Darkstone Code

Chapter 680 - 0677 The Last Link

Besides the lack of freedom, life isn’t so bad now.

Preton lay on the bed with his legs crossed, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, feeling a bit sentimental.

A peaceful life indeed dulls the spirit; he had unknowingly become accustomed to life here. Though boring and monotonous, it also provided a sense of security he had never experienced before.

At first, he was very averse to those soldiers outside. He felt these people were the obstacle to his freedom, but now he wished there were more of them so he wouldn’t worry about someone putting a gun to the back of his head while he slept.

As he was watching the Federation’s TV programs and giggling foolishly, the door opened.

"You should learn to knock!" Preton, wearing just a bathrobe over shorts, showed no awareness of being a "prisoner." He seemed more like... he was on vacation.

When he turned his head, he saw that the person who came was not from the Security Committee, but Truman.

He casually turned off the TV, turned around, and looked at Mr. Truman coming over, "What do you need me to cooperate with this time?"

Mr. Truman seemed a bit surprised, "It looks like you’ve adapted well to life here."

"Who wouldn’t adapt?" Preton spread his arms and looked around, "It would be even better if you allowed me to find some girls, you know I’ve been relying on my hand all this time..."

Considering that the news of Preton’s capture hadn’t been disclosed yet, it would be hard to satisfy his desire to solve physiological problems.

For the Federation, letting him rashly contact outsiders would likely leak his tracks, so he couldn’t contact the outside world, meet with people outside, or have anyone summoned in.

"Prostitution is illegal in the Federation..." Mr. Truman reminded, "The price for breaking the law is heavy, I must remind you."

Preton chuckled. He had been to the Federation more than once, and he had many business cards from modeling agencies on Bupen. The Federation is hypocritical; they have everything but just won’t admit it.

He shrugged indifferently, "Illegal? Then forget it, I’m a law-abiding person who never does anything illegal..." He paused, "What do you need me to do this time?"

"You need to leak some information out..."

Less than an hour later, Mr. Truman left the place where Preton was detained, having the Security Committee bring in some new adult movies to provide some living material for this "pirate leader."

Meanwhile, in Gafura, several ministers suddenly requested an audience with the Emperor.

Recently, the Emperor, who hadn’t been much troubled, showed a rare smile as he cheerily welcomed these ministers in a side chamber.

"It seems you all appear quite anxious, has something bad happened again?" He gestured with his hand, and the Royal Steward immediately arranged for attendants to serve the Emperor and the ministers with afternoon tea and pastries.

The relationship between the nobility and the Imperial Family is not entirely antagonistic; it varies in different periods and is quite complex.

The ministers looked at each other, and finally, the Minister of Defense spoke first, "Your Majesty, I have just received news that the Federation’s President has approved over twenty military projects, including expanding the navy and adding various types of warships..."

The Emperor’s face, which had a faint smile originally, instantly lost all its cheer, his good mood entirely gone!

"Military expansion?" he reiterated, "Are you saying the Federation is expanding its military?"

The Minister of Defense looked helpless, "From what I understand, that’s indeed the case."

"Hiss..." The Emperor straightened up, took a sharp breath, and held his forehead.

His head started to hurt again; he hated that feeling.

"Are they... trying to provoke a war, expanding the military at this time?" The Emperor’s expression turned serious.

The Federation had been disarming all along and had no new military plans, so even though the Gafura lost a crucial naval battle, they were not too nervous, and the world wasn’t overly anxious as a result.

A nation still disarming to show harmlessness, despite powerful military forces, used them just to protect its legitimate rights, and those few troops couldn’t invade anyone; everyone remained in peace.

But now, suddenly, the Federation began to expand, reportedly with many military plans, making Emperor Gafura’s head feel like it was going to explode.

He wondered if the President thought he was certain to win the election and planned to become an aggressor?

It’s not impossible; with the eccentric society of the Federation, who knows what twisted political and military thoughts it might breed!

"If there’s anything else, just say it all!" Feeling that there couldn’t be anything worse, the Emperor told them to share today’s unpleasantness.

Indeed, it was quite unpleasant.

"Previously, Federation merchant ships were hijacked and sunk, and some accuse us of involvement..." The Minister of the Navy reported, "This is just speculation, but... we must state our position."

"Additionally, I have obtained some information through certain means; the Federation’s planned new fleet intends to choose ships with parameters that comprehensively exceed all our current warships."

"They plan to use performance and technology to cover the gaps between us. You must take it seriously!"

"Once the Federation’s ships far surpass ours in performance parameters, the sailors’ experience becomes less valuable, and without submarines in combat, we may find it difficult to win on a direct battlefield."

He spoke with a deep voice about a long-held truth among the Gafura, "After all, every extra kilometer the shell flies keeps the danger another kilometer away!"

This saying originated from Gafura’s Minister of the Navy during the Age of Exploration, roughly meaning "as long as we shoot farther than others, we can destroy enemy ships first, reducing our losses."

This concept has always guided Gafura’s naval development, and even today, it remains a core philosophy for their navy.

Seeing the Emperor still hesitating, the Minister of the Navy plainly stated, "Your Majesty, we also need a new shipbuilding plan, at least to avoid falling too far behind in parameters and performance!"

The Minister of Defense shared the same view, "Besides new warships, your Majesty, we need to speed up research plans for new gunpowder and cannons to ensure we remain a bastion should the Federation challenge the world in the future."

"Considering the Amelia Region’s unique nature, we should deploy a large number of coastal guns at the local port to guard against an unexpected war from the Federation."

The Emperor patted his forehead, "You keep talking about war, war... will it really happen?"

The ministers remained silent for a moment before the Prime Minister raised a question, "Your Majesty, if no country in the world were our match today, if we had the troops and capability to occupy the entire world, what would you choose?"

The Emperor stayed silent.

Ambition matches capability. A factory line worker’s ambition might be to become a line leader or a workshop supervisor.

Or a little higher, but confined within the factory, as his capability only goes to a point; beyond that, it’s not ambition but delusion.

For a company’s upper management, these people’s ambition may be to secure more shares, firmly control the company, take it public, then branch out or start their businesses to achieve financial freedom.

When capability matches ambition, Gafura’s Emperor seeks peaceful development because they can’t find a way to constrain the Federation submarines in naval battles.

But if Gafura had won that sea battle, perhaps their warships would be sailing around the world to "maintain peace."

So whether one can stir astonishing ambition depends on ability.

The Gafura Emperor understood that once the Federation considered itself invincible, it would start to engage with surrounding countries, through various means, seeking more territory, profit, population...

"We can’t let the Federation grow unchecked, we should do something." The Emperor of the Empire refocused and shared his view, "At least don’t let them expand so smoothly," he amended slightly.

The Prime Minister stood up voluntarily, "Your Majesty, we should inform the international community about our plans and propose military exercises with our allies."

"I’m confident when our friends see the Federation’s aggressiveness, they’ll eagerly defend our collective rights with us!"

On that day, Gafura held a press conference to announce upcoming four-year military plans, shocking the world.

More incomprehensibly, the Federation’s military expansion and equipment renewal plans were inexplicably leaked the next day, as Gafura and the Victorious Nations Alliance declared intent for military exercises in the West Ocean.

As Gafura put it, "In a time of peace, remember the harshness of war, using exercises to ensure military readiness."

The reasoning was sufficient; even Federations figures were on the invitation list, submerging international situations into a fog of uncertainty.

"So... the military simply doesn’t have time to cater to Megan Consortium’s request to escort their cargo ships," Lynch, lounging comfortably on the sofa, remarked lightly to Mr. Wardrick, "The last stone has been moved."

Mr. Wardrick looked at Lynch with a somewhat uncertain, dazed expression, not realizing Lynch had grown to an unimaginable extent.

This wasn’t just "strategy" anymore; if Truman knew his thoughts, he’d surely see him as a soulmate.

In Mr. Truman’s eyes, ability to alter international environments through small actions like this should have political application rather than going to waste.

After a moment, Mr. Wardrick regained focus, looking at Lynch and praised, "You’re truly a fucking talent!"

Lynch nodded slightly, "Thank you for the compliment!"