"Knock, knock, knock," the sound of a door being knocked echoed through the room. Savage turned around, realizing that his door had been knocked. As he opened the door, he didn't imdiately see anyone. It was only when he looked down that he noticed a child with chubby cheeks holding a stack of newspapers, looking at him with eager eyes.
"Sir, would you like to subscribe to the newspaper? About eighty percent of the residents here have already subscribed. I will deliver today's latest newspaper to your doorstep at 6:30 in the morning. If you also subscribe to milk, it will be delivered together with the newspaper. Other breakfast items and daily necessities will be delivered at 8 in the morning and 5 in the evening..."
Savage furrowed his brow, but the child was not intimidated at all. He took a few steps closer and handed the newspaper to Savage, saying, "You can take a look first. We have a partnership with the Gotham Daily, and we guarantee that the ink quality of the newspapers we provide is the best. You can even read it clearly without ironing!"
"Of course, we also offer free ironing services for the newspapers, but you must subscribe to the newspaper and milk for at least a year to enjoy this service."
"Believe , sir, we, the Marshall Gang, are the most professional newsboys in Living Hell. The milk we can get is also the best, freshly delivered from outside the city. If you subscribe to everything, I can even negotiate a discount for you..."
The child was enthusiastically pitching, but Savage's gaze remained fixed on the newspaper.
He noticed that the information Piper had gathered from the construction sites was now clearly written in the newspaper. Not only that, but the starting and completion tis of each construction site, the hours of work each day, and even the renderings of completed projects were all on the front page of the newspaper.
Savage snorted inwardly. He thought that Wayne Enterprises was just a private company that had no understanding of the importance of intelligence. Such crucial information was being openly published in the newspaper for anyone to see. If soone wanted to cause trouble, wouldn't it be easy to obtain this information?
"Do you want to subscribe, sir? Please, consider it. Our recent performance hasn't been good, and if I can't secure this order, my boss will scold . Please..."
Amidst the child's pleading, Savage returned the newspaper to him and asked, "How do I subscribe?"
The child imdiately flashed a happy smile and pulled out a notebook from his pocket. "You just need to write your na and address here, pay the fee, and then you can receive the newspaper every week."
"If you subscribe to the newspaper alone, it's $10 per week, but if you include milk, it's a total of $16 per week. If you want to subscribe for a year, it can be even cheaper. If you want to hire us for long-term errands, we offer a monthly package for $60..."
Savage snorted and said, "Do you think I don't know that you deliberately set a high price? Besides, the house I rented from this Gang here is at least ten tis more expensive than outside."
"Of course, sir," to Savage's surprise, the newsboy didn't panic or deny it. He said earnestly, "Subscribing to newspapers for outsiders here is expensive because we have to pay extra costs to deliver the newspapers to you."
He continued, pointing at his finger, "Let put it this way, if sothing happens to you here or if you harm soone due to not understanding the rules, the Gang that runs this place will take us in for questioning."
"Once sothing big happens, we all get implicated. We may be out of work for a few days, or in the worst case, lose our lives. That's why the cost of hiring us is higher; it's reasonable, and all outsiders here face the sa situation."
With a hint of bitterness, the newsboy added, "But so of the poor outsiders who can't afford it co up with all sorts of excuses and want us to sell it to them cheap..."
"There was this foreigner here before, got drunk, broke a vase, and the shards injured a little boss on patrol. I got taken in for questioning on the second and third days. I couldn't work for two days, and I had to borrow money to buy food..."
"In the end, that drunkard couldn't afford to compensate, so I got scolded by the Gang's boss for not reminding them that he was drinking."
The newsboy stared at Savage with wide eyes and said, "They said you're wealthy, that's why I ca here. If it were those uncultured paupers, I wouldn't even bother knocking!"
Savage widened his eyes, sowhat surprised. He hadn't expected the local children here to be so articulate.
After this conversation, Savage found the newsboy's reasoning quite reasonable, and he even felt so sympathy. So he asked, "Money isn't the issue. The question is, if I give you all this money, what can you do for ?"
The newsboy imdiately widened his eyes and, looking around cautiously, lowered his voice, "Oh my God, sir, you're not really planning to do sothing here, are you?"
Seeing that the newsboy seed to have sothing to say, Savage took out ten cents from his pocket and handed it to him. The newsboy took the money and continued, "During the first month when newcors arrive here, the kids keep a close eye on them. If there's any trouble, it's reported imdiately. Please, don't do anything here."
"If the Gang can't handle it, they'll go to the police. Gotham's police are terrifying. In our area, not many people survive to go to court, and even fewer have all their limbs intact. And there's that Batman who's always prowling around here; I heard he eats kids..."
Savage narrowed his eyes and said, "No, I don't want to do anything here. But you know , I'm new here, and I'm not familiar with the rules. If I'm willing to subscribe to your newspaper and milk, would you be willing to inform about so recent major events?"
The newsboy seed a bit puzzled, but he said, "Well, major events in Living Hell are usually in the newspaper. Just subscribe to the newspaper."
"I'm talking about major events happening inside Living Hell..."
The newsboy seed a bit perplexed, but he said, "Alright, if it helps you subscribe to our newspaper, I can do it. But I don't have much ti to write, so how would you like to inform you?"
"If you can't write, then I'll find soone who can," Savage squinted his eyes and ran his hand over his arm. He said, "There should be many newsboys around here who can deliver newspapers..."
The newsboy shook his head and said, "Morning and evening are the peak tis for delivering items. No one would be willing to waste ti writing lengthy essays. If we don't write them ourselves, we'd have to hire soone, and that costs money."
"I've already said, money is not the issue," Savage stepped back at the right mont and said, "I will offer you a fair reward, but you must ensure the tiliness and accuracy of this information."
The newsboy hesitated for a while and said, "Alright, but you'll have to give an extra $10 per week... no, $5 is enough, $5 will do. I will place the written information under your vase every evening at 5 o'clock."
"But..." the newsboy raised his voice and emphasized, "You must subscribe to the newspaper and milk for a year to make up for the shortfall in my orders this month, otherwise, it's not worth it for ..."
After a lengthy negotiation, Savage finally handed over the money, and the newsboy got the order.
Savage felt that he had found a breakthrough. These kids might be money-hungry, but at least they were better than the gangs that acted without reason. They might demand a high price, but they could be reasoned with, especially once they agreed to his first condition.
Indeed, Savage's approach was similar to Schiller's previous strategy. He believed that as long as one group in this place opened the door for him and was willing to make so concessions, the rest would fall into place.
The newsboy quickly ran through the hallway, crossed a narrow covered bridge, and arrived in the southern district.
He knocked on the door of an office, but before anyone inside could respond, he pushed the door open and rushed in, saying, "Boss Copperpot, it's done! You are truly amazing; he actually asked for information!"
"How much did you ask him for?" Copperpot, sitting behind his desk, asked as he looked up.
"I originally wanted $10, but I ended up settling for $5. Is that too high?" the newsboy asked. "After all, I told him the newspaper subscription was $10 per week..."
"Not high at all. I think it's just right," Copperpot revealed a sinister smile. He said, "This price will make him realize that he's being ripped off, but it's still insignificant to him. It's what Professor Schiller called blurring his judgnt of losses."
"$10 per week is outrageous for Living Hell, and he should be aware of that. However, because he's wealthy, he probably thinks it's worth a try. Next, we'll gradually increase his costs and test his limits..."
"The real show is about to begin."
With Copperpot's smile, several flyers on his desk flew out along the window and scattered in front of Savage's door.
In front of every apartnt room in Living Hell, there was a mailbox, and Savage had noticed that most of the mailboxes were filled with advertisents even before he moved in. However, he hadn't expected such a warm welco from the local businesses on his second day of moving in.
Food, daily necessities, weapons, bars, restaurants, and even so less reputable drugstores—all the businesses that could be found in Living Hell had distributed a large number of advertisents in these hallways.
Savage didn't plan to cook for himself like the other residents. He preferred dining at upscale restaurants. While the prices of the Living Hell restaurants weren't high, various additional charges were exorbitant: a 30% service charge, a 20% tip, and even a fee for takeaway containers, which cost more than ten US dollars.
However, Savage had dined at the Sockworth Grand Hotel before, and the Living Hell restaurants, even with all these miscellaneous charges, still cost less than half of what he spent at the Sockworth Grand Hotel.
In comparison, Savage felt that while they were overcharging, it wasn't a big deal since the total price wasn't high, and the service attitude was much better than at the Sockworth Grand Hotel.
Every store in Living Hell followed the sa style: as soon as they saw Savage enter, they would greet him with a smile. From the manager to the waitstaff, they would stand in two rows, smiling and bowing. Savage's every action and eye contact would imdiately prompt soone to ask what he needed.
When it ca ti to sign the tip receipt, the best employee in terms of service would co over with a smile. Savage didn't mind and simply signed with a flourish; after all, it was only a few tens of US dollars in total.
Of course, after seeing these advertisents, Savage also wanted to check out the bars because that's where gang mbers were most active, and there should be a lot of information there.
Upon entering the bar, he would need to order a drink, and the most basic whiskey with water cost several tens of US dollars. But with a little extra, he could get a very decent drink for over a hundred US dollars.
While Savage had spent a similar amount at the Sockworth Grand Hotel, he didn't find this price surprising. When sitting at the bar, a group of gang mbers next to him would often talk recklessly about their boss. Savage listened carefully, and he couldn't afford to let his drink go dry; spending a few hundred US dollars in a night was normal.
These expenses of double digits and triple digits didn't concern Savage at all. Going out for a al cost over $200, a trip to the supermarket was over $100, and gathering information at bars and nightclubs cost about $500 in a single night.
However, after two weeks of staying here, when Savage checked his recent expense bill, he was stunned.
In just two weeks, he had spent nearly $3,000. It was the 1990s, and even for Gotham's middle class, this was a considerable amount of money.
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