บท 26: Good Times
"Criminals think they're warriors, fighters who can take on ten men, but in reality, we only needed flowerpots and chairs to bash their heads in!" On the big screen, footage played of the dreadlocked thug getting his head bashed in, looking both shocked and furious, like a scared dog.
In the lower left corner of the screen, there was a watermark: "Technical support provided by Blume Security Consulting."
That's right, Blume Consulting was the new company Leo had just registered, primarily offering a complete suite of security surveillance system installation services.
Initially, Leo had wanted to name the company "CyberTech," but unfortunately, there was already a CyberTech in this world, and Leo had no desire to get involved with them at this stage.
The name "Blume Consulting" came from the game Watch Dogs, where it was a company engaged in high-tech smart development. Its crowning achievement, the ctOS system, could bring an entire city under systematic surveillance, representing the pinnacle of smart city control theory.
Leo hoped to achieve something similar one day.
Now, Anthony was out on the streets, shouting at the top of his lungs to promote the incident that had occurred at the apartment building.
One had to admit, this Latin man had an impressive set of vocal cords. He'd been speaking for days without losing his voice.
The footage compared the swaggering dreadlocked thug strutting down the street with his head split open inside the apartment, generating a round of applause.
This editing technique had been market-tested in later years—people just loved seeing arrogant folks get what they deserved. It was like watching the owner of a car who cuts off others on the highway getting detained by the police afterward.
With the audience's approval, Anthony grew even more animated: "And at the NYPD, he thought he was a tough guy!"
The TV screen showed the dreadlocked thug at the NYPD, swaggering as he walked, swaying from side to side.
He kept mumbling about his "boss" and how someone would "bail him out," creating a tense atmosphere.
Then the scene shifted to Captain George Stacy pulling out an arrest warrant, the thug's expression changing dramatically as he tried to flee, only for George to empty his clip.
"Awesome!"
"Good job!"
"This is America!"
"Let him feel a little American shock and awe!"
The crowd cheered even louder. An emptying clip was just what they wanted to see!
Living in Hell's Kitchen, who hadn't been robbed or stolen from?
For various reasons, resisting had always been a luxury for ordinary people, but now, someone had done it!
Anthony continued, "But he's just a dog! He thinks he's human, but he's just a wild dog imagining he has a master! And we, united together, relying on each other, unleash courage and strength far beyond these dog-faced criminals! Join us, join the Clinton District Owners Association, and let's make our lives better! Let's fight our enemies!"
On the roadside TV, the footage of John beating up the thugs played on, with people cheering.
It's human nature to enjoy seeing villains get what they deserve.
After finishing his speech, Anthony stepped down from the platform to grab some water.
In just those few minutes, several more owners had come to the registration booth to join the association.
Lawyer Matt was handling the registrations and explaining the rights and obligations of the members.
There were two vans parked by the road—one for carrying the promotional materials.
The other was a communication van, with Skye crouched inside, managing online publicity, while Leo was beside her, adjusting the newly installed cameras.
In just a few days, this small group had become quite organized.
This was because the company had been officially registered, and the NYPD contract had successfully been won.
To win the bid, Leo had set the price very low—after all, aside from some labor costs and the cost of the cameras, there were no development costs for him.
Moreover, the wiring issues that even veteran electricians found daunting were merely time-consuming for Leo.
At this rate, the New York Power Authority might consider hiring Leo at a high salary.
After winning the bid, although the project funds would be paid in installments, winning the bid meant he could get a loan, which was a crucial part of credit assessment.
The loan allowed them to get the promotional equipment, and Leo's owners association began to make a name for itself.
Owners paid fees to the association representatives to implement related services, and as a measure to attract more homeowners to join the association, Blume Consulting offered discounted service fees.
This created both emotional and financial incentives for joining the association.
With more and more people joining, Leo naturally had to charge some membership fees—thus, cash flow was established.
Although it wasn't fully healthy yet—starting a business takes time—this small cash flow allowed the bank to issue more loans.
Things had entered a virtuous cycle; as long as they maintained the current state, the future would be brighter.
"Boss, how did I do just now?" Anthony walked over.
Leo gave him a thumbs-up, "Just as good as the past few days—no, even better. I still remember how nervous you were on the first day. You might have a talent for this; your voice is steady and powerful, and your speaking posture is quite compelling."
"Haha—stop it." Anthony laughed happily, "I've loved singing since I was a kid; my mom even said I could be a singer when I grew up. I never thought my talent would be used here."
As he spoke, Anthony solemnly added, "And I'm glad to use my talent here, boss. Honestly, the last time I felt alive was when my daughter was born. I held Emmaline and felt she was a treasure sent from heaven, and I would do anything to show her the beauty of the world. Now, I feel like I'm making the world a better place—this is way more fulfilling than moving things around. I believe John feels the same way."
John, who was loading a TV onto the van, smiled and said, "You say that, but I thought I was holding a bar of gold!"
"Haha, yeah right. I saw the way you were signing autographs just now; anyone who didn't know better would think you were an NBA star."
Leo watched this scene with deep emotion.
Memories surfaced—he remembered his youth in his previous life, often going out on the streets with like-minded friends—
Friends who went out with the intention of doing something good for the world, believing that everything was so beautiful.
"Screw this."
At that moment, he heard some unpleasant muttering nearby and turned to see Skye quietly cursing.
Noticing Leo's gaze, Skye scratched her head, "Everyone online supports what we're doing, but the website keeps deleting posts. I'm using a botnet to mass-post videos. Do you think I should hack the backend?"
A "botnet" refers to a network of computers infected with malware that hackers can control remotely, used for disguised or computational purposes in hacking activities, also known as zombie computers.
Leo didn't respond immediately, instead, he leaned in to look at the computer—
And saw that Skye had just typed out a long string of curse words, ready to post.
"Well, what can I say? Someone's playing the neutral card online, claiming there are no good people in Hell's Kitchen, especially John. They're saying he's a black thug starting a civil war."
Leo turned back around, "Then curse them out hard—but don't hack their backend. See if the automated posting system can outlast the moderation."
"Got it."
Soon, everything was packed into the van, the equipment was ready, and Leo was preparing to set up the next batch of surveillance.
In just a few days, the Trojan in the power substation had spread, allowing Leo to monitor over 70% of Manhattan's power grid.
This made setting up surveillance much more convenient, enabling seamless integration of public and private surveillance within a five-kilometer radius.
In these past few days, there were still some petty thieves trying to pull off looting sprees, but the unluckiest one ran into a tough homeowner who shot the thief in the leg, thanks to the surveillance footage.
With irrefutable evidence, nothing happened to the homeowner.
Hell's Kitchen was undergoing a subtle change—people might still fear the ruthless gangs lurking in the shadows.
But they weren't afraid of these looting thugs anymore.
In fact, given time, as the thugs' economic sources were cut off, the upstream of the underground forces would also be affected—
Let's not forget, honest folks aren't the ones using drugs.
Lies are one of the root causes of Hell's Kitchen's current state, and now Leo was trying to spread a bit of truth, revealing it under the sunlight.
Bang, bang, Leo patted the van, signaling Matt to get in, "Next spot—today's last spot. After this, we're done."
Matt climbed into the van and said to Leo, "These past few days have been... fulfilling."
This was heartfelt.
Matt's life had been dark and difficult; after losing his sight, he spent his days in despair, feeling like each day was an eternity.
After his father's guidance, his father then died in an underground boxing ring.
You could say that most of his life had been spent in confusion.
Sometimes he wanted to vent his anger as Daredevil, seeking revenge; other times, he wanted to bring hope to people as a lawyer. Sometimes... he just imagined.
Imagined what his life would be like without all those unfortunate events, never thinking about the present or the future.
"As long as life is about doing meaningful things, every day will feel fulfilling."
Matt couldn't agree more—he was now starting to imagine the future, thinking about the changes he could bring to the world, imagining a better life ahead.
Thinking of this, he asked, "What do you plan to do after all this is settled?"
Leo shrugged, "I want to go to Empire University. I heard there's a famous professor there who specializes in cell biology. You know, because of my health issues."
Matt was about to say something but suddenly sensed something—
A hundred meters ahead, someone raised their hand.
What they were holding was... a steel toothpick? Matt's face changed drastically, and he quickly shoved Leo out of the way!
Crash! The glass shattered, scattering like splashes of water!
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