Zhang Heng smiled and did not dwell too much on this issue.
Five minutes later, the patrol team arrived downstairs. There were a total of twelve people in the patrol team, and they were usually divided into two groups. One group was responsible for law and order during the day, and the other was responsible for patrolling at night. This way, both groups could get some rest.
However, a patrol team of twelve people was insignificant in such a large area, not to mention that they had to be divided into two groups. Their numbers were even smaller than Black Mamba's gang.
Some of these people were old, and some were young. Other than Aris, the captain with an injured leg, who had been to the battlefield, the rest of them did not even have much combat experience.
In fact, the people who were assigned to this area had already been abandoned. They had either made a mistake or offended some big shot. Apart from that, there were also some unlucky people who had no connections and were randomly sent here to fill in the vacancies.
Once they were here, it would be difficult for them to leave.
In fact, Aris and the others had tried their best. After all, no one wanted to stay in a place full of criminals and chaos. Even if they did not think about themselves, they would still think about their families. However, for some well-known reasons, all their efforts proved to be in vain.
Aris was one of the more responsible captains. When he first came here, he also wanted to change the environment here. He wrote many letters to the higher-ups to report the problems here, hoping that they could send more manpower and allocate more funds. However, these letters eventually fell through the cracks.
He had also tried to do something within his power to influence the people around him and bring order back to this street block.
However, this place was like a huge quagmire. No matter who stood in it, it was extremely difficult to move forward. In the end, they would only sink deeper and deeper until they were swallowed by it. Aris did not know how long he could hold on. In his eyes, this place was simply hopeless.
"You guys don't look very good," Zhang Heng said. He saw Aris taking out his armor and putting it on before patrolling. This armor was the one he wore to the battlefield, and it accompanied him to the patrol team. It was well-maintained.
However, his five men were not so lucky. Some of their armor was rusty, missing something, and some did not even have any armor at all.
"Because we are always last in the assessment, the funds given to us are very little. We barely make ends meet, and we have to find our own way to get weapons and armor," Aris said. "Do you have armor?"
"I don't need that kind of thing," Zhang Heng said.
"Believe me, if you have it, you'd better wear it because you will need it." "I know you are very powerful. Although I did not witness your heroic performance in the arena, I guess you must have beaten your opponents to a pulp. You could even fight two of them at once. But this is different from the opponents you met in the gladiatorial show. Gladiators pay attention to honor, and they will not do anything that will make the audience despise them. But the people here are different. The battle may not be face-to-face. It can happen at any time, anywhere. Maybe the person next to you will suddenly pull out a knife. You don't even know who he is. Why would he want to assassinate you?"
"Thank you. But even without armor, I can deal with assassins." Zhang raised his eyebrows.
During this period, he had been learning and familiarizing himself with the fighting style of an assassin. If he could be stabbed by an assassin, Dadatis would have taught him for nothing.
Aris did not try to persuade Zhang Heng anymore. After all, it was the first time the two met. Aris was just reminding Zhang Heng as a colleague. If Zhang Heng did not do as he asked, he would not force him. However, in his eyes, Zhang Heng had been labeled as arrogant. Fortunately, Aris did not place much hope on Zhang Heng.
Although there were rumors that the emperor attached great importance to Zhang Heng, the fact that he was assigned to this place spoke volumes. Out of kindness, Aris reminded Zhang Heng again, "Did you offend someone recently?"
"Well, I guess so." Zhang Heng smiled again, but he did not seem to want to dwell on this issue. He quickly changed the topic, "You mentioned the assessment before. Can you tell me the specific rules of the assessment?"
This part was something he could not inquire about before. Only the members of the patrol team knew about it.
"Of course, this is something you should know," Aris nodded. Aris nodded and said, "As you can see, each of our patrol teams is responsible for an area. Every two months, the higher-ups will send someone to conduct a statistical inspection, mainly to see the crime rate in each area, how many cases there are, how many homicides, how many burglaries, and how many crimes have increased or decreased. In addition, they will randomly select the residents of the area and ask them how satisfied they are with the public security."
Aris paused here and then continued, "The area we are in is quite special. I believe you have seen it when you came here. A large number of Jews live here, and some people from the eastern provinces, immigrants from Egypt or Mauritania, and other sneaky people come out of nowhere. In short, it's very complicated. With so many people from different places squeezed into such a small place, conflicts occur almost every day."
"That's not surprising," Zhang Heng said. "It's either this or that.
In order not to be bullied, many people chose to band together. In the end, many armed gangs emerged. Some had dozens of people at the least, and some had hundreds of people at the most. Many of them simply embarked on the path of crime after they mastered enough force. Even the petty thieves and gangsters on the road had their own groups and backers. Sometimes, you don't even know what kind of trouble you'll get into when you catch a person … The patrol team can't do anything about it. After all, we're just a cripple leading a group of marginalized people who have been exiled in disguise. We can't even get a full salary. "
Aris used to worry about the deterioration of the law and order here. After living here for so many years, he had become a little numb to it. In his opinion, no one could solve the problem here unless the army marched in and killed everyone. Otherwise, this place would always be a paradise for thieves, villains, and murderers.
"Fortunately, we are just a patrol team, and we don't have much to offer. Under normal circumstances, the criminal forces here will not target us. If you want to live here long enough, you have to remember one principle, and that is, don't be a busybody," Aris warned.
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