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After driving the car out of the warehouse and onto the road, Josh took off his hood.
Although it was a convertible, Josh had already raised the soft top before leaving, so as long as he kept his collar up, no one outside would be able to clearly see his face.
Additionally, Josh did not drive the car straight home.
After all, a Cadillac V16 from this era is extremely eye-catching. If Josh drove it home, it would be like telling the mafia that the car was stolen by him.
So Josh drove out of the city directly.
He then found a secluded forest not far outside the city, parked the car, and changed into a new outfit from his system storage. He burned his old clothes in a fire.
Perfect.
Let the mafia search for it. Let them turn Chicago upside down and see if they can find it.
The only problem was that without the Cadillac, he had no mode of transportation.
The distance from the outskirts to the city was a few kilometers—not too long, but also not short.
Josh didn't want to walk back so after leaving the forest he walked to the side of the road, preparing to hitchhike.
Hitchhiking culture in America began to emerge in the 1920s when automobiles became more common, so it wasn't anything new.
Of course, there were risks involved, but this was the outskirts of Chicago, where professional highway robbers wouldn't typically operate.
If by bad luck he did encounter trouble, Josh had plenty of weapons in his system storage.
However, even though hitchhiking culture was widespread, not all drivers were willing to stop.
The first few cars completely ignored Josh's wave.
Fortunately, his luck wasn't that bad. After a few minutes, a car that had just passed him suddenly slowed down and stopped.
Josh quickly ran a few steps to catch up.
It was a very beautiful convertible car, similar to his stolen Cadillac V16. Of course, just like Josh's car earlier, this car's top was up because the weather was still quite cold. If the top had been down, it would've been enough to turn someone into an ice pop.
The car's emblem, a flying goddess, revealed its identity—Packard.
People in the 21st century rarely hear of this name, as the brand ended its history in 1958.
However, in the 20s and 40s in America, Packard was as renowned as Cadillac for luxury cars.
The brand's emblem wasn't just one design; depending on the time of production and the model, there were three variations of the emblem—Flying Goddess, Swan, and Crystal Goddess, with the Flying Goddess being the most common and representing the brand at its peak.
For example, the Packard 8 seen here was a very classic model.
Although its price didn't reach Cadillac V-16's level, it still cost over two thousand dollars—definitely in the luxury car range.
However, when Josh got a clear look at the driver, he realized that not only was the car beautiful, the person inside was even more stunning.
Yes, the driver was a woman, and a very beautiful young lady at that.
With snow-white, delicate skin, bright red lips, exquisite features, and golden curly hair typical of the era, wearing a smooth fur coat that exuded elegance, she was the epitome of an American beauty.
"Hello, handsome boy. Did you run into some trouble?" The woman, smiling from the driver's seat, asked Josh.
Actually, she was originally planning to ignore Josh, but when she casually glanced at him, she saw his looks and instinctively stopped the car.
What could she do? Even though Josh seemed somewhat young, his looks and figure were impressive.
With his distinct golden-brown hair and light blue eyes typical of Germans, paired with delicate features and no freckles, he was quite striking.
Though he was under 16 years old, he was nearly 1.8 meters tall, with a strong, upright posture.
The only flaw was that his front torso appeared slightly underdeveloped and skinny, but that only added to his delicate beauty—though this was more akin to an older brother's charm than anything else.
So, it's true that, no matter the era, having a good appearance is never a bad thing.
This beautiful young lady also noticed Josh's attractiveness. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stopped the car in this remote place.
"Good afternoon, beautiful madam. I'm sorry to bother you, but I was left here in the wilderness by a prankster of a friend, and I was hoping you could give me a ride," Josh politely asked for help.
"Oh, poor thing. It seems like your friends aren't very nice. Come on in, don't freeze out here," the lady immediately invited him into the car.
"What's your name?" After Josh got in the car, the lady asked while starting the car.
"Josh, Josh Kahn. And what do I call you, madam?" Josh asked. The use of "madam" was entirely natural, as the lady wore a huge diamond ring on her left-hand ring finger, clearly visible on the steering wheel.
Diamonds in this era were still far from the inflated values of the future, but they weren't cheap either.
The diamond on her finger was at least 10 carats, which would be called a "pigeon's egg" in later years. In 60 years, it would likely be worth over a million dollars.
Even though diamond marketing was only just starting at this time, such a ring would probably be worth close to ten thousand dollars.
Wow, this was a wealthy woman.
Of course, it was also possible that the diamond was fake but considering her clothing and this car, the probability of that being the case was low.
"Margot Wendis," the lady smiled and answered.
"Hello, Mrs. Wendis. You're such a kind and beautiful angel. Without you, I'd probably have had to walk several kilometers home on an empty stomach," Josh complimented.
"Oh, Josh, you sure know how to flatter people," Mrs. Wendis seemed pleased with Josh's compliment.
"Madam, I'm not flattering you. I'm completely sincere. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life," Josh said earnestly.
'At least in this life after my rebirth, you are the most beautiful woman I've seen. Even Daenerys doesn't compare to you.'
Indeed, he wasn't lying. At least in this reborn life, Mrs. Wendis was the most beautiful woman he had seen, even more so than Daenerys.
Especially her mature feminine charm, something that the small-framed Daenerys simply couldn't match.
And for some reason, Josh felt that this lady looked a bit familiar. Could she be some celebrity?
But he didn't know much about celebrities from this era, so he couldn't place her right away.
"Enough with the compliments. Go charm those little girls. It won't work on me," she said dismissively, though the smile on her face indicated that she actually enjoyed hearing it.
"Are you a movie star, madam? I feel like those Hollywood actresses don't have your kind of grace," Josh asked, testing the waters.
"Is that a compliment? But I'm afraid I'll disappoint you—I'm just a regular housewife," Mrs. Wendis smiled and shook her head.
A regular housewife? Sure, I believe that...Josh glanced at the luxury car beneath him, the huge diamond, and the luxurious fur coat, and silently rolled his eyes in his heart.