Darkstone Code

So many things happened on this day, it was overwhelming.

People assumed that Emperor Gafura would surely fly into a rage and start a new war to wipe the disgrace away, as has always been the impression he gives.

He constantly clamors for his invincible fleet to wash away his shame when things don't go his way, but in reality, he is not truly the one humiliated. His arrogance seems to have become a label firmly nailed to him!

If Gafura genuinely starts a war, it wouldn't be something unacceptable. However, the interesting thing is that the Gafura diplomat stationed in the Federation, during an interview at the embassy, firmly denied this fact.

"Federation people?"

"Defeated our invincible fleet?"

His tone held a sort of comical, incredulous, jokingly exaggerated arrogance typical of Gafura people, "That's impossible. I must correct some of your misconceptions."

"Firstly, we have never engaged in a naval battle with the Federation people, so the possibility of a complete defeat is out of the question. If they, and you, think these are true, then produce evidence."

"I believe you have no evidence because if you had evidence, you wouldn't be here seeking confirmation from me but spreading some pointless articles worldwide mocking our failure!"

"No naval battle, no defeat!"

The statement from Gafura's diplomat and the silence from Gafura suddenly cooled the excitement of the people, and soon the Federation Ministry of Defense Minister held a second press conference.

At the press conference, the Minister of Defense announced to the worldwide media that they had already sought confirmation from Gafura and obtained new information.

Gafura did not dispatch any warships to the Neutral Sea Area; their First Fleet is undergoing maintenance at Gafura's military port. To prove it, they provided very direct evidence.

The symbol of the First Fleet, the Victorious Princess Battleship and the Knight Long Horn Battleship, are accompanied by six frigates and several destroyers, currently crossing the Eperlier Strait to the Amelia region, now repairing at an open port where people can verify it with local officials or individuals at any time.

The Minister of Defense speculates that an intelligence error might have led to their misjudgment; the exact outcome will be determined by the salvage team, who, by salvaging those sunken warships, can easily discern their origin.

Simultaneously, the Minister of Defense issued a new international arrest warrant for a pirate leader named "Pretton Groot," disclosing this Pretton Pirate leader's crimes.

Apart from common crimes like piracy, plundering, and murder, there are also more heinous charges like subversion of the state.

To uphold justice and peace on the world's oceans, the Federation Government has the responsibility and obligation to eliminate evil thoroughly and will dispatch fleets worldwide to continue capturing remnants of the Pretton Pirate Group, hoping some countries' ports can offer convenience for Federation Fleet docking and supplies when necessary.

Things changed too rapidly, too fast that some reporters couldn't even publish the news they wrote in the morning because by the afternoon, those news items were outdated. However, this made people realize a new hegemonic country is "online."

But people wouldn't find it hard to accept; first, there was Gafura's more domineering imperialism, which made people dare to be angry but not to speak out.

The Federation's attitude is much better than Gafura's, not hard to approach, even though they're following in Gafura's footsteps, they are much easier to accept.

It's like a woman alone crossing a dark, secluded alley at night encountering a thug.

Gafura's thug is not only ugly and fierce but also unbearably smelly. Even if the woman had to submit to him for safety's sake, it would be done with hatred and anger in her heart.

But the Federation is different, its system gives the country a lot of flexibility. If Gafura's thug is a hateful robber, then the Federation is a gentleman.

Perhaps the woman about to be violated would not only not resist, but might actively cooperate for greater pleasure.

Gafura only knows how to plunder and demand, far less compared to the Federation, which takes but gives equal benefits in return.

Moreover, the Bail Federal Industrial Index again saw a huge surge today, particularly Sheep Ship and Vipai Industries, both experiencing unprecedented growth of over 200%. Especially Vipai Industries, its stock price skyrocketed from "1.13" to "3.81".

The new torpedo, globally hailed as the "battleship killer," demonstrated its new dominance over the ocean; the Federation Navy placed a massive order directly, revving up all of Vipai Industries.

They even opened two new torpedo production lines to meet the Ministry of Defense's order demands, all reflected in the stock price.

Changes in stock prices also brought shifts from the social bottom layers; the people of the Federation firmly believe they defeated Gafura's invincible navy, even though neither party confirmed that.

But people believe it, taking to the streets to celebrate, parade—this time a positive parade, cheering for being citizens of a powerful nation.

More importantly, if the Federation could defeat Gafura at sea, then isn't happiness and the future right around the corner?

Lynch, standing by the window, let go, letting the lifted curtain fall, walked back to the table, sat down in the chair, "See, this is what we need, victory."

"To inspire people's morale needs victory, to revitalize domestic industries needs victory, to establish the Federation's international status needs victory, even to breathe freely...", he slightly tilted his head, smiling, "all need victory, a victory that breaks the established order!"

"In people's eyes, the Federation and Gafura should have become two opposing sides, but who could have guessed the President made a personal call to Emperor Gafura, discussing some cooperative content very warmly and amicably?"

Mr. Truman, sitting opposite Lynch, also found the events of the past twelve hours... he didn't know how to describe, some surprising, some fantastical, but certainly more ironic.

In the morning, there was a brief call between the President and Emperor Gafura, without the anticipated rage.

Emperor Gafura didn't habitually inquire about the President's family female members, nor did he curse or threaten; both sides calmly discussed some matters, even bringing up some cooperation issues.

Battle broke out, then delivered an unexpected conclusion for both sides—neither Gafura nor Federation's President expected that after Gafura surrendered, the fleet commander still ordered annihilation, it was too unexpected, beyond everyone's anticipation.

This seeming irreconcilable contradiction core instead became the foundation for both sides' secret negotiations, neither willing to let the situation develop beyond their control, so they had to firmly control the situation.

One person, one country, cannot control alone, then two people, two countries, control together.

Starting a war now would mean unbearable losses for either nation, so the situation must stabilize!

Sounds fantastical, Gafura took a beating, yet their emperor is helping the Federation clean up...

"What happens next?", Mr. Truman was curious, as Lynch obviously had different views on international event occurrences and changes than he.

For example, he thought a war wouldn't break out but would form a great power confrontation, yet Lynch offered a solution they couldn't refuse, directly establishing a foundation for negotiations—after fiercely plunging the knife into the belly of Gafura, they can still negotiate, Lynch has grasped their lifeline.

Yes, the Amelia region issue, that's Gafura's lifeline.

When Lynch had private talks with the President and other important cabinet members, he presented this viewpoint.

The benefits of the Amelia region at this stage outweigh Gafura's military retaliation against the Federation. Military retaliation would only prove they can maintain a certain balance with Federation militarily, without further gains, exposing more issues.

In contrast, stabilizing the benefits of the Amelia region is more constructive for the empire's development.

The President also raised this point in the call, proposing that the Federation supports Gafura Empire's sovereignty in the Amelia region internationally and is willing to assist in maintaining their overseas territorial control.

This statement... roughly equates to a strong alliance, and geographically, the Federation's support would more easily achieve stable rule than Gafura through force, without exacerbating the conflict between ruling and ruled classes.

After the meeting, Mr. Truman had a brief break time, the President gave him two hours, so he appeared here, wanting to talk with Lynch about what's next.

He didn't want Lynch's answer to respond to someone's question, purely out of curiosity and craving. He wanted to combine Lynch's predictions with his own to accurately judge the future international landscape changes.

"What's next?"

"All of us will make money, huge money, then beat each other to a pulp when the next war breaks out!", Lynch said with hearty laughter, "As long as we and Gafura don't go to war, the world pattern won't be disrupted in the short term."

"We can gain more resources, better cooperation conditions, more favorable policies, but will also face more countries' covert hostility, becoming the target for people to chase or even eliminate instead of Gafura."

"Until... the outbreak of the next world war!"