Darkstone Code

Chapter 1051 - 1049: A Gold Bar

Yalaso is a mountain.

When Anna saw this pile of gold, she thought of that word.

Though it’s not very tall, it evokes a sense of reverence; standing before it, one feels remarkably insignificant.

Wealth is power!

At this moment, Anna firmly believed in this saying.

She slowly walked to the edge of the gold pile, stroking one of the gold bricks.

The surface of the gold brick isn’t smooth, nor does it have any patterns or polishing like the small gold bars sold in stores.

These gold bricks have trapezoidal cross-sections, their surfaces are untreated, yet they still emit a dazzling golden glow.

Her fingers gently caress the gold brick, feeling its weight without needing to lift it.

It’s a hard-to-describe sensation, like touching another layer of cold skin—but you don’t fear it; instead, you relish the touch.

Along with it comes a sense of reassurance.

Magical power; perhaps this is one reason why "deities" are fond of gold.

In a mythology from a small tribe, there is a narrative about the origin of gold.

They believe gold was originally part of the human body, representing a more advanced characteristic, but as humans degenerated, these attributes, termed "divinity," were expelled from the human body and eventually solidified into gold in nature.

If one day people can reintegrate gold into their bodies, into their blood, with gold flowing in their veins, humans will become deities again!

The scientific community regards this discovery as "heresy" and "myth," and the latter part of the book was burned due to fanatics.

These fanatics deemed this diary and the absurdities within it as classic examples of heretical cults, blaspheming the Lord. They assaulted the expedition team and set fires, rescuing only half of the diary.

The remaining half could no longer be restored, reduced to ashes.

The most regrettable part is that the burned section contained a method for humans to incorporate gold into their bodies.

Of course, these are just unreliable claims, but human affinity for gold, its feel, are distinct from other metals.

More valuable metals than gold exist, but in terms of jewelry, people are singularly enamored with gold, perhaps really as the diary suggests, humans and gold were once a single entity.

"Do you like it?" Lynch saw Anna’s actions and asked with a smile.

Anna nodded, a gleam of anticipation in her eyes, although she could afford it, girls always love surprises.

Lynch nodded, "I like it too!"

"No... more?" Anna was somewhat incredulous; she thought Lynch would give her one.

This gold brick isn’t very expensive, it’s a standard sixty-pound gold brick, which is nine hundred sixty ounces, roughly thirty-six thousand dollars.

This amount of money... is insignificant.

Of course, this is in Anna’s eyes; based on the Federation’s middle-class average income of twelve hundred dollars, a middle-class citizen of the Federation would need to not eat or drink for three years to afford this.

Removing the various taxes he needs to pay—different states have different tax rates, choosing an average state, approximately five hundred fifty dollars of the twelve hundred dollar income enters local and state taxes.

During World War I, the Federation, as a neutral country, wasn’t ravaged by warfare, so its overall national infrastructure wasn’t damaged, with no pressure to rebuild and restore production.

But to counter possible future wars that might spread wider, the Federation’s personal taxes rarely fell below forty percent.

Some places even exceeded sixty percent.

Of course, these are merely "standards," in reality, people have certain ways to reduce taxes, such as participating in various government events, actively engaging in community or social volunteering.

Overall, doing any officially recognized, positive activities can reduce the tax burden.

Incomes of twelve hundred dollars have at least three hundred to four hundred dollars in taxes; why accountants in the Federation, along with lawyers and dentists, are among the top three most lucrative professions?

Because they can easily provide legal tax avoidance for others.

If a client saves a hundred dollars, offering thirty dollars as a reward isn’t excessive, right?

Calculating this way, a gold brick requires someone just meeting middle-class income to not eat or drink for four years to afford!

But in Lynch’s eyes, it isn’t valuable.

It doesn’t even compare to Lynch’s lighter... alright, this is an unavoidable joke, often made.

After all, it’s a million-dollar lighter; more importantly, Lynch is now also a shareholder, seen by some as a mature capital operation.

A small factory worth only a few million has a market value exceeding tens of millions and is preparing to go public, potentially experiencing a massive surge in market value!

This is the charm of capital!

If this lighter factory were to seriously make lighters, they wouldn’t make so much money in a lifetime. But by operating through capital, people quickly accepted that it was indeed worth millions, and thus it really became worth millions!

Capital is like magic, and capitalists are magicians who can always make ordinary things magical!

Lynch looked at her, "Do you want one?"

Anna was at a loss for words; she shook her head, "No, it’s nothing."

"Giving one" and "asking for one" are completely different situations. The latter is too blatant, and Anna’s face isn’t thick enough.

If you replace her with a female tycoon who has battled in the business sea for years, she might ask, "Can I take a few more?" instead of appearing somewhat awkward.

Lynch continued pushing the cart, then picked a few more pieces to throw on the cart and walked out.

At the door, he didn’t return the key to the manager and also placed a seal. He left only after the seal dried.

This was to prevent someone from entering the room for exchange after he left. Each door of such warehouses has two keys: one given to the client and the other kept in the headquarters’ safe.

To take out the one from the safe, more than half of the board members must agree, and the temporary user of the warehouse must consent to use it.

The gold bars were appropriately packed into seven or eight briefcases and put into an armored transport vehicle.

On the way back, Anna curiously asked, "Although I shouldn’t ask, I’m still very curious, what do you need this gold for?"

"Of course, it doesn’t matter if you don’t answer; it’s just my curiosity."

She was already starting to get into her role, hoping to gain some insight or learn some experience from Lynch’s actions.

Even if they don’t admit it openly, many people internally acknowledge that Lynch is the most daunting among the young talents in today’s Federation.

Apart from those fortunate ones born at the finish line, few can build unimaginable wealth so quickly from an ordinary status.

Yes, building, not accumulating, because this process was too fast.

Many old capitalists had achieved nothing at Lynch’s age and only started to see progress and change in their middle age.

Every step of Lynch seemed intentional, prompting many people to collect his information and analyze it!

After all, everyone wants to be friends with success.

Not to become its parent!

To operate in this field certainly requires Patuxian’s collaboration, and Lynch didn’t hide his thoughts.

"The price of silver is getting higher and higher. Everyone says it can catch up to the price of gold. Gold’s price changes are becoming increasingly sluggish; there was even a period where it paused, which is a dangerous signal."

"The invisible upward space and the expectation gap are quite significant; gold might face a wave of price adjustments."

"I have some gold; maybe now is a good opportunity to sell."

After listening, Anna didn’t show much reaction. She just nodded naturally.

As the daughter of the Patriarch of the Akiner Clan, she had knowledge reserves beyond ordinary people in this field.

She knew that now silver’s price is soaring, which is bound to influence the price of gold.

Patuxian privately mentioned that the "golden period" for gold has ended, and the "Silver Era" is next.

Lynch’s choice was in line with Patuxian’s judgment. Anna no longer speculated about Lynch’s motives; this is a very normal risk-avoidance method.

Selling at the high and buying back at the low, things remain unchanged, but the margin is gained.

After obtaining the test report confirming that the gold Lynch sent for testing was high-purity real gold, Lynch seemed to suddenly quiet down and began handling busy work every day.

Every Moment’s various tasks, Darkstone’s files, and matters of the industry incubation park kept him very busy!

While filling his wealthy man’s fullness and busying his wealthy man’s busyness, Isabella had already returned to Mariluo and chose a contact she deemed suitable.

A small warlord whom she had interacted with before, somewhat dull yet brave in combat, seemed a bit foolish with some inexplicable odd habits.

He never personally issued massacre orders but wouldn’t refuse to execute them.

He never does anything against women’s will, yet he has a dozen wives at home.

A very contradictory man with his principles, and that’s why Isabella chose him; people with principles should be easier to approach.

At least he can reason!

Should be able to...!