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81.48% Marvel Plane Trader / Chapter 44: Captain America

Chapter 44: Captain America

A chorus of female voices echoed throughout the place.

"Who is brave and strong enough to save America?"

"Not everyone can storm the beaches and attack the enemy!"

"But we can all cheer and shout for support!"

"Who swears to fight day and night to defend the truth?"

"E-Series Defense Bonds, every purchase adds a bullet to the soldier's gun barrel!"

"Who spreads propaganda for the country door-to-door? Holding the national flag, traveling across the country from east to west? He shoulders all responsibility with the Stars and Stripes on his shoulder!"

***

Unlike the last fundraising event limited to the upper class, this time, the joint labor-military organization's bond promotion covers the entire population, so it's naturally not taking place in some mansion but at the Chicago Grand Theater.

This is one of the three largest theaters in the United States, built in 1865, and it's been more than seventy years since then. It has been rebuilt once and can accommodate four thousand spectators at a time.

And this time, the joint labor-military organization will stay in Chicago for a week.

Josh sat in the VIP box with a stiff smile, watching the muscle man on stage, surrounded by a group of singing and dancing beauties, performing an awkward musical.

But among the audience, only Josh's smile was somewhat stiff. Most people were very excited, with their eyes shining and applauding loudly.

"What's wrong, Josh? You don't seem to like this musical? I think it's well-written!" Margaret, who was sitting next to him, clapped excitedly and asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, just not used to this kind of lively occasion." Josh forced a laugh.

But how could his attitude really deceive Margaret, his close companion? Since receiving the invitation a few days ago, Josh has been absent-minded.

He had been planning to become a city tycoon with the help of the dimensional trading device in what he thought was an ordinary parallel world, only to find out now that he was in the Marvel Universe, which made him extremely nervous.

But he couldn't say anything about it. What could he say? That he thought this was an ordinary world but was now panicking because he realized it was the Marvel Universe? No way!

But in fact, it was partially Josh's fault. He didn't read newspapers much in his previous life as an urban man of the internet age. After crossing over to this era, he read newspapers daily, mainly local Chicago newspapers. Hence, it wasn't surprising that he missed the news about Howard Stark.

He also found news about Howard Stark and Captain America afterward. Their appearances were exactly the same as in the movies. The size of Stark Industries also matched the situation in the movies.

If it was based on the comic book version, as far as Josh could recall, Stark Industries was founded by Howard's father, and it had already grown before World War I.

But according to the information he collected, Howard Stark was born in 1917 in a civilian area of Manhattan's Lower East Side, where his father was just a fruit vendor, and his mother worked in a clothing factory.

Howard Stark only graduated from college in 1934 and started from scratch.

Stark Industries was only established in 1939 and began to develop by relying on military and British orders.

Although the development speed was extremely fast, it had only been four years so far, and it was still far from being a giant.

In terms of industrial scale, not to mention compared with old giants like Rockefeller, it was far inferior to the Vanderbilt family.

So its popularity was high on the East Coast, but in the Midwest and West, its popularity was relatively low.

In this time when information was not as widely spread as in the internet era, Josh, who had only been in this world for a few months, had not paid attention to Stark Industries, which was quite normal.

And although he was initially scared when he found out he was in the Marvel Universe, after a few days of calm, Josh had turned the corner.

So what if it's the Marvel Universe? The real high-risk era is mainly in the main plot of Future Avengers. Going forward, although Hydra is causing trouble, it's usually relatively secretive. Overall, the danger level isn't that high.

And when it comes to the real main storyline of the Avengers... what decade is it again?

The Battle of New York was in 2012, which will be almost seventy years from now.

Thanos' snap was in 2018, even later.

He couldn't even be sure if he could make it to that time...

But he had the Multiverse Trading System, which made it highly unlikely that he wouldn't make it to that time.

"Mr. Josh, why don't you take a photo with our Captain America? You've purchased another million dollars in bonds this time; we need the whole country to know about your contribution!" After Captain America's show ended, Senator Brandt of New York, the United Labor Army organizer sitting nearby, smiled and invited Josh.

This time, Josh couldn't possibly be the one who contributed the most to purchasing bonds.

But Senator Brandt didn't mind because a million dollars was still a huge amount and most of those who subscribed to amounts more than Josh's were old veteran corporations.

So even if the subscription amount was less, no one would think Josh's sincerity was lacking.

Even Senator Brandt was still planning to use Josh as a model for modern American teenagers and as a form of publicity.

"That's what I should do, and I'm happy to take a photo with Captain America. But during the photo, could Mr. Captain take off his mask and take a few more shots with me? I think it would be more meaningful, and I'd like to have a few photos as souvenirs." Josh smiled and responded to the senator's invitation.

When he heard the invitation, Josh suddenly thought it would be very meaningful if he could take a photo with the Captain America of this era because the currently popular Captain America would have to sleep under the North Pole in less than two years.

"Oh, of course, that's a very reasonable request!" The senator was slightly surprised by Josh's request, but it wasn't a big deal.

Captain America initially wore a mask during performances to protect his identity as a super soldier from German targeting, and later it became a symbol of Captain America.

If it were an ordinary person who said they wanted to take a photo with Captain America without a mask, the senator would naturally not agree.

But the senator would naturally not refuse such a small request for Josh, a model of anti-French XX youth and a major donor.

So Josh easily stood next to Captain America without a mask.

"Hello, Captain. When I got closer, I realized you were taller than I imagined. I wish I had your athletic body when I have your age." Josh smiled and looked at Captain America in front of him, complimenting him.

"Mr. Kane, you flatter me. You're still young; you'll definitely be taller than me in the future!" Steve Rogers looked at Josh before him and listened to his compliments, feeling heartfelt.

After all, just a month ago, he was only about 1.6 meters tall, while Josh, who was already 1.8 meters tall at 16 years old, was his envy.

And even now that he has become a super soldier, he is only 1.88 meters tall, not much taller than Josh.

The only difference is that Josh's body looks a little thin.

There's no way around it. Josh actually does exercise, but muscles are not something that can build quickly.

"I thought you didn't like Captain America, but you looked very happy taking a photo with him." After taking the photo, Margaret came up to Josh and smiled.

"Margo, would you believe that he will become a truly respected hero by the world?" Josh didn't directly respond to Margaret's words but said something that made her feel inexplicable.

But at this moment, a tall figure suddenly squeezed through the crowd and came to Josh's side.

"Dix? What are you doing here?" Josh was a little surprised to see the big man suddenly appear.

"Boss, something's happened. Our goods were robbed!" Dix whispered in Josh's ear.

Josh, who was still happy a moment ago, immediately had a change in expression upon hearing the news.

"Margo, let me take you back first. There's been a situation at the company." Josh said to Margaret.

Margaret understood that something must have happened but didn't ask any more questions. She just obediently nodded and followed Josh out of the theater.

Meanwhile, on stage, Steve Rogers, taking a group photo with others, looked thoughtfully at Josh's departing figure. It was obvious that he had noticed the situation with Josh just now.


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Chapter 45: Winning Hearts

"Tell me, what happened?" After seeing Margaret into her home, Josh returned to the car and signaled for the driver to go, then asked Dix, "Was it cigarettes or sugar?"

"Josh meant actual sugar, not corn syrup."

This new product, corn syrup, was ordered exclusively by the military. But Josh's sugar factory, in addition to producing corn syrup, also produced refined white sugar. And the raw materials for the white sugar production were undoubtedly obtained through his trade with Daenerys.

By obtaining low-priced crude brown sugar or sugarcane from Westeros and processing them into pure white sugar in the factory, Josh sold a portion back to Daenerys at a high price. At the same time, the remainder flowed into the Chicago black market, earning him huge amounts of cash.

The profits from the illegal white sugar and tobacco trade were far greater than the military's orders. But as with any illegal business, it was naturally vulnerable to attack.

So Josh was not surprised when this day came.

"We lost everything. Ten thousand cigarettes and one ton of sugar were intended to be shipped to New York. It was stolen at the dock. Five of my men died, two were seriously injured, and only one escaped and called me." Dix answered in a somber tone. All the dead men were his subordinates.

Upon hearing this, Josh narrowed his eyes. Good lord, according to the lowest prices of ten dollars per pack of cigarettes and twenty dollars per kilogram of white sugar, that was worth at least $120,000.

"Have you found out who did it?" Josh asked.

"Not yet. They were very efficient. When we arrived, the goods were already gone." Dix shook his head. "But I have notified Mr. Schneider and Mr. Dietrich. I don't know if they have found any useful information."

Josh nodded in response and closed his eyes, lost in thought.

About half an hour later, Josh and his entourage of three cars arrived at Anna's restaurant, the widow of Louis, who was shot during a jewelry heist.

Dix had only intended to take care of the mother and daughter out of friendship, but as it turned out, Anna's looks and figure were first-rate, second only to Margaret's. Although she couldn't compare to some of the socialites' Josh had seen or even the so-called starlets he had encountered in the Labor Union, Anna was still very attractive.

Because of this, Dix took care of her like she was his wife and even planned to marry her soon.

Thanks to this relationship, the restaurant had gradually become the meeting place for Josh and his men.

The three cars were all Josh's bodyguards. Although he may still be behind the top bosses in Chicago, he was wealthy and influential now and had gained notoriety, so he could no longer travel alone as he used to.

Therefore, he had recruited more than twenty people to be his bodyguards, all of whom he had recruited from the refugee camps at the port.

Although Chicago was a midwestern city, as the third largest city in America, it had a great appeal to immigrants. Moreover, Lake Michigan, with its Great Lakes shipping routes, provided direct access to Europe, so many refugees came from Europe.

Those with money and connections could naturally enter Chicago. Still, those without money and connections, including more than 30,000 refugees, could only stay in the refugee camps at the port, eating the government's rotten and stinking inferior food and waiting for the immigration department's review.

Although they were not starving, many died from disease, freezing, and various other causes.

The environment was only marginally better than a concentration camp.

So it was easy for Josh to recruit them.

Josh recruited these people, who were mostly families with children and elderly, and many of them had served in the military. They were mainly of German and Austrian descent, and a small number of North Europeans. As for why he didn't recruit any Asians, come on, where would Asians come from? The Asian refugees were all in Los Angeles, on the other side of the continent.

These refugees who fled with their families were generally more family-oriented.

With enough resettlement funds distributed and their families unified, it was enough to buy the loyalty of these people.

Since it was already late in the evening, the restaurant had already closed, except for Lyndon Schneider and Dietrich, who had been waiting inside; there were no extra people.

"How is it? Did you find any clues?" Josh sat down on the sofa confidently and asked the group of people.

"The sheriff has some leads." Obviously, before Josh arrived, the two had already discussed it, and Lyndon Schneider pushed Dietrich out directly.

Unsurprisingly, among Josh's people, the real Chicago boss was Dietrich.

Josh looked at Dietrich as he spoke.

"I have informants in various districts. After receiving Dix's message, I went to inquire about it. Tonight, five gangs had relatively large actions. One was the Italian Moretti family, and the other was the Irish fat guy. However, the suspicion of these two families is not high because their actions were just a shootout. The other three groups are the Italian Falcone family, the Spanish wild dogs, and the Jews. Personally, I think the likelihood of the Falcone family is low. After their leader Salieri was imprisoned five years ago, they have been declining." Dietrich said.

"So, the suspects mainly focus on the Spanish and Jews?" Josh knocked on the table.

"Yes, but this is only my guess. I can only say that their suspicion is the highest. It's still necessary to find out the whereabouts of those goods first. After all, I can't guarantee that the perpetrators are a bunch of greenhorns who just started out." Dietrich shrugged.

There was no way. As the third largest city in the United States, Chicago's ethnic forces were extremely complex, with over a dozen large gangs and countless small ones.

Small gangs appeared or disappeared almost every day.

Josh nodded at his words. Although playing the black market didn't require evidence like the police, when there were suspicions against multiple parties, it still required a thorough investigation.

Otherwise, finding the wrong target was still a small matter. Being used as a gun was the real danger.

"That's it for now. Keep an eye on this matter. Notify me as soon as there is any news. Although we can't be considered an official gang, we are not the mice in the sewer that others can easily control. In addition, Schneider allocates some money from the payment of the goods to Dix. Ten thousand for those who died, and five thousand for those who were seriously injured. Tell everyone that as long as they are willing to work for me, I will not treat them unfairly." Josh instructed one by one.

Hearing the compensation price announced by Josh, everyone present was a little moved.

You know, if an ordinary gang member died these days, the boss might give them only one or two thousand, which was considered kind-hearted.

Most of them died without a penny.

This was also why many young people preferred to join the army.

In addition to high salaries, the $6,000 death benefit from the military was also a significant reason.

In fact, even in the 21st century, the U.S. military's death benefit was still $6,000... but after World War II, the main compensation for soldiers' deaths was already through insurance. This $6,000 was already insignificant.

Therefore, Josh's ten thousand compensation was considered very expensive in this era.

So even though everyone understood that Josh was trying to buy their loyalty, so what? Who wouldn't like a boss who was willing to spend money?

As for Josh, in terms of wealth, he might still be insignificant compared to those top-tier tycoons, but spending a few tens of thousands to buy loyalty was really nothing. With the dimensional transaction device, making money was too easy.

Not to mention the American dollars brought in by the sale of sugar and cigarettes in the black market, Josh's warehouse was still piled up with piles of gold and silver from his trade with Daenerys.


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