Chapter 6: Little Italy
On the windy streets of Chicago in the evening, Josh Kane stood in disarray.
He had only been home for a few hours, and the car he had just bought was stolen.
This was something he had never experienced before.
In his previous life in the safest place—Summer Country—he had never encountered such a thing as car theft, nor had he heard much about it.
But America was different. In just New York City alone, between January and March of 2022, over two thousand cars were stolen...
If that was the case in 2022, one could only imagine how rampant car theft would have been in the 1940s.
So it was no surprise that Josh, completely unguarded after buying a car, ended up falling victim.
What should he do now that he found out his car had been stolen? Report it?
Josh looked at the patrol officer in the distance and shook his head.
Forget it. Even sixty years later, the resolution rate of car theft cases in America wasn’t high, let alone in this era.
Moreover, corruption among the police in this time period was rampant. Without money or influence, there was no point in expecting them to do anything.
There was also another crucial issue: the car Josh had bought that afternoon hadn’t even been registered...
So, as much as he was upset, Josh could only accept his misfortune.
No car? Then he’d walk!
Originally, Josh had wanted to drive around and see what “fun” places there were in Chicago at night. Now, he could only grab a bite nearby and head straight home to sleep.
Without a car, Josh wasn’t about to wander aimlessly through the streets of 1940s America at night, not even with a gun.
Soon, the night passed, and it was the next day.
After tidying up, Josh headed out again, this time having arranged for a taxi in advance. He returned to the grocery store from the day before.
When he walked in, he found that it wasn’t Old Hawk behind the counter, but a young girl in her twenties.
"Good morning! How can I help you today?" the girl greeted Josh enthusiastically as he entered.
"Is Old Hawk not here?" Josh didn’t state his business right away but asked instead.
After all, Old Hawk was the store owner, and for something like trading gold, the girl before him couldn’t possibly make the call.
"You're looking for my grandpa? One moment, he’s working in the back. I’ll go get him." The girl wasn’t bothered by Josh’s attitude and turned to go fetch Old Hawk. She was his granddaughter and often helped out at the store. She had seen plenty of mysterious customers like Josh, and was long used to it.
Soon enough, Old Hawk came out, surprised to see Josh again.
"Well, well, young man, back for more gold?"
"Yes, your prices are fair, so I decided to exchange some more. Just wondering if you can handle it." Josh nodded.
"Heh, young man, don’t underestimate Old Hawk. This store has been here for decades. It may not look like much, but there are plenty of valuable things in here. See that? Even the little bit of gold you traded yesterday wouldn’t be enough to buy one of the watches in that cabinet." Old Hawk laughed, pointing to a display case nearby.
Josh hadn’t noticed it earlier, but after taking a closer look at the case, he realized Old Hawk wasn’t exaggerating.
There weren’t many watches inside, just seven or eight, but each one was exceptionally well-preserved.
Although Josh wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about watches—he hadn’t had the means to afford high-end ones in his previous life—it didn’t stop him from recognizing the brands.
Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breguet... Even in the 1940s, these luxury watches were worth at least a thousand dollars—assuming, of course, that they were authentic.
Even if only half of them were real, their value far exceeded the gold Josh was carrying.
Josh could only marvel internally at how little he knew.
"120 ounces, the purity should be about the same!" Since Old Hawk was so confident, Josh didn’t hesitate any longer. Just like the day before, he pulled out a small pouch and placed it on the counter.
Twelve gold bars, with a total weight of over 3.4 kilograms. It might sound like a lot.
But in terms of volume, it wasn’t much, given the density of gold.
A 10-ounce gold bar is smaller than a Snickers bar.
So, even though Josh had pulled the gold out of his system’s warehouse, it didn’t raise any suspicion.
"Good stuff. I’ll take it all, same price as yesterday. How about it?" Old Hawk picked up one of the gold bars, weighed it in his hand, and smiled.
"Deal!" Since Old Hawk’s offer was fair, Josh had no objections.
Soon, the 120 ounces of gold were exchanged for four thousand eight hundred dollars.
As he pocketed the thick stack of bills—or more accurately, stored them directly in his system’s warehouse—Josh felt a surge of excitement.
After bidding Old Hawk farewell, he left the grocery store.
He turned two street corners, making sure no one was following or paying attention, then tried to hail a taxi, intending to head to a car dealership to buy another car.
After all, Chicago, as the third-largest city in America, covered a vast area.
And with public transportation being terrible in the States, not having a car was a real inconvenience.
As for the car theft problem, Josh had already figured it out. He would park in secluded areas and then store the car in his system’s warehouse. How could it possibly get stolen again?
However, taxis weren’t as easy to find today. Yesterday, he’d gotten lucky and found one right away, but today, after waiting for more than ten minutes, not a single empty cab came by.
Just as he was growing impatient, a Ford sped past him.
Even though cars from this era all looked quite similar, Josh recognized at a glance that the one that had just driven by was the very car he had bought and had stolen the day before.
This was because the car had a distinct scratch on the rear when he bought it, and the one in front of him had the exact same mark.
Feeling a rush of heat to his head, Josh immediately took off after it.
Although cars from this period could easily go over 70 miles per hour, the speed limit in the city was much lower. Due to the wartime restrictions imposed by Roosevelt, even on highways, the maximum speed couldn’t exceed 35 miles per hour.
So the car wasn’t moving fast, barely over 20 miles per hour.
Fueled by adrenaline, Josh managed to keep up with the car for a short while.
However, as the car turned the corner ahead, Josh came to a halt.
Up ahead wasn’t a safe area—it was the immigrant district of Little Italy. Just two streets further, and he’d be in Chinatown.
Unfortunately, unlike the well-known tourist spots these neighborhoods would become in later years, in this era, places like Little Italy and Chinatown were synonymous with slums, not much better than the segregated Black districts.
In the original memories of this body, Josh’s parents had often warned him to stay away from Little Italy and Chinatown.
So now, Josh hesitated.
Josh hesitated for a moment. He knew he shouldn’t venture into those areas, especially given the danger they posed in this era. His parents' warnings echoed in his mind, reminding him that Little Italy and Chinatown weren’t safe places to be wandering around, particularly for someone unfamiliar with the local terrain.
Still, there was a part of him that didn’t want to give up. After all, that was his car. However, the rational side of him prevailed. He sighed, realizing that chasing after a stolen car into such a dangerous area was reckless, especially without any backup. He couldn’t afford to risk his life over a car, especially in the rough streets of 1940s Chicago.
With that thought in mind, Josh decided to turn back. He would figure out another way to deal with the situation. For now, safety was the priority.
As he retraced his steps and tried once again to hail a taxi, he couldn’t help but think about how much Chicago had changed from the version of the city he had read about in history books. The crime, the rough neighborhoods, the sheer lawlessness of the time—it was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
Eventually, after a few more minutes of waiting, a taxi finally appeared, and Josh flagged it down. He hopped in and gave the driver directions to a nearby car dealership. There was no point in dwelling on the theft. He would just buy another car and make sure to store it in his system’s warehouse this time, where no one could steal it.
As the taxi sped through the city streets, Josh leaned back, planning his next steps.
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