Chapter 5: Beacon of Civilization, Dark Forest
“Welcome to my home.”
Follow Dominic to the No. 19 bridge arch in the th district of Los Angeles.
Dominic put the handbag on the ground, turned around and spread his arms, a smile on his face, and stood on a stone, proudly declaring his sovereignty over the territory.
Zhang Ailun looked at the bridge tunnel which was a unique place.
There are two blue double tents, the surrounding environment is clean and tidy, there is a solar lamp, the charging line is connected to the solar panel hanging on the wall, there is an old sofa in the corner, and there is an oil barrel blackened by smoke.
A few clothes were hung on a line from a nail embedded in the wall, and black plastic bags filled with cans were piled up next to the blue tent.
To be honest, the living conditions here are much better than he imagined! !
Apart from the lack of bathing facilities, heating equipment and unstable electricity supply, it is simply like a renovated cozy nest, worthy of being the bridge tunnel base camp where the wandering god has settled for two and a half years.
Unlock new maps.
"You just leave the jars here. Aren't you afraid that someone will come and steal them?" Zhang Ailun looked at the jars and was a little confused.
You are out hunting during the day and there is no one guarding your house. What if someone comes and steals your house?
"Don't worry."
Dominic said: "There are indeed a lot of homeless people around here, but they are basically familiar faces. I know every one of them. Strangers who come here will be driven out directly. Surviving on the streets is not difficult. You just need to abide by the rules and you don't have to worry about being troubled."
Dominic said as he also pulled out a sign with colorful graffiti on it, which at first glance looked like a funny little yellow duck pattern.
He smiled and said, "Did you see this? This is the logo of Lori Louis 19. It is also a group formed by friends who have lived in the nearby Bridge Hole Camp for a long time. You know what I mean! As long as everyone is a family, you don't have to worry about your things being stolen, and others won't dare to bully you."
"Sometimes the shelter doesn't provide relief services for a long time, and life becomes difficult. Other people on the street will come and invite you to go shopping in groups at the 24-hour supermarkets and discount stores on nearby streets."
"..."
Do you make zero-yuan shopping sound so refreshing and refined?
"If you meet a group of black people wearing red or blue clothes on the street, I suggest you don't hesitate, just turn around and leave that place!" Dominic reminded Zhang Ailun very seriously.
He was also told in detail about the local gangs and their distribution map in Los Angeles, as well as the rules of survival in the wild.
I was standing under the beacon of human civilization, but now I felt like I was in the law of the dark forest. Is this the legendary West Coast?
Zhang Ailun doubted his life.
The local tyrants and gangs in Los Angeles are complicated and intertwined, with gangs of all sizes and in such large and small numbers that it was beyond Zhang Ailun's imagination.
He had only seen it in movies and San Andreas games before, but it was even worse in reality.
This is the West Coast. If you accidentally walk into gang territory, stay for a few seconds longer, or inadvertently look at the black guys, they will really not tolerate you. Several black guys will surround you and greet you with a curse, and even worse, they will choose to "shoot"!
There are gangs in every block in Los Angeles, and the number of gangs is the highest in Block 13 of Los Angeles, so much so that a documentary has even been made about it.
Very famous African-American gangs: The Crips and the Bloods. The two sides are sworn enemies, one red and one blue, and red and blue have always been a perfect match.
Hispanic (Latino) gangs: California 18th Street, Florence 13, MS13.
18th Street is the undisputed overlord of Los Angeles gangs. It competes with Florence Chapter 13, each occupying half of the sky. It is an existence that neither the Crips nor the Bloods can afford to offend.
Caught in the middle, MS13 can basically only eat the scraps and make profits through drug trafficking, extortion and human trafficking.
Motorcycle gangs: Hell's Angels MC Motorcycle Club, Desperadoes Motorbike Club.
The former is a religious organization with club-like nature and strict discipline. Its founders are a group of World War II veterans and members of the Harley Davidson motorcycle gang. They advocate free riding and punishing evil and promoting good.
But their business is not clean at all, their main income comes from arms dealing, drug business and monopoly of pornographic entertainment venues. Almost every strip club branch operates gang enrichment projects and leaf growing houses.
The advantages are a short growth cycle and quick money-making. The crops can basically be sold after one month of cultivation. A grow house can bring them over 4 US dollars in revenue each week.
The latter are unorganized and undisciplined criminals, lawless young white men, mentally ill people, who often ride their bikes to various states to commit crimes and kill people indiscriminately.
Other gangs: such as the Mafia, Asian Boys, Huaqing, Bamboo Union, Aryan Brotherhood, small street gangs and other large and small groups, etc. Like Lori Louis 19 mentioned by Dominic, it is not a gang at all. At most, it is a homeless mutual aid association wandering around the 19th bridge in the fifth block, which can be called a beggar gang.
There are still many such group behaviors, drug addicts gather together, homeless people gather together, scavengers gather together. Although they are all homeless, they are still different circles.
Most of the drug addicts and beggars on the poor streets are controlled by gang members and forced to pay protection fees and provide sexual services. The streets are also very dangerous at night. If you are a homeless person, you really can't survive if you don't stick together.
Street gangs of homeless people sometimes clash over interests, but occasionally they share common activities, such as shopping in supermarkets.
Basically, it is led by nearby small gangs, who lobby homeless organizations and slum residents, and will even take the initiative to give you money, leaves, and baseball bats to encourage you to actively participate in this errand.
If you don't participate, you will be excluded, and the little black guys won't invite you to play with them next time.
You always have to be the last in line when you go to the shelter to get food.
If you dare to report me, try it. If you try, you will die.
But Lori Louis 19 seldom participates in such errands, because most people can be self-reliant and will only consider buying for free when they really can't make ends meet.
Dominic also briefly introduced to Zhang Ailun the homeless friends living in Bridge No. 19.
Zhang Ailun didn't remember much about the other people, he just remembered Lao Hei.
Lori Louis 19 was named after him.
Lowry Jr. is a 3-meter-tall black man. He used to be a star athlete at the No. forward position in football. He was also involved in gangs before, but an accident left him with a knee injury and a limp, making it difficult for him to walk, and his career was interrupted.
His car and house were mortgaged, he couldn't pay off his college tuition loan, he was in debt, his credit was blacklisted, he couldn't find a job, and was forced to live on the streets.
I received unemployment benefits for six months and it was hard to get by, but later they simply stopped paying me. I don’t know who got the money.
Now I live my life by picking up garbage, cleaning windows of passing cars with a bucket on the road, and begging for money. I spend all the money I earn on buying leaves, and I rely on relief meals for food. I live like a drunkard.
The people in the Qiaodong camp would also pull him out as a front man when needed. After all, his height of two meters and one meter is really intimidating! Who wouldn't be scared when seeing him?
That old black man lives on the east side of the No. 19 bridge tunnel next door. He is a well-known figure. With him around, ordinary homeless people really don’t dare to come here.
The nearby gangs would also give him face because he used to be a star athlete and had some weight among the black people. If he didn't cause trouble, the little black gangs wouldn't mess with him either.
Zhang Ailun didn't know much about the so-called rugby sport, but he had heard that people with poor physical fitness went to play basketball, and those who could stay to play rugby were all those with abnormal stats.
What a pity! If he hadn’t played football and played basketball instead, he might have been another O’Neal!
"So, if I want to live here for a long time and don't want to be harassed or chased around by the police, do I need to pay the membership fee to Little Lori every month? Can I be sure that I won't be driven away by the police here?"
Zhang Ailun asked the question that was in his mind.
"You don't have to worry about it, Alan. This place is a deserted city area. Usually there will be no police officers coming here. If there is any emergency, our friends will come to inform us in advance."
"You don't have to pay any fees to live here. Everyone gathers together spontaneously, but if one of your own is bullied, you need to stand up and help your own people. And you have to be clean! Otherwise, you will have to sleep on the street like everyone else, and you will be driven here and there every day. You may die at any time. That's what a truly unorganized homeless person would be like."
"People like us are actually entrepreneurs, and some of us will leave the streets sooner or later."
"But you'd better not get too close to people on the street, because they often do some bad things," said Dominic.
Do you want to start a business by purchasing things for free and picking up waste?
It’s really a good idea.
A temporary low period is really nothing.
(End of this chapter)
