New Gods of North America.

Chapter 608 Special Agent
Based on what Wayne learned at college, the United States, in theory, does have an "entry quarantine mechanism."

According to the original design of the Founding Fathers, this was to prevent the various plagues that had ravaged the Old World for many years from entering the New World and to avoid a repeat of the past.

Foreigners who enter the country through the proper channels, including celebrities and formal workers, must, in principle, go through this process before the federal government officially recognizes their rights as "free citizens."

However, as everyone knows, in this era, what exists "theoretically" may not always be the same in "actually."

It has been too long since the last large-scale outbreak of the plague, and the United States is now merely going through the motions in this regard.

In various countries, members of high society could often have their servants fill out several forms in advance on the ship, allowing them to travel without hindrance. The wealthy were also welcomed in the New World, while ordinary scholars and technicians genuinely had to wait in line and await various approvals.

As for unskilled manual laborers, they often encounter various problems and usually find it difficult to obtain formal work approval. If no one in the local area accepts them, they can only "stay illegally" and "do whatever they can find".

This is a hidden benefit that benefits local employers. Many law-abiding but low-level outsiders who lack skills and connections are actually willing to lower their salary requirements in order to obtain work and residency status as soon as possible.

In a sense, this is also a management measure that "diverts" people from different social strata from the very beginning.

It can't be said to be "dead in name only," but it's at least "completely different" from the original design intent.

Brother Merlin's title is "Vice-Captain of the Cathedral Guard," although he currently has very little influence within the cathedral and doesn't wield much influence in political circles for personal matters.
But his identity is indeed genuine, and compared to Wayne, a "private detective" from the general public, it is far more prestigious.

So, by adding two parts together, after Wayne lured him to the city hall, it was easy for the detective agency to obtain authorization as a "health inspector."

The actual operation process is not too complicated:
Wayne knew the mayor, and Brother Merlin's title carried enough weight; when the two requested a meeting, the mayor naturally didn't mind taking some time out of his office.

After hearing the general situation, the mayor naturally asked whether it was necessary to conduct an epidemic screening in the dock area.

Wayne asked Brother Merlin to answer, and Brother Merlin naturally stated that he thought it was necessary.

The mayor then inquired about the specific details and learned that the cathedral had already noticed something amiss, and that Bishop Tyrell had personally ordered an investigation, even dispatching Brother Merlin, the vice-captain of the cathedral's guard.

However, the city hall has limited human resources, and there are not enough local residents living in the dock area. Even if the mayor wanted to, he would definitely prioritize the public health of the residents in the city center and would not waste resources on the dock area.

So Wayne, the public-spirited detective, stepped forward and said that their detective agency had qualified and professional members who could assist the city hall in their investigation free of charge. The cathedral's side essentially meant the same thing.
However, the situation in the dock area is complicated, and the detective agency's staff do not have official status. The people living there may not cooperate with the detective agency's investigation, which makes Wayne a little troubled.

Finally, Brother Merlin promptly informed the highest levels of the city hall of the potential risks in the dock area to prevent unforeseen events from having a greater impact on the secular world. Wayne assured him that he would not take advantage of the situation to gain illegal profits and that his authorized identity would only be used for the plague investigation. The mayor, in turn, saved the city hall manpower and gained a group of volunteers to help check the city's health.
As for the authorization from the City Sanitation Committee... that's just a matter of Wayne taking a note to a few officials to sign, and it can be done quickly.

With church members overseeing things, this kind of thing is clearly unprofitable, not a long-term authorization, and wouldn't take up city hall's budget or manpower.
The officials were all shrewd people, and unsurprisingly, they chose to give the mayor and the newly appointed bishop face—all for the sake of the public interest of the citizens.

Wayne: You see, when you're out in the world, you have to earn your own identity, right?

Ultimately, however, it was because Brother Merlin wasn't capable enough.
If Tom Hagen were still alive, this kind of thing would probably have been taken care of long ago, and Wayne probably wouldn't have needed to try to "fight for" it.

Back at the workshop, Wayne had Doug notify a group of people to have a meeting in the archives that evening.
As soon as "Slingshot," who had arrived early, appeared, he came over to Wayne with a bandage on his head and beaming with joy: "Boss, we finally sold all the luncheon meat for the day before closing time!"

This was somewhat unexpected for Wayne, who was pleasantly surprised upon hearing it. "Really?"

Since Wayne's current plan for the "sales team" isn't focused on making money, but rather on establishing a presence in the Sailors' territory and letting the gang know that "the detective agency is not to be trifled with," the real work will come later, along with formally setting rules.

So the luncheon meat produced by the workshop is mainly delivered to restaurants. The sales team only takes away "a small portion" of it every day. Wayne doesn't even require them to bring back the unsold products; he just wants to establish brand awareness.

However, the fact that the sales team sold out of the daily stock after only a few days of operation shows that luncheon meat does indeed have a market base.
This at least proves that Wayne's initial idea wasn't entirely wrong.

Hearing Wayne's question, "Slingshot" seemed a little embarrassed: "Actually, it wasn't all formal 'sales'... Many customers came after dark, and we offered discounts on some of them according to your rules, boss. That's why we sold them all."

Wayne didn't seem to care much about that, and turned his gaze to "Slingshot's" bandaged head. "Will the Sailors' Gang still interfere with your stall now?"

"Slingshot" shook his head: "We've fought with the Sailors' Gang several times in the past few days. Yesterday, when we were finishing work, they even had people block the road on the way. We even took out our lever-action rifles. Today, they finally didn't dare to come again."

After saying that, he pointed to his head and said, "We put the bandages on deliberately today. The injury isn't actually that serious. It's to warn them that we're still angry, and if they dare to come today, we will definitely continue to fight back. It's also to imply that as long as they don't kill us, we will continue to come every day."

Well……

The "sales team" seems a bit too energetic right now... No, no, setting up a stall to sell things is really not our main job...

However, this deterrent effect was exactly what Wayne wanted. The dock area was such a large area that even if all the detective agency's people were recruited as vigilantes, they certainly wouldn't be able to manage it all.

The only feasible solution is to learn from the gangsters' tactics: whoever dares to step forward, they'll be dealt with, and the rest is entirely up to their "self-discipline."

So Wayne patted "Slingshot" on the shoulder to encourage him: "Well done. And starting tomorrow, you won't have to be so passive anymore. Just leave one or two people to guard the stall."

"Then the rest of our group members don't need to go?" "Slingshot" hesitated slightly. "If there are too few of us, I'm worried that the Sailors' Gang will go and cause trouble again..."

"Do not."

Wayne chuckled. "Starting tomorrow, you can begin 'door-to-door sales' in batches. After fighting the Sailors' Gang for so many days, wouldn't you like to visit their 'headquarters'?"

"Slingshot's" eyes sharpened instantly: "Is it okay?"

“Of course. We have already obtained authorization from the cathedral and the city hall.”

(End of this chapter)