Blackstone Code-Chapter 699: Didn’t See That Coming

The most famous thing about the Federation isn’t its president or navy—it’s the Federation’s labor union.

The labor union is world-renowned. Before this, most news about the Federation in foreign papers usually involved massive domestic strikes. That made the labor union impossible to ignore.

Other countries also have labor unions, but none quite like the Federation’s.

To hear die-hard Federation enthusiasts tell it—those who believe even the Federation’s moon shines brighter than their own sun—the labor union represents the values and interests of the working class, bravely standing against capital.

The labor union is the sword that defends the rights of ordinary people, the lightning that shatters capitalist conspiracies…

Even the folks at union headquarters felt a little embarrassed by all that praise—they weren’t that noble. But hearing others glorify them still felt good.

What couldn’t be denied, though, was that the Federation’s labor union had a ruthlessness others lacked: to push political demands or secure better benefits, they were willing to organize massive nationwide strikes and demonstrations.

In terms of scale, participation, and impact, they were unmatched.

Foreigners laughed when they watched these Federation jokes on TV, pointing at the screen and telling their friends, Look at what happens in developed countries!

It was all just entertainment—until it started happening in their own countries. Then, no one was laughing.

And the labor union didn’t just organize protests. They had many capabilities.

“You never told me you were going to establish a labor union here!” the Chamber of Commerce president snapped, clearly realizing Lynch’s trap. If Lynch controlled the labor union, he indirectly controlled their production capacity.

If, in the future, competition in the market heated up and one side suddenly experienced a massive strike, it would be disastrous.

He stepped forward, voice sharp. “The Governor-General will never approve of this. We have no tradition of labor unions here.”

“You’re lying,” Lynch shot back without hesitation. “Gephra does have a labor union. It’s called the Workers’ Home. It’s essentially the same thing.”

Before the president could argue, Lynch’s tone shifted to something more reassuring. “Relax. It won’t go rogue like the Federation’s. Everything is under control.”

“It was created simply to help you mediate issues with workers. You know how laborers never trust capitalists. When problems arise, you need a third party to step in.”

“That’s what the labor union is for. It won’t become what you fear. In fact, it’ll help you solve a lot of problems.”

“You don’t expect me to personally handle every conflict between you and your workers, do you?” Lynch smiled, but there was something unsettling behind it. “If you want me to handle everything, then you’ll need to put me on your payroll—and I don’t come cheap.”

“Trust me. This won’t be the beginning of a disaster.”

“And besides, we signed a contract.”

Whether it was Lynch’s reasoning or that final reminder that convinced him, the Chamber president finally agreed, albeit reluctantly and with a grim expression.

“If they disrupt our production and make factory operations uncontrollable, we will not compromise.”

With that, the plan moved forward. People were divided up, trucked out in batches. The next day, more would arrive. Each person brought Lynch one sol in daily profit—forty thousand people meant forty thousand sols per day, over a million per month.

Of course, the real figure wasn’t that straightforward. After factoring in labor union expenses and operations, monthly profit hovered around 800,000 to 900,000 sols.

Lynch wasn’t planning to turn the labor union into a powerful weapon right away. That would raise too much suspicion. The Gephrans and locals alike were already watching closely.

Only once they let their guard down—when they became complacent—would the labor union reveal its real strength.

With the arrival of the Nagarylls, the city was revitalized. The long, dead atmosphere lifted, and it felt like spring had finally arrived after a prolonged winter.

Starting the next day, Lynch was flooded with calls about labor dispatch cooperation. Across Amellia, Gephrans were dealing with labor shortages.

The situation was especially bad in more remote areas—places previously plagued by anti-government fighters. These zones were far from central authority, making it harder for Gephra to control them. That led to worsening instability and more people joining rebel groups.

As a result, these areas had even deeper labor shortages—and bigger grudges against Gephra.

It was a massive market opportunity. The entire Amellian province had a labor gap of about 500,000–600,000 people, and the number would only grow with regional development.

Once Gephra’s mainland factories were relocated, that number could double or triple.

But no matter how big the market was, Lynch couldn’t swallow it all at once—he didn’t have enough people.

Under Governor Magulana’s control, the entire Magulana province had about 7–8 million people.

Removing women, children, the elderly, and those unfit for work, that left just over a million healthy adult men.

If all of them were transferred to Amellia, every project in Nagaryll would grind to a halt—which wasn’t in Lynch’s interest.

Besides, literacy programs were still ongoing. In the short term, he could spare a few tens of thousands more—but not more than that.

Meanwhile, others inside the Joint Development Company were beginning to take notice of the opportunity. Monthly profits in the millions had caught attention, though they were still behind Lynch in execution.

At the same time, the local Chamber president wasn’t idle. Once he realized Lynch had set up a labor union, he went straight to the Governor-General.

“Your Excellency, you know what kind of impact a labor union can have. I fully support His Majesty’s vision for Amellia, and I agree the Empire needs change.”

“But I don’t believe we should copy everything from other countries.”

“Some things suit us. Others don’t. Don’t you agree?”

By other countries, he meant the Baylor Federation—but some things were better left unsaid.

After all, no one would ever openly admit that the Empire, spooked by a naval defeat, had started imitating the Federation’s systems. That would be absurd. No one would accept it.

So, when necessary, it was better to avoid saying the quiet part out loud.

Governor Sedel’s face was expressionless, calm. He rubbed the ring on his index finger with his thumb and shook his head slightly. “There’s nothing wrong with your thinking, but you probably don’t know—Lynch registered a private company locally called the Labor Union.”

“He’s running the labor union as a business, a company. Following His Majesty’s directives, we cannot interfere in such matters. Do you understand what I mean?”

If the labor union were a non-profit, a public welfare organization, Governor Sedel could have found ways to dissolve it—at the very least, prevent it from operating locally by legally denying its formation and function.

But the problem was, Lynch’s labor union was registered as a labor consulting company. It had full legal documentation. As long as it didn’t violate local laws, it remained a legitimate private enterprise.

If Governor Sedel dared to shut it down, Lynch would likely launch a media campaign, or even sue in Gephra’s mainland courts.

He had no doubt Lynch would do just that. Based on Lynch’s track record, he was skilled at using rules as weapons.

This thought gave Sedel a headache. Despite all his calculations, he hadn’t anticipated Lynch would once again take an unconventional path, leaving them with no room to counter.

The Chamber president was equally stunned. A labor union should obviously be a non-profit public organization—a social group, not a company.

He had expected Sedel to back him in shutting it down. Who could have guessed the labor union was actually a damn company?

Realizing Lynch was always one step ahead, constantly leading him by the nose, the Chamber president let out a heavy sigh.

“It seems we don’t have any effective way to deal with this right now. We may end up losing some of our influence.” He stood up. “Governor, I need to go back and think carefully about how to respond. I’ll take my leave.”

The Governor nodded. “Lynch is someone who knows how to use the rules. If you want to beat him, you have to beat him within the rules—fair and square. Otherwise, it’ll put me in a very difficult position.”

It was both a warning and a reminder.