Darkstone Code-Chapter 894 - 892: This Is Me

The room was very spacious.

How spacious?

Extremely spacious.

This is a place the Security Committee uses for events; in a room exceeding a thousand square meters, there are only five tables and six chairs.

Two high-ranking officials from the Security Committee, one senior officer from the Military Intelligence Bureau, one senior officer from the Ministry of Defense, and one senior executive from the Federation’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

An impressive lineup.

Lynch sat right in front of them, his expression showing no sign of unease, let alone panic.

Of course, the five people across from him wouldn’t just conclude that he was innocent just because he appeared particularly composed. They were all workers on the security front, and their acting skills far exceeded those so-called "Best Actors."

The first question from a senior official of the Security Committee was direct: Why didn’t you report the situation on the ship to security agencies to request assistance, but instead mobilized field personnel from Darkstone Security and had a manager named Lime from the Bubeen Brokerage Company, who has been missing ever since, set up a short position against Every Moment?

This was a question many people wanted to know the answer to. How did he make such an accurate judgment in the situation at the time, or did he actually know beforehand that the issue would erupt?

"Can I smoke?" Lynch pulled out a pack of cigarettes, holding a lighter worth millions; he might have been the only person on the ship not harmed.

Several hosts exchanged glances and nodded, permitting Lynch to smoke.

Though his movements were slow, there was a kind of charm in the way he lit the cigarette, taking a puff and exhaling gently.

The light blue smoke exhaled carried some yellow tones; this vast, sealed place didn’t disperse the smoke, but allowed it to slowly rise.

Invisible and intangible, changing shape continually during its upward ascent, unexpectedly, yet seemingly bound by some sort of rule.

"Actually, many people knew that something bad was going to happen; I was just one of them."

"The night before I sent the telegram, I encountered a fellow player in the casino who lost money and couldn’t afford to pay. The captain arranged for someone to apologize to me and covered the loss."

At this point, someone interjected, "Why would the captain do this? He could easily have just written you a check without saying these things."

Lynch looked at the questioner; it was someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

People from the Ministry of Internal Affairs... nobody likes them, not even themselves.

How should I put it, they’re the type to find bones in an egg. Clearly, things everyone else believes to be fine must be questioned repeatedly, even suggesting some bizarre assumptions — downright irritating.

"Though I don’t want to answer such a foolish question of yours, since I’m sitting here today, I’ll answer you."

"If the captain handed me a ticket directly, whether he had the authority to allocate company’s cash worth millions for settling gamblers’ debts between passengers is another matter."

"Even if he had the authority, he wouldn’t change that the signature on the check would be from Every Moment or the cruise liner, not an individual, which would still cause suspicion."

"You might not fully understand the mindset of people like us, who are rich — sensitive and fragile — such details might be noticed and could lead to potentially worse outcomes."

The official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs accepted Lynch’s explanation, jotting down notes in his notepad.

Lynch then continued, "Someone boarded the ship without authorization. After this person was discovered, the captain and the ship’s crew didn’t relax; instead, they monitored every public area more intensely."

"This suggests there’s likely more than one intruder on board. Gentlemen, what do you think is most likely to happen in such a situation?"

The members of the Security Committee felt Lynch’s analysis was logical and well-grounded: unexpected personnel got aboard and have remained hidden, implying their target wasn’t specific passengers but the cruise itself.

However, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had other thoughts, "Then how did you decide to short Every Moment? You didn’t know if issues would occur later."

This is the aspect where people find Lynch most suspicious; setting up a position in advance seems incredibly insightful.

Lynch wasn’t fazed, "In that situation, two scenarios were most likely."

He extended his right hand, signaling "one" with his fingers, "The first scenario: they find and capture those intruders, and then continue the voyage."

"The second scenario: they fail to find the intruders and must dock to conduct a thorough search."

"A criminal group with undefined intentions infiltrating a ship with over a hundred wealthy individuals?"

"Or due to the criminal group’s influence, Every Moment’s engagements might have to be suspended?"

"Either way, both scenarios would lead to a decline in Every Moment Company’s stock prices."

"I don’t believe my judgment exceeds the ’outline’ of people’s understanding of investments. If it does, then people’s understanding is simply too shallow."

One of the supervisors from the Security Committee raised his hand to cover his face as he turned his head, unable to stifle laughter — directly calling Ministry of Internal Affairs people shallow was... fantastic.

The official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs wasn’t affected; after jotting down a few more notes, he nodded, "Please continue."

Lynch took two more puffs of his cigarette and continued, "As for why I mobilized Darkstone Security, it’s because I believed I was in a certain kind of danger; the captain’s attitude was clearly reluctant to dock, so I had to call upon someone I considered trustworthy."

"All the communication content should be archived at the telegraph bureau; you should have already seen it."

The telegraph bureau’s messages wouldn’t be destroyed immediately; the content will be recorded in a ledger and possibly transferred for safekeeping at the end of each cycle but not destroyed, just transferred for safekeeping.

Years later, when the telegram contents lose legal efficacy, they would truly be destroyed, so they can be accessed.

With the first question resolved, the Security Committee official presented the second question.

"Mr. Lynch, why did you assist the robbers in extorting money from fellow passengers on the ship? Some say you were in cahoots with the robbers, or the robbers were under your command."

Lynch flicked the cigarette butt, sending sparks onto the ground not far away, "Nonsense."

"I was also a victim; facing robbers armed and already having killed many, what could I do?"

Lynch crossed his legs, showing none of the tension or panic a person being questioned would have, "In that situation, nobody knew how long we could live or whether the robbers would ultimately kill."

"So many people cooperating with the robbers, I personally believed when the robbers exceeded their planned time and achieved more profits, they might do something stupid."

"Whatever I did, it was for survival." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Since I couldn’t resist the armed personnel, I could only first join them and bide my time."

The Federation had a somewhat disdainful view of the rationale "if you can’t beat them, join them."

Those who love life and pursue freedom often have an inexplicable romantic sentiment and also heroism. They admire individuals who dared to resist despite facing power, rather than capitulating if they couldn’t win.

The officer from the Ministry of Defense frowned, "Don’t glorify such cowardly actions."

Lynch glanced at him, "May I know your name, sir?"

The Ministry of Defense officer was momentarily stunned, then closed his mouth.

Lynch spread his hands, paired with his expression, everyone knew he was conveying that moment — why don’t you try resisting?

In the eyes of Security Committee officials, this was normal, after all, Lynch was also a consultant for the Committee, and the method doesn’t matter, just the result does.

Security work has always been this way; one can’t let a spy go simply because she’s a sixteen-year-old and beautiful girl.

The attitude from the Military Intelligence Bureau officer was similar; in the special frontline, the idea of glory doesn’t matter as long as the goal is achieved; no one cares about the process.

As for the Ministry of Defense officer, the only word on his mind at that moment was — arrogance.

People from the Ministry of Internal Affairs made notes on Lynch’s characteristics, which will be archived and possibly supplemented later.

By the end, Lynch depicted himself as courageous and fearless through detailed descriptions, infiltrating the robber leader’s side without fearing criticism, subtly altering some potential extreme ideas, making important and crucial efforts for everyone’s survival.

He deserves commendation, not unwarranted accusations.

Finally, more than an hour-long hearing ended. Only those with certain qualifications could view specific hearing content.

Overall, nobody believed Lynch had any issues.

The Security Committee’s two supervisors approached Lynch in a corner while exiting, all three smoking.

"Quite a few people were dissatisfied with what you did on the ship, so they reported you; but we know you did nothing wrong."

"It’s just that for certain things, once raised, the process has to be completed, you need to understand that."

Lynch expressed his understanding, noting any dissatisfaction was towards those secretly reporting him behind the scenes.

The three exchanged a few more pleasantries and parted ways.

Upon returning to the hotel, a multitude of reporters had already gathered downstairs; many wealthy individuals resided at this nine o’clock spot.

They flocked towards Lynch upon seeing his arrival, fortunately, Lynch had several bodyguards with him.

Standing at the hotel entrance, facing the media reporters, he said something quite unexpected, "I’ll write about what I’ve been through this time, like the first ’Lynch’s Adventure,’ this will be the second adventure."

"If you want to know more detailed content, maybe this book will tell you."

After speaking, before those media reporters could react, Lynch headed into the hotel.

Upon returning to his room, someone was already waiting for him there.