OBS Chapter 4386 Project Farstar (4)
Chapter 4386 Project Farstar (4)
Chapter 4386 Project Far Star (Part 4)
Diana quietly flew away. To avoid alerting the enemy, she deliberately took a detour, approaching the road the young black man had mentioned from behind the factory. However, she didn't see any fully armed police officers, only an old police car parked on the side of the road, with a chubby sheriff leaning against it, seemingly waiting for someone.
Diana observed more closely and found that apart from the police officers' sidearms, there were no other weapons, and there didn't seem to be any warrants or anything like that, so they didn't seem to be there to cause trouble. So she emerged from behind a building.
The portly policeman waved to her when he saw her. With her Vulcan sword in hand, Diana wasn't afraid of any tricks he might be up to, so she went over. The portly officer shook her hand and said, "Hello, I'm Sheriff Biltger. You must be Ms. Prince?"
Diana nodded, sizing up the policeman and noticing he was indeed wearing the sheriff's badge. The sheriff sighed and said, "Arthur told me about you, saying that if I couldn't find him, I should come to you."
Diana then remembered that shortly after they arrived, Arthur had helped them unpack and then left. When Diana asked him where he was going, Arthur only said he was going to wander around the area. He never expected that he would actually contact the sheriff of the area.
“I’m very grateful for your contributions to the community. My old car can finally afford to get its engine serviced.” The sheriff patted the old police car behind him and said, “Since the industrial area declined, most people have moved away. I didn’t expect anyone to move here.”
“I’m sorry,” Diana said. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
The sheriff opened his mouth, then sighed and said, "Actually, if I had known from the beginning that you were bringing homeless people from the city here, I wouldn't have agreed to this. Although our community is already dilapidated and there's hardly anyone left, and we don't mind homeless people coming to live here, it can't be in this way, you understand?"
Diana shook her head; she didn't understand. She had specifically chosen a place where homeless people already lived, thinking that since the existing homeless people hadn't been evicted by the police, bringing more over wouldn't bother them. The fact was, they had been there for several days without any police intervention. Why were they suddenly here now?
The sheriff shook his head and said, "If a homeless person has the ability to get here, no one can stop them. But it's different when you forcibly bring those people from the city here. You're ruining other people's business. That's why I came to see you."
"What do you mean?" Diana squinted.
“You should know that selling drugs to the homeless is a big business. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are only tens of thousands of homeless people in the entire city right now; most of them are addicted to drugs. That’s no small number. Moreover, a number of people froze to death during the previous heavy snow, and there were even more before that. That’s enough to feed an entire drug cartel.”
“You mean the drug dealers will come after us?” Diana said. “Now that you’ve met Arthur, you should know we’re all superhumans. We’re not afraid of them. Let them come after us if they dare.”
The sheriff sighed again and said, "I know that the drug dealers in your mind are just people on the street, but why don't you think about who they distribute from? How are those large quantities of drugs smuggled in?"
Diana frowned deeply. The sheriff continued, "I've been here for so many years and I have some connections. I know you're all good people. That's why I'm advising you to stop. Since it's ultimately going to fail, there's no need to ruin yourselves."
Suddenly, Diana heard a noise behind her. Another, younger officer approached, and the sheriff nodded to him. A moment later, another officer returned, and the two got into the car. The sheriff then said to Diana, "Remember, we've searched you and found nothing dangerous. You didn't resist either. However, they won't give up on making trouble for you. If possible, you'd better get this over with quickly."
After saying that, he got into the police car and drove away. Diana drove around the area and realized that the two policemen were just circling around and hadn't actually approached their shelter.
Diana had already figured out that someone had sent the sheriff with a team to conduct a raid, but because Arthur had given prior notice, the sheriff only came to make a show of it and didn't intend to make things difficult for them. He even gave them a heads-up.
It seemed like nothing had happened, but Diana's heart was in her throat. Because, according to the sheriff, the matter was far more complex than it appeared, and the impact they faced might extend far beyond the impending snowstorm.
The first heavy snowfall after the shelter stabilized arrived quickly. The entire world was blanketed in white, and even the abandoned factory area looked pristine and white. Temperatures dropped to their lowest of the year, and even the superpowered individuals needed a down jacket.
Early this morning, Diana started organizing people to shovel snow, first in the yard, then outside the door, and then on the roof to prevent the old, dilapidated roof from collapsing under the weight of the snow.
No one complained, because they had just had a hearty breakfast. Hal had somehow gotten hold of a huge pile of recently expired frozen steaks, and they were pretty good quality ones at that. They set up a huge grill in the middle, the stronger ones grilling the meat, and the weaker ones mixing vegetable salads or making sauces. Everyone had a hearty meal and, feeling warm and energized, went to shovel snow.
But shortly after they finished eating, Arthur brought back some very bad news. He was wearing a sky-blue down jacket. After entering the factory, he shook off the snow, waved to Diana and Ron, and said, "The people from the Biltger community will be here soon."
"What are they doing here?" Diana asked.
“Assessing welfare activities,” Arthur said. “I don’t really understand this either; Victor just looked it up for me. Right now, we’re taking in these homeless people, which is considered a welfare activity, and welfare activities must be approved by the community.”
"Community approval? Does that mean we can only provide assistance to the homeless if they agree to it?"
“That’s right. Just like those food distribution stalls, not just anyone can set them up. Not only do they need community approval, but they also need to be registered with the local police and have food safety approvals. Of course, Victor took care of all of that for us. However, I’m still worried that they might have ulterior motives.”
“What can they do?” Ron asked.
“If they believe that our welfare practices are not in the collective interest of the community, they have the right to expel us.”
"But they can't do it."
“Yes, but that would put us at a legal disadvantage,” Arthur said. “If the community makes an eviction decision and we don’t leave, any legal issues that arise later, and if it’s found that we have a history of resisting the community, the jury will definitely not be on our side.”
Diana couldn't help but close her eyes, rubbing her forehead vigorously, and then said, "How can we make them happy?"
“Whether they are satisfied with us or not doesn’t depend on how well we do,” Arthur said, shaking his head. “It only depends on whether anyone wants to get rid of us.”
Diana remembered the sheriff's warning again, and she knew that this hurdle was likely to be difficult to overcome.
The sun was high in the sky, and the snow at the entrance had been mostly cleared. Many people took up brooms to sweep the snow at the back gate, and just then, a car drove up to the factory gate.
The few people still standing at the door were very nervous and almost immediately assumed a defensive posture. Arthur and Hal quickly herded them into the house and instructed Barry to keep a close eye on everyone and make sure they didn't come out.
Nevertheless, most people were peering out of their windows, and even the snow shovelers stopped what they were doing. They were terrified of being driven away; on such a snowy day, where could they go if they left?
Four people stepped out of the car: two men and two women, three in white and one in black. The leader was a middle-aged man in a suit. He walked over, shook hands with Diana, introduced himself, and then said, "Excuse me, ma'am. If we need to assess whether your welfare practices are compliant and legal, I think we might need to go inside and take a look..."
Diana was about to respond when she saw the Black woman behind him wink at her. Diana immediately changed the subject, saying, "I think we should first discuss whether this welfare assessment is necessary, since all our paperwork has been approved. Shouldn't you first show us what you consider inappropriate?"
“This is just a routine assessment,” the man said. “We’re just going in to take some photos and write a few articles to prove we’re doing something. It won’t take you long.”
"No, if you can't explain the problem with the process, or if you think there's anything wrong with our welfare practices, then I'm afraid we can't let you in."
Are you going to refuse the evaluation?
Diana really wanted to refuse, but the Black woman gave her a wink, so she had no choice but to patiently say, "Of course not, I just want to know if this evaluation is necessary."
"Of course. Considering community development..."
"Excuse my bluntness, but this community probably doesn't have much of a future." Arthur couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted their conversation, saying, "It's practically nonexistent now. I suppose you were only recently transferred here? Where are you from? And who told you to do this?"
The man's face darkened. Arthur continued, "Initiating an evaluation without proper procedures is itself an illegal inspection. If you cannot provide a reasonable explanation, we have the right to refuse, and we will discuss this in court."
The man seemed about to say something when the white woman beside him pulled him aside, and the two whispered to each other. The Black woman appeared to be standing still, but in reality, she tapped her name tag on her coat. Diana, with her sharp eyes, immediately spotted the name on the tag, and Victor quickly found the woman's contact information.
The man returned and pestered them for a while, but the Justice League wouldn't budge. Having no other option, they drove away. However, Diana contacted the Black woman, and they arranged to meet at a café on a slightly more bustling street not far away.
“I’m a social worker in the Bilterg neighborhood, and I’m also a native of this area. My mother used to work in this textile factory.” The social worker said, looking at the factory area with a nostalgic gaze, “Now that the factory is abandoned and most people have moved away, it’s not a bad thing to give the factory area to people who need it more.”
So what exactly happened?