Barry leaned against the wall, his face pale. His Adam's apple kept moving up and down. In just a few minutes, his lips had already begun to crack, and an unusual flush appeared on his cheeks. Clearly, the speed of blood flow had significantly increased, making him feel excited all over.
"This is just...this is just Los Angeles, right? It's Los Angeles' problem." Barry pointed at the computer and looked at Lois, saying, "I've heard from my wealthy hometown friends that big cities are chaotic. People always have various channels to get drugs. That's why they..."
"So, that means you're from a small town? I have to admit, small towns indeed fare a bit better. However, every place has its dark side. Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Lois sat back on the bed, cradled the coffee cup, sighed lightly, and then said, "This is a systemic issue, prevalent in every corner of America. If you are optimistic, I won't persuade you much, for after all, the naive times are short and should be cherished."
Barry pressed his lips tightly. He couldn't care less about concealing his identity, and he said, "I come from Central City, you know Central City, right? It's the capital of Missouri. Our public security is very good, you won't see any homeless people on the streets. Although there are crimes, but...but not like this..."
"Do you have health insurance?" Lois asked.
"Yes, I study at Central City University, and I have student insurance. It costs about 200 dollars a month."
"That's nice," Lois said, "Do your classmates all have it?"
"Pretty much. Those who can attend college aren't troubled by 200 dollars. Plus, our school offers tuition assistance. I can reduce my student loan payment by over 1000 dollars each month. Moreover, if I enter a designated department to work, it might all be waived..."
"And what about the people in society?"
"They should also have insurance." After thinking about it, Barry said, "My neighbors all have it. Some even buy two policies."
"Where do you live? University town?"
"Yes, not far from the university, also in the center of Central City."
"Have you been to further remote areas?"
Barry shook his head and said, "I don't go out much. Besides soaking in the library, I stay at home."
"You can go there to take a look. Ask them whether they have insurance. And, where the people who didn't get compensated by insurance went."
Barry opened his mouth. He really didn't know. He had never used his health insurance. Moreover, college students like to rent cars to play during weekends, and they might need to buy vehicle insurance. But he's a homebody, hardly goes out, so he hasn't encountered other types of insurance.
On the way back, Barry kept thinking. He really hadn't visited further parts of Central City. But since the entire city's public security ranks high, it shouldn't be too bad, right?
He moved swiftly, returning to Central City in just a few minutes. Then he began to leave the area he usually frequented, moving towards more remote areas.
But even in very remote places, there weren't heaps of homeless people. Barry breathed a sigh of relief and thought: It must be Los Angeles' problem. It's the managers there not being responsible enough, leading to such situations.
Barry walked around there for dozens of minutes. He thought he had investigated enough, but remembering what Lois said about insurance, he found a small corner coffee shop, went in to buy a cup of coffee, and chatted with the owner.
He was completely inept at small talk, so he found a lame excuse. He said, "Uh...I'm a student at Central City University. We're doing a research survey about insurance..."
As soon as the word "insurance" came out, Barry was met with the owner's spittle. Then the owner gave him a full ten-minute performance in authentic West Coast style, from buying insurance to compensation, all the people involved at each stage were related. Until Barry interrupted, the owner was unwilling to stop.
However, despite the long speech filled with curses but embedded with important information, Barry listened carefully and captured the crucial points, asking, "So, you're not really concerned about the high price or rising costs of insurance, but about the compensation. You're worried they won't pay."
"Of course! It's not that I'm worried they won't pay; it's that damn it, they just don't! If it weren't for me having a lot of cash in the store, last time I had a bike accident, I would have already rolled into Vickwood!"
"Where is Vickwood?"
The owner suddenly fell silent, then waved his hand, saying, "Just don't ask. Even more so, don't think about investigating it. That place...isn't somewhere a student like you can go."
Barry still wanted to ask more, but the owner stopped serving him and directly threw him out. Barry sighed, still unconvinced. He was determined to find this so-called Vickwood.
With this urge rising in his heart, his social anxiety didn't act up. He stubbornly knocked on the doors of several convenience stores and other shops, asking where exactly Vickwood was. Unfortunately, most people avoided talking about it. Only one Black man told him that the place was unlucky and advised against going.
Barry refused to believe it. He directly ran back to his home and started checking the computer. After searching over and over, there was not much information online, even the electronic system was vague. Finally, he found a consultation post in a forum from some obscure corner, asking whether they should send their father to Vickwood. It was only after seeing this post that Barry learned it was a sanctuary. More precisely, it's a place where prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals, shelters, and welfare institutions gather.
Barry suddenly seemed to realize something; he sat in front of the table, silent for a long time. Having lived in Central City for so many years, he really hadn't seen welfare institutions and shelters. So, the government had concentrated them together?
Barry thought this was actually quite good. If all these professional facilities were placed in one place, they should better help those marginalized groups. At least it proves that the government of Central City is doing something.
But, there was a reply under that consultation post that impressed him: "Don't go, if you still love your father, don't send him there, once he's there, he won't come back."
Barry vaguely sensed that things might not be that simple. So, he started inspecting the surveillance cameras in the remote urban areas one by one, just to find this mysterious Vickwood District. In the end, he really found it.
This place was much further away from where he previously visited, which had a café, and remote as if it was about to leave Missouri. And the surroundings were vast farms. No one could possibly enter here by mistake.
Having found the place, Barry ran over again. After making a big detour and spending half a day, he finally found the so-called Vickwood. This place is like an independent small town; if not for a road leading to Central City, Barry would have thought he had entered The inner world.
This place was completely different from the scenes in Central City. Decay, desolate, sparsely populated. Even though Central State is always sunny, this place gives people an oppressive feeling, hard to breathe.
Barry directly ran into the nearest gray building. He thought this place would also be like outside, very few people, very desolate. But no, almost every room here was crowded.
Barry slowly walked down the corridor. He could see the situation in the rooms through the observation windows on the doors. The people here were different from the image of the human race in his mind, looking like another kind of creature.
When they lay in bed, they were completely rigid. Their expressions weren't the kind of relaxation that comes with rest, but a kind of unspeakable numbness. Barry saw a man lying motionlessly against the door, thinking he was asleep; instead, the man turned over, and surprisingly, his eyes were open. There was no expression in the eyes, like a breathing corpse.
Barry swallowed his saliva and continued walking deeper. Soon he heard some howling. In the deepest room, someone was banging his head against the door. But this person's head was the most prominent part of their body, as the remaining limbs had already wasted away.
As Barry just approached a little closer, the person suddenly lifted their head and stared at him with bulging eyes. Barry was so scared that he took two steps back, almost tumbling out of the corridor window.
"Hey, what are you doing here!"
A voice came from the end of the corridor, and when Barry turned, he saw a woman in a nurse's uniform. He instinctively wanted to run but couldn't move his steps, his feet were like glued to the floor.
"Where did you come from?" The nurse was very surprised, she said, "Are you here looking for someone?"
"I... uh, probably," Barry didn't know what excuse to give, he said, "Can I come to look for someone?"
"You can, but don't hold out much hope. They won't be willing to leave with you, and some may not be able to leave."
"Why?"
"Because they'll end up wandering the streets and eventually be brought back," the nurse said with a sigh, "Central City doesn't allow vagrants. All homeless people have to live in shelters."
"Can't I take him back to my house?"
"You have your own house?" The nurse said with some surprise, "You look like a small-town boy working in Central City. Didn't expect you to be a local. Does your community approve?"
Barry had nothing to say. The requirements in the community he lived in were quite strict because he lived in a scenic spot, with two buildings next door being historical monuments. Besides the community residents' association, there were various troublesome demands, and the City Government staff would regularly come to check. A building declared how many inhabitants it housed was how many it housed, definitely no increase, no sponsorship, not even the addition of newborns without reporting to the community and government, let alone adults.
"So, I advise you not to cause trouble for yourself," the nurse said, "I know, whoever you are here to find must be very important to you. But, leading him out might harm him, and could harm yourself too."
The nurse led Barry outside and said, "The City Government is already quite good. The shelter has expanded twice, and now can meet the needs of almost all homeless people. The conditions aren't great, but at least it won't let them starve or freeze to death. And it also provides some drug withdrawal drugs, although not everyone can get them, some are available to make them less uncomfortable."
"Our medical facilities here are also okay, we've got two doctors. Previously, someone had a drug-induced mania and nearly broke their neck, yet they were saved. The medical care here is free; as long as you don't leave, all medical expenses are covered by the government. But if you leave, then bills will arrive."
"There's also a psychiatric hospital here. If addiction symptoms are too severe, they'll be sent to the psychiatric control area, with professional psychiatrists regularly checking. Psychiatric healing is also free."
"The only ones who can go outside from here are the children in the welfare institution. The conditions there are actually quite good. As long as you're healthy and have a skill, you can work in the farms next door. Jobs like stacking hay or shearing sheep are tiring but considered legitimate work, you can do it from age 8 to 40."