Darkstone Code-Chapter 810 - 0808 Another Party
The party hosted by the President was said to be a party, but in fact, it was more like a small ceremony to stabilize people’s hearts.
Stabilizing others’ hearts also stabilizes one’s own heart.
Every presidential election is quite a fascinating event. Before the results are released, no one dares to confidently claim they will surely win.
History has witnessed presidents with seventy to eighty percent public approval ratings inexplicably losing the election, so until the last moment, if the fruits of victory aren’t tightly grasped, it’s best not to become complacent.
The President hopes to use such a party to convey some truths to the people.
I have not forgotten our agreement, and I hope you all continue to support me.
Look at how many people are supporting me, supporting me is your best choice!
This is the attitude the President wants to express.
Lynch spent the entire afternoon and evening after dinner casually chatting about some unimportant matters with people; of course, he mostly listened to the President sharing some news, both internal and external government news.
People often ponder why the wealthy continue to get richer?
Because they have access to higher levels of society and can rapidly acquire more crucial information.
Take Bupen’s redevelopment plans, for example.
Every president, once in office, is bound to undertake some "vanity project" to manifest their presence, nearly every president has done this.
The President also plans to do the same, "Bupen’s current urban planning can’t keep up with the development speed of the city, so I have some ideas."
"If I can win the election..." he said with a smile, "Of course, that’s an inevitable result. Once I’ve won and taken office, I plan to make this place look..."
He suddenly fell silent and after a moment made a meaningless "um" sound, as if contemplating the right way to express himself.
"...more in line with the heart of a world power. We need to reflect Bupen’s domestic and international standing so that when people think of Bupen, there’s a distinct feeling."
"I don’t know if you all understand what I mean..."
Everyone enthusiastically nodded, and Lynch chimed in at this moment, "The World Capital!"
The President’s face lit up with a smile, he clapped his hands and pointed at Lynch, "See, I knew someone could grasp my idea, yes, Lynch, The World Capital, that’s a good term!"
He finished speaking and laughed heartily; it seems adjusting Bupen’s city planning isn’t just a trivial undertaking, but the President’s ambitions go beyond this.
He wants to transform Bupen into one of the world’s most successful cities, so that in the future, everyone thinking of him would recall him and his term in the Federation.
He would be written into textbooks, and this isn’t a simple entry into history but becomes essential knowledge for every Federation citizen’s growth.
Upon hearing the President’s words, some party participants’ expressions subtly changed; if a city undergoes significant changes, that means profit.
Building a road, constructing a building, erecting a bridge, all these entail money.
Someone asked, "President, is there already a preliminary plan or intent in place?"
"Maybe in these matters, we can offer help within our capabilities!"
That’s the secret of why the rich get richer; while others remain unaware of what the future holds, they are already actively devising plans.
Before rainwater condenses into droplets falling from the sky, these capitalists have stuffed the clouds into their bellies.
"Not yet!", the President quickly replied, "I just have the thought, specifics of how to do it and what to do need time, right now our primary task is to ensure electoral victory."
The party resumed its leisurely mood, but everyone already harbored other thoughts.
Whether it’s the President’s "bait" or his "reward" to everyone, this might be a large project at least in the scale of several billion.
Redeveloping and expanding Bupen isn’t a simple task; the urgent need is to buy large plots of land around the area, preparing to be acquired by the government or sold to other investors.
Lynch was also contemplating this matter; he feels there’s maneuverability in the plan.
On January 2nd of the new year, after the public holiday ended, people began working again, and Bupen felt no different from yesterday, the day before, or any day gone or to come.
Pedestrians hurriedly walked the streets with briefcases, unable to stop for a moment’s respite — this is the survival rule in the Federation’s core city.
"You may die, but please dig your own grave and lie down without wasting others’ time, and indeed, without wasting your own!"
Here, walking slower than others is a kind of fault; it’s likely that if one salesperson arrives at a client before the other, the latter faces sleeping on the streets for the month.
Time is money; nowhere else illustrates the true meaning of this mantra more than here.
Lynch thought he could rest for a few days, but surprisingly, Fox reached out with a call, extending New Year’s greetings and invited him to a party.
"I’m in Bupen now; if your party is too far from me, I won’t attend.", Lynch didn’t promise he’d definitely go.
If they held a party in Laridemo, even if he intended to go, it would be too late.
"No, no, Lynch, the party is in Bupen. If you’re willing to come, I’ll arrange a car to pick you up."
"Bupen?", Lynch was slightly surprised, "Whatever, what kind of party?"
Fox’s tone suddenly transformed to become slightly... curious, "An interesting party; you definitely won’t regret it!"
It seemed like a very intriguing matter, and Lynch agreed without much consideration.
Soon after, a car appeared outside the villa, and Lynch got in with Austin, while other bodyguards followed in other cars.
Even though Federation Government data indicates Bupen has the lowest crime rate in the entire Federation, nobody dares to guarantee the misfortune of such low probability won’t choose them.
Two years ago Bupen witnessed a serial attack incident. The perpetrator was a middle-aged worker who became unemployed and was evicted for failing to pay his mortgage. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
His wife also left him because he couldn’t provide her with even a minimal shelter; in despair, he began to resent and attack wealthy individuals.
Then, more than a dozen wealthy people endured varied degrees of assault and injury, with the most severe victim left with permanent disability.
Such a case should’ve concluded with the harshest punishment, regardless of whether he killed anyone; attacking the rich is even more terrifying than insulting the President, the rich wouldn’t allow him to live.
Social opinion predicted this outcome too, but unexpectedly, all the affluent assault victims chose to forgive him.
But due to his excessively inappropriate actions, even with victims’ forgiveness, he was sentenced to ten years.
Social opinion thus shifted a bit, considering that wealthy individuals aren’t necessarily bad people — if they saw the attacker struggle to live or die in prison, they wouldn’t think so.
The rich merely extended him hope; if the sentence had been excessively long, like hundreds of years or life imprisonment, he might’ve chosen extreme measures.
Yet with a short sentence of ten years, plus the possibility of parole, hope allows people more resilience.
Affluent individuals paid for his transfer to private prison facilities, offered a specialized medical team, ensuring nothing went wrong.
Then came endless torment.
Since then, wealthy people prioritize their security, always accompanied by bodyguards.
The car carrying Lynch rapidly moved toward the Bay Area; Bupen, being a coastal city, actually lay slightly inland from the shoreline.
Two years ago at the end of the previous year, in the beginning of last year, a guy from Bupen proposed the idea of constructing islands in the Inner Sea Bay.
Initially Lynch thought the guy aimed to swindle money — some people find such projects interesting, and investments by the rich often appear somewhat perplexing — later Lynch too invested.
But then the guy didn’t flee; he proceeded to truly build artificial islands, more shockingly, it wasn’t simply a matter of completion.
After approximately forty minutes of travel, the car finally arrived at the edge of the Inner Sea Bay, and from inside the vehicle, Lynch noticed the distant island on the sea’s horizon.
It looked like a monster rising from the sea floor resting quietly on the water; from afar, one could vaguely see workers and machinery operating, with large ships transporting construction materials on the sea.
Sitting beside Lynch, Austin curiously glanced at the Inner Sea Bay; she wasn’t very sensitive to such things, only looked for a few moments before averting her gaze.
Lynch’s destination for the trip was a high-end community located in the Inner Bay, where Fox held the party.
The Haiwan District belonged to the wealthy; key to affluent areas was their dislike of disturbances, making the whole Haiwan District seem not very lively, rather serene, with few pedestrians alongside vehicles.
Upon arrival, Fox was already waiting at the door for Lynch. Seeing Lynch alight from the car, he immediately went to greet him.
"Lynch, it’s great you could come!", He extended his hand and shook Lynch’s.
"What’s the party for?", As Fox led the way, Lynch headed into the villa.
Fox did not conceal further, "To celebrate the company’s last year’s profits surpassing expectations!"
