America 1919

Trucks drove out of Atlantic City late at night, heading straight for Philadelphia.

When the trucks reached a point 50 miles away from Atlantic City, they stopped.

Tyrone Capello, Joachim Lang, and Fei Jackson descended successively from the first truck, with Joachim Lang slapping the side of the vehicle.

First out of the truck's cargo hold were three men with rifles, followed by a stream of battered and bruised homeless folk, including men and women, whites and blacks...

The same people unloaded from the rest of the trucks.

Their eyes conveyed bewilderment and fear!

"This is where you leave," Joachim Lang shouted, "I don't care if you go to Philadelphia or some other city, Atlantic City does not welcome you. If I ever see you in Atlantic City again, next time you won't just be sent away!"

These people showed complicated expressions, and naturally, they didn't wish to leave Atlantic City if possible, for the city held hope; maybe one day, with a bit of money, they could turn their fortunes around at the Surf Hotel.

Now, being told they could no longer stay in Atlantic City was like losing all hope!

But when they saw the dozen rifles, they didn't have the courage to oppose Joachim Lang's words.

Joachim Lang didn't care whether they were obedient or not; he herded everyone into the vehicles and left the place promptly.

Fei Jackson, sitting in the vehicle, watched Tyrone Capello and Joachim Lang in front of him. He thought their method of driving these people away was simply too rough—so rough that he didn't know what to say.

But the situation at hand didn't leave much room for alternatives—perhaps this was the best method after all.

So where did I go wrong before?

With such thoughts, the convoy returned to Atlantic City. At the entrance, the vehicles stopped again, and two trucks didn't follow into the city but remained outside.

"What are they doing?"

Fei Jackson curiously asked Tyrone Capello. After spending the day together, Fei Jackson understood that despite Joachim Lang's lively demeanor, it was actually Tyrone Capello who called the shots.

With a rigid smile, Tyrone Capello said, "If I were them, I'd certainly want to take a chance, try to find another way back to Atlantic City. Leaving Geller and his men here is to prevent just that."

Fei Jackson thought about it, agreed with Tyrone Capello's reasoning, but still curiously asked, "What if they come back anyway?"

Joachim Lang chuckled, "The Atlantic is vast, big enough to hold the whole of Atlantic City, fitting a few people is no issue!"

Fei Jackson shuddered, then accepted this harsh method before asking his final question, "This way, indeed, in the short term, we can drive them away and keep them from coming back. But in time, when this current storm in Atlantic City has passed and those people return, what then?"

Tyrone Capello casually said, "If they come back, they come back. Nobody has the time or inclination to monitor them every day. However, I suspect that when these people do return, they'll be doing so with some money in their pockets. People like them, as long as they bring money back, will inevitably end up leaving it in Atlantic City. We just need to periodically clear out the homeless."

Joachim Lang also sneered, "Mr. Jackson, I know you disdain our methods, but you should understand, it's impossible to completely eliminate people like them. I believe the boss knows this too. So what we're doing now is two-fold: one, to reduce the crime rate in Atlantic City, to make it seem safer, which attracts more tourists. Two, in fact, it's giving these people a chance. By leaving Atlantic City, they might find employment elsewhere, their lives might change for the better!"

Fei Jackson shook his head and said earnestly, "I think I understand now why the boss had you two assist me with this matter. Before, I always wanted to handle things perfectly and leave no loose ends, and on top of that, to follow some specific law. But now I realize that it's those people who need to obey the law, not us!"

Both Tyrone Capello and Joachim Lang laughed heartily, saying, "We follow the boss's rules!"

Fei Jackson said heartily, "Let's go then, to the Surf Hotel. I'll book two rooms for us to have a good time, and I really want to thank you both!"

Naturally, Tyrone Capello and Joachim Lang had no objections!

.

The next day, Donnie learned about the way they handled the situation. Regarding the process, Donnie simply nodded without concern; he only cared about the result. The process was not something Donnie felt he needed to pay attention to.

At this time, Donnie had his own matters to attend to.

A journalist from The New York Times had arrived, and Donnie planned to set aside the entire morning for the interview!

Despite The New York Times always claiming to be fair and open, in reality, every newspaper has its own stance.

Take this interview, for example, which came about after two near-riots in the North District, sparking The New York Times's interest in talking to Donnie.