America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 9 Opening the Treasure Chest

Simone also picked up two donuts from a relief station on another street.

The two exchanged food and sat by the roadside. At around 9 a.m., Los Angeles wasn't crowded with cars or people; it was still sparsely populated. Many homeless people could be seen pushing their little carts and wandering the streets.

Some people were in a daze, taking three steps and stopping frequently, walking like a roly-poly toy or a zombie, as if they were too high and hadn't recovered yet.

Police officers from the South District Precinct also began to take up their posts one by one, knocking on the tents of homeless people one by one with batons. If no one was home, they would put up warning signs and forcibly drive away those homeless people who were blocking the main road to move.

The main streets of Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Avenues are notorious for having a large number of homeless people, with hundreds of streets filled with them.

Just like the frequent gang conflicts in the 13th Street area, even fully armed police officers dare not venture into the alleys there, as they emerge riddled with holes.

This isn't located on any bustling main street; it's situated in a southern slum of Los Angeles, but it's less than half an hour's drive from downtown.

Los Santos, the second largest city in the United States, is a sprawling metropolis with approximately 50,000 streets.

The wealthy and famous mostly buy and live in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica waterfront villas, Manhattan Beach in South Los Angeles, the Brentwood upscale neighborhood, Seville Beach residential area, and the Corona Crown area, far away from Skid Row (the poorest street).

Those with even a little more means have moved to the city center and other areas, such as the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sunset Boulevard, Perrot Boulevard, Dragon Boulevard, and Western Hollywood, but definitely not to the slums of southern Los Angeles.

This area of ​​the poor neighborhood is also full of homeless people and drug addicts. The local economy is in recession, there are fewer taxpayers, and police resources will be allocated accordingly.

When crime rates continue to rise and the area becomes chaotic and disorderly, even less capital will be willing to invest in opening shops to provide jobs, which will then create an irreversible vicious cycle.

The poor get poorer, and the rich get richer.

Walking the streets of Los Angeles, you will often see that just one street apart, the two places are worlds apart in terms of prosperity.

Luxury cars lined the street, mansions were everywhere, a scene of extravagance and debauchery. Police cars and dogs were everywhere, with guards every three or ten steps, maintaining perfect order.

The other street was full of drug addicts and homeless people. Garbage was everywhere, and the stench was unbearable.

The gang's thugs are constantly firing their guns, bullets grazing your scalp.

……

"I don't like eating creamy ice cream, it'll make me fat. I need to manage my figure, so you can have it."

Seeing that Zhang Ailun finished the ice cream cake in no time, Simone seemed to enjoy sweets, so she gave him her share as well.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Zhang Ailun gave her a serious salute.

I've only eaten two meals since yesterday, and my protein and calorie intake is severely insufficient. To maintain my low body fat percentage and perfect figure, and to exert stable fighting power, I must ensure my nutritional balance.

This cake came at just the right time. Although it's all junk food, it's better than having no nutrition at all.

It has to be a female benefactor!

"I'm off to work now, goodbye Allen."

Simone finished the four-and-a-half-star relief meal, was in a good mood, left her social media ID with Zhang Ailun, waved, and rode away on her bicycle.

Goodbye, Simone.

Watching the hardworking girl leave, Zhang Ailun also developed a good impression of her.

Of course, it's not just because she has a great figure and a beautiful butt.

What I admire most is her positive, optimistic, and cheerful spirit! This is extremely rare among the homeless population.

After finishing my meal, I flattened the Coke bottle and put it in my pocket, ready to take care of my business.

A homeless person should act like a homeless person.

Walking around, Zhang Ailun arrived at the 24 Gongdao Alley mentioned in the daily intelligence report.

The information displayed on the phone is still there and can be viewed, which means it has not expired.

Having made thorough preparations to search the body, Zhang Ailun arrived to find the alleyway entrance surrounded by people, two police cars, and warning tape.

Sensing that something was wrong, Zhang Ailun immediately stopped by the roadside and asked a homeless man, Lao Hei, what had happened.

I learned from him that it was because of a street fight that had taken place nearby.

A few white guys rode their motorcycles here last night and paid $100 to hire homeless people to fight; the winner would get $100.

However, someone accidentally used too much force and injured people, ultimately resulting in the death of a homeless man and injuries to several others.

The incident also alarmed the local police, but not to investigate the matter, but to cover up the facts, dispose of the body, and suppress rumors.

The death of a homeless man is nothing.

That homeless man who accidentally killed someone, however, was quite something.

It's also possible that most homeless people have been using drugs too much, resulting in extremely poor physical condition, clouded minds, and fragile bodies like glass.

"Thanks, buddy."

Zhang Ailun thanked them, turned and left, thankful that he hadn't come here to loot the body right away; otherwise, he would have been in trouble if the police had chased after him and questioned his identity.

We strolled along at a leisurely pace until we arrived at the Carnation Club at 134 Wapson Street.

The storefront looks ordinary, and the light sign on the signboard is even a bit chipped, but you can only go inside at night to explore and discover its charm.

During the day, it was clearly not open for business. Only the sanitation workers were cleaning up, carrying a pile of garbage, paper balls, small umbrellas, and bottles, and dumping them into the trash cans in the back alley for sorting.

Zhang Ailun turned into the back alley, and when he came, he saw that someone had already occupied the area.

Outside the alley entrance, several homeless men were huddled together smoking, their cigarettes smoldering.

The small cart next to him contained all his belongings, along with several bulging garbage bags.

Judging from their blissful expressions, these weren't normal cigarettes; they must have been spiked.

Zhang Ailun pretended not to see anything, brushed past them, and walked into the alley.

"Hey buddy, didn't anyone tell you this is our territory?"

Several homeless men noticed that Zhang Ailun ignored them, and that he was an Asian face they had never seen before.

They turned and looked at each other, then immediately threw the cigarette butt in their hands on the ground and stomped it out. Several people surrounded them.

He waved at him to shoo him away, "Get out of here now!"

"Homeless people are trying to set up territories and establish identities like gangs. It's ridiculous." Zhang Ailun laughed heartily.

"What did you say? Dude! Say it again!!" The homeless man with a thick beard straightened his hat and walked over menacingly, his eyes bloodshot.

Taking advantage of his height, he looked down at Zhang Ailun, pointed his dirty finger at him, and poked and prodded at his chest, saying, "Get out of here! This place has been ours for a long time."

Zhang Ailun slapped his dirty hand away and grabbed his collar without saying a word.

The other person was just dressed a little thickly, and probably weighed less than 150 pounds.

It's weak enough.

With a direct cross-step, over-the-shoulder throw, the force rose from the ground, violently sending the man flying! The homeless man cried out in surprise and crashed headfirst into a trash can.

"What do you want to do? Fight me?" Zhang Ailun rolled up his sleeves, clenched his fists, and his terrifying forearm muscles rippled and writhed with the force of his movements.

"Hey! Let me see what's so great about you drug addicts who hang out on the streets." His tone was full of arrogance.

This scene also instantly brought the minds of the homeless men, which had been filled with leaves, back to reality.

"Okay! This place is yours! We'll leave right away, buddy!" He turned around, helped his men up, and tried to escape.

They never intended to cause trouble; they just wanted to get rid of the person. They could barely beat a normal person, let alone a man with such exaggerated muscles.

Thick wrists and low body fat percentage look intimidating, giving the impression that he has the explosive power to kill someone with one punch!

"stop."

Zhang Ailun, however, had no intention of letting them off easily. He pointed to the bags in their hands, then to the overturned trash can, and said, "Pick them up! Go pick up those bottles for me!"

On his second day on the West Coast, he brutally beat up an elderly white local man.

Good heavens, this Asian man has such a bad temper!! In order to avoid being beaten, the homeless people also started to help him pick up bottles.

Looking at their skillful movements, Zhang Ailun realized that these guys were all talented.

Especially that guy who looks very tall, has a terrible temper, is at least 1.9 meters tall, has a scruffy beard, and looks very intimidating.

They weren't made to make things difficult for them. After they emptied the trash cans and filled the bags, they each received a dollar as a reward.

Money, of course, is spoils obtained from the other party's pocket.

Zhang Ailun only had one cent in his pocket; how could he possibly give it to someone else?

Now the money has been returned to its rightful owners, and they've taken all the bottles back.

Pay in one hand and deliver in one hand.

This is blatant street bullying.

I've seen robberies involving money and people, but this is the first time I've seen someone rob both trash and money.

(End of this chapter)