Barry ran through the streets of the tropolis, and he had noticed that compared to Los Angeles, there weren’t many holess people on the streets of the tropolis. This place was cold and coastal, with those very cold winds blowing. The street structure here was not designed for cold protection, which led many streets to beco wind tunnels. In the current temperature, being blown by the cold wind for a dozen minutes would an there’s no need for rescue.
So were found in windy alleys. Most of them wore thick cotton clothes, also wrapped in sleeping bags, sitting in corners half-asleep. Not everyone was on drugs. Most people didn’t move because the food they found didn’t provide enough calories to support any activity. Sitting there ant they could better conserve energy.
Most of the holess chose to gather together. So centered around shelters, staying on streets near shelters so that if soone ca out, they could go in.
The rest gathered around food distribution points. Within the radius of the three food distribution points, there would be the highest concentration of holess people. One could easily figure out without complex calculations that if they wanted to have two als a day, then from going to get food, lining up, receiving the food, returning, and then going for the next al, it would completely use up the entire dayti.
So might think there’s no need to have two als a day, since they aren’t moving, one al is enough. But in reality, it’s not feasible, because the calories in the distributed food aren’t as high as imagined. Moreover, going to get the food also consus calories, and eating only one al a day wouldn’t et the need.
Many relief als seed pretty decent, with at patties, bread, and beans. But strangely, the high-calorie desserts often seen in bizarre videos, like syrup-drenched donuts, nearly half-ter-high ice creams, or huge tubs of sugar-oil mixtures, would never appear in the relief als.
Arica is a place where syrup is so cheap it’s almost free. Walk into any fast-food restaurant, and there’s unlimited syrup in drinks or added to food, which is why the obesity rate is so high.
Yet, relief als had nothing like syrup. Even pouring an extra spoonful of the cheapest corn syrup could give them enough energy for two more days, but it just wasn’t there.
This was because the distributed relief als controlled caloric content. This was to ensure the energy the holess could obtain was just slightly higher than what they consud daily in coming to pick up the food. That way, they’d have no ti for anything else, every day was spent lining up for als, eating, and going to pick up als in an endless cycle.
Moreover, while the holess might eat two als, there are 3-4 food gathering points because many are unpredictably empty, causing many people to waste trips. This helps burn off any extra calories they had stored, bringing all stored fat to zero.
The aim was to exhaust the holess person’s energy, and also to keep them perpetually tied to the relief food distribution points. This way, they wouldn’t appear near other communities, a thod for managing urban security. Shelters worked similarly, always requiring waiting and competing to trap people.
Victor had accessed a lot of surveillance data, and Barry had made an on-site run, basically confirming the gathering areas of the holess in the tropolis, with the numbers roughly tallied.
Things were very bad. Barry walked with his phone, saying, "Many of them are too skinny, their fat nearly depleted. They can’t survive this winter."
"Prioritize relocating this group," Diana said over the phone. "Avoid using force if possible, it’s best to talk reasonably. Ron and I have found a good place, do you want to co and take a look?"
Seconds later, Barry appeared where Diana was. This was an abandoned factory, where so holess already were, but since this place was remote, calling them holess was more like calling them wilderness survivors. In small groups, they gathered around barrels for warmth, and surprisingly, soone was roasting a rabbit, clearly caught from the nearby hills.
They were wary of these outsiders, but clearly, Diana had already negotiated with them. So while they watched from afar, there were no aggressive moves.
"We can seal this area off," Ron said. "That way, the mountain winds won’t blow through. This side faces the sun, we can open up this wall for better lighting. We’ll install heating equipnt underground that can almost cover the entire building."
Barry nodded, thinking it was a good idea. Diana reminded again, "Don’t resort to kidnapping, causing panic would be troubleso. Talk to them nicely, so people will be willing. Once so structure forms, others will co voluntarily without our need to recruit."
At this ti Hal also returned, saying, "The procurent is basically done, but the truck has yet to co over."
"What happened?" everyone asked with concern, "Is there a problem?"
"No," Hal shook his head. "I thought, just going up to them, they wouldn’t trust us. How about I let the driver take the truck marked with relief signs around the city a few tis, that way they’ll know a new relief point has opened. They might want to co voluntarily, then it wouldn’t be so hard to pick them up."
Everyone thought this thod was great. So, Diana and Ron started building the base, Hal took care of the truck, Barry handled the publicity, Victor provided information and logistical support, and progress was soon made.
So indeed couldn’t survive. Because to get relief, they had to wake up early. More importantly, they had to walk fast, to get ahead in the line. If they arrived too late and the food was gone, the whole morning would’ve been wasted.
And because of their hunger, they couldn’t run in the relief race in the afternoon and lost to others. This creates a vicious cycle: the weaker people can’t compete, which makes them hungrier and weaker, with less energy, they can’t withstand the cold, ultimately leading to a frozen and starved death.
Barry walked around a bit and found about a dozen such people, most of whom were relatively older. They were no longer able to go out to get relief, huddled in tents waiting for a kind fellow to give them a bit of charity or simply waiting to die.
When Barry ntioned a new relief point, they didn’t really care. Even if they were tricked into being experintal subjects, at least they’d get a good al, so they quickly nodded and agreed to leave.
However, transporting these people was not easy. Barry wouldn’t dare take them into Divine Speed, as these elderly and infirm couldn’t withstand such strain, so it was best to find a vehicle to transport them.
This kind of thing definitely couldn’t be asked of a regular freight company—they wouldn’t be willing to do it. The only option was to find a truck driver willing to take private jobs. Barry ran around the city and found a truck drivers’ parking lot, but it seed it wasn’t the ti for racing, as the lot was filled with trucks but no people.
Luckily, Victor quickly pulled up the drivers’ phone numbers based on the license plates. Barry called them one by one, and to his surprise, after only five or six calls, soone agreed.
Barry waited in the chilly parking lot for a while. Soon, a brawny man walked out of a nearby shop, with tattoos adorned all over his bald head, holding a pile of chocolate bars in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. As he walked over, Barry felt a bit intimidated.
He swallowed, shook the brawny man’s hand, and stuttered slightly, "Well... We’ve opened a new relief point in the suburbs and want to transport so holess people over there..."
The brawny man squinted his eyes, scrutinized Barry for a mont, and said, "You don’t look like you’re from a dical institution."
"I’m not," Barry quickly added, "We’re not selling bodies, nor are we conducting live dissections or drug trials. It’s a genuine relief point. If you don’t believe , I can take you to see it."
The brawny man frowned, seeming reluctant to waste his ti. But Barry reached out and touched his arm, and the next second, he was in the abandoned factory.
He widened his eyes at Barry, while Barry spread his palms and said, "We’re superpower users. We believe our superpowers can help more people, which is why we’re doing this. And of course, we’re not asking for free help, we will pay you."
After taking the driver back, the truck driver hesitated for a mont, then nodded and said, "Alright, get in."
Barry got into the passenger seat of the truck and led him to the place where they had just negotiated to pick up the people. There were actually more than he imagined, about twenty, mostly elderly, with three or four won and a pregnant woman.
Along the way, there was so silence, as these people obviously hadn’t communicated with anyone for a long ti. And upon arrival, they didn’t have much reaction, appearing numb. It wasn’t until Ron lit a fire in a barrel and gave them so food that soone asked, "Can we stay here?"
"Of course, but only during winter," Ron thought for a mont, then said, "We can ensure you safely get through this winter. Perhaps when the weather warms up, you may try to find so employnt."
So among them nodded, while others simply ate in silence. Barry quietly asked Ron, "Can they find work?"
"As long as they’re not doing drugs, it’s possible," Ron replied, "If they can’t find formal jobs, they can work illicitly."
Barry nodded. Earlier when he was roaming around the city, he noticed so restaurant districts, which indeed had a high demand for illicit workers. And the reason they can’t use holess people is because they focus too much on finding food and maintaining warmth, whereas there’s no energy left to find jobs. But if they could provide for them throughout the winter, allowing their health to recover sowhat, those not on drugs could take illicit work.
This kind of job doesn’t require a fixed address; it even provides als and lodging. Except for lower pay and more effort, it’s doable work. Although their fitness might not equal the workforce, as long as the asking rate is low, employers will certainly hire.
Generally, the reason regular holess people can’t do this is that they don’t understand it upon first becoming holess, can’t find such work, and can’t accept the gap. By the ti they get used to the environnt and know the ropes, their bodies are worn out, leaving them stuck in the cycle of seeking relief als, just like everyone else.
This made Barry realize that the help they need isn’t much. In fact, if they could continue eating full als for a few consecutive days, accumulate a certain amount of fat in their bodies, and gain so strength, there’s a chance they can rely on their strength to turn things around. This initial smoothness fired everyone up with more enthusiasm.
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