The next day, after school—
Luke found an excuse to politely decline Peter Parker's invitation to walk home together.
Instead, he headed alone to a dockside district in the southwest of Queens.
This area sat along the western edge of Long Island, bordering Brooklyn—once home to Captain America.
Nearby, large scrapyards sprawled across the docks, filled with mountains of abandoned cars, broken appliances, and discarded metal.
Luke's goal today was simple:
Collect scrap metal.
He planned to use it to upgrade his grenades.
Anything would be better than his current makeshift versions.
The scrapyard owner was a tall, skinny middle-aged white man wearing a baseball cap.
Seeing a kid wandering around his yard, he immediately walked over to chase him off.
"I want to buy scrap metal," Luke said directly.
No nonsense.
"Get out—wait… what did you say?" the man blinked, thinking he misheard.
"I've got a hundred bucks."
Luke pulled a wrinkled Benjamin from his pocket and handed it over.
The money in his bank card wasn't safe to use yet.
Until he figured out a way to clean it, he couldn't risk being tracked.
For now, spending cash was the safest option.
"Fine. Take whatever you want."
"As long as you can carry it."
The owner flicked the bill with his finger and smirked.
A hundred bucks?
He assumed this was some kind of school project.
There was no way a kid like this could carry anything significant.
The scrapyard was massive—
Mountains of junk piled so high they blocked out the sky.
No one would bother stealing any of it.
After reminding Luke not to climb anything dangerous, the owner wandered off, humming cheerfully, already planning a better dinner.
Luke, meanwhile, was delighted to be left alone.
He began carefully selecting materials.
And as for how much he could carry?
The owner was completely wrong.
Yesterday, besides the 19 skill books—
Luke had also obtained two basic strength potions.
After drinking them—
His physical strength now rivaled that of an adult.
And more importantly—
He had his storage space.
Originally just 30cm × 30cm—
Now upgraded to a massive 10m × 10m capacity.
If he spent $100—
He was absolutely going to get his money's worth.
Luke never made bad deals.
The scrapyard owner sat under a shade canopy, sipping coffee, basking in the warm Manhattan sun.
To him, it was shaping up to be a perfect day.
Meanwhile—
Luke stopped near a pile of discarded CRT televisions.
He crouched down and examined one that still looked intact.
"This could be useful."
With a casual touch—
The TV vanished into his storage space.
He circled the pile, collecting several more decent units before moving on.
Next—
A heap of circuit boards.
Luke crouched again, picking through components.
To his surprise—
There were plenty of usable parts:
Circuit boards
Diodes
Copper wiring
Many items weren't even fully broken.
With his current mechanical knowledge, he could easily repair them.
Still—
That wasn't his main objective.
He was here for materials.
Soon—
He arrived at a towering graveyard of scrapped cars.
Vehicles were stacked in unstable layers, forming towering metal mountains that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Here, Luke selected:
Large intact metal panels
Various gears
And even… a car engine that appeared perfectly functional
Just that engine alone—
Was probably worth more than $100.
In the distance, the owner casually glanced over—
Noticing only a few small items in Luke's hands.
He chuckled.
"Kid's doing alright for his size."
Then he went inside for more water.
The moment he disappeared—
Luke acted.
He instantly stored an entire abandoned food truck into his space.
"If I fix this…"
"I won't have to secretly borrow Uncle Ben's van anymore."
When the owner came back out—
He paused.
Something felt… off.
Like something was missing.
But after thinking for a moment—
He couldn't figure it out.
"…Must be nothing."
An hour later—
Luke realized something.
He had underestimated both:
The quality of items in the scrapyard
And his own greed
His 10m × 10m storage space—
Was completely full.
Not even a single screw could fit anymore.
At his feet lay the leftover items he couldn't bear to leave behind.
To anyone else—
It looked like worthless junk.
But to Luke—
These were treasures.
With a bit of repair—
They could all be put to good use.
When he finally left—
He was dragging a makeshift cart behind him.
It was built on the spot:
Base: a car trunk door
Bottom: three wheels attached
Pulling rope: thick scrap cable
As he dragged it—
The cart creaked ominously.
It was barely holding together.
Because on top—
Was a massive pile:
Bottom layer:
Large metal plates (iron and aluminum, at least dozens of kilograms)
Above that:
A white air conditioner unit (for its fan and circuitry)
Above that:
Two intact LCD monitors
Above that:
A microwave
Top layer:
Two speakers
Total weight?
Close to 100 kilograms.
Even with wheels—
A full-grown adult would struggle.
But Luke—
Pulled it effortlessly.
The pile was taller than he was.
When the scrapyard owner saw this—
His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Coffee spilled from his cup—
But he didn't even notice.
"How… is that even possible?"
A kid that small—
Dragging that much weight?
"This world's gone insane…"
By the time he snapped out of it—
Luke was already gone.
The owner sighed bitterly.
"Damn it… that's definitely worth more than a hundred."
He thought it over.
"…Eh. It's all junk anyway."
Still—
He glanced around the yard again.
Frowning.
"…Feels like something big is missing…"
He scratched his head.
"…Must be my imagination."