Darkstone Code

Chapter 1062 - 1060: Is Anyone Truly Innocent?

With that judgment made, Austin quickly left, and before she departed, she glanced back at the fish tank.

Earlier, when she was hiding behind the fish tank, she saw Horn feeding those carnivorous and ferocious fish with fresh meat chunks, and she always felt... that the meat might not be normal.

Nature is miraculous; it endows each species with different characteristics, such as cows having bright red meat and white fat. However, the beef tallow rendered from white fat is slightly yellowish, very light, almost imperceptible.

Then there are chickens, which have relatively white meat and yellow fat tissues, and the fat rendered is tender yellow.

And speaking of humans...

Human muscle is red, and fat is yellow, much deeper than pure bright yellow. When you see that kind of fat tinged with a hint of red, it is definitely of human origin.

Apart from humans, it seems no other species possesses such yellow fat!

The piece of meat earlier seemed to have a small chunk of deep yellow fat.

She was already by the door, then retreated and opened the cabinet under the fish tank. Inside was an iron bucket, about half a meter deep, with a wide mouth, and it was filled with bloody water.

As the bucket was pulled out, a strong fishy smell assaulted her senses, unusually fishy.

Note, it’s not the smell of mutton, just fishy, with a hint of foulness.

This isn’t beef, nor lamb, definitely not pork. Austin poked at it with a steel fork; there were still some meat chunks, and at the bottom, a lot of ice cubes.

The bloody water in the bucket shouldn’t be all blood; it should be mostly water slowly melting from the ice cubes mixed with blood, creating its current appearance.

The few pieces of meat fished out were cleanly trimmed, indistinct as to whether they were human tissue.

These meat chunks... were all cut large, and just as she was hesitating, a finger happened to be skewered on the forkhead.

Austin’s pupils suddenly contracted; she is not afraid of dead people or corpses, but still felt nauseated.

On the border, one might face suddenly erupting battles any day at any time, death—it’s very normal.

Not only does she have to kill, but she also has to strip these corpses and throw them into freshly dug pits to prevent disease outbreaks.

She never feels that dead bodies are disgusting nor does it prompt fear in her, but at this moment, she felt her hair stand on end.

Being unafraid of corpses and feeding corpses to fish are two different situations.

Now this situation makes her feel sick!

She silently returned everything to its place and quickly left.

Minutes later, Austin reappeared beside Lynch.

"You look like you’re sick," Lynch glanced at her several times; her face was a bit pale, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead and sideburns that she herself hadn’t noticed, possibly reappearing after a wipe.

Austin forced a smile, "I’m fine, thank you."

Lynch didn’t inquire further; probing further might involve some secrets she unearthed.

Honestly, Lynch wasn’t interested at all in what Austin did or gained.

At least he felt Horn wouldn’t be wealthier than himself, nor could he obtain anything he wanted from Horn.

If he wanted to eliminate Horn, it might only take a few orders for Horn to vanish from the world.

Even bombing Paradise Island for him would be just requesting a "exercise approval" from the Ministry of Defense.

Not far away, Horn was talking to a very famous senator. The senator’s name might not be special, but the person certainly is.

He has publicly announced to the Federation Society his consideration of running in the seven-year turnaround election for the presidential seat and will resign from the senator position at that time.

If successful, he will be Mr. President.

If unsuccessful, he will be Mr. Former Senator.

The media views him as a determined and gutsy person. He belongs to the Progressive Party; people see this as the Progressive Party’s confidence in swaying presidential power.

Resign first, then campaign, how bold?

Actually, the information people access is usually written by the media after receiving sufficient benefits.

Lynch knows this; though he’s a transparent person within the Progressive Party, he’s very wealthy, which doesn’t prevent some uninterested news from reaching his ears.

The senator leveraged his resignation as a senator and recommended another Progressive Party member to replace him, gaining the support of Progressive Party senior figures and the committee for his presidential run.

There’s never gratuitous gift-giving in this world; all such acts involve unseen sacrifices!

He’s confident in running for president seven years later and has already started preparations; Lynch isn’t very optimistic about him.

Conversely, he believes if Mr. Truman could make a decision, it would have a better chance of victory than anyone else.

The reason is simple.

Ten years after World War I, each country should have emerged from post-war reconstruction and recovery, making certain breakthroughs in areas such as technology. Yet, the shadow of war would once again loom over the world.

In such a tense moment, how could a presidential candidate born purely as a politician possibly defeat a candidate with a military background?

What people need is not a president who enjoys holding a coffee cup in one hand and a golf club in the other, always ready to go hunting.

They need a tough, iron-willed leader who knows war, understands war, and has a deep awareness of war and wartime society.

Mr. Truman meets all these needs, making him the most likely to win.

However, there is a small prerequisite: he must be willing to run in the election.

Lynch could sense Mr. Truman’s inner conflict; he wasn’t keen on moving too quickly as he was still very young.

If he became President in eight years, Mr. Truman might only be in his fifties when he takes office.

A person who has to retire in their fifties...

Politics differs from ordinary people’s work. The older a politician gets, the more they experience and the more secrets and connections they amass, leading to a deeper understanding of the entire country and society.

Thus, the older politicians get, the stronger their political influence becomes.

This is unlike workers, especially those in physically demanding jobs, who see their strength and physical condition decline after forty, forcing them to change jobs.

A politician in their fifties is at their peak, forced into retirement, which is not a good thing!

But logically, Mr. Truman could continue running for President in his sixties. The problem is that there has never been such a precedent in Federation history.

If Mr. Truman succeeded, it would mean a group of thirty-somethings might come forward to run for President, causing instability in Federation politics.

So even if Mr. Truman wanted to run, the Progressive Party wouldn’t support him.

Without party support, his chances of winning would be almost nil!

Unless someone irresponsibly pours money into him.

But that’s unlikely, even Lynch wouldn’t do that.

He could only retire at the peak of his maturity, how cruel!

Someone who’s been President couldn’t become a Director or join the military, and Congress wouldn’t allow it. He’s forced to retire while watching others shine.

This is his greatest conflict, wanting to do something but not daring enough.

Unlike this guy, who’s all-in to become President.

Paradise Island inherently has many non-compliant aspects in its existence, a result of multiple forces working together.

Moreover, someone overtly bears all the responsibility, and even if problems occur, losing a Horn wouldn’t affect others. Paradise Island could remain a shared sanctuary for everyone.

Lynch didn’t even need to guess; he knew that Senator had abstained on issues related to Paradise Island.

In Congress, there are two situations: one is counting total votes, needing two-thirds to pass, like 150 people needing 100 yes votes.

Others abstaining or opposing doesn’t matter.

The other is counting only valid votes, such as 150 people, with 147 abstaining, two in favor, and one against, the motion passes.

Ludicrous and absurd.

But with rules treating abstentions as invalid, one side’s votes get amplified, yet there must be prior consensus pre-vote.

Even when some taxpayers, exhausted from work, get worked up by rumors, legislators have ample evidence it’s just hearsay!

After all, they casted abstention votes, having heard of some fishy business prompting their abstentions!

"Have you considered Horn might be a criminal?" Austin hesitated for long but couldn’t resist voicing her thoughts.

She found Lynch reliable; at least during their interactions, Lynch never crossed her moral boundaries.

As for a chaotic personal life, come on, that’s just how young ones in the Federation live.

Reportedly, some universities are experimenting with mixed dorms, meaning boys and girls would live in the same room.

Conservatives criticized these schools’ ugly stance, seeing it as insulting to students and knowledge.

While supporters... they thought it was great!

Aside from a somewhat chaotic personal life, Lynch had no other flaws, not even resembling a capitalist!

Lynch tilted his head, half-smiling, "See, in this room, who isn’t a criminal?"

Austin froze, unable to regain her composure for a long time.