Darkstone Code

Lynch quickly spread the news of his agreement to give a speech at the Curilan State University.

The principal, vice principal, and many teachers all mobilized some of their resources to promote this public speech. The state television station and local television stations also contacted the school, hoping to broadcast the speech, even if it meant paying some broadcast fees.

The celebrity effect is still quite effective in this relatively simple era. People generally think politicians are full of it when they speak, but they hold a kind of innocent trust in what most celebrities and public figures say.

They are unlikely to believe that well-known figures of high society would fabricate lies to deceive an ordinary person, but in reality, they often do.

Lynch returned quickly, arriving in Curilan City by the third day, and even had dinner with the city's mayor.

The mayor of Curilan City is a forty-seven-year-old middle-aged man. He is younger than the mayor of neighboring Sabin City and is quite a charming middle-aged man.

At first glance, Lynch thought he looked somewhat like... a celebrity, maintaining a stylish hairstyle that deviates from the traditional style. The small tuft of hair on the front of his forehead didn't lie flat against the scalp like the other hair but, curled after a perm, evokes a modern feel.

The colorful shirt also made him look unlike most people his age, who adhere to certain traditions and stereotypes, although it might be a change in taste to cater to trends.

After a brief acquaintance, the mayor of Curilan City asked a question, "Mr. Lynch, have you considered investing in York State?"

"We have the best academic and research atmosphere in the state, the State University is right here, and our progress in certain fields isn't lagging behind the international level."

"We also have a high acceptance of new things and are friendly to investors, maybe you should consider it."

Most domestic leaders are facing the same issue now, the employment rate has been stagnant. Compared to the 19.4% unemployment rate next door, Curilan City's situation is better, only 14.7%.

It seems much better, but the problem is still severe.

Many families rely on relief food to get by, and after distributing relief food for over half a year, the finances of city halls across the country are nearing their limits.

Rich folks are also unwilling to contribute anymore, as they themselves don't have much money to spare.

This isn't something that can be solved with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions; it's a matter of whether everyone in a city can eat. Even if a city has only 300,000 people needing relief food, each person only requires a dollar of relief food per day, they would consume $300,000 worth of food in just one day!

Relying on the wealthy to donate, how many times can they donate $300,000?

Once?

Ten times?

Or a hundred times?

No matter how much they donate, the money will be quickly consumed by people in need, distributing relief food isn't a real solution; allowing them to earn wealth through labor to buy food is the way.

Even if Lynch can provide a hundred jobs, it would mean he could support at least a hundred families struggling to make ends meet in Curilan City monthly, reducing government spending by potentially thousands of dollars.

Reducing a bit would lighten the government's burden.

But Lynch shook his head, "I currently don't plan to invest domestically, the current environment isn't suitable for large-scale investment, and you know..."

He picked up the napkin and dabbed at the corner of his mouth, "My focus for future development will be overseas, so I can only apologize."

The mayor wasn't too disappointed; he didn't have high hopes to begin with. He asked casually, just in case Lynch might agree.

"I've heard some rumors about you, and I'm very interested in the trade war you've mentioned. Could you tell me more about it?" the mayor of Curilan City asked another question.

Lynch nodded slightly, "Of course, but we don't have enough time; we can only talk briefly. If you want to know more details, perhaps you could come to the State University tomorrow," he replied with a smile, shrugging, "As you know, they've invited me to give a public speech..."

Meanwhile, while Lynch and the mayor of Curilan City were enjoying a sumptuous dinner in friendly conversation, Mr. Preton was nervously fleeing for his life.

Who would've thought the unbeatable Royal Fleet of Gafura would lose to the Federation's navy? If he had known the outcome, he would've never dared to ask the Minister of the Navy to stand up for him.

He cut off all contacts immediately, regardless of who they were. Upon learning of the naval battle's outcome, he vanished from the public eye and fled alone.

He now trusts no one, for anyone could betray him, whether selling him out to the Gafura people or to the Federation people, he would fetch a good price, or possibly a favor.

These people would become noble because of him, but he would die because of it!

Undoubtedly, knowing Emperor Gafura, that easily enraged man would definitely bind him on the Sin Punishment Cliff and let the Shield-beaked Eagle peck him to death.

That's one of Gafura's most cruel punishments, the Shield-beaked Eagle is a unique bird of prey belonging to the eagle family in Gafura. Compared to its many relatives with sharp and hooked beaks, the Shield-beaked Eagle's beak is like a bone hammer, a hammer with a sharp point.

This particular eagle primarily resides in coastal areas, mainly preying on various shellfish and crustaceans. They locate the prey from the sky, aim at it, and begin a dive, descending like a flash of lightning, precisely using a high-density blunt beak the size of a fist to smash open the prey's hard shell, then pecking at the flesh inside.

The Shield-beaked Eagle's diet is complex. If given the opportunity, they will also prey on some large mammals, and they're quite intelligent.

They know if they smash an animal's head in one go, they might only get a thousandth to eat, with most of it being devoured by other animals or rotting away.

Thus, when preying on large mammals, they start by attacking the lower limbs of their target.

The hammer-like beak, hard enough to crush bones, combined with the speed from diving down from the sky, can easily break any animal's bones.

Animals deprived of their mobility collapse to the ground, and the Shield-beaked Eagles then chip away at the prey's limbs bit by bit, ensuring they don't die immediately, achieving a form of alternative food storage.

According to some researchers and experts, a large mammal under such siege can roughly stay alive for three days to a week, spending each day in despair.

These animals watch helplessly as their bodies are eaten piece by piece while enduring intense pain and high fever caused by various infections, until the horrifying moment before death when their heads are smashed.

Emperor Gafura never had a good temperament; to vent his anger, he would also have the wounds of those criminals sent to Sin Punishment Cliff cleaned and bandaged, allowing the victim to endure maximum fear and torment, dying slowly in endless pain and terror.

Regardless of whether these legends are true or false, Preton doesn't want to find out.

He had just stepped out of the train station, the midsummer station was always thick with the stench of sweat and some foul smell. He carried a bag and stood on the square outside the station, glanced briefly at the surroundings, and quickly moved towards the roadside.

No one knew that Preton, whom both Gafura and the Federation were hunting, was surprisingly within the territories of the Federation at this moment.

Last time, he created an illusion, making people believe he had already fled, but actually he hadn't, he remained within the Federation.

In his view, the Federation was safer than Gafura or any other place, the loose political system and freedom made capture intensity consistently low here.

Besides, over the years, he hadn't left any particularly clear photographs leaked to the outside world, making capturing him through a warrant almost impossible.

This was a kingdom of money; as long as one had money, they could live well here. He had money, lots of money.

Apart from a few well-known accounts, he also had many emergency and backup accounts, enough for him to lavishly spend a lifetime in the Federation and even more.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth; those fools probably were still outside chasing relentlessly after his several false identities, weren't they?

From the first day he set foot on Nagariel soil, Preton had anticipated he would have such a day. After all, the information he held was enough to make some people take action against him.

So he planned everything clearly; he would soon head to the western part of the Federation, find a small town without communication or television to stay for a while, blend in as a local, and then find a way to emerge...

Just as Preton was about to find a place to settle, a few young people stood up from the alley beside the station.

A girl was the first to walk out of the alley, heading toward Preton.

In his view, he had disguised himself to be sufficiently "ordinary," but to be exact, what he thought was ordinary was still not ordinary enough, especially in such an environment; it seemed unlikely for ordinary people to wear clean clothes and carry a small leather case out of the station late at night.

So the girl decided to try her luck, she quickly caught up with Preton, who vigilantly turned to look at the woman, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

"Anything I can help you with, miss?"

The person in front of him was wearing very summery attire, a short skirt, a corset, and perhaps underwear intended for tying her hair counted as "clothing".

She flaunted her lovely body and posed, "Sir, want to have some fun?"