If one were to look at Eastwood from space, it would be a beautiful planet. The blue sea water and endless green fields on the surface of the planet, as well as the pale-white mining pits that made one's heart palpitate, would reveal an indescribable hazy beauty when illuminated by the light of the stars that shone through the particles in the sky. It was like an oil painting that had been left for many years, covered with the dust of history.
However, to the residents and orphans of Eastwood, the planet was only filled with stones. Other than stones, there was nothing else. Even the green fields, in the eyes of their perseverance that gradually turned numb, were just green turf covered with wealth and glorious history. Their eyes were only used to seeing through the turf, looking directly at the mineral veins that the people of Eastwood yearned for the most.
In terms of administrative planning, Eastwood was a second-level administrative region. It had the same administrative level as the three dazzling planets in the capital ring and the West Woods region. However, in the hearts of the people of the Federation, the distant Eastwood was actually a forgotten corner. Other than seeing the name of Eastwood at the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the establishment of the Federation government, most of the time, for those who lived in a wealthy and civilized society, Eastwood no longer existed.
The Eastwood region only had one planet, Planet Eastwood. This seemed to be nonsense, but it was actually not nonsense because the origin of the name of the Eastwood region was Planet Eastwood. It could be seen that in the distant past, this lonely planet hanging at the outermost edge of the Triangular Star System had an important meaning to the entire human society.
However, ever since the various types of ores in the Eastwood region were mined out, Planet Eastwood gradually became a barren planet. There were only stones, no ores, only stones.
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People who had the ability to leave Eastwood had already left. Relying on their professional skills and accumulated wealth, as well as the guarantee of their relatives in the capital ring or Cillin Region, they successfully obtained a certificate of household registration transfer. Then, they boarded a flight that was becoming less and less frequent due to the lack of energy and left this increasingly lifeless place.
After all, those who could obtain a household registration transfer certificate were few and far between. A half-abandoned planet still had to maintain the lives of many people. In a society with a relatively developed material civilization, food and clothing were no longer a problem for humans to worry about. The people of Donglin Planet were still living peacefully, and the social assistance system was still playing an important role. The currency was still circulating smoothly, and this world still had companies, airports, food processing plants, mech maintenance stations, computer connection centers, and even an army base.
Donglin had everything that should and could have, but it still couldn't hide the faint smell of old age. The smell of death seeped out from every street, every building, and every idle person's face as they watched TV with their coffee in hand.
Thousands of years of ore mining had provided endless support for the Federation society, just like a great river that transported nutrients to the plains. However, when the great river gradually dried up and became a small creek filled with stench, the support that the Federation society provided in return was clearly insufficient. After all, humans could never feel happiness just because they could live.
Over thousands of years of history, the people of Dong Lin had cultivated perseverance and the spirit to endure hardships. The continuous mining disasters of ancient times did not make them shrink back in the slightest. However, everything in front of them made them feel a strong sense of sorrow and helplessness. There was no ore to mine, nothing to do. From a certain perspective, a life without mining disasters was definitely not the life that the people of Dong Lin wanted.
The hardworking people of Dong Lin had the nickname of Dong Lin's stone in the Federation society. Today, the people of Dong Lin had become increasingly silent and indifferent stones. They had molded themselves into statues, standing in their usual round chairs and sofas at home, as if they would never move again.
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"Soap operas are enough for the lives of the ignorant." Bao Nongtao, the deputy chief of Hexi Region's Second Police Station, thought to himself as he walked in the cool breeze of Clocktower Street. He looked at the residents with numb expressions drinking in the tavern on the corner of the street.
Deputy Chief Bao was also one of the stones of Dong Lin. His face was as unsmiling as a stone, and he had an endless deterrent effect on the gangs that lurked in the dark around Clocktower Street. When he was patrolling the Bell Tower Street, the peddlers selling wild beef in the black market would only flee at the sight of him at the speed of a battleship. Combined with his black uniform and the seven subordinates behind him, it was quite eye-catching.
However, Bao Longtao suddenly remembered that there were three reporters following him today. His heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously fastened his collar button. He turned around with a steady rhythm and faced the female reporter holding the microphone with a smile that was uglier than crying. It was like a stone that suddenly cracked.
"Clocktower Street has always been safe …" Bao Longtao did not want to give the female reporter the impression that he was frivolous, so he tried to speak as calmly as possible. This was a task issued by the Hexi Region's governor's office, so Deputy Chief Bao did not dare to neglect it.
Feeling that the chief was not used to it, the subordinates of the police public relations department naturally took over the conversation and began to talk with the reporters. Bao Longtao sighed in his heart and shook his head.
He had been working in Dong Lin for 13 years, and he was seven years away from the Federation Government's East Assistance Ordinance. However, he really could not bear to stay in this place that was full of the smell of death for another seven years. Did he want to be like those unemployed miners and kill time by watching TV every day?
However, the Federation's regulations were very strict. Although promotion in Dong Lin was exceptionally fast, they had to reach a certain number of years before they could be transferred back to the capital ring or the West Woods Region. Although Bao Longtao knew a few peripheral members of the big families, it was impossible for those cautious families to help a small chief like him.
He could only work on his political achievements. Today, Deputy Chief Bao personally led the reporters to Clocktower Street because of this consideration.
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The trace of confusion on Deputy Chief Bao's face did not last long. It was filled with shock!
He did not even hear the female reporter's curious question. His murderous gaze swept past the female reporter's shoulder and landed on the four exits of Clocktower Street!
The reporters also noticed Deputy Chief Bao's loss of composure because Deputy Chief Bao's face was too ugly. It was ashen, like a stone in a river that had been covered in moss for decades, and could turn into some kind of terrifying monster at any time.
The reporters followed Bao Longtao's gaze and immediately gasped in surprise. The female reporter, in particular, even covered her mouth and let out a soft cry.
A cool breeze blew on the straight and quiet streets of Clocktower Street. At this moment, the sound of countless scattered footsteps could be heard. These footsteps were not uniform, nor did they sound like drumbeats, but they were so dense that it was impossible to tell how many people appeared at once.
The next moment, the owners of these footsteps appeared on Clocktower Street. A large group of people rushed out from the four exits at the same time, quickly occupying most of the sidewalks and street entrances. Not only did the pedestrians on the street and a few police reporters change their expressions, but even the residents of Donglin who were addicted to coffee and alcohol looked out of the window in astonishment.
To be more precise, it was a group of teenagers who rushed out from the four alleys. The oldest of these teenagers was only 15 or 16 years old, and some of them even had dirty patches on their faces. It was hard to tell if they were even 10 years old.
These youths were wearing all kinds of clothes, but there was one that was particularly uniform. It was especially frightening, because they were all wearing black, black jackets, black T-shirts, and black shirts. There was a kid who looked like he couldn't find any black clothes at home, and actually found a green work uniform full of black mineral dust that hadn't been washed for god knows how many years!
More than a hundred teenagers of unknown origin, wearing black clothes, looked funny, but still gave off an oppressive feeling. They walked to the center of Clocktower Street and stopped in front of Deputy Director Bao and the reporters.
Deputy Director Bao subconsciously took a step forward and stared fiercely at the person in front of the group of teenagers, because he knew this person.
The female reporter subconsciously took a few steps back and carefully peeked at the teenagers. She did not know what these teenagers in black were doing here, and whether her safety could be guaranteed.
"What are you doing here in broad daylight, not in school?!" Deputy Director Bao sternly roared. Usually, when he roared, the gang leaders on Clocktower Street would piss their pants in fear. Who would have thought that these teenagers would show contempt on their faces at the same time and ignore him?
The leading teenager clearly had a maturity that did not match his age. He opened his big eyes and looked at Bao Longtao without backing down, saying, "We have the right to petition!"
"Petition?" Hearing these two words, the female reporter, who was hiding behind Deputy Director Bao, suddenly became spirited. She stretched out her exquisitely made-up face and asked in a trembling voice, "What's your purpose?"
The leading teenager did not immediately answer the reporter's question. Instead, he raised his fist. Suddenly, seven or eight slogans stretched out from the group of black-clothed teenagers, with large words written on them. They were very eye-catching.
"Resolutely oppose regional protectionism!"
"Resolutely oppose TV signal control!"
"We want to watch Channel 23 of the Federation!"
"We want to watch Jian Shui'er!"
The youngest boy wiped the dirt off his face and shouted a few slogans with grief and indignation. However, his voice was too clear, and his face was too cute, so he looked very cute and funny.
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The female reporter thought that she had caught an excellent piece of news material, but when she saw the appeal on the slogans, she was immediately dumbfounded. She looked at Deputy Director Bao in confusion and asked, "This... this... who are these kids?"
Deputy Director Bao was on the verge of exploding. He withdrew his gaze from the ridiculous slogans, gritted his teeth, and cursed in a low voice, "A bunch of bastard orphans!"
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