American Comic Dimensional Trading Device

What's wrong with the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The real high-risk era is mainly the main storyline of the Avengers in the future. Going back, although there is Hydra causing trouble, it is generally more covert, and overall, the level of danger is not that high.

And by the time the real Avengers main storyline comes out... what era will that be in?

The Battle of New York took place in 2012, nearly seventy years ago.

Thanos snapped his fingers back in 2018.

Whether I'll even live to see that day is another matter...

However, with the dimensional trading device as a cheat, the possibility of him not surviving to that era is very low.

"Mr. Josh, why don't you take a picture with our Captain America? You've bought another million bonds this time, so the whole country should know about your contribution!" After the Captain America show ended, Senator Brant of New York, the organizer of the United Army Supporters Organization, who was sitting not far away, invited Josh with a big smile.

This time, Josie naturally couldn't possibly be the biggest contributor to the bond issuance and sale.

However, Senator Brand didn't care, because a million was still a huge amount, and most of those who subscribed for more than Josie were established financial groups.

So even though the subscription amount is less, no one will feel that Josie's sincerity is lacking.

Even this time, Senator Brand still intends to promote Josie as a role model for modern American teenagers.

“That’s what I should do, and I’d love to take a picture with our Captain America. But could you please have Captain America take off his mask and take a few more pictures with me? I think that would be more memorable, and I’d like a few photos to keep as souvenirs,” Josie said to the senator with a forced smile.

Upon hearing the invitation, Josie suddenly thought that it would be very memorable to take a photo with Captain America of this era, because this currently very popular Captain America would be sleeping at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean in less than two years.

“Oh, of course, that’s a very reasonable request!” The senator was slightly surprised by Josie’s request, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Captain America initially wore a mask during performances to protect his super-soldier identity from German attacks, but it later became a symbol of Captain America.

If an ordinary person asked to take a photo with Captain America without his mask, the senator would certainly not agree.

However, for Josh, an anti-French youth role model, who is also a major financial backer...

The senator naturally wouldn't refuse such a small request.

Therefore, Josie easily stood with Captain America, who wasn't wearing a mask.

"Hello, Captain, now that I'm closer, I realize you're even taller than I imagined. I wish I had a physique as fit as yours," Josie said with a smile, looking at Captain America in front of her.

"Mr. Kahn, you flatter me. You are still young, and you will definitely be taller than me in the future!" Steve Rogers looked at Josie in front of him and listened to his praise, and couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

Just a month ago, he was a short man of about 16 meters, while 16-year-old Josie, who was already 1.8 meters tall, was the man he envied.

Even now that he's a super soldier, he's only 1.88 meters tall, which doesn't make him much taller than Josie.

The only difference is that Josie's figure appears somewhat thin.

Unfortunately, Josh did work out, but muscles aren't something you can build up quickly.

"I thought you didn't like Captain America, but you seemed really happy taking pictures with him," Margot said with a smile as she leaned closer to Josie after the photos were taken.

“Margot, do you believe it? He will become a true hero revered by the world.” Josie didn’t directly respond to Margot’s words, but instead said something that puzzled her.

But just then, an extremely tall figure suddenly squeezed through the crowd and approached Josie.

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

"Boss, something's happened! One of our shipments has been stolen!" Dix whispered to Josie.

Josie, who was initially quite happy, immediately looked downcast upon hearing the news.

“Margot, let me take you home first. There’s been a little trouble at the company,” Josie said to Margot beside her.

Margot understood that something must have happened, but she didn't ask any questions. She just nodded obediently and followed Josie out of the theater.

On stage, Steve Rogers, who was taking photos with others, watched Josie leave thoughtfully, clearly having witnessed what had happened to Josie.

Chapter 45: Win people’s hearts

"Okay, tell me, what happened?" After seeing Margot into her house, Josie got back to the car, signaling the driver to start the car, and asked Dix, "Was it a cigarette or candy?"

The sugar Josie was referring to wasn't corn syrup.

This new corn syrup product was ordered from the military and will be supplied entirely to them.

However, in addition to producing syrup, Josie's sugar factory also produces white sugar.

As for the raw materials, they undoubtedly came from the deal with Daenerys.

They obtained cheap, coarse brown sugar or sugarcane from Westeros, processed it into pure white sugar in factories, sold some back to Daenerys at a high price, and the rest flowed into the Chicago black market, making huge profits.

The profits from these two shady businesses—sugar and tobacco—far exceeded those from the military orders.

However, since it is an illegal business, it is naturally easy for it to be coveted.

So Josie wasn't surprised that this day had come.

“Yes, we have everything. Ten thousand cartons of cigarettes and a ton of sugar, all destined for New York. They were robbed at the docks. Five of my brothers died, two were seriously injured, and only one escaped and called me,” Dix replied somberly. The dead were all his men.

Upon hearing this, Josie narrowed her eyes. Good heavens, based on the lowest price of ten dollars a pack of cigarettes and twenty dollars a kilogram of sugar, that's a full 120,000 dollars worth of goods.

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

"Not yet. They're very efficient. By the time we arrived, the goods had already been shipped." Dix shook his head. "However, I've already informed Mr. Schneider and Mr. Dietrich. I don't know if they've found any useful information."

Upon hearing this, Josie nodded, closed her eyes and seemed to be thinking about something, but did not speak again.

About half an hour later, Josie and her three cars arrived at Anna's restaurant, the widow of Louis, who had been shot and died from his injuries during the jewelry heist.

Dix originally only wanted to take care of the mother and daughter out of friendship, but to be honest, although Anna was just a lowly woman from the bottom of society, her looks and figure were truly first-class. Although she couldn't compare to Margot, she was in no way inferior to some of the socialites Josie usually met, or even the so-called stars in the military entertainment organizations she had met before.

That's why, since Dix took care of her, it really became like "your wife, I'm taking care of her," and they've even recently started planning to get married.

Because of this relationship, the restaurant gradually became the place where Josie and her men held meetings.

The reason there were three cars was, of course, because they were all Josie's bodyguards.

While Josie may not be on par with Chicago's top tycoons now, she is certainly wealthy and powerful, and with her growing fame, she can no longer act alone as before.

Therefore, he has now recruited more than twenty people as his bodyguards.

These people were all recruited by Josie from the port refugee camp.

Although Chicago is a city in the Midwestern United States, as the third largest city in the country, it is very attractive to immigrants. Moreover, Lake Michigan has direct shipping routes to Europe via the Great Lakes route, so there are many refugees from Europe.

Those with money and connections can naturally get into Chicago.

However, those refugees who had no money or connections, numbering over 30,000, could only stay in the refugee camps at the port, eating rotten and smelly substandard food distributed by the government every day while waiting for the immigration agency's review.

While one might not starve to death, many people die from illness, freezing, or other causes.

Its environment was only slightly better than that of a concentration camp.

Therefore, it is easy for Josie to recruit people.

The people Josie recruited were mostly families with elderly members and young children, and many had served in the military. They were primarily of German and Austrian descent, along with a small number of Scandinavians. As for why she didn't recruit Asians, don't be ridiculous. They were refugees from Europe, not Asians. The Asian refugees were all in Los Angeles, which is half a continent away.

Those who flee with their elderly and young children are people who value family highly.

A sufficient resettlement allowance, coupled with the unified resettlement of their families, is enough to buy their loyalty.

It was already quite late at night, and the restaurant had long since closed.

So apart from Lyndon Schneider and Dietrich, who were already waiting inside, there were no other people in the store.

"So? Have you found any clues?" Josie asked, sitting down on the sofa with an air of nonchalance.

“Sheriff has some leads.” Apparently, the two had already discussed it before Josh arrived, and Lyndon Schneider directly pushed Dietrich forward.

It's not surprising, because among Josh's men, the only one who could truly be considered a Chicago local was Dietrich.

Upon hearing this, Josie looked at Dietrich.

“I have informants in various districts. After receiving Dix’s message, I had people inquire about it. Tonight, five gangs are planning a major operation. One is the Italian Moretti family, and another is the Irish Fat Guys, but these two are less likely to be suspects because their operation was just a shootout. The Moretti family’s assassins were wiped out by the Fat Guys’ men. The other three groups are the Italian Faconi family, the Spanish Wild Dogs, and the Jews. I personally think the Faconi family is unlikely. After their boss Salieri was imprisoned five years ago, they have never recovered,” Dietrich said.

"So, the suspicion is mainly falling on the Spanish and the Jews?" Josie tapped the table and said.

“Yes, but that’s just my guess. I can only say that they are the most suspicious. As for who did it, we probably need to find out where the goods are first. After all, I can’t guarantee that the person who did this might be some greenhorn who just started out.” Dietrich shrugged.

Unfortunately, Chicago, as the third largest city in the United States, has an extremely complex mix of ethnic groups and factions. There are more than a dozen major gangs, not to mention countless smaller ones.

Almost every day, small gangs appear or disappear.

Josie nodded in agreement. Although those involved in organized crime don't need to rely on evidence like the police, they still need to investigate thoroughly when they suspect multiple suspects.

Otherwise, choosing the wrong target is a minor issue; being used as a pawn is the real problem.

"That's settled then. Keep an eye on this matter, and let me know as soon as you hear anything. Although we're not exactly a formal gang, we're not some scoundrel that can be easily manipulated. Also, Schneider, allocate some money from the payment to Dix: ten thousand for the dead brothers and five thousand for the seriously injured. Tell everyone that as long as they're willing to risk their lives for me, I won't treat them unfairly," Josie instructed.

Hearing the amount of compensation that Josie quoted moved everyone present.

You know, these days, if a gangster dies, the boss is considered kind-hearted if he gives one or two thousand.

The vast majority of them died and that was it; they didn't get a single penny.

This is why many young people are more willing to join the army.

Besides the high wages, the death benefits of up to $6,000 were also a very important reason.

Even in the 21st century, the US military's death compensation is still $6,000... However, since World War II, the main compensation for soldiers killed in action has come from insurance, so this $6,000 is now largely irrelevant.

Therefore, Josie's $10,000 compensation was considered very high for that era.

So even if everyone understands that Josie is trying to win people over, so what? Who wouldn't like a boss who's willing to spend money like that?

As for Josh, in terms of wealth, he might not be much compared to those top tycoons right now, but spending tens of thousands to win people's hearts is nothing. With the interdimensional trading device, making money is just too easy.