Darkstone Code-Chapter 749 - 0747 Confrontation
"It’s really... unbelievable!"
In the office of the second execution division of the Imperial Capital branch of the Gafura Empire’s Ministry of Internal Security, Lynch looked incredulously at some materials in his hand.
His expression indeed showed enough grief and surprise, as if... no, it was real.
This was the most genuine thought in his mind at the moment.
He put the materials back on the table, then crossed his legs and lit a cigarette.
Many times, Lynch smoked not because he needed nicotine to promote dopamine secretion; he just needed a prop to divert others’ attention anytime, anywhere.
A cigarette, a pen, a nail clipper would work, but compared to the latter two, people are less wary of cigarettes, making them more convenient to use.
It’s quite magical to say, but the vast majority of people won’t pay much attention to the cigarette in the hand of the person sitting across from them, often ignoring it in the process of communication.
But when ash falls on the ground, or on a document, or if it’s stubbed out in an ashtray... people’s attention will inexplicably be diverted, even if the diversion is just for a second or two.
But it does divert people; they’ll think, "That bastard dropped ash on my stall" or "Doesn’t he know his ash is already so long?" eventually leading to "He finally finished; I was about to lose it."
These little tricks sometimes can play a very important role. When people’s attention is scattered, they produce an almost instinctive reaction.
Everyone has this reaction, but some people have it suppressed by reason after training; only when their attention is dispersed does instinct regain the upper hand.
At the same time, people’s thinking or an idea doesn’t form immediately from nothing; there’s a process, and that process can be interrupted.
Sometimes, a mother saying something while walking toward her child forgets what she was saying, and what she was going to do because her child asked her to repeat a sentence.
These small actions can also have this effect, as long as the timing is caught.
"Don’t mind, do you?" Lynch raised the cigarette in his hand, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs Prosecutor sitting across the desk shook his head.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs Prosecutor is a special position, like the Security Council, focusing on solving cases that threaten national security, but these cases are limited to domestic affairs and involving government officials and nobles.
If there are no government officials or nobles involved in the case, then the Seventh Police Force takes charge, also known by some as "the Emperor’s lackeys."
Sometimes, Gafurans’ minds are like they’ve been kicked by a donkey; they highly respect their Emperor, but sometimes they act very harshly. These two behaviors are often combined and are one of Gafura’s cultural features.
"Baron Lynch, do you know this Mr. Richard?" The Ministry of Internal Affairs Prosecutor’s expression was ordinary, without the noticeable change one could see from seriousness, just like how a face looks when one just wakes up, showing no changes in emotional expression.
Lynch nodded, picked up the documents on the table, and glanced at them again. "Richard was one of my partners, but later because we...," he said, shaking his head, "...had some disagreements on concepts, we didn’t continue our partnership."
"You wouldn’t think I did it, would you?" Lynch said with a hearty laugh, not at all nervous or anxious.
This behavior made the Prosecutor realize if Lynch did do it, they would be facing a terrifying opponent. At least, Lynch was now acting like someone trained professionally; no discrepancies could be found in his facial muscle changes, his gaze, his pupils, or his small physical movements.
This only means either he didn’t do it, or he planned it meticulously.
This also puzzled the Prosecutor a bit. He had reviewed Lynch’s files; this shouldn’t be someone trained as a Federation intelligence agent; his trajectory was too detailed.
Detailed enough that anyone in the intelligence field would know something like this couldn’t possibly have a problem!
It’s like Lynch’s information included every step of his life’s resume, like the middle school he attended and his class.
If one wanted to investigate this person, they could go through the school to find his classmates’ parents and ask if they had an impression of Lynch and show multiple photos to confirm his identity.
Through controlling time periods, asking questions to some individuals, they would find out whether Lynch had contacted certain agencies or ever "disappeared" for a while.
Generally speaking, an intelligence agent’s identity information is said to be fabricated, but it’s somewhat vague, unlike Lynch’s data, which is so detailed.
Little did he know, in another world, Lynch had undergone the strictest interrogation protocols, enduring over a dozen techniques, so this level of interrogation was nothing more than a chat for him.
The Prosecutor’s attention refocused, and he took out some photos, placing them on the table. "After you came to the Empire, you contacted Richard many times; what did you discuss?"
Lynch glanced at the photos on the table, very clear with good angles, ensuring that Lynch was basically facing the camera, with enough space to recognize his facial features.
These photos were taken of him, incidentally including Richard.
"I told you, due to some differences, I ended my partnership with him in the Federation. We just happened to meet when I came over for the conferment, and we had a chat."
"You don’t think I am the kind of person who constantly hopes my partners won’t do better than me or might go bankrupt at any moment, do you?"
His clean face bore a smile that easily earned trust, "I just heard his company was going public and was congratulating him on his success, that’s all."
The prosecutor looked at Lynch and, once again confirming these questions were worthless, attempted to make the inquiry more aggressive, "We found a letter in Mr. Richard’s jacket pocket. Would you like to know what it says?"
Lynch nodded, "I’m very curious."
"Don’t you want to see it?" The prosecutor questioned quickly, giving Lynch less time to think.
But this little trick...
Lynch’s response was also timely, "Can you casually show such important evidence to me?"
Prosecutor: "Or is it that you already know what’s written on the letter?"
Lynch laughed again, "You shouldn’t have been a prosecutor; maybe a warlock or spiritualist suits you better."
Neither of them avoided each other’s gaze. Suddenly, the prosecutor’s gaze was drawn to the ash falling on the table. It was less than half a second, and their gazes broke, not meeting again.
Very tricky, and this always left the prosecutor feeling that Lynch might have issues.
When he came back to his senses, he frowned. Lynch was an imperial noble. Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs was a security agency against these nobles and officials, they couldn’t take action against the nobles without solid evidence.
Otherwise, if that group of nobles in the Secretariat made a fuss, even the Emperor himself would have to yield eventually.
The seemingly brief confrontation gave the prosecutor some ideas. He originally wanted to ask a few more intense questions, but now thinking about it, it wasn’t the right time.
"Baron Lynch, this case involves national security. Before the case is solved, you cannot leave the Empire. I hope you can forgive me." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
"If there’s anything needed afterward, I will contact you. Of course, if you have any clues or find anything valuable, you can call me."
The prosecutor handed over a business card. Lynch casually extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray and kept the card safe, at least it appeared that way.
"So?" Lynch started with a tone suggesting whether they should wrap it up.
The prosecutor actually didn’t want to end the inquiry immediately. The first three days after the case is crucial for solving it. If they missed this window and didn’t catch the criminal, some evidence would lose its value, and the criminal’s psychological and other factors would stabilize.
But being interrupted twice made the prosecutor realize continuing further had little value, so he stood up and accompanied Lynch to the door, "Thank you for your cooperation, Baron Lynch. I’m very sorry for taking up your personal time."
The smile remained on Lynch’s face. He shook the prosecutor’s hand slightly, "Although I’m not a citizen of the Empire, I equally respect the Empire’s laws and national security. If anything needs my cooperation, feel free to call me."
"You must know my phone number!" There was a bit of irony in his words, but not strongly so.
Lynch didn’t give the prosecutor his card nor tell him the phone number of his residence, but both sides knew Lynch was right.
The prosecutor nodded and let go of his hand.
Watching Lynch’s leaving figure, the prosecutor firmly believed that, no matter what, Lynch was involved with this case!
Richard’s death triggered a massive upheaval. After listing, Yuanrong Capital’s scale once reached nearly six hundred million (Fla), and the fifth issue of gold certificates was still selling hot.
Now, with reports of Yuanrong Capital allegedly falsifying data, potentially being a high-end scam, and the largest shareholder suspected of committing suicide out of guilt, the entire nation was shocked.
In the Imperial Capital, protests for the protection of their rights have already begun, hoping the Empire could first compensate the fifth issue gold certificate buyers with the money in Yuanrong Capital’s accounts.
But buyers of gold certificates from other issues seemed to disagree; people from all over the country were gathering towards the Imperial Capital.
This major case not only shook the entire Empire but even affected the whole world.
The next day, the "Federal Times" reported this news, and together with the evaporated money from the stock market, Yuanrong Capital created a financial black hole exceeding ten billion (Federation Sol).
The Federation’s second-phase submarine military budget was only approved for seven billion...
