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Josh and Margot spent the entire afternoon in the new house, but in the end, Josh did not stay there that night.
Although he already had the key and the house was fully equipped, the problem was that the refrigerator and everything else were empty, and the nearest restaurant was quite a distance away. So without a car, it was indeed very inconvenient—though Josh had snatched a luxury car, that thing couldn't be seen in public anytime soon, and could only be kept as a collectible or used in special situations.
As for the new car, although Margot had already arranged for someone to take care of it, the earliest it would arrive was the next day.
So as the day wore on, the two returned to the city, had dinner together, and only then did Margot drop Josh off at home.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a bit?" Margot leaned on the steering wheel with a smile, watching Josh get out of the car.
"Uh, ma'am, you know, I live alone, so it's a bit messy inside… Of course, if you don't mind…"
Josh scratched his head at Margot's teasing. In truth, he wouldn't mind getting involved with this beautiful woman, but the apartment was indeed messy—he'd been busy making a living and hadn't really tidied up.
In his past life, as a man from China, he really wasn't used to bringing a woman he hadn't known long back home under such circumstances.
"Haha, just teasing you. Go on, get some rest. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning," Margot laughed, seeing the youth's bashful and awkward look.
Though they had only known each other for a day, Josh had left a very good impression on her—even giving her a feeling like first love.
However, during their previous time together, Josh had seemed a little too mature. His attention to detail made Margot feel very comfortable, but also gave her a trace of heartache.
After all, in her eyes, for a mere fifteen-year-old boy to be so thoughtful and composed, he must have gone through a lot.
Only now did she see in Josh a bit of the awkwardness that belonged to a true teenager.
"How about in the afternoon? I have some things to handle in the morning," Josh relaxed slightly seeing that Margot wasn't pressing him, then replied.
That morning he had taken revenge on the car thief and then gone house hunting with Margot, completely disrupting his original plans.
Though these things related to his life, what was even more important was the arms deal with Daenerys.
But it was already late today, and without a car, he had no choice but to wait until tomorrow—in both this era and the future, American stores generally closed quite early, usually around five or six. Only a few community stores might stay open later, but generally no later than nine. Gun stores typically belonged to the former category.
So if Josh wanted to buy guns now, it was already a bit too late.
Therefore, he planned to get a car tonight and buy guns the next morning—although Margot had said she'd get him a new car tomorrow, that didn't stop Josh from acquiring a few extra ones, especially those with no records or that were "stolen," to use in special situations—like going to the suburbs in the morning with no car.
Anyway, the space in the trading system was big enough—though not infinite, it held a whopping one thousand cubic kilometers, enough to store a whole international metropolis.
Also, time was frozen within the system space, so there was no concern of spoilage for stored items.
In fact, with such a massive space, even without trading partners, Josh could make big money through smuggling. Customs could tear him apart and still not find anything suspicious.
The only problem was that Josh currently lacked power and backing—the risks were too high.
After all, judges needed evidence, but people in that line of work didn't.
As long as they suspected you of stealing business, that was reason enough to act.
In this relatively lawless era of commerce, a few people disappearing wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
"Okay, then I'll come by at one in the afternoon," Margot didn't press Josh after hearing he had things to deal with, and simply agreed on a different time.
Josh had no objection.
With that settled, the two formally said goodbye but once Margot's car disappeared from sight, Josh turned and walked off in another direction.
About ten minutes later, Josh arrived at a parking lot and, taking advantage of a lapse in the guard's attention, slipped inside unnoticed.
The rest was simple: pick a car, and directly store it in the system warehouse.
At this point, some might wonder—what good is taking a car without the keys?
But in reality, cars from this era didn't require a key to start, as long as you could get the door open.
That's because car keys of this time were only used to unlock the door, serving a basic anti-theft function.
As for starting the car—it was a one-button start, very familiar to people from the 21st century.
Yes, a one-button start, not ignition by key.
The only difference was that modern cars require a chip-enabled electronic key to initiate the start, while cars from this era didn't.
In fact, the first generation of car ignition didn't need a "key" at all—cars before 1927 were started with a crank, like tractors from the '80s or '90s.
After the invention of electronic ignition in 1927, push-button start became available.
The mechanical key ignition familiar to modern people wasn't invented until 1949 by Chrysler.
This was why, when Josh hijacked a car at the old warehouse and locked Joe and Mike inside, he still had to pour a pot of coffee into the gas tank of the old Ford.
As for insisting on the Cadillac V16's car key—it was just to avoid breaking the window.
Otherwise, if he wanted to be rough, smashing the window would have worked just fine.
But for a collectible luxury car with only around 4,000 units worldwide, Josh was reluctant to use brute force.
As for some backup cars to be used in temporary situations, that wasn't a concern.
Just find a deserted spot, smash the window, and it's good to go.
So once inside the parking lot, Josh didn't bother being picky. He casually "borrowed" seven or eight black standard model sedans, then avoided the main entrance guards and quietly slipped away.
The whole process went very smoothly, but Josh wasn't smug about it. Nor did he think that having the system warehouse allowed him to steal things at will.
After all, not every place was like a parking lot—nearly unguarded. Even if he were caught, at most he'd be questioned a bit.