Chapter 601 - 380: Black Rose of Darkness
Since the Upper Court Envoy Luo arrived in New Moon City, in just half a month, the city has experienced a dramatic change, with a sweeping purge taking place across society.
Within the New Moon City Council, including the Public Security Bureau Chief Sikinkov, all 319 officials who had previously opened a path with their bodies for the border refugees outside the Rusted Wall were removed from office, without exception, and thrown into prison.
On the mercenaries’ side, the leaders of those mercenary corps who had fought against the fierce beasts were successively arrested on various charges, along with the intermediaries who were closely connected with them.
And those who were utterly inhumane and did nothing during the beast crisis, or even acted wantonly, were all promoted by Luo. Those who were originally unsuccessful began to rise step by step, and those already in high positions were elevated to even higher posts.
Righteous people are in distress, while wolves and worms run rampant—that has been the change in New Moon City over the past half-month.
At the same time, the hunt for the fugitive Wolf Attack members and their leader Fenrir has continued without pause, with local security forces and the Upper Court Guard checking pedestrians on the streets. The airspace has been completely sealed 24 hours a day, not even a bird can fly out.
The spark Fenrir had ignited at the Heaven-Reaching Tower was mercilessly extinguished under Luo’s iron-fisted suppression, leaving everyone uncertain about how the situation would develop next.
...
Outside a high-end restaurant in the Lakefront Business District, Su Mo was not driving his usual black Ark but instead parked a low-key sedan on the street, with Dongdong sitting in the passenger seat.
Luo had already finished her dinner and was walking out of the restaurant accompanied by her entourage. The dinner host was a very famous tycoon from a local consortium.
Dongdong leaned against the car window, coldly watching Luo converse and laugh with the tycoon in the distance, and said, "I heard this envoy demands a hundred dishes for every meal, only takes a bite of each, and dumps the rest."
"Tch, really a disgusting person. It’s because of scum like her that so many people in the world can’t get enough to eat."
Su Mo smiled faintly, "You think she’s very bad?"
Dongdong retorted, "Isn’t she? Isn’t wasting food like this the hallmark of a bad person?"
Su Mo placed his hand softly on Dongdong’s head, gently ruffling her hair as they both looked at Luo, and said meaningfully, "Dong, often, things aren’t just what they seem on the surface."
"Come, put on your hat. I’ll take you to see what others don’t get to see."
They put on their baseball caps and left the car, with Su Mo leading the way toward the alley behind the high-end restaurant.
The alley directly connected to the restaurant’s kitchen waste disposal room, where some untreated sewage could be seen on the ground, flies buzzing around the filthy garbage bins incessantly.
These alleys behind restaurants often gather many homeless people, waiting to eat the discarded waste.
This time was no exception; gathered here were elderly homeless people and young homeless children alike, eagerly hoping for something to eat.
Soon, the door of the kitchen waste disposal room opened, and several restaurant employees pushed out carts of garbage bags, throwing them into the garbage bins while complaining under their breath.
"What a waste of such good food, sigh."
"Do you think that envoy is sick? Are all the Upper Court People this extravagant?"
"Really sick, why not leave it since it’s not finished, only a bite taken from each anyway; the kitchen could just clean it and continue to sell it, but no, they must dump it all in the trash, it’s really disgusting."
"Yeah, usually when cleaning up bigwigs’ tables, we’d get quite a bit of good stuff to pack up and take home; today, it’s all for these beggars’ benefit."
The garbage dumped by the restaurant employees was nothing other than the food just cleaned up from Luo’s banquet.
The high-end delicacies that only social elites could enjoy were now piled in the dirty garbage bins, mixed with filth, with their original aroma completely overpowered, emitting an unbearably foul odor.
Even so, the homeless people’s eyes still shone brightly, as they rushed to grab food out of the bins, paying no mind to the filth, stuffing it straight into their mouths, and filling their pockets when their mouths couldn’t hold more.
The restaurant employees continued to curse and complain under their breath as they returned to work, leaving the homeless to scavenge around the garbage bins.
Watching this scene, Dongdong seemed a bit lost, perhaps reminded of her own past as a street wanderer, or perhaps beginning to understand the deeper meaning Su Mo wanted to convey.
Su Mo, watching the homeless scavenging through the garbage bins, said deeply, "You think Luo is a scumbag who wastes food, but behind this, there’s something outsiders can’t see."
"You only see Luo dumping uneaten food into trash bins, but you don’t see who eventually eats this food."
Dongdong muttered, "She dumped the food to leave it for these people who can’t afford a meal?"
"But why does she have to dump it into the trash bins? Couldn’t she just leave it for the restaurant to handle?"
Su Mo shook his head and said, "If left for the restaurant to handle, think about what would happen."
"So many dishes almost untouched, all made from precious ingredients, even the cheapest of which could sell for thousands. If you were the restaurant owner, could you resist not reselling them?"
"Even if the owner really had a conscience and didn’t sell the eaten food to other patrons, the food would most likely be taken home and eaten by the supervisor or other staff."
At this point, Su Mo’s gaze became profound, "The same food is different in the mouths of different people. For some, it’s just about indulging in their appetite, while for others, their life hinges on it."