Darkstone Code-Chapter 706 - 0704 Promotion and salary increase [This - is sponsored by the silver alliance: Mr_Crow - extra update 2/5]
Is this the life I want?
Koman was pondering over this question that he had never considered before—what is the life he desires, and what is a true life.
This clean-cut, healthy, and sunny young man was now walking the path others had walked before. The person he loved the most was definitely not Serra. His life might be better than some, but not quite good enough. He didn’t have much right to choose, much like now.
He needed to make a choice for his future.
Should he choose to be with Serra, playing a role he’s always been playing, and continue doing so for a lifetime.
If he chooses this option, the other half of his life will be glamorous and bright as he boards Lynch’s express train, racing down the path of a free life.
Though he would lose a part of himself for it, isn’t everything like this?
If you want money, you have to labor or offer something else to get it, and this is no different.
Or he could choose to tell the truth, then respectfully leave, with no changes to his life. He would still have the same power over his life as in the past.
Perhaps he would succeed in the future, making today’s choice the best, achieving success by his own hands and gaining more autonomy.
But failures would be more, an ambiguous fitness instructor maintaining client relationships, hardly looks like a future success in wealth.
In the end, he chose to follow his heart.
"Mr. Lynch, I really..."
"What are you discussing?" Serra walked over with a juice bottle and some glasses. This was originally the servant’s job, but now that Lynch was here, as a mother, there were things she wanted to do herself.
Koman stood up, took the initiative to step forward, and helped her with this not-so-heavy task. He decided to bow to fate.
"We are talking about the joint military exercises..."
After eight in the evening, Lynch got up to leave. Sitting in the car, he lit a cigarette, inhaling as he pondered over all that happened today, feeling somewhat contemplative.
Money had improved life, yet made some things a thing of the past.
"Check this Koman, I want all his information..."
As the car passed the outskirts of the city center, Lynch suddenly stopped the Senior Soldier, asking him to pull over.
To Lynch’s right was an open, abandoned construction site. By Sabin City’s development scale, this area was technically on the city’s fringe, making it quite a prime location.
The price for just this piece of land already exceeded two million now.
Yet it lay here abandoned, and looking at its dilapidated appearance, Lynch was a bit surprised.
This land originally belonged to him as the old club’s site. Later, he relocated the club to the city outskirts for more space and development. He exchanged this city land with Hart for a dozen lakeside villas.
It was initially planned to develop cheap apartments here to solve some people’s inability to afford rent due to unemployment waves.
The government would cover part, and the tenants another part, allowing a home for little money. The policy was good, but the person contracted for this project encountered problems.
Hart, under the guise of "investment," had sold multiple units and made quite a bit of money before bailing, leaving the mayor in a fix. The project has been stalled ever since.
This is now a headache. The mayor in charge has been transferred, and Hart still hasn’t been brought to justice. Whoever touches this place will bear a debt of several million.
Even if City Hall gives the land for free, no one would take it; whoever does, dies, a sure loss with no gain.
Lynch had no intention to take over. This land had no chance of restarting without at least five to ten years, or even longer.
Only when land prices exceed the total dispute cost would someone step forward to try resolving this, and until then, it will remain abandoned.
The restarted car disappeared into the night under curious gazes. News of Lynch’s return to the Federation spread quickly.
With his current status and position, some things are not easily hidden. Knowing his return isn’t hard—through customs.
News of Lynch’s return first reached Mr. Truman, who has quite a few friends in the Security Committee and the Military Intelligence Bureau. Lynch is not only an influential public figure but also a special advisor for the Security Committee.
He then called Lynch.
"If you’re not in a rush to leave, come to Bupen. Someone wants to talk to you..." Mr. Truman’s way of speaking was not subtle, a hint of mischievous humor in his voice, "You’ll need to pay!"
Lynch hesitated for a moment before realizing, "Is it time to donate?" He then asked, "What month is it now?"
"July, you can donate now. We’ll speak of the specifics when you get here."
After a bit more pleasantries, they hung up, and as he looked at his phone, Lynch shook his head, thinking about how the Federation can never escape from the grip of capital due to the political reliance on money.
In fact, from the Federation politicians’ perspective, they envied Gafura’s system, where power was infinitely expanding, making capital the caged bird instead.
The Federation politicians dream of such power, where power stands above capital, not the reverse.
Unfortunately, they can’t achieve it. The fully expanded capital cannot voluntarily return to the cage. What seemed absurd to the Federation high-ups was that Gafura people are learning the Federation’s system.
Don’t they realize that once capital is fully unleashed, the nobility’s way won’t work?
Two days later, Lynch took the train to Bupen, and Mr. Truman came to pick him up.
Sitting in the car, Mr. Truman boasted with some pride, "My vacation ended some time ago, and I’ve been promoted..."
Since the multinational joint military exercises officially began, Mr. Truman, the head of the "Office of International Affairs/Policy Research," had his vacation canceled. Such globally impactful events required someone with enough experience to oversee the work.
The President couldn’t do it, nor could the people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaving only Mr. Truman, who had good relations with the military, to take charge.
In private, the President told him that after winning the next election, the President would abolish the Office of International Affairs/Policy Research in favor of establishing a "Bail Federal International Affairs Department," abbreviated as the Federation’s State Department.
Mr. Truman would become the first highest official of the State Department, while also holding the position of the second Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position of the first Minister of Foreign Affairs would remain vacant.
This effectively means Mr. Truman would fully grasp foreign affairs, proving the President’s trust in him.
There were some things he didn’t tell Lynch. The President’s idea was to dismantle the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when necessary, transferring power to the State Department.
On one hand, this is something every president does—criticize the predecessor’s governmental setup, reducing some agencies to establish a more efficient government in the eyes of the public.
Secondly, international diplomacy has become the important task for countries moving forward, and the President didn’t trust anyone else with it. Many in the current Ministry of Foreign Affairs weren’t directly under the President.
If he completely overhauled this department, people in other departments would be on edge, plus doing so could spark negative impacts.
Nobody likes a president who purges at the start, potentially costing him re-election chances.
To solve this, he might as well get rid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus, apart from appointing Mr. Truman as the second Minister of Foreign Affairs, nothing else needs to be changed.
This information remains confidential for now, so Mr. Truman hadn’t told Lynch. Before it becomes reality, no one knows what the outcome will be.
His flaunting, in Lynch’s eyes, became something else entirely.
"Aren’t you going to say something?" Mr. Truman glanced at Lynch with a silent smile, "I thought you’d be interested, or at least happy for us, we’re in this together!"
Lynch shrugged, "What can I say?"
"Alright, your acting has improved lately, not only did the President forgive you, but those capitalists also stopped targeting you..."
Mr. Truman’s expression stalled for a moment, then he patted the steering wheel, couldn’t help but complain, "I knew I shouldn’t have let you speak, you always see things from strange angles..."
Lynch’s words had cooled him down from his excitement because he realized Lynch was right.
At this crucial moment, he was still insufficient to completely influence the President’s decisions. If the capitalists were firmly against his reinstatement, the President wouldn’t have gone ahead no matter how much he trusted him!
After all, the President couldn’t afford to lose those financiers to reinstate Mr. Truman. Ultimately, it was because he flawlessly mingled with the capitalists, making everyone believe he was one of them, giving him such an opportunity.
Not only to return to his position but to move up further.
The atmosphere in the car became somewhat dull; Lynch had destroyed the mood like a mood disruptor yet remained calm and collected.
About half an hour later, the car stopped outside the President’s Mansion, and after multiple layers of verification, they met with the President.
The President rarely took the initiative to stand in front of his office desk to welcome Lynch. This was already a very clear signal. Before, he would at most sit on the chair, or stand up as someone came in, but not like now, standing in front of the desk.
Just a distance of two or three steps, yet the representation of it carried a huge difference.
Upon entering, the President immediately smiled and extended his hand, "Mr. Lynch, you’re finally here!"
