Cheng Daqi casually captured the scenery of Red Street in Saint Rodu.
At the same time, he was chatting with Sani on White Eagle.
"Where did you go, nothing happened, right?"
In Sani's memory, Cheng Daqi was always the type to sleep into the late morning and wouldn't wake up on his own without her calling him to eat. '
But today she couldn't find him in his tent.
"I came out to charge my phone, the shelter hasn't opened yet. Are there any charging spots around Red Street?"
Cheng Daqi was consulting his newbie village NPC.
"You should go to the courthouse entrance, look for the bench across the street from the courthouse, there are charging ports on the wall behind the bench."
Sani could truly be called his first benefactor in America.
Many immigrants from Hua Country rushed blindly into America, not understanding anything.
Without someone to guide them, they fought alone on the streets.
As a result, they faced obstacles everywhere and endured hardships every day.
Cheng Daqi's predecessor was extremely lucky to have met Sani, a black sister who wasn't too exploitative.
As a newbie village accompanying NPC.
Although this girl couldn't join Cheng Daqi in fighting against high-level red-name monsters, Sani's guiding function was already very useful.
"Alright, I'll go look for a charging port, we'll meet up at the shelter later."
After responding to the message, Cheng Daqi noticed that a box truck was parked on one side of Red Street.
The upper half of the vehicle's body was modified, displaying a huge slogan.
'Perfume Equality!'
In front of the truck, several elegantly dressed female volunteers were laughing and arranging the materials to be distributed.
They had also brought a photographer, who was now holding a camera and fiercely snapping photos of the truck's slogan and the distributed materials.
Cheng Daqi paused his steps and inconspicuously scanned the surrounding environment.
He raised his Orange Six and aimed the lens at the slogan on the box truck, lingering on the few big characters for a few seconds.
'Perfume Equality!'
Then he turned the camera, focusing on the homeless who wandered in Red Street.
Homeless people with barely enough clothes, their vacant stares revealing a numbness, no longer knowing what hope was.
There was even a junkie who had overdosed on happy pills, collapsed face down in a corner with his butt in the air, still not sober.
There were also disabled elders, who had lost the ability to walk, sitting in wheelchairs while pushing shopping carts filled with belongings.
Orange was an American Company, with a market value in the trillions of US dollars.
It was hailed as a model of American commercial companies.
To achieve higher profits, it chose to control assembly costs by switching its American suppliers for assembly to companies from Hua Country.
Now, this phone, branded in America and assembled in Hua Country, was using its slightly outdated but still clear lens to document a ludicrous scene on an American street.
On one side was the 'Perfume Equality' slogan, with the elegantly dressed volunteers underneath it.
On the other side were the homeless, roaming the streets, struggling to survive.
It was no more than cyberpunk.
Cheng Daqi was actually different from the homeless on Red Street.
His hair, though unkempt from lack of care, was still relatively clean.
His clothes were 'new' second-hand sportswear changed just yesterday, not as disheveled as the other homeless.
Most importantly, it was his eyes, the flames of hope in them never extinguished.
Someone among the volunteers in front of the box truck noticed him.
After all, Cheng Daqi had been filming with his phone here for quite a while.
"Sir, hello, may I ask if you need anything?"
The volunteer looked to be in his twenties, with a lovely face and platinum earrings that suggested a managerial role.
"I mean, do you need our perfume?"
Lisa and her team of girls were making their first trip to Los Angeles's Red Street to do a giveaway, and she wasn't quite sure how to interact with the homeless there.
So there was a hint of hopefulness in her voice—she had inadvertently brought the mindset of selling products to customers into handing out relief to the homeless.
Upon hearing the volunteer's question, Cheng Daqi was slightly taken aback.
He quickly came to a realization.
These were people who had never been to Red Street before.
A group of girls, dressed so nicely, doing publicity for a store, here on Red Street for a charitable brand promotion event.
It was an opportunity.
The system's skill panel not loading the skills from Cheng Daqi's previous life didn't mean he had forgotten how to make a living.
"Ma'am, hello, you can call me Chan, as in Jackie Chan's Chan."
While Cheng Daqi introduced himself, his expression seemed puzzled.
This puzzlement wasn't the slightest bit exaggerated, making it immediately apparent that he was genuinely questioning.
"What I'm wondering is how come you girls didn't bring any security to Red Street?"
Making a living in the world always involves dealing with people.
The first step in dealing with people is to respond differently according to different schools, groups, individuals, and types of work, each with its specific methods.
But most tactics boil down to one word—shock!
Lisa was clearly puzzled by Cheng Daqi's question.
Her mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Within less than a second, Lisa realized that Cheng Daqi was making a lot of sense.
The company boss wanted to do a charitable promotion, so he had Lisa organize this 'perfume equality' event.
But it was inevitable for a luxury company solely comprised of female white-collar workers to lack a deep understanding of the market environment of Red Street.
They had actually arrived without hiring a single male security guard!
"There won't be any problem, right? I saw two police cars parked at the entrance of the street."
Lisa knew that if anything happened, the boss would not let her off the hook.
As she explained, she pushed Cheng Daqi's arm and moved away from the van.
She couldn't let the volunteers hear what this man was saying.
"Ma'am, if there really were trouble, which do you think would be scarier, the police or the homeless?"
Cheng Daqi continued to gently lead her on.
The nature of American cops was well known to anyone from America.
Lisa's hands were starting to shake.
When she first entered Red Street, she just found it dirty and disorderly, but now she was starting to feel afraid.
"This... this...."
Seeing that the volunteer manager was moved by his words, Cheng Daqi finally showed his hand.
"I don't yet know your name, but, ma'am, I do have a way to ensure your safety here."
Cheng Daqi pointed to the male photographer and spoke.
"Give me the promotional jacket that your photographer is wearing. I have some clout in this neighborhood. If I wear your clothes and distribute items with you, the homeless will see me and treat you as one of their own."
Lisa's expression was extremely hesitant.
Cheng Daqi's suggestion was worth considering.
But what she was thinking now was whether she should just leave.
It was so dangerous—why give out perfume at all?
A few thousand dollars a month, why risk her life?