Darkstone Code

Chapter 682 - 0679 Seeking Compromise

In the early morning, after finishing his exercise, Lynch changed into a fresh summer outfit and appeared in the dining room. While eating breakfast, he watched the morning news.

Television news has increasingly impacted the newspaper industry, and as major TV stations become more adept at understanding the psychology of morning viewers, morning paper sales have begun to slump.

This is actually quite normal. Most people, particularly those in the lower-middle class, do not care about current events as much as those in the upper-middle class do, so they don’t mind what kind of valuable news they can get during the time between waking up and going to work.

Perhaps for them, anything interesting is valuable, and television news has effectively captured this point. Some stations even focus on bizarre news, satisfying people’s desire to do something while having breakfast.

Lynch was not reading the newspaper since he had drunk some alcohol the day before and did not want to read any text at that moment; he just wanted to find some entertainment.

"...Last night, a research institute in the suburbs of Bupen suddenly caught fire. The firefighters claimed it could be directly related to improper experiments. The fire did not cause any casualties, but the entire institute has become ashes..."

Seeing the sign of the "XXX Electromechanical Research Institute," Lynch knew that the Megan Consortium had begun cleaning up the mess.

The main difference between a consortium, a group, and individual operators is that a consortium is a collective. They don’t care about the life and death of a particular company. Once the Megan Board of Directors decides to cut losses, nothing can stop them from doing so.

While eating the tender fried steak, Lynch knew that beef takes longer to digest, keeping one full for longer, and providing good nutrients, making it a favorite of those in heavy labor occupations.

Of course, one can also eat some beef for breakfast without engaging in manual labor, as it doesn’t have many disadvantages.

The tender fried beef does not at all feel rough like beef fibers, and the meat juice and sauce blend well together, making it deliciously tender.

As Lynch watched the news, he was certain that the fire at the research institute would "destroy" all technical data, and coincidentally, none of this technical data was backed up.

With the electromechanical research institute burned down, the next target would be its upstream manufacturer. If nothing unexpected happens, this factory might soon declare bankruptcy. Lynch had already found the reasons for their bankruptcy.

They invested a massive amount of funds in developing new technology at the institute, but just as some of the technology matured, it was totally destroyed by the fire, leading to heavy losses.

At the same time, the company is facing some commercial claims—highly likely these are from shell companies of the Megan Consortium using "self-defense contracts" to complete lawsuits, grabbing all valuable items before other corporations or individuals could sue.

See, the problem is solved. With the research institute burned down, there’s no need to compensate through technology discounts. The parent company also went bankrupt, leaving nothing behind but a group of shareholders holding onto stocks without knowing what to do and some rights units or individuals with contracts but no breaching party.

If these people don’t want to let it go, what’s most likely next is endless litigation.

If Soron is a little smarter, he could seek some straightforward benefits, such as demanding a decent discount when purchasing items from the Megan Consortium in the future or simply asking for some compensation.

But if he wants that nine hundred million in breach-of-contract damages?

It’s not impossible—long lawsuits await him, and this is the Federation, while he is a Gafura, with domestic protection policies potentially dragging out the lawsuit for decades, perhaps even allowing the Megan Group to counter-sue in the end—"We did not fail to fulfill the promise, but the plaintiff’s harassment has influenced our company’s reconstruction plans and inflicted great reputational damage, for which we demand compensation."

Before the Megan Group makes a decision, it’s quite normal to short their stock, but once they decide, a series of shameless movements will hardly cause them much loss.

"Mr. Lynch, there is a Mr. Soron who wishes to speak with you."

The temporary housekeeper appeared outside the dining room. Lynch didn’t live in this villa every day, so naturally, there was no dedicated management team here. Whenever he stayed here, the villa district’s service company would dispatch a temporary service team to serve Lynch.

These people wouldn’t pry into the host’s privacy and wouldn’t even go upstairs unless necessary, except for the maids, who needed to clean the bedding and rooms.

After Lynch nodded, a young man in his thirties appeared outside the dining room in less than twenty seconds. He seemed a bit surprised, perhaps amazed that he had already entered the house while Lynch was still eating.

He had brown curly hair, looking loose and fluffy, dressed in appropriate clothes, an upper-class individual.

But Lynch didn’t pay much attention to him and continued eating his breakfast while watching the TV.

This situation lasted for about seven or eight minutes until Lynch finally finished his breakfast.

He walked out of the dining room, looked at Soron outside, and extended his hand, "Is this our first meeting?"

Soron stepped forward, shook Lynch’s hand, and wore a full smile, "Yes, Mr. Lynch, this is our first meeting!"

"I quite like Gafura people. You’re passionate, polite, and mannerly, and you adhere to rules well. That’s why I like you!" Lynch said as he pointed to Soron, rudely discussing a seemingly unfitting topic.

He led Soron to the living room, and as they walked, he didn’t forget to talk about sensitive things like race, "During my time in Gafura, I met many people, Jenia, and some Gafura nobles."

"Everyone is very polite and well-mannered. They don’t tend to lie and don’t ’take advantage of others in distress.’". When they reached the sofa, Lynch pointed to a couch, inviting Soron to sit, "You know, ’taking advantage of others in distress,’ you might not understand, but it’s actually a proverb."

"Its general meaning is ’a true gentleman never challenges an opponent when they are wounded.’"

Lynch looked at Soron, "You’re such a Gafura noble, right?"

Soron seemed a bit awkward but still nodded, "Yes."

"Good, good!" Lynch’s smile changed quickly, appearing more... sincere?

It might also have been a bit more radiant. He exerted significant pressure on Soron, who indeed had a youthful appearance, yet Soron felt a pressure akin to facing an elder.

He found it absurd and unbelievable that someone even younger than himself could still exert such palpable pressure.

"State your purpose," Lynch said, pausing to look at the butler, "Bring some tea or coffee for our guest?" He asked the last part while looking at Soron, who requested coffee, with a bit of sugar and no milk.

Soron sat on the couch, clasping his hands together, but soon separating them, with a slightly tilted head and an apologetic expression, "I want to apologize for some misunderstandings between us, Mr. Lynch."

Lynch’s insincere smile made it hard to tell what he was thinking, "Earlier, during our introduction, I remember we mentioned this was our first meeting."

"How could there be misunderstandings between people meeting for the first time?"

Lynch looked at him intently, forcing him to avert his gaze as if Lynch’s eyes contained knives, stabbing him and making him bleed!

In the small room, Lynch conversed with some people who taught him a lesson.

If you want to embarrass someone, then no matter how the other party reacts, you should never "let it go," as it will only make you seem easy to fool.

Just like now, if Governor Sedel and his son could just apologize and resolve the issue, people would only think, "If I offend Lynch, I just need to apologize, and he’ll forgive me."

This doesn’t mean that showing leniency is a bad thing. Leniency should be based on absolute authority. Only when you hold the power to decide others’ fates can you call being magnanimous true leniency; otherwise, it’s just foolish!

After a few seconds, Soron bowed his head, admitting once more the mistake he and his father made, "Mr. Lynch, we committed a foolish error. Arrogance and disdain blinded us, and now we understand our mistake and wish to make amends..."

Lynch nodded slightly, "What do you plan to do?"

Soron remained silent for a while, with many small movements in his hands, revealing his struggle.

Just at this time, the butler brought coffee, and he used the action of drinking coffee to hide his already exposed emotions.

In fact, the situation in the Amelia Region is worse than imagined. First of all, both the domestic and the Federation announced a new round of military projects, which is highly targeted, along with upcoming military exercises. Most of the shipping routes from Gafura to the Amelia Region have been halted.

To restore transport capacity will take at least three months, until fall arrives. In other words, before fall, if the mainland wants to send anything here, it can only be done by land.

But land transport... is even more troubling. Those anti-government militants are constantly sabotaging the railway transport, which is quite a headache. Trains often need to stop for track repairs after a short journey, infinitely prolonging the original ten-day-plus transport period.

Without supplies, Amelia won’t last until after autumn unless Governor Sedel decides to abandon some unimportant cities and concentrate military and material resources in several key core cities.

But giving up control of cities, even those not crucial, means Gafura’s authority in Amelia is rapidly declining, creating the illusion for anti-government groups that they can win!

A sudden military exercise has rendered many things out of control.