Darkstone Code

"Hua..."

"According to the Governor's decree, the use of any currency other than 'Fla' is now banned in the Amelia Region!"

On a street, a clerk selling medicine casually threw a handful of silver and copper coins onto the road. Some of the coins bounced and rolled chaotically, coming to a rest almost immediately, while others continued to roll until they disappeared.

Some rolled into the pockets of children, while others vanished into the uneven gaps of the brickwork, disappearing without a trace.

According to the new Governor's directive, the Amelia Province, as a concession of Gafura, must align everything with the motherland of Gafura, including the change of legal tender.

Of course, the Governor is very lenient; he did not directly abolish the legality of the currency people were using in the Amelia Region but instead gave the populace the opportunity to exchange it.

They could use any currency they had at hand to exchange for Gafura's currency "Fla" at international exchange rates from the three major Royal Banks and some commercial banks.

To encourage people to complete the currency transition quickly, the Governor also implemented some measures, such as setting restrictions on the sale and purchase of certain goods such as food, salt, important, and commonly used medicines.

These items could only be bought from designated stores, and transactions had to be made using Gafura's official legal tender; other currencies were not accepted for transactions.

People could choose not to exchange, but the result of not exchanging would be that they couldn't buy anything. In the Amelia Province, these currencies would eventually become worthless.

At this moment, a young man standing outside the pharmacy looked at the coins on the ground, his face flushed with anger, and his brows showed an undeniable fury within.

With clenched fists, veins rolling on his knuckles and taut muscles, it seemed he could throw a punch at any moment.

Perhaps his demeanor made others uneasy, so the pharmacy clerk spoke even louder, "What, you're defying the Governor's orders and now you want to hit me?"

His voice was loud, but his core was timid, it was just a bluff, he was indeed frightened.

In the mere six months since the sovereignty of the Amelia Region had changed, various conflicts continued to occur. Although the external reputation of the Governor was relatively positive, ultimately, positive traits like peace and friendliness could not serve as the foundation for rule.

Perhaps recalling the miserable process of certain people hanging in the square gradually drying in the wind, the young man's hands relaxed as the nearby patrol team approached.

"What's going on?", the patrolmen's voices boomed even before they appeared.

Originally, there were some bystanders, who instantly backed away to a distance.

The patrol team included two locals wearing blue uniforms with white trims, while the Gafura nationals wore blue uniforms with silver trims.

Many people looked down on these locals who joined the Gafura patrol, calling them "white-skinned dogs."

Initially, they referred to these people as "blue-skinned dogs," but that term included the Gafura people. After some were severely punished across various places, people instinctively avoided showing disrespect towards the Gafura.

Under such pressure and rule, it seemed everyone channeled their anger towards these traitors and lapdogs who helped Gafura suppress their own people. But in reality, many didn't know that quite a few among them protected the locals.

Just like now, shouting from afar, many thought they were acting arrogantly, but in truth, they hoped that the troublemakers would hear their voices and escape if they could, rather than regret later when they were hung in the square to dry in the wind.

Their loud shouts saved many, although at the cost of notoriety.

The young man wanted to leave. To the young people, the patrol team was terrifying, but he couldn't leave because his money was still scattered on the ground.

At this moment, as the "white-skinned dogs" pushed through the crowd, they seemed to grasp the situation immediately. The leading "white-skinned dog" kicked the young man's knee, and amidst the crowd's gasps, the young man lost balance and fell to the ground, glaring angrily at the local collaborator.

The "white-skinned dog" who kicked him shouted loudly, "The Governor has mercifully given you enough time to exchange currencies, but some still haven't. You should be grateful for the Governor's mercy, for not blaming you for it."

"Now, pick up those worthless things and go exchange them for real money. Don't leave them here to disgust others!"

The leading "white-skinned dog" fully embodied the image of a lapdog. In front of the crowd, he was arrogant, but when he turned to face the real Gafura soldiers, he nodded and bowed, "Figured it out, it's again someone who hasn't exchanged money."

His flattering expression and nonchalant tone made everyone feel that his actions were just a trivial matter.

The crowd's hateful gazes fixated on him, yet he seemed unfazed, maintaining a respectful and humble demeanor.

The Gafura soldier glanced at the young man who was picking up coins one by one from the ground, then looked at the pharmacy clerk, "Is that so?"

The Gafuran soldier spoke slowly, fearing the locals wouldn't understand. Although the lingua franca is essentially the same, due to different regional language habits, people might speak completely differently even within a couple of hundred kilometers.

The soldier's slow speech also exerted great pressure on people, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on the clerk's forehead instantly.

The clerk at the pharmacy regretted it a bit. If it weren't for the young man pestering him too much, he wouldn't have flung those coins away.

If the local patrol or officials from City Hall found out he disobeyed the Governor's order and accepted currency already deemed illegal, his fate would be much worse than those using the currency, at the very least he would be stripped naked and hung in the square for a severe beating.

At this moment, he nodded repeatedly, only wanting the matter to pass quickly, "Yes, Captain, sir..."

The Gafuran soldier looked again at the young man slowly picking up coins from the ground. Finally, he turned his gaze to the local lackey patrolling with him, whom he also despised, "Read the Governor's order again!"

The lackey nodded humbly to the Gafuran soldier, turned around, and swaggered to the young man's side, hands on his hips, chest puffed out, expressing arrogance, "The Governor said..."

Soon, the patrol left, and the young man had almost picked up all the money from the ground, but still, some were missing.

At this moment, an old man walked up to him, took out two Silver Coins, placed them in the young man's hand, and grabbed his hand, "Redeem as soon as you can, these people can't be messed with, nor should they be provoked!"

The elders weren't actually too afraid of the current situation. Although the new Governor had some strict orders and handled matters quite terrifyingly, like naturally air-drying people into jerky, overall, he wasn't too harsh.

The Governor's attitude towards ordinary people's mistakes was actually mild. Just like this young man, there would be no punishment, only urging him to redeem quickly.

However, the punishment for merchants daring to accept illegal currency was terrifying; not only would their property be confiscated, but they also had to endure whipping.

The young man nodded and quickly ran to the nearest bank. Gradually, the street returned to calm, leaving only some people cursing the lackey.

At night, after a day's work, the lackey who was cursed by people stood outside the patrol post, humbly and obsequiously handing a bundle of brand new towels to the constantly getting off-duty Gafuran soldiers, not forgetting to flatteringly say, "Worked hard, sir, for the day."

When the last soldier left, his smile gradually disappeared. After packing up, he returned to his home.

A very spacious detached house, one he previously wasn't eligible to live in—something only the rich could do—but ever since he "aligned" with the Gafurans, he moved in.

Upon returning home, two girls willingly came up to greet him. They were twin orphans he cared for during the turmoil. Over the years, they had gradually reached adulthood.

The compassion in their eyes brought him some comfort. No matter how others viewed him, at least someone understood his actions, and indeed, he had protected those compatriots.

According to the current Governor's orders, the entire Amelia Region had abolished the unified curfew, now implementing a tiered curfew standard.

For instance, in civilian residential areas, no one was allowed on the streets after eight in the evening; otherwise, they would be whipped.

But in more prosperous places, including some middle to high-end communities, the curfew was pushed back to ten at night.

As for the areas where Gafurans lived, there was no curfew.

The place where the lackey young man lived was on the edge of the Gafuran residential area. To better govern this area, they had to set some examples.

After having dinner, taking a shower, and changing clothes, the young man was preparing to rest when suddenly the doorbell rang.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell shocked the three of them slightly. Not long ago, the Gafurans had done the same, knocking on others' rooms at midnight, executing a group of "troublemakers" on the spot.

The twin girls, wearing pajamas, trembled slightly in the hallway. The young man, coming out of the bedroom, comforted them with a few words and walked towards the living room.

The lackey young man steadied his composure, thinking about whether he had exposed any flaws recently, but he didn't think he had.

Soon, he slowly opened the door, his face again showing a smile he gradually got used to, bending over, softly asking, "Which sir has something for me to do? You can just call..."

His habitual humility and flattery served as his best protection; no one ever thought he had connections with those resistance organizations. People only despised him; some even said he was on some resistance organizations' must-kill list.

The voice from outside felt unfamiliar to him; he had never heard it before.

"Won't you invite me in?"

This wasn't a Gafuran accent, nor a local one; it resembled the accent in some films from the Bail Federal somewhat.