Darkstone Code

Lynch was very arrogant, and with Mr. Truman not present, no one else could stop Lynch, leaving them anxious.

In their eyes, diplomatic negotiations should not be like this. Even if there were indeed some problems between them, everyone should at least maintain a facade of dignity, behaving politely like gentlemen.

The representative of Nagariel furrowed his brow slightly, "What do you mean?"

"No meaning!"

Lynch shrugged, "I don't know if you've ever heard a saying, it roughly means 'if we can't be friends, then we must be enemies'."

If, at this point, the representative of Nagariel still couldn't understand what Lynch wanted to convey, then he was likely a fool, as was everyone in the Nagariel Central Government. Only fools would send fools as diplomatic representatives to other countries.

But that's not the case, the representative of Nagariel quickly understood. He asked indignantly, "Are you threatening me and my country?"

Even if that was the truth, Lynch wouldn't admit it, "I'm merely expressing a personal opinion. How you interpret it is your business."

"Bail Federal is a country that advocates freedom, the people of the Federation are peace-loving. We will not pressure you into making decisions unfavorable to yourself through various means, how to choose is entirely up to you, we will not interfere."

Lynch paused mid-speech, glanced at the other negotiators on his side, then smiled and said, "I'm not an official, I won't discuss overly complicated issues with you. What I'm about to say is purely my personal behavior, views, and opinions; it does not represent the nation's stance, but you may take it as you will."

Someone wanted to interrupt Lynch's speech, but Lynch stopped that fool with just a look. You should know that in this type of diplomatic negotiation, the most frightening thing is not how harsh the other's conditions are, or how tough their stance is, but the inability to form a unified front internally.

Once this fragmented situation is known to the other side, there's a chance they could tailor new negotiation tactics to exploit differing opinions, leading to division and collapse.

The intimidating glint that arose from years of cultivation in Lynch's eyes made that foolish person, who was about to say something, close his mouth, apologize, and then leave to inform Mr. Truman that Lynch was causing the situation to spiral out of control.

Fortunately, this guy still understood some basic diplomatic taboos, and these issues did not erupt in front of the negotiating counterparts. Meanwhile, the Nagariel people... were also fools.

They actually gave Lynch a chance to speak instead of interrupting the negotiations with phrases like "we need to contact our country for discussions," "we need to study what you said," or "Mr. Truman should be the one negotiating with us," which would also be out of control for them.

Sometimes, small countries struggle to develop, lacking a comprehensive talent cultivation system is an important issue.

After this brief mishap, Lynch squared his shoulders, looked at the representative and representatives of Nagariel, "The Federation has its own troubles, so we urgently need a war, even if it's just a small-scale naval skirmish, that's something we need."

"We need war, we need victory, we crave victory!"

"We want to use a major military victory to tell ourselves of our strength, we also want to use the victory to tell others, we're not avoiding the world war, we just don't want to escalate the calamity."

"For us, striking the Preton Pirate Group is just like hitting...", he looked meaningfully at the Nagariel representatives, "hitting... whoever."

He almost uttered the word "Nagariel United Kingdom!"

One of the diplomat personnel on the side almost stood up, but fortunately, it seemed Lynch heard their inner voices and ultimately didn't say the name, leaving room for recovery in the situation.

"In fact, for us, a war with the latter seems to align more with the demands of the people of the Federation!"

"Our people don't know Mr. Preton or his nefarious businesses, and our people haven't suffered from the Preton interest group's persecution. Before you arrived, we had no relations with him at all."

"But some are different. He betrayed the friendship between us, he's nothing but a vile person and a vile country of vile people, they are traitors, severely hurting our feelings. This war, if it breaks out, has both reason and necessity."

"..."

Lynch looked at them, "Our Navy is actively preparing for war, where to fight, and whom to fight, are just a matter of the General pointing at the map!"

"You've said enough!", Mr. Truman, having been notified by staff, walked in from outside. In fact, he had returned long ago, but he didn't come in. He was just waiting for Lynch to push the Nagariel people to the edge of the cliff, and say things that he himself found difficult to express.

This is Lynch's value in this negotiation, he's not a government official, so he can express his viewpoints unrestrainedly. This is the power granted by the constitution - freely expressing one's thoughts on any occasion is the most basic right of every person.

This is the original wording of the constitution. Of course, many occasions are not open to ordinary people, but that's another matter.

"You shouldn't have said that...", Mr. Truman looked at Lynch with a half-smile, "you've leaked secrets, you've committed dereliction of duty, Lynch!"

Lynch, seemingly unafraid, retorted, "but I'm not a state employee!"

"Oh, is that so?", Mr. Truman feigned just learning this as he dramatically turned to the others, "Why didn't anyone tell me Mr. Lynch is not a diplomat in the delegation?"

The other diplomats looked bewildered. Lynch was added to the negotiation list at Mr. Truman's behest. Do you fucking not know whether he's a government official?

But any mature person would not question their superior in such a manner. Most of them chose to feign confusion, and only the young person who had gone to inform Truman earlier was wiping sweat while saying, "Sorry, Mr. Truman, it was an oversight on our part."

Mr. Truman lingered a moment on this individual, nodding slightly. Sometimes, what an authority needs is not capable subordinates, but those willing to take responsibility for them.

"Since Mr. Lynch is not a government official, obviously dereliction of duty does not apply to him...", he pondered slightly, "please escort him out, and tell the guards he must pay a hundred-dollar fine to leave..."

Everyone stood there, dumbfounded, watching these two shamelessly turn the place into something like an operatic stage, their exaggerated performance particularly frustrating the Nagariel delegation, who were left almost breathless with chest pains, while Mr. Truman nonchalantly brushed past the issue.

Lynch had already left, but what he said wouldn't leave with him, nor would it leave the minds of the Nagariel representatives.

After sitting down, Mr. Truman apologized for his earlier absence, "Things got delayed a bit earlier, where were we in the discussion?"

This was not a question; he rubbed his forehead, "Oh, I remember, it seemed you still have some thoughts about the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries?"

The representative of the Nagariel United Kingdom, his face cold, pressed his lips tightly; he did so fiercely, making them bloodless and deathly pale.

After a while, he finally said, "I need to exchange some ideas with my country, I propose that the subsequent content be postponed to a week later."

Mr. Truman immediately stood up to have the documents collected and proactively extended his hand, "Then we'll discuss it a week from now!"

His discretion caught the Nagariel representative off guard. Actually, all along, in this diplomatic activity, the Federation had been the most active party, more so than the Nagariel people. Yet now, their stance had changed.

This change was very unsettling, even frightening.

The Nagariel representative opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent, standing to shake hands with Mr. Truman before leaving with his people.

Standing outside the office building door watching the departing convoy, Mr. Truman took a box of cigarettes from his pocket, pulling out one, tossing it to Lynch who stepped out from the door, and the two lit their cigarettes, slowly exhaling puffs of smoke.

"I can give your performance ninety points, you could become an actor!", Mr. Truman praised sincerely.

Intimidating the Nagariel delegation was also part of their negotiation strategy. Don't think negotiations always mean sitting together and talking peacefully; the strategic contest here is far more exciting than outsiders know.

Lynch, however, smiled and said, "This wasn't acting, I meant it!"

Mr. Truman's cigarette-holding hand lingered in mid-air, he frowned at Lynch, "If they disagree, would you really push for military action against Nagariel?"

Lynch smiled and nodded, "We don't just need victory; we also need an enemy, Truman."

"Victory gives us confidence, and enemies unite us, which is exactly what we need the most right now, and what the Federation needs the most."

"We first set up a simple enemy for ourselves and defeat it. People will gain unprecedented confidence from the victory and the enemy's elimination, and then we target a second, a third..."

He flicked his ashes, stepping back to avoid them landing on his shoes, "until we can't find any enemy capable of being our opponent, by then, we are the strongest in this world."

Mr. Truman intensely stared at Lynch, his expression somewhat terrifying, "You make my blood boil, but also terrified. If we really do this, we will make enemies of the whole world!"

Lynch casually flicked away the half-burned cigarette and walked toward a car parked by the roadside, leaving Mr. Truman with only his back view and a parting remark.

"If making enemies with the world can make us great, then we shall make enemies with the world!"