Darkstone Code

Chapter 666 - 0663 What I do is not about money

This was also what Michael thought after he entered prison.

Once a person falls into a dire but not desperate situation, after a brief period of madness and despair, most can calm down.

Michael also calmed down after a while; he began to think about whether there were any issues he hadn’t discovered in his last case and whether there were any places he could exploit.

Perhaps it was some sort of dissatisfaction, but ultimately he successfully found some elements he had not noticed before, such as those newspaper boys providing sources for Lynch.

These people seemed like scattered individuals, but if you could find some of them and get crucial testimonies from them, such as how much change they exchanged from Lynch during a certain period, you could roughly estimate the scale of Lynch’s funds at that time.

Back then, Lynch didn’t have a job, which meant he had no income. Whether his girlfriend gave him all her savings or not, Michael believed that the funds Lynch held were absolutely greater than what his girlfriend had left him.

This also meant Lynch had an additional source of funds. He had no job, and no one filed income for him, which meant he concealed part of his income, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Tax Bureau!

As long as the judge’s intelligence isn’t excessively low, they would grant appropriate legal authority to deepen the investigation into Lynch. Evidence of Lynch’s crimes could certainly be uncovered in that period.

It’s unlikely that a perfect violation exists in this world; it’s just a speculation by a group of novelists.

Previously, the Federation had a serial killer who used different methods each time, differing locations, and different targets.

Later, after he was captured, he confessed his methods: some dice, a few darts, a map—completely random crimes. Initially, it was indeed difficult to find any links between each case.

It’s like finding a pattern in a math problem; there might be no pattern between the first and the nine hundred ninety-ninth number, but when the one hundredth number appears and fits some pattern, a pattern emerges.

Nothing can be truly perfect, especially when it comes to crime—a behavior driven by subjective consciousness. First comes the idea of crime, then the act, so there must be a motive, even for random crimes.

Lynch’s stuff isn’t flawless either; all that’s needed is for someone to stand up against him.

But at that time, Michael’s focus was entirely on Lynch and Fox, ignoring those consistently insignificant roles, like newspaper boys and the missing head of the newspaper gang.

Of course, he didn’t know the head had been killed on the road out of town by the Green brothers-led newspaper boys, and the body was sold to a medical school, causing the person to completely disappear. Up until now, Michael believed that the head either escaped or was set up.

Meanwhile, he shared his thoughts with Green Face, "By the way, in Lynch’s early stages, there’s another very crucial person—the head of the newspaper gang in his temporary residence area."

"The head was also involved in the business between him and Fox. If you can find the head, he might know something."

Green Face recorded these two very important clues, and after inquiring for a moment without any additional input from Michael, Green Face chose to end the conversation.

"I’m already very satisfied with these two crucial pieces of information. You can wait for my good news...", he put away the pen and notebook, "After things are settled, I’ll tell the judge about your value. You might have a chance to get out in two to three years at most."

After a brief reassurance, Green Face left the room somewhat excitedly, feeling he had already grasped the crucial information. As long as he could catch these small tails, he had a chance to take Lynch down.

Michael later returned to his cell, and Gap looked up at him, "You seem in a good mood.", leaning back on the soft bed.

Only political and economic prisoners could afford a soft bed in the prison, and people like Gap, who didn’t have much background but could still sleep on a soft bed, were very few.

He held a book on legal studies in his hands, constantly learning this area of knowledge.

Michael nodded, "There are some new developments. You know, I followed a case before, and that’s why I’m here.", Gap nodded, and then Michael continued, "Now there’s some change in that case; I have a chance to get out early."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face because he had confessed to the judge that he had incited his son to take the blame for a crime he should have taken responsibility for, causing his sentence to be heavier on top of the original one.

If he hadn’t done this, he would’ve had to wait ten years to get out, and everything would be over when he got out!

But now, the opportunity had come. If the State Tax Bureau caught Lynch and the evidence he provided became critical evidence, with the State Tax Bureau speaking for him in court, he would likely get one to three years reduced from his sentence.

Then, as a "special talent," he could continue serving his sentence for about two to three more years before getting released; getting out early was the most important thing.

Gap congratulated him, "You’ve been avoiding these things before; can you talk about them now?"

A moment later, Gap looked at him with a strange expression, "You also know... Lynch?"

Michael was surprised, "From what you said, it seems you also know him?"

"Yes, he used to employ my ex-wife, so I know him. I didn’t expect the person you mentioned was him.", Gap was somewhat emotional, finding extra common ground in their roughly similar chartreuse personalities.

Michael smiled complicatedly, "A terrifying young man."

—His sigh was based on his calm review of the entire situation, with Lynch holding public opinion to confront the Federal Tax system despite having no advantage in any aspect, forcing the Federal Tax Administration Bureau to decide on abandoning Michael to quell public opinion.

Even with a replacement, someone older couldn’t have done better than Lynch; it was something beyond his age’s capability.

Gap also sighed deeply, "Indeed a terrifying person."

—His sigh was based on Lynch’s rapid rise; he vaguely remembered not long ago Vera was still just a bookkeeper at Lynch Company, but now she’s become the chief audit accountant and head of the finance department of a corporate group, and Lynch’s assets have expanded to a terrifying level.

Just what he has now is already approaching the scale of the previous Ristone Group.

The Ristone Group developed over decades to have such a scale, whereas Lynch only took a little over two years—it’s not just a sigh but a marvel!

At noon, after lunch, Gap didn’t go for a walk directly but found a random excuse to send Michael away and then located a prison guard, arriving at the Prison Director’s room.

"Is there something, Mr. Gap?" The Prison Director had a bright smile. Previously, hiring those professional accountants required paying expensive service fees, with not-so-good results.

Since Gap came, besides saving a lot of money for him, he also helped legally evade more taxes, making him have a good impression of Gap.

Gap pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, wearing a familiar smile to the Prison Director, "I’d like to make a phone call..."

The Prison Director didn’t refuse but pointed to the phone on the table and made a casual gesture.

Actually, the Federation’s prisons do not block contact between inmates and people outside, but this contact method is limited to writing letters. These written contents can be scrutinized layer by layer, unlike phone calls.

Clearly, the Prison Director was violating rules, but who cared?

Here, he’s the Emperor; his will is the law.

Seeing the Prison Director not intending to leave, Gap also knew he couldn’t make him leave. He directly picked up the phone and dialed a number.

All these were watched by the Prison Director. He curiously asked, "Is this a Bupen number?" Gap nodded; he asked again, "I didn’t know you had friends in Bupen."

Gap chuckled before the phone rang, "My ex-wife is now living in Bupen. I saw her on TV before."

The Prison Director had no continued interest in inquiring further about such phone call content and lit a cigarette, placing his legs up on the table, thinking about some irrelevant things.

Soon, the call connected.

"Hello, this is Darkstone Fund. How may I assist you?"

The sweet voice of the girl on the phone made people subconsciously want to improve their manners and image. Few people can curse a sweet-voiced operator, but they often do so to male operators.

To improve work efficiency, at Lynch’s request, all Darkstone Fund operators are girls with sweet voices; as for their looks... that’s not important.

"I hope you can transfer my call to the office of the financial supervisor. My name is Gap; she’ll take my call. You just need to transfer it for me."

The operator hesitated for a moment but eventually did so.

A moment later, he received feedback, "No one’s there now; sorry, do you have any other matters?"

Gap frowned, "Transfer me to her secretary or assistant..."

The operator’s voice turned soft and low, "Sorry, I can’t do that; I’ve already violated the company’s regulations..."

"A hundred bucks when it’s done..."

"Sorry..."

"A thousand!"

"It’s not about the money..."

"Ten thousand!"

"Hello, the call is being transferred; please wait patiently..."