Darkstone Code-Chapter 807 - 805: Idle Chatter

The new year was quite a decent one for the Federation, which saw some signs of economic recovery. At least people weren’t as lifeless as in previous years, almost as if they were walking dead.

Now the employment rate has risen significantly, although there is still about a ten percent average unemployment rate, yet it is much better than the previous two years. People are very grateful to the Federation Government.

Having some money in hand meant it was bound to be a lively night, and the skies over Bupen were abuzz throughout the night.

There were sounds of firecrackers everywhere, and groups of people in bizarre celebratory costumes parading down the streets.

The Federation people have a peculiar mindset; if they encounter something unhappy, like a threat to their freedom or infringement of their rights, they express their demands and dissatisfaction through parades.

But if they face a joyous occasion and want to share their happiness with others, they also express their attitude and stance through parades.

This makes it somewhat... peculiar. It’s hard to say whether parades are a good or bad thing.

Anyway, the good thing is that their mode of expression is not shooting someone, which would lead to silly incidents like "I shot him because I was too happy."

After everyone watched some shows, Serra and Koman went to the room on the second floor, Nell let the two girls go to the guest room, and he continued chatting with Lynch.

Father and son each held a glass of wine, sitting in the attic, gazing at the bustling city below the mountain, surrounded by the aura of wealth, which made everything feel particularly tranquil.

"I thought even if you didn’t beat him up, you wouldn’t talk to him..." Lynch swivelled the wine glass and took a shallow sip.

They had already drunk some, feeling a bit tipsy.

Nell looked puzzled, "Why would you think that? Am I such a violent person?"

He might have forgotten that he really was a violent person. Back when he was still just a worker, he seldom reasoned with people because he was exhausted.

Some people couldn’t understand why a man, when tired, couldn’t reason with others, especially women couldn’t understand.

"It’s just physical exhaustion, what’s wrong with speaking a few words?"

But they could never comprehend that the fatigue was not just physical; it was also mental.

The heavy workload was only a part of the fatigue; the other part was the gloomy and hopeless future where every day repeated the previous day’s monotony.

Waking up in the morning, eating a breakfast that was neither tasty nor awful but certainly tiresome, then going to work until it was completely dark, returning to have the same unremarkable dinner.

The physical exhaustion and unrecognized despair engulfed everyone, who trudged slowly on a fragile tightrope.

At such times, arguing was not as direct or effective as throwing a punch, a way to vent an inner sense of impotent anger.

So don’t reason with a man when he’s tired unless women want to end the relationship or get a beating.

Nell was such a person back then, resolving matters with his fists. That’s how Lynch remembered Nell, but now he seemingly forgot about his past self. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He looked at Lynch, who remained silent, and suddenly burst into laughter, "Was I really that awful...?"

After laughing for a while, he stopped, downed a heavy gulp of wine, accompanied by a heavy sigh, releasing the alcohol imbued breath from his belly, "Really, it’s nothing, just that using force against a minor character feels embarrassing."

He shut his mouth tightly after speaking, which was indeed his most sincere thought, feeling that the prior actions made him appear disgraceful, which seemed foolish.

He wondered why he would have such thoughts; had it been in the past, he would never think, let alone act, this way.

With the help of some alcohol, he pondered why he transformed into someone so unfamiliar even to himself.

Lynch nodded, "Money is indeed a good thing; all the missing aspects during poverty slowly emerge with wealth, even to completion."

"Education, quality, character... the more you lack, the more these things flourish."

Nell appeared puzzled, "Is it... just because we have money now?"

Lynch nodded, still bewildered, "Does money have such a large impact?"

It was like asking Lynch, but more so questioning himself.

Money indeed had a massive impact; at least he couldn’t see his former self anymore, not the man who dragged his exhausted feet back from the factory, occasionally oversimplifying problems.

He started discussing investments, economy, finance; things he could not even dream of before became part of his life now.

He shook his head, casually picked up a pack of cigarettes from the ground, lit one, and slowly inhaled and exhaled, "I’ve had a rather dull life these years with your mother; she now feels she found happiness, and even if I don’t bless her, I won’t make trouble."

"Besides, he’s not a jerk..."

It seemed that Nell also investigated Koman; apart from somewhat dissolute private life, there weren’t major flaws in terms of character and morality.

Even the private life issues were primarily to earn more money, maintaining some ambiguous relations with female clients.

If Serra could help him earn more, his private life would become clean and orderly.

Nell puffed again, "And she hasn’t said anything about me, hasn’t she?"

Mentioning this made Nell slightly proud, "Did you see that kid’s eyes almost popping out? I’m actually the winner!"

Nell was already in his forties, yet the two girls he brought back with him looked barely in their twenties, about Lynch’s age.

Their skin tone might be slightly darker compared to Federation people, given Nagariel’s proximity to the Equatorial line, but disregarding that, they were remarkably pretty by Federation standards.

He brought back two girls at once, making Koman almost wish to trade places with Nell.

After the Federation took the lead in Nagariel, society quickly developed an ideology, where Federation people were held in high esteem; the men took pride in working for Federation people, able to earn wages.

Girls, on the other hand, took pride in getting close to Federation people, even being a lover offered better treatment than working or marrying a local native in Nagariel.

Good food, drinks, spending money without working; if not for Nell being overly picky and not wanting to die from exhaustion in bed, he could easily find more.

After some casual chatting between father and son, Nell abruptly said, "Your uncle wants to work with me..."

Lynch was momentarily nonplussed, "Which uncle?"

Nell was not an only child; he had a brother and a sister.

The sister married many years ago, never to be contacted again; for girls from impoverished families, marrying was sometimes more like a transaction.

Once married off, she wouldn’t contact them anymore, as if the child never existed.

Nell’s brother seldom contacted him, even in the past the frequency was low; after all, none of them had much wealth, being hardworking laborers made frequent contacts unaffordable.

If not absolutely necessary, they tried to avoid contact, thus saving some money on gifts.

Speaking of gifts, this was also the most inexplicable aspect of Federation culture; visiting or contacting someone for whatever reason required specific gifts, governed by a set of rules.

Regardless of someone’s hardship or familial relationship, the gift-giving wasn’t omitted, even visits between siblings required gifts.

As for private contacts, not being formal visits, everyone avoided them as it often signified the person had some needs like borrowing money.

These recent years, Nell’s brother hadn’t contacted him, mentioning him suddenly left Lynch momentarily puzzled—only for a second or two.

"I recall now, you’re an independent boss, you can choose to hire or not hire him, make the decision as you please."

Nell breathed a sigh of relief; Lynch was indeed his son, but the family’s circumstances changed because of Lynch’s personal transformations, leaving him somewhat lacking confidence when facing Lynch.

Fortunately, Lynch gave him enough respect as long as he acted appropriately.

Lynch could somewhat understand some of Nell’s thoughts, having skills now and wanting to pull close relatives along for financial opportunities; the intention was good, yet people often overlooked the role of interests.

Lynch once knew a boss whose business wasn’t small, but many relatives from his clan approached him.

Born in a region with strong clan values, he couldn’t refuse all requests from his clan, and ultimately devised an amusing approach.

Setting up a few warehouses, establishing a fleet to transport non-productive raw materials back and forth.

He’d rather spend several hundred thousand yearly to support the clan than let them into the company; not due to wealth or ruthlessness but the inherent segregation of kinship by capital.

Sometimes even blood relatives can’t be fully trusted!

If that uncle performs well, that’s fine; if not, engaging in arguments might permanently rupture the relationship.

Some experiences are necessary to understand how brutal the world can be to people!

After finishing their drink, the night deepened, the two supported each other down the attic, retreating to their rooms for a good night’s sleep.