Darkstone Code

"Beautiful fur!"

In the sunlight, Lynch couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the leopard-lion carcasses. These furs displayed a beautiful golden hue in the sunlight. If polished with some oil and treated a bit, they would shine with golden brilliance!

Loving beauty is human nature. From the time people adorned their heads with bright feathers, arrogantly believing that the aesthetic tastes of gods and humans were the same, it seemed that making oneself more beautiful had become a commonality. People would go crazy for such things.

Hassana looked at the hanging leopard-lions and smiled as he spoke to Lynch, "I heard people from the Federation are all like you, rather slender..." He paused, "I'm not mocking you, Mr. Lynch, it's just that you really are too thin. Men should be more robust!"

He pointed to the hanging leopard-lions, "The fur of their trunks can be used to make coats, the fur of their limbs can be made into gloves or bags, and I suggest you turn the head into a specimen. I hear people from your place like to hang animal heads on the wall!"

This might have been a reminder, but his tone seemed a bit unfriendly. Lynch glanced at him, also smiling, "Mr. Hassana, the scientists I know are all quite frail. They don't spend their time and energy on enjoyment, but the things they create have tremendous benefits, whether for advancing civilization or maintaining world peace. Do you understand what I mean?"

Hassana laughed heartily, "Of course, of course, I understand what you mean..." Clearly, he did not understand Lynch's meaning. Lynch's words were rather oblique, and Hassana did not realize the understated, reserved threat within them.

Aborigines are just aborigines, savage, ignorant, and foolish.

Lynch had been here for three days. On the third day, he watched an animal migration from afar. It might have been somewhat shocking. These majestic natural wonders sometimes left the natives more awe-struck than they would those from civilized societies.

Because the natives are foolish and dull, they cannot understand the mysteries of nature, and thus they feel fear towards the mysterious and unknown. But it's different for the gentlemen of civilized societies; their only thought is conquest!

Within these three days, hundreds of pieces of leopard-lion fur had already been sent to the city. There were craftsmen specializing in tanning furs here, serving the upper class for generations, mastering this important skill.

Also within this period, to minimize damage to these furs, at least over thirty people died and hundreds were injured. Even so, Hassana lost his temper at his nephew once.

Because these clumsy hunters, in the process of capturing the leopard-lions, left more than a dozen that could have been caught alive wounded, ultimately having to turn them into furs.

It was all money, shining gold!

This also led to the deduction of a portion from the hunters' compensation.

Though the hunters had some complaints about this, they only grumbled a bit. They dared not resist because they, their family members, and their descendants still had to serve Hassana and his descendants.

Offending Hassana would mean they could only turn from envied hunters into ordinary people like most others.

On the way back, Hassana did not accompany them. He just had his nephew arrange for people to escort Lynch's group away. He had to stay at the camp, watching over those fools, afraid that if no one was watching, they would turn live leopard-lions into dead ones, which would cost him a lot of money, a lot!

"Boss, I am troubled by some problems. Can you enlighten me?" said Asir, sitting in the car, looking at Lynch with a somewhat pained expression.

They spoke in the international lingua franca, and the international lingua franca they spoke had a very heavy Bail Federal accent, much like the "hello" that everyone knows, eventually developing into dozens of different versions. Even people proficient in the lingua franca find it hard to understand all variations of accents, not to mention the driver was a native person, one who did not know the lingua franca.

Lynch nodded, his gaze kind; this word might not be quite accurate, yet it was very accurate because added in years, his gaze could indeed be described as kind.

"Of course, Asir, my friend, if I can answer your question, I will certainly do so!"

Asir squeezed out a smile, "Thank you, boss..." he said, listening for a moment, before asking in a tone he himself didn't notice, filled with disbelief and suppressing some emotion, "Is there a chance for change here, boss?"

"Actually, before you came, I was pondering this question. Can everything here change?"

His eyes became somewhat hollow, and his tone somewhat ethereal, "During my time in the Federation, everyone told me how incredibly valuable human life is, and no one can casually deprive another of the right to live. That's how we conducted ourselves, and I believed it."

"But here, in my homeland, a human life probably weighs less than a banknote. The higher-ups casually deprive others of life, all of this... can it change?"

His gaze regained focus and settled on Lynch, his tone slightly anxious, "Even if here can't become the Federation, at least not as it's currently!"

Lynch looked at him, filled with curiosity as if examining a new dish, "I've never known you to be someone interested in pondering such heavy issues!"

Asir was momentarily stunned and then slightly embarrassedly lowered his head, "I don't know what's wrong with me; it's just that since I returned, I find everything hard to stomach. There's something uncomfortable about it all—I might be sick."

Lynch raised his forearm and pointed at him, "You're not sick; you just see this society clearly."

"You think the rulers here are brutal, but actually it isn't them causing all this, it's those people you think are living in despair."

"It's these people who step back, making the rulers advance step by step, ultimately falling into the abyss while the rulers overlook them from the cliff edge."

"If someone steps forward to resist, to struggle against the fate they are currently enduring, even if they die, the ruling class would start to take seriously the demands from the largest group in society."

"Even if they're pretending, they would start caring for these people, improving their living conditions and opening a pathway for some to rise."

"But they didn't do that, they retreated more in the face of more brutal oppression, making the ruling class always believe their treatment of these people hasn't touched their bottom line, and the situation will only get worse."

Asir felt an unbearable sensation; he always thought it was the ruling class causing these situations, but Lynch's words made him feel more uncomfortable.

Have people killed their own hope with their own hands? Is there anything more cruel than this?

He was silent for a long time, his chest heaving violently, then suddenly after a period of silence, he laughed self-mockingly, "I shouldn't be thinking about these things, I'm just an ordinary person, it's just a bit uncomfortable seeing people here enduring such fate."

"Sorry, boss, I said things I shouldn't have said, disturbed your interest!"

Lynch didn't mind, he waved his hand, "Not necessary, I haven't answered your previous question, actually the way to change all this is quite simple, it's to awaken the whole society using death and blood."

"No transformative change can be achieved through amicable consultation, only death and blood can wipe away the camouflage of false peace, can reveal the darkest reality, can reawaken people's numbed souls."

"Asir, you are not such a person, but I believe, ultimately there will be people like this who will open a stairway to the Celestial Kingdom for everyone trapped in Hell here!"

The rest of the journey was filled with silence, Asir was pondering Lynch's words, while Lynch was also considering these matters.

Until the convoy entered the city; initially, their plan was for the world to send Lynch to the hotel, but they delayed a bit on the way.

When the convoy entered the city center, they encountered two flower cars, and the drivers chose to pull over and wait for the flower cars to pass.

There were many women sitting in the flower cars, and they were quite young; their condition seemed somewhat abnormal, with an unusual blush on their cheeks, and their eyes not so clear.

Each of them stretched their limbs lazily, as if they had no bones.

"What is this?" Lynch seemed curious about everything here.

Coming to his senses, Asir glanced at it, remained silent for a moment, "Flower cars and Saintesses..." Those words seemed unfinished, Lynch was still looking at him, and only then did he compose himself to earnestly introduce it to Lynch.

In Nagariel, religious figures, priests, and High Priests, including other Priests, can marry and have children, no one stipulates they can't marry or have children, which is absurd.

For the people at the lower levels of society, they have absolutely no hope of clinging to the rulers; the rulers look down on their background and family conditions and won't give them any opportunity.

So they set their sights on priests and clergy, who are easier to approach.

If a family has a beautiful girl, they would dress her beautifully when she grows up, and under the title of a candidate for Saintess, send her to the Temple to serve God.

God would descend at any time to some clergy and priests, to enjoy the service of these girls, making them fulfill their mission.

Once a girl becomes pregnant and her child is acknowledged by some "god," then after being cultivated, this child would become a new clergy or even a priest.

The girl herself and her family's social status would dramatically improve, they could start enjoying some public facilities, and the children could attend school; the entire family's life would undergo a huge change.

Of course, not every girl is so lucky, most girls don't have such fortune; these girls would likely be sent back when they're seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen, as the Temple couldn't support so many people, and attention would be shifted to the new batch of Saintesses.

As for these Saintesses, due to long-term special treatment both physically and mentally, they undergo some changes, especially mentally.

The Saintesses on these flower cars, those "returned," offering their best in confusion to God, only to face the most tragic fate now!