The TV crew consisted of a small team of three people who followed the stars around the prestigious part of Slough, Cipen. The stars were instructed to act natural as they strolled past buildings and chatted with each other. Elanor was determined to showcase the best of Cipen without exposing any negative aspects of the other stars.
Gary noticed that Spring had suddenly changed her tune as soon as the cameras were rolling. Gary suspected that Spring and Tyson were aware that any negative comments could cost them their fans, so they decided to play it safe. Prior to filming, she had mentioned how her city had better stores and buildings, but now she was practically gushing over everything in Cipen.
As expected of stars that wished to be in front of the camera for their whole life.
"Alright everyone," the producer said, addressing the stars and the TV crew. "As you know, this program is going to showcase the best of Slough, and since we're in Gary's hometown, I was hoping he could take us to some of the popular sites and maybe even show us where he grew up."
As usual, Gary didn’t mind so he nodded, and thought it would be best anyway, since most of the Howler members wouldn’t be around his old house anyway. Since he hadn’t informed them he didn’t want to make a big fuss. Especially since he wouldn’t be staying for long anyway.
Getting back in the vans, they headed to their next destination, and soon they were able to see some of the roots of the place being a Tier-3 town. The buildings weren’t as modern as they were before.
They were older styled, and even the electric cabling system looked a mess, as they could see black cables untangled and unorganised. On top of that, those that even walked the streets didn’t look to be as well-dressed as what they wore might have been mismatched.
The others riding looking through the window were stunned and felt bad for the people on the streets.
“It looks a lot better than it did before.” Gary commented with a smile.
“Are you saying it was worse than this? That’s impossible.” Spring commented. “You're just trying to say that so your story sells better.”
Gary's words were genuine, and he wasn't lying about the state of the town. As a large town, change would take time and money, and the recent acquisition of Notsburg had provided a significant injection of funds. The town was gradually being improved, starting with emergency maintenance of essential services like food, warmth, water, electricity, and internet, which were previously unavailable to many residents of the area.
Thanks to the various schemes put in place, the residents who were living in the poorer areas could now access these essential services on a daily basis. However, one of the biggest changes wasn't something that outsiders would notice unless they had lived in the town before.
The sense of community and togetherness had improved significantly. People were more willing to help each other out, and there was a renewed sense of hope for the future. This was something that Gary was proud of, and he hoped that it would continue to improve over time.
“Hey, I seem to have noticed something odd about this town. I keep seeing these people in black and gold clothing everywhere we go. They were in Cipen, and they are here as well, do they belong to some sort of club?” Tyson asked.
“No, they belong to the gang that runs this place.” The guard answered. “It’s rather typical for gang members to show off their allegiance by wearing clothes in the colours of their gang. It informs the locals know who to not get involved with.”
Nevertheless, Gary considered this to be a significant improvement compared to before when color gangs and other troublesome groups had caused chaos on the streets. Thanks to the efforts of the Howlers, more people were now happy to walk the streets without fear. Most simply ignored the gang members, with some keeping their heads down, while a rare few would talk with them.
“Is that right, Gary? Are the ones dressed in black and gold, really... gang members?” Clem gulped.
It had become more than apparent to the teenager that those who were raised in higher tier cities were naive about these sorts of things, making him wonder how they had grown up. Had the Tier-2 gangs been better at hiding their influence on the public, or had their parents been more successful in hiding it from the tweens. Surely, they would at least have heard of the Kings, at least.
He wondered why his gang frightened Clem, when the Kings didn’t. Was it just because they came from a Tier-3 town? Were gangs from poorer areas just considered bad?
“That’s right.” Gary answered. “However, this gang isn’t as bad as you seem to think. You mentioned earlier that the town is nicer than you had expected it to be, well it's mostly thanks to them. They took over not too long ago, and ever since things have improved.”
“Hmph, improvements with dirty money they probably just stole from the people in the first place. You are really naive if you think the gang is doing this all without a hidden agenda.” Spring snipped in.
Gary could only let out a sigh, since he felt there was no point arguing. She had clearly already made up her mind, so it would just be like talking to a brick wall.
Reaching the estate, everyone exited from the vehicles, and soon, they had a crowd of those that lived in the apartments starting to gather. The cameras always seemed to gather attention, and they noticed something else as well.
“Isn't that Gary?!” One of the residents called out.
“Yeah, he used to live here, I haven’t seen him in a while, I guess he must be busy with his business.”
“I saw him in the AFA interview recently as well. I was surprised to see someone from our town there. I guess they must be filming something.”
“Maybe we should say hello and go thank him.”
The residents weren’t keeping quiet about the Green Haired boy that had grown up there, but hearing all these comments, Gary was surprised himself. Most didn’t bother to even learn his name, yet now they all of a sudden knew who he was.
There was a reason for that, that Gary was unaware of. Kai had started to spread Gary’s name, as the person behind the maintenance of the apartment buildings. He was the one that had allowed them to all get their apartments up to scratch, so they were livable again, and they all wished to go over there, and thank him for it.
“It looks like you're quite popular here.” Elanor pointed out.
“It’s to be expected.” Tyson stated. “How many Altered do you think this town has? He’s probably one of the few famous people that have come from here.”
Walking up to the old landlord, Gary smiled at him. “Is it okay to have the key?”
The old landlord, who wasn’’t really the landlord anymore, gave Gary the key straight away.
“There is no need to ask, the whole thing belongs to you anyway.” The man said
The others didn’t understand what the old man meant by this, and assumed they meant the apartment they were going to look at. They thought someone who was an Altered would have had enough money to move out of this place, and head to somewhere like Cipen.
When the group were ready to head up the stairs to Gary’s apartment, the other residents couldn’t take it anymore, as they got in Gary’s way.
locals know who to not get involved with.”
Nevertheless, Gary considered this to be a significant improvement compared to before when color When the group were ready to head up the stairs to Gary’s apartment, the other residents couldn’t take it anymore, as they got in Gary’s way.
They were crowded, and stepping forward first was a mother with two kids in her hands.
“Gary...we thought we would never get the chance to see you again, so we want to say sorry, and say thank you. Thank you, for everything you have done for us...thank you for giving us a better life.”
Elanor didn’t understand what was happening but signalled her camera crew to capture every single bit of this sentimental moment.
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