Darkstone Code

"Good morning, Mr. Bennett!"

A bank employee was locking his car door when Bennett's car happened to be parked next to his. He had to immediately stop his work, offer a respectful greeting, and proactively say good morning.

Recently, people noticed that Bennett's mood was very high; he was easier to get along with than ever before and was full of passion and energy at work.

This made it hard for the bank employees not to compare the passionate Bennett with the almost invisible Mr. Jogriman.

Without comparison, people didn't notice any big problems, but once they compared, they found that if Mr. Bennett were to replace Mr. Jogriman, it wouldn't be unacceptable for the people in the bank.

In institutions like banks, factionalism is actually very prevalent. People don't like those branch or headquarters officials; they prefer those who have slowly risen from the grassroots.

This emotional resistance and need largely come from interpersonal relationships, but in this case, they are all on Bennett's side.

"Good morning to you too!" Bennett replied as he pushed the door open and got out. He even mentioned the other person's name, which made the bank employee standing on the other side glow with a certain radiance.

After nodding to each other, they parted ways, and Bennett continued to greet others on the way to his office. He was in a fantastic mood.

Last night, he and Annie went to an opera. He could tell Annie didn't like the somewhat serious atmosphere of the opera house nor the opera itself, but it's an essential part of high society life.

Most of the time, cultured people discuss things related to art. They discuss operas, paintings, and everything related, so if one wants to integrate into high society, one first needs to improve one's own literacy and taste①.

Don't even touch those vulgar things anymore.

Although Annie was impatient and restless, at least she managed to keep herself seated on the chair and be with him through this wonderful evening. They applauded the opera performers' stunning performance, strolled under the starlight on the streets, and dined together.

Watching Annie quickly transform from an exotic dancer into a member of high society that matched his aesthetic made him extremely happy. Especially the feeling of control filled the void Bennett felt in romance and familial aspects.

This was real life, a perfect and flawless life.

Just as he entered the office, the secretary brought him coffee. He used to have some interest in his secretary, but now he wasn't so interested. After all, Annie was much better than a woman like her.

Unhesitatingly holding the coffee and asking the secretary to close the door on her way out, he began to tackle his work.

Career, family, both flourishing—nothing makes a man feel happier than this.

Immersed in work, Bennett soon finished some simple tasks. Next came the "big chunk" of work; the people in the branch liked to use the term "chunk" to describe the amount of work.

As he opened the first file bag, about an inch thick, Bennett's expression became serious and stern. This was a commission work given to the bank by the local court and City Hall.

To avoid any corruption in judicial auctions, the Federation Congress unanimously passed a bill that judicial auctions should be conducted by a third party. Judicial institutions and local governmental bodies do not have auction rights, but they have the power to supervise.

This seems to largely solve some corruption issues; at least that's what the proposers and those who voted in favor thought.

Previously, Sabin City extensively reported the life problems of the deformed and disabled workers caused by the Ristone Chemical accident. They not only suffered physical pain but also unbearable expenses, eventually abandoned by their families, dying on the streets or in welfare institutions.

The reports, genuine and close to people's lives, gave a significant shock to all levels of society, impacting even some cities in other states. Residents of other cities also demanded their City Hall investigate if similar things happened there.

In short, the impact of this incident was significant. In response to citizens' petitions and with the consent of the state judge and Bail Federal Ministry of Justice, Sabin City initiated a series of compensation procedures, including asset auction processes.

Whether it's because the bank was adept at lobbying, they managed to secure this golden opportunity, which indeed made Bennett have some appreciation for the current bank president. At least he was doing things and showing results.

He began to review this part of the documents. The Sabin City Hall had seized a warehouse and a production workshop from the Ristone Group's light industrial production unit. A large number of pneumatic sewing machines and some related machinery were included in the auction list.

Besides that, there were some raw materials for production. The City Hall provided a minimum price they could bear. In other words, the auction result from the bank must exceed this minimum price, or there would be many troubles at the handover.

Bennett glanced at it; the price wasn't high, even a bit low.

However, considering the current economic environment, the price requested by City Hall was still reasonable. There's not much interest in these production machines; no one knows what will happen next. Buying these machines now is akin to buying scrap metal.

But if you hire workers for production, the costs would be too high.

After confirming that these documents and legal procedures were complete, Bennett started handling these things according to the regulations. First, he needed to send some documents to the bank president for approval, then communicate with the City Hall to ensure the bank's profit issues.

Finally, he needed to apply for an auction venue within the bank if the City Hall hadn't designated one, and then send out the invitation cards and publicize the auction notice.

There are many interesting small tricks in this area. In society, people often hear that assets at certain auctions were incredibly cheap, almost like picking up freebies, but these hearsay stories never really allow ordinary people to participate.

The bank's public notices will never appear in newspapers or anywhere else; they are only posted on the bank's internal notice board, cutting off external knowledge of the event.

The people who can actually attend such auctions are likely just two kinds: bank employees themselves and their relatives and friends. If there are fragmented and inexpensive items in the auction, these people will be the main bidders, like company cars from bankrupt enterprises; here, their value is less than scrap metal!

The other kind is those invited by the bank. These people often have good cooperative relations with the bank or have huge deposits in the bank, meeting the bank's invitation criteria—they have enough money to spend.

As for others, they can only "hear" about it and then feel envious. As for participating?

That's never going to happen.

In these tasks, aside from asking the bank president for instructions personally, other things can be handled by "drafting a memo," which means writing down his opinions, giving a specific direction and goal, and leaving the rest for others to do.

For instance, applying for an auction venue: it's impossible for Bennett to run to City Hall to contact and apply or to coordinate the use of the bank's own venue with other departments; it is all handled by those in his office's outer circle.

He originally thought this matter would be resolved quickly, but an unforeseen issue arose.

"There's no Jogriman's signature on this…", the bank president said after reviewing Bennett's handling result, "Jogriman, as the director of the bank's credit department and the auction director, you must first get his consent before I'll sign this document!"

The bank president casually tossed the document back on the table. "Our partner is the City Hall, not a department within the bank itself. We must do this according to the rules!" he said, adjusting the triangular nameplate facing Bennett on the table, which bore the title "Bank President."

Bennett, having worked in the branch for so many years, certainly understood what the president meant; he didn't misunderstand it as dissatisfaction with him, as the president made it clear that it was the rules.

Furthermore, his signature must be after or below Jogriman's to show his respect for the bank's rules and the society's implicit rules.

If you don't respect these rules, they will come back to bite you.

Bennett was no longer at an age where he enjoyed challenging authority. He immediately left the president's office with the document and found Jogriman in another office.

When he opened the door, Jogriman was playing golf in the office. He had a twisted pathway about thirty feet long (ten meters) and five feet wide (one and a half meters), with a portable golf green about ten feet in diameter.

This type of pathway is very popular in many places. Golf is gradually replacing polo as one of the "new elite" sports, signifying a social change; there is always a gap and clash between new-age and old capitalist classes.

The older generation was keen on polo, and the new generation capitalists are just as enthusiastic about golf.

When the door opened, Jogriman did not stop immediately but stood at the tee, constantly calculating the force needed to get the ball into the hole.

"Wait a moment, let me finish this hole!"

As soon as he spoke, with a textbook-like putt, the golf ball rolled along the path, gradually approaching the hole, until it fell in!

"Nice shot!" Jogriman commented as he put the golf club into the bag, taking off his non-slip gloves as he walked towards his chair.

①: Lynch compared his contact with high society to Bennett's 'high society' to highlight that the society Bennett was in wasn't genuine high society, emphasizing that just like Annie, Bennett was also being manipulated—just his manipulator was hypocrisy and fame. It pointed out the real nature of the relationship, hinting at the outcome.