Darkstone Code-Chapter 792 - 0790 Time has changed us

After the sumptuous but slightly confusing dinner, Lynch and Catherine bid farewell to Mrs. Tracy and returned to Lynch’s residence.

"What did you think of the dinner tonight?" Catherine asked while snuggled on the sofa, munching on an apple. She wanted to hear Lynch’s opinion.

The dinner indeed had a certain charm. It was simply a grilled fish fillet, yet the chef managed to present it as a whale surfacing for air on the sea.

The fish fillet was the whale’s body, and they used some kind of fish skin, lightly fried, to cover the upper part of the fillet, giving it the dark blue-black look of a whale’s back.

The soup served with the meal, along with some vegetable leaves, became the ocean. It indeed had a picturesque atmosphere and smelled nice.

But the taste... as those gourmets would say, without considering the taste, it was indeed a good dinner.

Lynch said without hiding, "I didn’t get full; the portions were too small."

The girl laughed, "Yes, the portions were too small. I feel like I could eat a bit more."

Perhaps to create that sense of imagery, more emphasis was put on the presentation than on serving food that truly filled the stomach.

Lynch looked at Catherine, "What flavor of baked bread do you want?"

"Onion beef!" the girl said with some excitement, "And with extra cheese!"

Lynch nodded and had the Senior Soldier order some baked bread.

The so-called baked bread is actually what another world would call pizza, but here it’s known as "cheese round bread," simplified to baked bread, a very common food to fill the stomach.

Back when Catherine and Lynch were living together, ordering a baked bread was equivalent to a feast. After all, for them, who could only afford discounted food from the Supermarket, the four dollars and ninety-nine cents for a baked bread was not a cheap price.

Every so often, Catherine would order one to treat herself and Lynch. People always occasionally crave something to eat.

She leaned on Lynch’s shoulder, gazing out into the dark night, seemingly reminiscing about something.

Lynch did not disturb her, and after a while, her focus returned from her aimlessly scattered thoughts to Lynch.

"Do you really think that one day, women can step onto the political stage?" she asked somewhat suddenly, seemingly filled with uncertainty about her future. "I mean, can we truly reach an important position and not just be a decoration?"

Her recent internship at the President’s Mansion made her feel that this country, especially the top tiers of government, was still quite discriminatory towards women.

Among the hundreds of seats in Congress, not a single woman, no woman in the high levels of the Cabinet, and indeed some women in the President’s Mansion, but all doing the most ordinary, easily replaceable jobs.

No woman was in an important, irreplaceable position, which was disheartening.

She even discovered some situations unknown to society, such as the biggest success in equality projects of the women’s rights movement over the years—the soldier one—had huge issues.

At first, some people argued that "only men can defend the country, hence men dominate this society," to attack some of the ideologies of the women’s rights organizations. The women’s rights organizations fiercely retaliated.

If men can be soldiers, so can women!

Thus, the Federation Military had female soldier branches, yes, literally just "female soldier" branches.

They went through almost the same training as male soldiers and weren’t too far behind in some programs, and the society gave very positive reports at the time.

But in reality, some situations were very bad.

Not long ago, Catherine came across a Ministry of Defense report, which mentioned issues of harassment within the military.

Because the military is a relatively closed-off domain and quite authoritarian, absolute obedience from subordinates to superiors easily fosters something that shouldn’t occur.

Like some female soldiers being required to bathe with their male partners, live in the same barracks, and even face other excessive demands—these issues were never disclosed.

Reading it made her heart skip a beat. Every word and line of redacted description filled the mind with terrifying imagination.

Ultimately, women do not hold a dominant position in this society; saying they are disadvantaged is even a luxury.

Can they really stand up?

Catherine was very doubtful.

Seemingly sensing some shifts in Catherine’s emotions, Lynch didn’t give her an immediate answer. He carefully contemplated for a while before saying slowly, "Of course!"

His tone wasn’t forceful, but it was filled with unwavering strength.

"It’s a trend that cannot be stopped by anyone. Stepping forward a step means leading an era!"

Others might not be so sure about these things, but Lynch, being someone who has "been through it," has seen even "deserts" conquered in the end. How could the Federation here, a land where even the air is sweet and free, be an exception?

The girl did not continue to speak, she just sat quietly.

This is not the job she likes, but she realized that if she doesn’t want to fall behind, she has to do it.

Sometimes certain things always require making choices.

"Do you like your current life?" the girl asked after a while.

Lynch didn’t answer immediately either. Instead, he thought seriously for a moment, "I don’t dislike my current life, and for us, that is enough."

"If you want to see the view from the top, you have to bear the fatigue of climbing. To reap rewards, you must give something."

"No matter how you choose, I will support and respect your decision. This isn’t coercion, I just think it should be the best choice."

"The best choice may actually be the one we like the least!"

After a moment of silence, the girl didn’t discuss this topic further. Instead, she talked about some recent changes.

"You know, those classmates used to always try to contact me. They even wrote letters and sent them to the President’s Mansion!", possibly because she had already made a decision in her heart, or perhaps she didn’t want Lynch to worry about her, she chose a topic with some humor.

Of course, she also felt a bit sentimental, "Some of them are people I don’t know. I can’t even match their names to their faces, yet in the letters, they seem very friendly."

"Life is always so unexpected, and also my brother, if you haven’t forgotten him..."

It was Catherine’s brother who came to take Catherine away back then. He was not her biological brother but rather her uncle’s son, considered a cousin. However, people in the Federation don’t bother with this; either he’s a brother or a younger brother, there aren’t so many complicated titles.

Lynch nodded, "I remember him, kind of annoying."

Catherine laughed aloud, "Yes, it’s him. He also called me, wanting to find a job here. Everyone thinks I’m an all-powerful little witch, waving my magic wand..." she raised her hand and made a waving gesture, "...and everything is solved."

Since Catherine was on TV, and people know she’s already interning at the President’s Mansion, she’s become quite the ’big figure’ in the eyes of those originally around her.

Being able to meet Mr. President every day, isn’t that what a big figure is?

Therefore, some people want to build connections. If she can say a few good words in front of Mr. President, what can’t they achieve?

These changes also made Catherine briefly confused, but soon she found direction from the confusion. These people wanted to show warmth not because of her, but because of her job.

People live very realistically. Those who haven’t spoken to her strive to show themselves for even a trace of potential power. This is probably why people are so keen on power, right?

Everyone holds her high, and the feeling is not bad.

Soon after, the senior soldier returned with several portions of baked pastries, and the other bodyguards also got theirs.

Lynch is not a stingy employer. Everyone came to thank Mr. Lynch for his generosity, then took a piece and returned to their posts.

They can afford baked pastries, Catherine knows, everyone’s salary is enough for them to eat until they’re full, but these ’boss treats’ pastries aren’t so easy to eat; they’re not just pastries, they carry the goodwill of the boss.

It’s like... the President’s pastries, tasting them is an honor, a glory.

The two who achieved cheese freedom only ate the heart and the topping of the pastries, leaving the crust edges back in the paper box.

They watched TV, discussing some plots. Most of the time it was Catherine talking and Lynch listening; he doesn’t watch TV much.

Strangely, this scene seems to overlap with a certain moment in their past memories, where they lived in that small room, eating cheap junk food, and arguing red-faced over some TV plots.

Now they eat better and live in a better environment, but there’s no more noise.

A night passed without words.

The next day, after Lynch sent Catherine to work, he went to the financial center. After more than two months without seeing each other, Lime had already become much tamer.

Not believing Lynch caused him to suffer huge losses, he reinvested all the money he’d earned following Lynch.

This also made him realize one truth, that his experiences might have some use for the bottom tier in the financial field but are still too naive for the big players.

To circumvent risk, they split a company and then file for bankruptcy. Whether or not the other party files a lawsuit, they preemptively start legal proceedings, dragging the bankrupt company into court.

The company worth tens of millions, even billions just disappears like a bubble, popping at a touch.

Lime, who has always been at the bottom tier, had never seen this kind of play. Not only did he lose, but he lost miserably; this tuition wiped out all his efforts of the past two years.

Fortunately, he could actively recognize his mistakes and realign himself with Lynch; thus, he still had a place in Bupen.