Darkstone Code

The weather in Nagariel becomes hotter earlier than in other places, and at the beginning of April, the temperature has already risen to around twenty-seven to twenty-eight degrees.

At the port, a group of local officials in high-end clothing were sweating profusely while pacing back and forth, continually checking their luxurious watches and glancing at the distant horizon.

It wasn't until a cruise ship slowly approached that these people's faces finally relaxed into smiles.

Asir stood among the crowd; these people had come specifically to welcome Lynch. Recently, he had been promoting Lynch's intention to invest in Nagariel and how wealthy he was.

Any random company of his had a market value of tens of millions of Federation Sols, which, according to the official exchange rate, amounts to over two billion Galiers, undoubtedly an astounding fortune!

Whether it was the Provincial Governor or the High Priest, they all instructed Asir to try his best to get Lynch to invest locally, offering him the highest level of treatment and policies beyond what is standard.

The Provincial Governor even secretly conveyed through an intermediary to Asir that if he could persuade Lynch's investment to materialize, the Provincial Governor would consider awarding Asir a Nagariel Medal of Honor.

In the history of Nagariel, only nobles have received such an honor, and the Medal of Honor is considered a necessary process for a Nagariel person to transition from commoner to nobility.

"Is that Mr. Lynch over there?", a local official couldn't help but exclaim joyfully as he watched Lynch approach from afar, "Truly very young and extremely outstanding. I've never seen such an exceptional young man in Nagariel!"

Words of flattery arrived before the person did; officials in Nagariel weren't inept at everything. At the very least, they excelled at the art of praise.

Due to Divine Authority, during religious festivals, people would sing praises to worship the gods, which imparted most with an innate ability to flatter—natural, smooth, passionate, and uninhibited!

As for Lynch being too far away to hear?

That wasn't important because these words were for Asir to hear; they needed to express their attitude towards Lynch to the key intermediary, Asir, in hopes that he would be inclined towards them on certain issues, like persuading Lynch to invest here and invest even more money.

Under the signal of the official, the policemen maintaining order adjusted their wide-brimmed caps, and the emblem representing the nation and justice glittered in the sunlight.

The people at the port were momentarily stunned, their faces showing some nervousness, while children laughed and ran around as if they viewed this as a game.

The police started clearing the area, swinging their batons to hit those Nagariel locals who were slow, opening up a sufficiently wide path for Lynch.

Lynch watched those ordinary people who dared not to utter curses, endured the beatings, and were driven away, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Many countries care a lot about their image; even though they might be truly a dictatorial, corrupt, and ugly country, they still attempt to create an image in the international community of "we respect the equal rights of life."

These countries care too much about international opinion and their image on the world stage, especially those leaders who care excessively about their personal image, going so far as to fabricate an impossible illusion to deceive the international community, and then promote an unachievable dream to mislead the public.

What they display can never become reality; the dreams they weave are destined to remain as dreams.

Nagariel was different; here, everything was straightforward. They blatantly exhibited their barbarism and their abuse of power, yet it provided Lynch with the right soil for his development.

As Lynch and his team approached, they stopped about ten meters from the local officials, and he took off his sunglasses.

His slightly raised handsome face was bathed in sunlight, and that golden glow seemed to transform him into a demigod from mythology. Some people were willing to endure a few blows just to get a closer look at this man and lament the injustice of the divine. (This paragraph requires a payment of five units; Mr. Lynch has paid, to be removed after finalization)

After a brief moment of distraction, Asir took the initiative to walk forward. As he approached Lynch, Lynch extended his hand.

In the eyes of others, Asir enthusiastically and slightly bowed as he approached. When Lynch extended his hand to permit a handshake, only then did Asir extend both hands with a humble attitude to shake Lynch's hand.

"You've finally arrived!", Asir's words carried a lot of undertones, including an urgency driven by dissatisfaction with everything happening here, a longing for Lynch's arrival, and some confusion in pursuit of truth amid the chaos...

Lynch smiled faintly, "Some things were delayed, but thankfully nothing troublesome..." he said, looking toward the officials standing behind Asir.

The officials also willingly approached here, each maintaining a humble posture, except for the last person.

Asir began introducing these people to Lynch. The government institutions in Nagariel were relatively simplistic and brutal, not because they were backward.

Even the most backward political systems tend to improve their frameworks. The issue in Nagariel is that their divine authority has replaced some of the government's authorities and functions, leading to overlaps in some areas. Along with both sides vying for power and profit, certain functions have naturally evolved into roles of divine authority.

After meeting the heads of this city's main departments, Asir introduced the city's mayor, Mikhail, to Lynch.

In Nagariel's native language, this name represents the word "hardworking," although it's hard to find any traits of "hardworking" from this slightly plump male mayor.

His skin is slightly dark, slightly overweight, and he wore a somewhat unique hat, adorned with a circle of colorful gemstones along the brim.

This is a true member of the ruling class in Nagariel. He is just one of many descendants in a family, yet simply because of this, he received the opportunity to become the mayor of a city.

The short, thick fingers and plump palm offered no comfort during the handshake, though his attitude was very enthusiastic. "Mr. Lynch, when I heard from Asir about your investment here, I've been praying day and night for time to pass quicker."

"We are not a developed nation, so we hope you can provide us with some assistance to achieve mutual development and prosperity..."

It was a very official response, also somewhat empty, but Lynch listened intently, he seemed to take it seriously.

After Mikhail finished these empty words, he proposed that Lynch take a rest first. There would be a banquet in the evening to celebrate Lynch's smooth arrival in Nagariel.

Lynch did not raise any objection to this; he also needed the people here to get acquainted with him first.

On the bus to the hotel, a local official who had introduced himself earlier as the director of the police station said something that abruptly turned the originally relaxed atmosphere somewhat tense.

"Mr. Lynch, I must apologize to you." The director of the police station stood up, walked to Lynch, removed his hat, and bowed, "To welcome you, I had the police disperse the crowd. This could potentially cause some misinterpretation of our country and society, so I beg you to forgive me and hope you understand that this was merely accidental."

Asir suddenly looked angrily at Mikhail, who in turn intensely stared at Lynch.

This wasn't part of the reception plan Asir had seen, including the previous scene where the police dispersed the crowd, which also wasn't planned.

Originally, they planned to clear the area completely, but Mikhail and Asir both raised some objections; completely clearing the area would seem too ceremonious, which wasn't quite appropriate, so they agreed to just maintain order.

Yet the police were still mobilized, although Asir found it a bit sudden, he didn't say anything; he had already started getting used to it during this period.

Sometimes, habit is truly a terrifying thing; from his initial anger to calmly getting used to it, it only took half a month.

But the scene happening now is more than just an accident; they are undoubtedly probing something.

This probing is fundamentally an evaluation by local Nagariel power holders of Lynch's attitude. If he was someone with moral scruples, in order to keep his investment and technology, they might adjust some methods during further interactions.

If he had no moral scruples and showed understanding towards these, an understanding of customs, then they wouldn't need to change anything.

People watched Lynch as he took off his glasses and looked at the bowing director of the police station, as if contemplating something, with a playful expression in his eyes.

Soon, he raised a hand to support the police director's arm, helping him stand upright, "You don't need to apologize, perhaps your actions would be a serious criminal offense in my country..." As he said this, Mikhail slightly furrowed his brow, while other officials remained expressionless, though their gazes contained a hint of irony and mockery.

But Lynch's next words quickly made their expressions become natural again, "...but here in Nagariel, I respect everything about this country, including its culture and customs."

"Power and wealth are meant to be enjoyed; we enjoy them in different ways, but I won't oppose others enjoying them because of differing methods. In fact, these are quite interesting, can I also enjoy these when I travel in the future?" His smile made it hard for people to harbor any ill feelings toward him.

His response was unexpected and varied from the answers they initially agreed upon.

Before the police director could figure out how to respond, Mikhail chimed in, "Of course, Mr. Lynch, you are our most distinguished guest, and you're naturally entitled to the highest standards of treatment, including traffic control."

"Traffic control?" Lynch found their way of defining terms intriguing, "This term is nice, thank you for everything you've done for me."

Mikhail's smile became more natural, "I also thank you for being willing to invest here with us..."