The next morning.

Luke slept until 8:30. When he got up, Daisy had already gone to work.

Although he was tired last night, he felt refreshed and comfortable this morning.

Last night he drew a Bullet-Card, and Luke eagerly wanted to practice with a shotgun.

But after thinking it over carefully, he finally gave up as time was a bit tight.

His father, Li Zhaofeng, had booked a flight for January 19th, and today was already January 17th. Packing and buying gifts, it was almost time to go.

As a single guy, Luke didn't have much to pack. He cleaned the house in the morning and went to his mom's place for lunch.

In the afternoon, his mom roped him into helping out — replacing a broken wooden fence, trimming the lawn, changing a faucet. These small chores might seem insignificant, but hiring someone to do them isn't cheap.

Linda was reluctant to spend unnecessary money when she had a son to help out for free.

At four in the afternoon, Luke had just finished his work and was sitting in the yard drinking coffee when the little chubby boy came back with his backpack.

"Big bro, did you come to pick me up?"

Luke put down his coffee cup, "Our flight's the day after tomorrow. Why would I pick you up today?"

"I'm not going to school tomorrow. I'll stay at your place for a day, and then we can leave the day after tomorrow," the chubby kid said, sounding excited.

Luke was a bit speechless. You sure have it all planned out.

"You better stay at home. If you come to my place and mess around, I'll have to clean up afterward. Busy packing, I might forget a piece of luggage or leave the water or electric on, which will be a hassle.

I'll pick you up early the day after tomorrow."

There was constantly someone at his mom's house. When the little chubby boy left, his mom could tidy up without any issues.

"Alright." The chubby kid put his backpack on a chair, pulled up another chair, and sat down. "So why are you here today?"

"Helping mom with chores, and also discussing what gifts to buy before going to New York."

The chubby boy looked a bit pained, "Do I have to buy gifts too?"

"You're still a student, so you don't need to worry about buying gifts. But I've started working, so I can't go empty-handed."

The chubby boy sidled over with a flattering look, "Are there any gifts for me?"

"Get lost."

"Cheapskate." The chubby boy grabbed his backpack and waddled off.

January 18th in the morning.

Luke drove Linda and the chubby boy to the mall for shopping.

Luke has quite a few relatives in New York.

His grandparents are still alive, and they have three children in total. Besides Luke's father, Li Zhaofeng, there's also an uncle and an aunt.

Both the uncle and the aunt are married.

The uncle has a cousin.

The aunt has a cousin and a cousin sister.

A total of ten people.

Luke and his brother lived with their mother, so they seldom interacted with their father's side of the family and hadn't visited for a long time. Buying gifts could help strengthen family bonds.

The gifts don't have to be expensive; they just need to be appropriate.

Luke doesn't like shopping or buying things, so Linda mostly gave the ideas.

The chubby kid, on the other hand, kept eyeing the mall's restaurants, thinking about what to have for lunch.

The three of them shopped all morning, and Luke and the chubby boy had so many bags that they could barely carry them all.

In addition to those ten gifts, Luke and the chubby boy also bought some clothes. The weather in New York is colder than in Los Angeles, so they needed a few warmer garments.

Luke also bought clothes and shoes for his mom. Women love receiving gifts, so spending a little to make his mom happy was worthwhile.

Finally checking out, Luke spent over three thousand dollars.

Afterward, the chubby boy clamored for Chinese food, but Luke refused. They were heading to New York, where all their relatives on their father's side were Chinese, so there'd be plenty of opportunities to eat Chinese food later on.

The chubby boy also thought it made sense. In any case, he had already checked out several restaurants with backup options.

He chose a buffet restaurant, eighty dollars per person.

The restaurant was quite upscale, offering a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood.

After the meal, it was already two in the afternoon.

Luke drove his mom and the chubby boy back home and returned home himself.

Having eaten too much at lunch, he skipped dinner, read some novels, and went to bed early to get enough rest.

...

January 19th in the morning.

Los Angeles International Airport.

Linda had originally planned to drive the two of them to the airport, but Luke refused. He and the chubby boy took the airport express bus.

America's aviation industry is developed, with numerous passengers coming and going, creating a bustling scene.

After ticketing and boarding, Luke texted Linda to let her know they were fine, and he also sent a message to his father.

The chubby boy sat by the window, looking around excitedly, "How many hours will the flight be?"

"Five or six hours, enough for a nap."

"No, I don't want to sleep. Doing other things than sleeping would be a waste of life for me."

"Do whatever you want, just don't disturb my sleep, got it?"

The chubby boy pouted, turned his back on Luke, and took out his phone to send messages.

Teenagers are full of energy, so Luke didn't bother him; he still needed a nap.

The space on the plane wasn't large, and Luke was quite particular about where he slept. Occasionally, the cries of children made it impossible to sleep.

Luke opened the Detective System, organized the warehouse, with all kinds of cards in reserve, including two Bullet-Proof Cards, which were the most critical.

System points: 60 points.

System reserve fund: 180,000 US dollars. Luke still needed to find opportunities to cash it out.

In addition, there were gold coins in the fish tank worth tens of thousands.

Including stocks, cash, savings, checks, etc., Luke's total assets were roughly estimated to be over 2.7 million US dollars.