Darkstone Code

It is unclear if it is due to the purge of Gafura spies and other reasons within the country, but the Members of Parliament on television have been heavily criticizing the current foreign policy, though public reaction seems not particularly strong.

Although there are some places with demonstrations, the scale is not very large. This time, the Socialist Party unexpectedly did not side with the Conservative Party but chose to remain neutral.

The neutrality of the Socialist Party also means the neutrality of the Workers' Union, though ultimately, the main reason still boils down to who can provide food for the people.

After a major strike not long ago, merely stopping the exchange of food coupons and food supply for a short period made many feel the despair of near starvation, and before being pushed to the brink, it's unlikely they will cause such unmanageable chaos as last time.

Without massive protests or creating unprecedented influence, some things remain difficult to advance.

Many people always assume policies are top-down "orders," but this is not the case. Policies are often designed to better serve the grassroots people, as can be seen in the proposals and laws advanced every year.

Originally, there were no such bills as the "Minimum Wage Law," and the ultimate goal of promoting these bills is to take care of more people who need help.

Although sometimes, those able to make policies might see such power as weapons to oppress, this should not negate the standards and purposes of policy-making.

The current situation lacks response from the grassroots, even if Preton bribed some Members of Parliament in an attempt to change the inevitable conflict, it is futile.

On such a day, Lynch was invited to attend the last match of the York State amateur rugby professional league.

Although it's called the last match, there are still about eleven games left before the entire amateur league truly ends, but if they win today's game, Lynch's team can obtain a ticket to the second-tier professional league and return to the professional arena.

This important news is immensely significant and thrilling for the citizens of Sabin City.

Sometimes society is strangely peculiar, as many of these people are clearly unemployed at home, barely subsisting on relief food, and previously never paid attention to rugby matches.

Yet today, they are more concerned than ever about politics, economics, sports, and other news they could otherwise ignore.

Not only do they pay attention, but they also are heavily engaged, which is a very peculiar phenomenon, perhaps some sociologists should be invited to study it.

Standing on the brand new stadium, Lynch holds the railing. In his eyes, the oval-shaped stadium is actually not luxurious, rather somewhat simple, yet at this moment, he stands in the best seats, overlooking the entire stadium and all the boiling crowd, a very special feeling arises spontaneously.

Ambition?

Perhaps some, he cannot describe.

As the players of both teams enter the field, the match begins.

The atmosphere of the stadium reached a climax from the start, as the young men of the club fought fiercely, directly intimidating the opponents, with reckless collisions causing many slightly known athletes to actively avoid.

This also enhanced the spectacle of the match to a great extent.

In this era filled with a sense of frustration, nothing is more thrilling than witnessing a match that seizes victory as effortlessly as chopping vegetables.

As they cheered for the team and players, they momentarily forgot their financial distress, forgot their aimless job search that day, forgot many things they wished not to remember, only cheers and excitement remained.

Throughout the match, Lynch's club suppressed the opponents, rendering them powerless. He initially had high hopes for a "balanced battle," but unfortunately, it was not.

As the final whistle blew, the whole stadium erupted in loud cheers. The young men removed their helmets and stood together, receiving blessings and medals from the United Transport Association officials who had come to award them.

Everyone was very happy, and Lynch was invited to the award ceremony as he, being the major shareholder of the team, was supposed to be there at such an exciting moment.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lynch, I am looking forward to your team's performance in the professional league later this year!" An official from the state United Transport Association showed great enthusiasm. On the one hand, Lynch's personal influence is gradually expanding, establishing him as a social celebrity.

In the Federation, where everything revolves around money, fame often implies status and wealth, and no one can ignore or possibly offend these social celebrities.

Additionally, Lynch is the initiator and one of the directors of the Women's Professional Sports Development Promotion Association, making them practically their own people, naturally with smiling faces.

Lynch also smiled, shook hands with him, then both stood beside the trophy under the blessing of cameras, immediately handing the trophy to the team's manager along with the United Transport Association official.

Kane was very emotional. If anyone in the club genuinely loved sports and the club, it would definitely be Kane.

His lips trembled with emotion; last year, they faced massive troubles due to various distrust investigations and suspensions, causing the club not only to lose its license for professional league participation and be demoted to an amateur club but also to face the risk of dissolving.

The athletes lost interest in sports careers and sought new jobs, while the United Transport Association considered cancelling the subsidies for Sabin City's professional club and removing their name from the Federation's professional sports club list.

Everything indicated they would sink into darkness until… Lynch arrived, everything became better.

Kane held the trophy, tears streaming down along with some mucus, taking out a handkerchief to wipe and wanting to shake Lynch's hand but cleverly avoiding it.

Moreover, Lynch gazed at Kane with undisguised disdain, yet Kane seemed unbothered, standing a meter away from Lynch expressing his gratitude.

The young men smiled brightly, anticipating a new and better life, while the head coach was surrounded by reporters.

At the university league, he was a mid-to-upper-level coach. The reason he came to coach in Sabin City was to quickly make a name for himself in the professional league.

Someone previously said he left the university league because he couldn't make it, along with accusations about his personal conduct issues, forcing him to leave.

But regardless of those, he is successful now, as evidenced by the smile on his face.

Everyone celebrated this important moment, the audience in the stands lingered long without leaving, wishing to stay a little longer.

Possibly they wanted to savor the aftertaste of "winning the championship," or simply escape reality a little longer, knowing that once they left the stadium gates, they would have to face their bleak lives and miserable existence!

Later on, Lynch, Kane, and the head coach sat in the manager's office, holding a small meeting.

The team's promotion indicated some new matters needed to be prioritized, and as the sole shareholder, whatever the manager or head coach wanted required Lynch's consent.

"We need some advanced professional equipment…," Moore, the head coach, discussed some of his demands, "Those advanced equipment can provide more detailed information about the athletes' physical conditions, allowing us to effectively monitor every athlete's health."

"Once in the professional league, the competition will become more intense, and injuries might occur!"

"We need our stars; we can't always rely on these expendable Blue Vests!"

Kane also supported the head coach's idea, "Stars are a crucial culture and content for a team; most teams have their stars, which can unite the audience."

To convince Lynch of this investment, Kane provided examples, "I have some information here…", handing a document to Lynch with visible unease.

Lynch glanced at him, then focused on the document, its cover still marked with a brownish stain likely from a coffee cup.

"This is the most unique document cover I've seen this year!" Lynch chuckled, opening the first page, which relieved Kane.

Subsequently, he explained, "The information I gathered mainly outlines the role of stars in a team and their economic value."

"Compared to regular player jerseys, most fans prefer spending money on star jerseys and custom merchandise with star numbers."

"Moreover, if we cultivate a star, as their value rises, we might earn tens of thousands, even millions in transfer fees, and we can achieve it!"

Even without Kane's explanation, Lynch understood the commercial value within, particularly since among many celebrities, sports stars have more potential, influence, and positivity than film stars or singers.

People often believe sports stars are healthier and brighter than movie or song stars, which is sometimes true.

The top transfer fee for a sports star has long exceeded a million, while a top movie star's film salary is far from a million.

Overall, this explanatory document and plan are fairly decent.

Lynch closed the document, looking at the two, "How much do you plan to invest?"