Darkstone Code

On the way back, Mr. Truman saw a small roll of yellow papers Lynch was carrying and asked somewhat unexpectedly, "Did you find a project you're interested in?"

He knew what the yellow papers were and was well aware that Lynch was unlikely to be swindled in this aspect. The only reason that might prompt him to buy these yellow papers was that he found a project with potential, which is why he decided to invest.

Yellow papers, to some extent, are the revelry of a group of swindlers, but they are not illegal. They also have many legal formalities.

For instance, when inventors or initiators entrust a brokerage firm to issue these yellow papers, they sign some rights transfer agreements to ensure that those who buy yellow papers indeed hold some rights from the inventors or initiators over a certain matter.

Lynch nodded, "An inventor is researching a radio positioning system, and I think this system has great potential."

Mr. Truman nodded, "This is indeed a good project!"

Lynch glanced at him, "Your tone doesn't quite give the reassurance your words suggest!"

The two exchanged a smile and did not continue talking about this topic.

Actually, the Ministry of Defense had long started commissioning some military industrial groups to conduct research on radio positioning systems. However, the research outcomes so far have not been satisfactory. As long as the target maintains radio silence, the radio positioning system becomes blind.

Even other countries have similar research, facing roughly the same issues. Some have even developed reflection systems, but the precision has significant problems. Ultimately, these matters are still under continuous research and do not have practical usage value yet.

Mr. Truman believed that Lynch would not get a significant return on his investment in this project. For Lynch himself, twelve thousand dollars might go down the drain, but there might also be some unexpected gains.

After returning to the city, the two separated, as Mr. Truman had a long string of tasks awaiting him. As for Lynch, he was invited to attend a small gathering, a meeting of capitalists on how to further expand returns.

The host was Herbert, one of those crazy speculators who had absorbed a large number of bonds at the lowest prices. It didn't matter whether their attitudes or political stances aligned with Lynch in the past; at least after being persuaded by Lynch, they placed a substantial bet on this aspect, and now everyone's interests were aligned.

For businessmen and capitalists, political stance was merely a means for better profit acquisition; it's the interests that really concerned them.

Now, on the surface, the Federation's relationship with Gafura was warming up. Some contents previously not in the plans of the two countries were gradually coming under negotiation, including the redemption of war bonds.

Gafura acknowledged the validity of these Federation bonds and was willing to redeem them to a limited extent. After several rounds of negotiations, they raised the repurchase price to sixty percent of the face value.

Although their attitude change seemed positive, such positivity still made people feel disgusted.

People used to spend a hundred dollars to buy their bonds, hoping to receive at least a return of one hundred thirty percent or more upon maturity. That's what they had promised, even more.

But now, they're only willing to spend sixty dollars to buy back these bonds, which means everyone loses at least forty dollars.

Plus, the interest and derivative profits that should have been generated during the long war, people actually lost much more than forty dollars.

This is obviously unsatisfactory, but even more foolish is that some people have been offloading significantly; they're worried that if Gafura changes policy again, these bonds will rot in their hands.

The action of unloading by these people essentially gave Gafura the impression that they had offered a high price. Therefore, no matter what progress diplomacy makes shortly, they're unlikely to continue raising the bond repurchase prices.

The focus of tonight's gathering is on this issue.

Lynch arrived a little late because he attended an exhibition. When he entered the side hall of Herbert Manor, almost everyone had arrived.

"Sorry, I was held up on the road." An insincere explanation, but everyone accepted it.

In the Federation, a society where economic strength is respected, the measure of a person's status and value is wealth. Lynch has wealth—lots of money—so he would naturally receive people's respect.

"Just waiting for you!" Mr. Herbert personally handed Lynch a glass of strong liquor, and after Lynch thanked him, he found a place to sit.

Mr. Herbert looked around, seeing most people had arrived, he began to talk about some content related to tonight's meeting theme, "The issue to discuss tonight actually has something to do with Mr. Lynch..."

He nodded slightly toward Lynch and continued, "Pretton Trading Company, or Pretton Pirate Group, I have news here, hoping none of you will spread it out."

After everyone nodded, Mr. Herbert continued, "Our bilateral relationship with Nagariel has made great progress. Possibly after the next round of talks, bilateral diplomatic relations can be established."

"The Navy has also started mobilizing to prepare to sweep the Pretton Pirate Group entrenched along the sea."

These messages aren't really secrets; there's a particular saying in the Federation, "There are no secrets in Congress."

Anything that happens in Congress, as long as it's required, will quickly spread across the Federation, known by everyone. The confidentiality system, that's merely a joke.

Some even make more vulgar jokes about "The belt of a harlot holds tighter than a congressman's mouth" to mock those Members of Parliament. Sometimes members aren't considered morally superior by the public.

Mr. Herbert, being a local resident, and a speculator and capitalist, has ways to acquire some insider information.

Actually, others can obtain it too, so when he spoke to this point, most people appeared indifferent, except a few—they were well aware.

Yet, Mr. Herbert's next words made some people shift emotionally; with a kind of confident smile, he said, "But what you might not know is that behind the Pretton Pirate Group stands the Gafura Royal Navy. There's a rumor that the Federation Navy's target this time is not just a group of pirates, but the elite among the Gafura Royal Navy."

"This is no longer a simple small battle for eradicating pirates; it concerns the strength relations between the two countries and..." He lifted his glass, took a sip, and the fiery strong liquor burned through him, "…and the interests of all of us here, bonds, maybe some other investments."

Expressions on people's faces turned serious; none of them were fools. Fools wouldn't have managed to pull out hundreds of hundreds or thousands to bottom fish and speculate on Gafura's war bonds.

Yet now, indeed, they've encountered some issues. If the Federation Navy loses to the Gafura Royal Navy in the sea battle, the Federation's military power loses its deterrence and the national status would instantly decline.

Currently, Gafura still agrees to repurchase those bonds at sixty percent face value, but what happens after losing the sea battle?

How much will they use to repurchase?

Fifty percent?

Forty percent?

Or thirty percent?

Maybe they won't spend a penny; they might use any excuse to declare these bonds illegal or, as before, refuse redemption, which would cause great loss to everyone here.

Mr. Herbert's expression also turned heavier, "Now we face a difficult choice, whether to cash out the bonds or take a gamble."

If they exchange those bonds at the current Gafura official price, they definitely won't lose money, and might even make about twenty to thirty percent profit based on total investment returns.

But these returns aren't proportional to their previous risky actions; they took considerable risks for larger returns but now the issue became complicated and the stakes higher.

The Federation has never shown its war potential on the international battlefield, including Mr. Herbert and some mainland capitalists, they don't believe the inexperienced Federation Navy can defeat the ocean-roaming Gafura Royal Navy.

Many people held pessimistic views, thinking this war would be a historical turning point, which is why someone like Legislator Wales proposed opposing this war, and some supported him.

"We hold numerous bonds, and during this time, I haven't done nothing; I contacted Gafura's Deputy Minister of Finance through some connections..."

Even though Gafura is a monarchial nation, its political system doesn't greatly differ from democratic countries like the Federation. It's only that their monarch (President) is hereditary and wields substantial authority.

The Deputy Minister of Finance is akin to the Deputy Secretary of the Federation Ministry of Finance, a very significant position with considerable power.

Getting access to someone influential in power in Gafura, Mr. Herbert must have paid a substantial price. In Gafura, power works better than money. With power, wealth follows, but wealth can't buy power!

He let his gaze linger on the faces of every lady and gentleman in the room; his slow and articulate speech ensured no one misheard what he wanted to communicate.

"He expressed the possibility to push through a proposal allowing our bonds to be 'offset' or exchanged for some convenience!"

"This method, honestly, is not what our initial plan was, but in the current situation, it's the most secure way I've found, ensuring we have ample profit without bearing more risk!"

It's undoubtedly an excellent idea that instantly attracted many people.

After a brief consideration, someone asked, "What do we need to give up?"