OBS Chapter 4388 Project Farstar (6)
Chapter 4388 Project Farstar (6)
Chapter 4388 Project Far Star (Part Six)
They all realized that the owner of the factory land had called to warn them that someone was trying to sue them for illegal land use and wanted the factory owner to testify in court, but he refused.
But this doesn't mean the other party will drop the lawsuit, nor does it mean they will win, because they are indeed using the land illegally. However, they are using the land illegally because there is simply no legitimate way to make it legal; there is no such provision.
"Is it too late to bribe the community?" Rong En asked.
“I’ve already tried,” Victor said. “I’ve helped them with some of their life problems with money, but they say they can only say a few good words for us when they’re selected as jurors. It’s impossible to stop them from filing a lawsuit.”
"Some people also reminded me that it's best not to try to go against the forces behind it, otherwise it might not only be us superpowered people who suffer, but also the people we rescue."
"They're taking homeless people hostage???"
“That’s right. If the homeless people here are the kind who can only survive on relief food, then it’s a little better; but there are also some who want to reintegrate into society, so it’s best not to get into legal trouble, which can be fatal for ordinary people.”
"Let them leave first," Rong En decided decisively. "We didn't pay them before because we were afraid they'd just loaf around and wait to die. But at this stage, we can't worry about that anymore. Give each of them some rent money and let them find a place to rent..."
“There probably aren’t enough rooms available this time of year,” Victor cautioned. “Let’s arrange for them to find unlicensed workers with room and board included. I’ve contacted a few employers; they still have some staffing needs.”
So Barry, Hal, and Arthur went to organize job applications. This time, it wasn't just young and strong people; anyone with even a modicum of working ability had to apply. The final result, however, was not optimistic, because the timing was a bit awkward: it was too cold, no one wanted to go out to eat, and it wasn't Christmas dinner season yet, so they didn't need many people, but at least they managed to get some people out.
The homeless people in the shelter also sensed the impending storm. To Diana's surprise, an old man approached her and said, "You can take us back, to where we used to live. We're more familiar with it there, and it will be easier for us to survive."
“No,” Diana said. “It’s too cold outside. In this sub-zero temperature, we’d freeze to death in a tent.”
“We can take some things with us,” the old man said, pointing to the warehouse next door. “There’s a stove, some charcoal, and some compressed food. Maybe that will help us get through this snow.”
“Perhaps?” Diana asked, her eyes glistening with tears. “Do you want me to send you all to the guns of roulette? What difference would that make me from a murderer?”
The old man sighed and said, "The moment someone decides to pull the trigger, someone is destined to die. It didn't matter if it was me or someone else who died before, because we were already finished. But this time is different. We need you to live. Do you understand?"
Diana looked around, but she didn't see disappointment in the eyes of the homeless man. A woman smiled at her, not a mournful smile, but more like a warm encouragement.
“To be honest, we knew it wouldn’t work out,” the old man said again. “For us, every extra day we have enough to eat means one more day of enjoyment in life. But nobody here wants people like you to make such a huge sacrifice for the little pleasure we dying people can have. It’s not worth it at all, madam.”
Diana finally broke down, roaring, "Human life is not something that can be calculated by whether it's worth it or not!"
“Then you’re probably in the minority, ma’am,” the old man said.
Diana covered her face in anguish. Ron helped her up, patted her shoulder, and said, "This isn't the time to act rashly. We need to think of a solution first. I'll go call Batman."
Ron called Bruce and explained the situation. After a moment's thought, Bruce said, "How about this, send anyone who really can't find anywhere else to Gotham. I do have some places available in my shelters."
Ron was stunned by this. He said, "You mean, if the shelters in Metropolis are full, there are still places in Gotham's shelters?"
“I know this may sound incredible, but there are only 68 shelters in the metropolitan area, while Gotham has 523. In addition, I have prepared 60 emergency shelters, so even if all the homeless people in the metropolitan area were brought here, there would be enough room for them.”
“Then why… well, anyone with a shred of sense wouldn’t want to go to Gotham.” Ron rubbed his temples, but quickly realized something and said, “Wait a minute, Gotham has so many shelters and so few homeless people, so why does it have such a bad reputation?”
Bruce hung up the phone without saying anything more, but this gave Ron pause for thought. He soon found the answer on the front page of a news website.
"A new human flesh factory? What is the purpose of this shelter in the abandoned industrial park of Biltege, which is collecting large numbers of dying people?"
With a loud thud, Rong En slammed his phone to the ground. His skin began to glow faintly green; he was so angry he looked like he was about to distort his features. "Fine, fine, if you can't destroy it, you'll resort to slander, huh?!"
Ron finally understood: Gotham's situation at the bottom was much better than Metropolis's, Bruce was a kind-hearted wealthy man who cared about the people, and Gotham had many industrial jobs, so why did it have such a bad reputation? Wasn't it because they were afraid that everyone would run to Gotham?
In fact, there are often many opportunities to catch your breath before hitting rock bottom. For example, even if you can't pay your insurance or afford to pay for a traffic accident, many places won't immediately tow your car; there will be a waiting period. At this point, if you can be ruthless enough to move to another state, to a place with relatively better conditions, it's possible to escape the clutches of disaster.
For example, some states have more relaxed city management and don't have strict address regulations. Some jobs won't require your address, so you can work even if you live in your car, and things will gradually get better. In other places, in remote, desolate areas, many jobs are simply unwanted, such as border patrol or watchkeeping. Basically, as long as you're physically fit, you can do those jobs.
If all else fails, head south. The northern United States can freeze to death, but the south certainly won't. The probability of dying in a city like Los Angeles is definitely much lower than in the Northeast.
In Gotham's situation, if a super-rich individual is willing to invest limitlessly in social welfare, it will create a massive vortex. Everyone desperate to survive will try to jump in and gamble, even if it means becoming homeless, as they'll find it easier to grab food and shelter than others. With everyone flocking to Gotham, the number of homeless people in surrounding cities will decrease.
But after this incident, Ron realized: the homeless are also a resource. They sell drugs while alive, and sell their corpses after they die. If Gotham attracts all these kinds of people, what will happen to those of us in this business? Won't we all starve?
Therefore, these vested interests will definitely do everything in their power to smear Gotham. While Gotham does have its share of incidents, they certainly don't reach the level of daily explosions these media figures portray. Gotham does have its share of lunatics, but they can't possibly be everywhere as they claim.
The people of Gotham aren't stupid; those lunatics aren't going to build a wall around Gotham and completely prevent people from escaping. When Detroit collapsed at the end of the year, they all slipped away in a flash. If Gotham were truly that bad, it wouldn't have been able to maintain the prosperity of such a large city. The fact that so many people, despite all its shortcomings, choose to live there clearly indicates that they have no other choice, but rather that the aspects of life they are satisfied with outweigh the dissatisfactions. Gotham's population is even growing slowly.
Rong En scratched his head hard. He scrolled through various news websites and some social media, but they all told the same story: anyone who dared to go to the shelter in the factory area would be turned into human sausages and hung from the rafters.
Victor deleted the vast majority of the news articles, but he soon discovered that deleting them only made things worse; the more he deleted them, the more they spread. Even though he created countless threads to hunt down and discredit others online, the rumors quickly spread from official media to personal accounts, and the more he tried to discredit them, the more rampant they became. Victor became hesitant to continue, fearing that this would become world headline news.
The homeless may not have cell phones and therefore cannot see these news reports, but the key point is that once these news reports come out, no one wants to come here anymore. Even those who have witnessed the scene firsthand are afraid of getting into trouble, so they not only dare not speak out, but also dare not come back.
We've all lived in this country for so long, everyone knows each other, right? If the media can coordinate their narratives, they've definitely messed with someone powerful. Ordinary people don't have the resources to risk their lives for such a powerful figure; it's best to stay far away.
This created a problem with food supplies. They could buy food, but getting it delivered was difficult. Hal and Barry had considered carrying it by hand, but if they were spotted, the shelter wouldn't sell to them. The heaters also required energy, and even though they could currently use green light energy, it wasn't a long-term solution. More importantly, morale in the shelter was low, and many people were already planning to leave.
Ron gave them two options: if they really wanted to go back to where they were, they could go back, and Hal would take them in his private car; if they had nowhere to go, they could go to the Gotham shelter.
Many people wave their hands at the mention of Gotham. However, there are also those who are fearless; they can't survive in their original neighborhoods, so what difference does it make where they go?
The last half boarded the bus to Gotham, while the other half gradually returned to their settlements.
Diana made one last effort and took the three pregnant women she had taken in to the hospital, paying for their medical checkups and hospitalization until they gave birth.
It took them about three days to clear the entire shelter. And on the very day the gates were locked, the court summons arrived. Diana took the document, glanced at it, and then tore it to shreds. The scraps of paper were blown by the wind, fell to the ground, and melted into the snow without a trace.
She took a deep breath, her hand gripping the doorknob tightening and loosening, and said in a low voice with her head down, "Bruce is right, we have no other choice."
Before the plan began, when they gathered together to discuss how to save the country, Bruce said meaningfully, "Sacrifice is necessary... I mean ourselves."
"What do you mean?" Diana asked, somewhat puzzled.
"We need to create a new Cold War."
"What?!" Diana stared at Bruce in shock.
"Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union did the United States dare to act recklessly. What we need to do is create a new 'polar world,' or rather, become a new 'polar world,' and bring the United States back to the era of state capitalism."
Everyone stared at him in shock. Barry gestured for a while, then said, "You mean...we're going to...we're going to...we're going to...do the Soviet system??"
"No, all it takes is enough deterrence, and they will voluntarily elect a new Roosevelt."
"Are we the deterrent?"
"Yes. We are an organization of superpowered individuals, and everyone in the organization has the power to destroy the Earth. Why not?"
“…No,” Diana said, frowning. “This is hegemony. This…this won’t do. Bruce, you need to calm down. Even if this country is rotten to the core, we can’t…”
“I don’t think we should be so radical from the start,” Ron said. “Maybe we can give it a try. After all, you said we have such great power. Maybe we can succeed in saving people with this power?”
Everyone agreed more with Diana and Ron's views. After all, the bombshell Bruce dropped was too heavy, completely subverting previous logic and not conforming to the values they had formed under the influence of an orderly society.
“Alright,” Bruce nodded and said, “I respect your opinion. We can certainly try it first, but you’ll soon see that we have no other choice.”