

The ten ounces of gold that Josh had previously used were his first transaction with Daenerys. The items used for trading were a .38 revolver and a book called "The Prince" left behind by Josh's deceased father.

This time, Josh brought the M1917 rifle to trade for more gold or silver with Daenerys.

"Josh, did you get what you wanted?" The dim screen lit up, and the beautiful Daenerys appeared in her simple clothes with her neat and striking silver hair.

The time that the dimensional beacon was bound to Daenerys was during the sixth season of "Game of Thrones," when Daenerys was captured by the Dothraki and used a flame to kill many of their leaders, gaining the loyalty of the Dothraki tribe and preparing to return to Slaver's Bay to quell the rebellion.

When she conquered Slaver's Bay again, she led her three dragons, the Unsullied army and the Dothraki army, to cross the sea and launch a counterattack on the Westeros continent.

"Of course, this is a rifle. Its power and range are several times that of a pistol," Josh said, waving his hand as the M1917 rifle appeared in his hand from the system's warehouse. He then began to explain how to use the bolt-action rifle to Daenerys, but of course, he couldn't demonstrate with live ammunition, or the police would be at his door.

"Very well, is it the same price as last time?" Daenerys wasn't concerned because she had already used a pistol and knew the power of these weapons called firearms. Anyone, even a weak person, could easily kill a well-trained soldier with a gun, which was much more effective than a crossbow.

"That's not possible. The power of a pistol is small, and the price is low, but a rifle is different. Its power is extreme. Believe me, Daenerys, even the best armor and shields in your world wouldn't be able to withstand its shots within its range," Josh shook his head and said. He wasn't trying to deceive Daenerys.

Although the M1917 has been basically phased out of the US military and can only be used as a training rifle, this does not mean it is inferior. In many countries, it is still a highly sought-after rifle. Even after several years, many of these rifles were still used by China's soldiers, who taught the then invincible US military a good lesson on the Korean battlefield.

This rifle has a high muzzle velocity, large bullet kinetic energy, long-range, flat trajectory, and good accuracy, making it superior to well-known rifles such as the Type 38 rifle.

Moreover, all countries used overpowered full-power bullets during World War I and World War II. In terms of penetration ability, the M1917 rifle was the best.

Although "A Song of Ice and Fire" is a fantasy world, except for the legendary Valyria, the metallurgical level of the ordinary human kingdoms is not high. The low-purity gold previously used is evidence of this.

So Josh didn't think that the armor and shield of the Westeros continent could withstand the shooting of this rifle.

"Oh? Then what price do you suggest?" Daenerys became more interested when she heard Josh's confident tone.

Although she was also impressed by the previous pistol, she knew the power of the classic .38 revolver. It might be suitable for shooting through leather armor at close range, but against steel armor, it was not very effective.

"Triple the previous price!" Josh boldly announced. "Don't think it's expensive. The previous pistol only came with fifty bullets, but this time, each rifle comes with one hundred rounds."

When Josh bought the gun, he got one thousand rounds, but now he's only giving away one hundred rounds and selling the rest separately.

Anyway, this is a unique business. He's not afraid that Daenerys won't buy it. Otherwise, having a gun without bullets is no different from having a stick.

"If the power of this rifle is true as you say, then this price is acceptable," Daenerys nodded.

As for gold, she really doesn't need it when she returns to Slaver's Bay. The wealth accumulated by those enslavers was incredibly vast.

If the power of this rifle is really, as Josh said, and the Unsullied and Dothraki armies are equipped with such magical weapons, coupled with the three adult dragons, who in Westeros can stop her footsteps?


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