amaotonovel Chapter 4359 The Justice League Assembles (7)
Chapter 4359 The Justice League Assembles (7)
Chapter 4359 Justice League: Assemble (Part 7)
Barry leaned against the wall, his face pale. His Adam's apple bobbed incessantly. In just a few minutes, his lips had begun to crack, and an unnatural red flush had risen on his cheeks. Clearly, his blood flow had increased significantly, making him feel highly aroused.
“This is just…this is just Los Angeles, right? It’s a Los Angeles problem.” Barry pointed at the computer and looked at Louise. “I’ve heard from my wealthy fellow countrymen that big cities are chaotic. People always have all sorts of ways to get drugs. That’s why they…”
“So, you’re from a small town? I have to admit, things are definitely better in small towns. But every place has a dark side. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” Louise sat back on the bed, holding her coffee cup, and sighed softly. “It’s a systemic problem, prevalent in every corner of America. If you’re hoping for the best, I won’t try to persuade you too much. After all, innocent days are fleeting and worth cherishing.”
Barry pressed his lips tightly together. He no longer cared about concealing his identity. He said, "I'm from Central City, you know Central City, right? It's the capital of Missouri. We have a very safe place there, there are practically no homeless people on the streets. Although there are crimes, but… but that's not how it is…"
"Do you have health insurance?" Louise asked.
"Yes, I study at Central City University and I have student insurance. It only costs about 200 yuan per month."
“That’s great,” Louise said. “Do all your classmates have them?”
"Pretty much. People who can afford to go to university aren't short of 200 yuan. Besides, our school offers tuition subsidies. I can save more than 1000 yuan on my student loan each month. And if I get a job in a designated department, I might get a full scholarship..."
"And what about people in society?"
“They should have insurance too,” Barry said after thinking for a moment. “My neighbors all have it. Some even have two.”
Where do you live? In the university town?
"Yes, it's not far from the university, and it's also in the city center."
Have you ever been to more remote places?
Barry shook his head and said, "I don't go out much. I either spend all my time in the library or stay at home."
"You can go there and take a look. Ask them if they have insurance. And where do people who haven't had their insurance claims go?"
Barry opened his mouth. He really didn't know. He had never used his health insurance. And other college students liked to rent cars for weekend getaways and probably had to buy car insurance. But he was a homebody and almost never went out, so he hadn't encountered any other types of insurance.
On the way back, Barry kept thinking. He hadn't actually explored the more remote parts of the city center. But since the city's overall safety record was among the best, it couldn't be too bad, could it?
He moved quickly, returning to the city center in just a few minutes. Then he began to leave the downtown area where he usually frequented, heading towards some more remote areas.
Even in remote areas, there weren't large groups of homeless people. Barry breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: It must be a problem in Los Angeles. The administrators there aren't doing their jobs properly, which is why this is happening.
Barry wandered around there for several tens of minutes. He thought he had done enough investigation, but then he remembered what Louise had said about insurance, so he found a small coffee shop on the corner, went in, bought a coffee, and chatted with the owner.
He was completely bad at small talk, so he could only come up with a lame excuse. He said, "Um... I'm a student at Central City University. We're doing a research survey about insurance..."
The moment the word "insurance" was uttered, Barry was spitting all over his face by his boss. Then, the boss went on for over ten minutes giving him a authentic West Coast presentation, detailing how everyone involved in every step of the process, from purchasing insurance to claims, was a close relative. Even after Barry interrupted, the boss seemed reluctant to stop.
However, despite the fact that this long speech contained some important information amidst the profanity, Barry listened attentively and grasped the key points, asking, "So you're not so concerned about the price of insurance being high or rising, but about the payout. You're worried they won't pay."
"Of course! It's not that I'm worried they won't pay, it's that they just won't pay! If I didn't have a lot of cash on hand from running a shop, I would have been rolling in Wakewood by now after that bike accident!"
Where is Wickwood?
The boss suddenly fell silent, then waved his hand and said, "Don't ask anymore. And don't even think about going there to investigate. That place... is not a place a student like you can go."
Barry wanted to press further, but the boss refused to see him and kicked him out. Barry sighed, still unwilling to believe it. He was determined to find this so-called Wickwood.
Once that inner strength kicked in, his social anxiety vanished. He knocked on the doors of several convenience stores and other shops, asking where Wickwood was. Unfortunately, most people avoided the question. Only one Black man told him that the place was unlucky and it was best not to go.
Barry refused to believe it. He ran straight home and started searching on his computer. He searched and searched, but there wasn't much information online, and even the electronic systems were vague. Finally, he stumbled upon a forum post somewhere, asking whether he should send his father to Wakewood. It was only after seeing this post that Barry realized it was a shelter. More accurately, it was a place where prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, mental hospitals, shelters, and welfare homes were all combined.
Barry seemed to suddenly realize something, and sat at the table in silence for a long time. In all his years in Central City, he had never actually seen a welfare home or shelter. So the government had brought them all together?
Barry thought this was actually a good thing. Having all these specialized facilities in one place should better help the disadvantaged groups. And at least it proved that the central city government was doing something.
However, one reply under that consultation post left a deep impression on him: "Don't go. If you still love your father, don't send him there. He won't come back once he goes."
Barry had a nagging feeling that things might not be so simple. So he began checking CCTV cameras one by one in the remote urban areas, all in order to find this mysterious Wakewood district. And he actually found it.
This place was much farther away than the coffee shops he'd visited before; it was so remote it felt like he was almost out of Missouri. And it was surrounded by vast expanses of farmland. No one could possibly have wandered in here by mistake.
Having found the place, Barry ran there again. After wandering around for ages, it took him half a day to finally find what was supposed to be Wickwood. It was practically a small, independent town; if it weren't for a road leading to the city center, Barry would have thought he'd entered the Otherworld.
The scene here is completely different from that of the city center. It's dilapidated, desolate, and deserted. Even though the central states are always sunny, there's a suffocating, oppressive feeling here.
Barry ran straight into the nearest gray building. He had expected it to be deserted and sparsely populated, just like the outside world. But no, almost every room was packed with people.
Barry walked slowly down the corridor. He could see into the rooms through the observation windows of the doors. The people here were different from the humans he remembered; they looked like another kind of creature.
They lay stiffly in bed. Their expressions weren't relaxed like when they were resting, but rather a numbness that was hard to describe. When Barry saw a man lying motionless against the door, he thought he was asleep, but when the man turned over, he found that his eyes were open. There was no life in his eyes, like a breathing corpse.
Barry swallowed hard and continued deeper into the room. Soon he heard howls. In one of the deepest rooms, a man was banging his head against the door. But the man's head was the most prominent part of his body, as the rest of his limbs were so thin they were almost invisible.
Barry had barely gotten close when the man suddenly looked up, staring intently at him with bulging eyes. Startled, Barry took two steps back, nearly tumbling out of the corridor window.
"Hey, you, what are you doing!"
A voice came from the end of the corridor. Barry turned his head and saw a woman in a nurse's uniform. He instinctively wanted to run, but he couldn't move his feet; they felt like they were glued to the floor.
"Where are you from?" the nurse asked, quite surprised. "Are you here to see someone?"
"I...maybe..." Barry didn't know what reason to give, so he said, "Can I come to see someone?"
"It's possible, but you'd better not get your hopes up. They won't want to leave with you, and some may not be able to leave at all."
"why?"
“Because they’ll end up wandering the streets and eventually get caught,” the nurse sighed. “Homeless people aren’t allowed in the city center. All homeless people have to go to shelters.”
"Can't I take him back to my house?"
"You own your own house?" the nurse asked, somewhat surprised. "You look like a small-town boy who came to the city center to work. I didn't expect you to be a local. Will your community approve of that?"
Barry was speechless. The requirements of his community were exceptionally strict, because he lived in a scenic area, with two adjacent buildings that were historical relics. Besides the various troublesome requirements from the community residents' association, municipal workers would also conduct regular inspections. The number of residents declared for each building was absolute; no new residents were allowed, nor were temporary residents permitted. Even the birth of a newborn required reporting to the community and the government, let alone adults.
“So I advise you not to make trouble for yourself,” the nurse said. “I know that the person who made you come all the way here to see him must be very important to you. But if you take him out, you might not only harm him, but also yourself.”
The nurse led Barry outside and said, "The city government is already doing a great job. The shelter has been expanded twice and can now meet the needs of almost all homeless people. The conditions aren't amazing, but at least they won't starve or freeze to death. They also provide some medication to help people overcome their addictions. Although not everyone can get some, there's always some to make things a little easier for them."
"Our medical facilities here are quite good, and we even have two doctors. Someone had a drug withdrawal episode before and almost broke their neck, but they were saved. Moreover, medical care here is free. As long as you don't leave, all medical expenses will be covered by the government. But if you want to leave, you will receive a bill."
"There's also a mental hospital here. If the addiction symptoms are too severe, they'll be sent to the mental health care area, where professional psychologists will conduct regular checkups. Mental health treatment is also free."
"The only ones who can leave here are the children in the welfare home. The conditions and treatment there are actually quite good. As long as you are healthy and have a skill, you can work on the farm next door. Although jobs like rolling hay bales or shearing sheep are tiring, they are considered decent jobs, and you can do them from the age of 8 to 40."