"Did you hear?! Our area is also going to be renovated!!!" A child rushed into the cellar, waving a newspaper, saying, "Look! We're in the first phase of the plan!"
The other children gathered around, asking, "What renovation? What renovation?"
The kid unfurled the newspaper and said, "It seems, they're going to build overpasses here, but to do so, the buildings here will first be transformed into...like...Living Hell, you've been there, right? It's like, all the houses are packed into one building, then connected by corridors, making it very tall, and everyone can have their own home!"
"Really? I've heard from my uncle before that the houses in Living Hell are very expensive since everyone can have their own room, and some rich people can even have a living room!"
"If it is really going to change like this, will we finally get our own rooms?!" A girl excitedly said, "And the overpass, is it going to be like the bridge next to our street?!"
"Dream on, that stinky drain bridge. How could it possibly compare to an overpass, if you've ever been to the city center, you'll know that their overpass is even taller than the buildings here!"
"I like Going to Living Hell!" A small boy raised his hand and said, "When I went there to deliver things, the people there were so prideful, but rightfully so, they all live in new houses, drink clean water, and can buy anything they want just downstairs. Even their kids are cleaner than us!"
"That's great, if it really does become like that, I definitely want to live in a room with a window, one where I can see outside. I also want to plant a flower..."
The children were very excitedly imagining the future scene. At that moment, a weary voice came from a nearby room, asking, "What's all the fuss about?"
"Oh! Boss, come look, look at today's newspaper!" The children immediately gathered around him, saying, "Boss Jason, look, our place is going to be renovated!"
Jason struggled to open his eyes. He had stayed up reading a book until late last night, only getting four or five hours of sleep, so he was still very sleepy.
He took the newspaper and saw it written, the second phase of Gotham's road renovation project will soon commence, which includes their street. Moreover, the renovations incorporate both architectural and traffic changes, with the architectural renovation starting in just three days.
"Boss, you've seen the world, will this place really become like Living Hell, where everyone lives in a giant building, where you can get anything from inside the building, and never have to worry about getting rained on or the flooding on the streets?"
"Will we also get to have a room with a window? Umm, even if four or six of us share a room, as long as it has a window, I can grow flowers..."
But Jason's expression gradually turned serious, because he not only noticed the start of the renovation, but he also paid attention to the way it was conducted.
This time, it's not a joint venture between the mob and the Wayne Family. Instead, it's spearheaded by the government, with Wayne Enterprises investing and taking the contract for the project, controlling everything from design to construction to operation, all without the mob's participation or financial contribution.
Jason, unlike these children, has a clearer understanding. Just how big of an investment is required for a project of this scale? Has Wayne Enterprises gone mad?
Last time, when Living Hell was renovated - apart from Wayne Enterprises, Falcone Family, and the government also participated. Even the leaders of the Twelve Families invested, and the results were quite impressive.
The subsidiary industries there are thriving, providing many supporting services for the logistics industry. Moreover, as the residents there became wealthier, the mob governing the area could also collect higher protection fees.
But this time, Wayne Enterprises is bearing all the renovation costs, while the mob can use the buildings and roads here completely for free. No matter how you look at it, it feels like a Trojan horse.
The books Jason just read told him never to expect capitalists to be charitable, yet right after he finished reading these books, the city's biggest capitalist decided to improve everyone's life here without expecting anything in return.
Jason squinted his eyes looking somewhat alert. He spoke to all the children in a serious tone, "Stay alert, some major changes might be coming. Go, get those out there messing around to come back quickly..."
"Boss! Boss! It's bad! Six-fingered Sister is injured, Cookie sisters brought her back. You should go now!" A very young child yelled running in. Jason's expression turned immediately grim.
Jason hurriedly ran out and saw Cookie sisters wrapping Six-fingered Sister's arm. The smell of fresh blood pervaded the air. He stepped forward, looking at her wound and asked, "What happened? How did it happen?"
"No big deal, had a fight with someone, got cut accidentally." Six-fingered Sister turned her head to the side and said, "You guys hear any rumours? There's going to be a renovation here soon. I think, we should move."
"Why?!" Another child raised his voice and said, "Exactly because of the renovation, we should stay. We will be allotted a house!"
Six-fingered Sister made a pained face and said, "Did you see the rehousing plan? We'll probably have to leave here if we want to survive..."
Jason turned back, picked up the newspaper, and continued reading. He saw that surprisingly, the relocation plan was quite generous - every resident here, whether they have a license or not, can get a room.
The minimum standard for a room was a private bedroom without a kitchen and a bathroom, but it has a window allowing natural daylight for at least three hours daily, and furniture would also be provided.
However, if you want a better single room, such as a one-bedroom, one-living room, or one with a kitchen and bathroom, you would have to pay extra.
If you don't want to pay extra, then you would have a single room just big enough to fit a bed. However, the floor where the room is located would have a communal bathroom and an outdoor kitchen.
But even that would be considered incredibly superior living conditions for these children. After all, they are now crammed into a basement, twenty to thirty at a time, with no windows and the occasional leak when it rains.
We can't even begin to talk about bathrooms and kitchens. The so-called beds in the room are hastily assembled from crates. Jason's small bed has a mattress that they picked up somewhere. Some others have their bed made from mats, and some just have a thin bedsheet for comfort.
Embodied in the resettlement proposal, every room is equipped with a bed, a mattress, a lamp, and a small bedside table. On the windowsill of each room, there is a pot of flowers, and even a painting hanging over the bed.
Upon seeing that it is Wayne Decorating Engineering Company that contracted the project's construction and renovation part, Jason realized the quality of the work would be outstanding. This company was also responsible for the renovations at the Wayne Hotel.
But Jason's face darkened because according to mob rules, these are not things they are allowed to have.
Just then, a loud "Boom!" echoed through the room. The door to the basement was pried open, and several gang members jumped down. They pointed their guns at all the children and ordered: "Out! Everybody out! Get above ground, and you're not allowed to stay here anymore!"
The terrified children climbed up, stood against the wall once above ground, including Jason.
The mob leader said, "You got an afternoon to move out. Don't ever show up on our turf again. If anybody asks, you were never here. Say you got kicked out of some other place. Got it?"
The six-fingered sister whimpered, "You're only giving us an afternoon to move, we won't even have time to gather our things!"
"It's not my problem, it is the boss's orders. By tonight, you should all be gone from here. After all, the renovation is due to start in three days. If those bigwigs saw you begging around here, who knows what they'd say!"
The mob member flicked his gun barrel, "You'd better behave yourselves. You've overstayed your welcome here already. Now scram!"
As the mob members left, the faces of the children turned pale. The younger of the cookie sisters asked, "Why do we suddenly have to move? Why are they driving us away?"
The six-fingered sister held back tears as she squatted down, hugging her arm, "Don't you all realize? The price to rent a single room in Living Hell for a week is 10 dollars..."
"We have over 20 people here. That's over 20 rooms. If we don't move in, the mob around here would make more than 200 dollars a week, that's almost 1000 dollars a month... "
"As soon as they kick us out and rent the rooms we were supposed to take, they would be making three times what they used to for doing nothing. Everyone knows how sought-after Living Hell is these days. It will be the same here..."
Jason clenched the newspaper in his hand. He said, "As long as it's profitable, they won't care about anything else. They won't care where we go, how we live afterward, or if we die on the streets..."
Jason's arm began to tremble. He took a deep breath and said: "Pack up. Get ready to move."
All the kids had tears in their eyes. Nothing was worse than getting a glimpse of hope, only to have it snatched away.
But Jason was calmer than ever. The six-fingered sister looked at him and said, "Jason, you've changed a lot. In the past, you would have been furious, talking about causing them trouble."
"Because I've realized something recently," Jason said calmly, to a terrifying degree: "All the talk is useless. No one will fear me simply because I shout louder."
After saying this, he walked towards the entrance of the basement. Before descending, he turned to the six-fingered sister: "Our gang isn't the only one going through this. Three major streets nearby are undergoing the same renovation. That means all the Children's Gangs will be evicted."
The six-fingered sister sensed something bad in his tone. She asked: "What are you planning to do? Jason! Jason... Don't do something stupid, we can make a living somewhere else..."
Holding the cellar's manhole cover, Jason grinned slightly: "Move somewhere else? What if those places also undergo renovation?"
"If all of Gotham is slowly transforming into a city where everyone can find shelter, do you think it would improve our lives?"
"No. Even if those houses could accommodate everyone, the rich and the gun-wielding would occupy them. They would rather leave the houses empty, have us freeze to death on the streets than allow us to move in."
Jason shut his eyes: "In Gotham... we cannot rely on the pity of others to survive... we don't need pity anymore."