Chapter 4: The Innate Sacred Body That Collects Trash

In the end, Peter still gave Xu Wang his address. He wasn’t a person who could easily say no to others. Besides, Xu Wang seemed like a good person to him, even if that person gave off a somewhat strange vibe.

With Peter Parker’s address in hand, Xu Wang didn’t linger any longer at Midtown High School. Ignoring the astonished looks from nearby students, he climbed over the fence and left the campus directly.

When he said he was going to pick up trash, he wasn’t joking. He was serious about it. Although he hadn’t spent much time in the wasteland—or rather, he hadn’t yet truly experienced wasteland life—Xu Wang guessed it was definitely not a place of comfort or luxury. As a reserve wastelander, scavenging was an essential skill! Even after crossing into another world, he couldn’t neglect this specialized training.

Back in his previous life, people around him often said Xu Wang was mentally unstable. He scoffed at this, completely disagreeing. His thoughts were clear and coherent; how could anyone say he had mental issues? It was an insult to his integrity!

Just after leaving Midtown High, Xu Wang walked along the roadside. Ahead, a gang member riding a Harley Davidson pulled over, intending to buy some contraband from a small-time thug by the curb.

“Wow! What luck, an unwanted Harley! Truly impressive—picking up trash with such skill!” Xu Wang casually walked over to the Harley, swung his leg over, and mounted it as if it were unclaimed property.

“Gimme some power,” the gang member said to the black dealer, but was suddenly interrupted by the familiar roar of the Harley’s engine behind him.

“What!” The gang member startled and spun around, only to see a man in a blue jumpsuit revving the motorcycle.

To a real gang member, their bike was more important than their own wife. Xu Wang’s brazen act of riding off without permission was tantamount to outright theft!

The enraged gang member’s eyes turned red with fury. “Asian punk! Get off my bike!”

“First come, first served! I found this trash first, it’s mine,” Xu Wang said matter-of-factly. He kicked off the stand, squeezed the clutch, shifted gears, twisted the throttle, and sped away.

The Harley thundered like a wild stallion, vanishing swiftly into the bustling traffic.

“My bike! Hey! My bike!” The gang member’s anguished cries echoed as he gave chase, calling out in despair, “Swallow! Swallow! Swallow! How can I live without you!”

Xu Wang heard the familiar shouts and glanced at the pursuing gang member through the rearview mirror, puzzled. Looking down, he saw the word “Swallow” painted on the Harley’s gas tank.

He immediately understood. So the bike was called Swallow—that explained it. He had been startled, thinking the gang member had instantly fallen for him. He was almost touched!

He slammed the throttle harder. The engine roared as the Harley accelerated away.

“That’s my new bike! Ride slower! Slow down!” The gang member’s defeat wail faded as Xu Wang’s figure disappeared into the distance.

Unfortunately, Xu Wang was already too far away to hear any of it.

Xu Wang’s memory had always been excellent; he could remember almost everything he saw. Though he had never been to New York before, he possessed a wealth of knowledge about the city.

He already had a clear idea of how to scavenge in New York. Like in China, America had plenty of scavengers roaming the streets, picking up unwanted scraps to sell.

Plastic bottles and aluminum cans were the most valuable among the trash. Some branded ones bore the New York State label, and if taken to designated recycling points, they fetched about five cents apiece. Even if no recycling shop accepted them, they could be sold at junkyards for a decent price.

A four-pound bag of bottles might bring in around ten dollars. Supermarket recycling points had too many restrictions. Although the price per item was good, the process was cumbersome.

Therefore, Xu Wang decided to focus on selling directly at recycling centers. He planned to stay in this world for some time and needed to earn a living.

His adaptability was remarkable.

He rode to the back entrance of a supermarket, found a relatively clean trash bin, and pulled out several large black garbage bags. Opening them, he emptied the contents and saved the clean bags for future use.

He didn’t ignore the dumped trash. Inside, he found a pair of pink gloves and put them on. Since he would be digging through bins, gloves were necessary to avoid injury from needles or shards.

“Wow! Such a good backpack just thrown away? Americans really waste stuff,” he muttered, spotting a black, high-quality backpack.

Without hesitation, Xu Wang slung it over his shoulder. Glancing at his reflection in a glass window, he nodded in satisfaction.

Very good—he was beginning to take on the aura of a true wastelander and scavenger.

With backpack on and garbage bags in hand, he found a spot to park his motorcycle and began work.

Xu Wang was a diligent scavenger.

He paid no mind to the strange looks from passersby.

Once he started collecting recyclables, he found himself strangely addicted. Watching the plastic bottles pile up in his bags, a swell of satisfaction and accomplishment rose within him.

He began to understand why some people hoarded cardboard and plastic bottles.

On his first day in Spider-Man’s world, Xu Wang spent the entire afternoon gathering two large bags full of plastic bottles.

Before the recycling center closed, he rode his Harley there and sold his haul, earning a total of $23.52.

Holding the receipt handed to him by an employee, Xu Wang went to the cashier and exchanged it for cash from an older man inside.

From him, Xu Wang learned that if you sold more than $100 worth of recyclables at once, you could provide an ID and have the money directly deposited into a bank account.

But as a traveler from another world, like other undocumented migrants, Xu Wang had no legal status in the U.S., and naturally no bank account.

The employee probably assumed Xu Wang was just selling recyclables from his own household, never considering that he was actually an undocumented immigrant.

Xu Wang, clever as ever, immediately understood the unspoken implication behind the employee’s words.

He felt deeply insulted.

Angrily, he glared at the man who just handed him the money. “Please respect my identity and profession! I am a bona fide undocumented immigrant—I haven’t paid a cent of tax to the U.S. government. I just arrived today and became a scavenger! If you think I’m talented at picking up trash, I’d be happy. But if you think I have legal status, I only feel humiliated!”

He was about to leave, then thought better of it and returned, looking at the shocked man and adding, “By the way, I’m also a divorced single mother of two black children.”

“Whoa!” The man instantly showed profound respect.

“My apologies, beautiful lady!” He quickly took off his hat, revealing his Mediterranean hairstyle.

Seeing the employee’s changed demeanor, Xu Wang nodded in satisfaction.

Pocketing his sizable sum of $23.52, he happily mounted his Harley and left.

It was already late. He needed to fix his dinner and find a place to spend the night.

Thank heaven for the era of information explosion in his previous life’s internet age.

Combined with his extraordinary memory, Xu Wang already had a plan for tonight’s lodging.

Around seven in the evening, Xu Wang rode up to a pizza shop.

Just as he got off his bike, he spotted a familiar figure at the door.

Xu Wang smiled broadly. It was Peter Parker, wearing his work vest. It seemed fate had brought them together once again.