Darkstone Code-Chapter 907 - 905: Daily Life
"Investigate, don’t let anyone get away!"
The chairman of the Security Committee paced back and forth, with some glass shards still on the ground. His military boots crushed those small glass shards as he walked over them.
Military boots are designed to counter some nasty tactics, such as laying a rusty nail net on the ground and scattering soil over it.
Such a scene occurred during this world war, where Gafura’s army was driven back by those nails just as they landed.
This also led to the discovery of a terrible terminal disease, for which there is currently no specific medication - Rust Disease.
Once rusty metal pierces the human body, it can leave behind a deadly bacteria. This bacteria does not stay dormant for long; once activated, it takes people’s lives.
Until now, the Federation’s medical group has not found any way to snatch patients back from the Death God, not even to delay the time of death.
The only thing that can be done is to quickly cut open the wound and clean the skin after rusty metals pierce it.
To ensure that federation soldiers don’t encounter these issues, the military purchase included "protective military boots," which have steel plates embedded on the soles and front.
If you kick a wall hard while wearing these boots, you might leave a shallow dent in it, let alone some glass shards.
In places where people cannot feel it, following a slightly hair-raising screech, the Committee Chairman stood before them.
"I demand a massive sweep across the entire Federation; all of you, leave your offices and head to the front line to find those damned spies!"
"We cannot bear such humiliation. This is the most direct insult to your career. You allowed a Gafura spy to board a ship with critical intelligence and escape!"
"Then you must pay the price for your stupidity. I demand that after this operation, there should be no more leaks in the short term."
"The name of this operation..."
"Let’s call it Thunderstorm!"
...
In the morning, Lynch climbed out of bed. Not long after waking up, Mr. Truman called him.
"The airplane intelligence has already been leaked," Mr. Truman’s voice revealed his helplessness, as this was an unexpected turn of events.
The most ridiculous part was that the intelligence leaked from a legislator’s hands. The Security Committee, Military Intelligence Bureau, and Ministry of Internal Affairs had conducted comprehensive assessments, not considering this a targeted leak.
It is very likely that a Gafura spy accidentally discovered this intelligence during routine data collection, leading to the leak.
Nonetheless, both the Security Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs initiated a new round of cleansing, their last sweep having occurred two years ago.
The atmosphere on the domestic secret front suddenly became fierce. This period will become one of those times in Federation history with the most unsolved mysteries.
Many news pieces will soon emerge to confuse the public’s view, such as claims about alien appearances.
After all, only the tale of "aliens attacking Blue Star" can convince the public that their neighbors’ sudden disappearance overnight was not a government conspiracy, but an alien abduction.
"I think I understand how this happened. Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
Lynch’s tone did not disclose any surprise or anxiety, as if he knew this outcome was inevitable.
Mr. Truman sighed as well, knowing the airplane would eventually be exposed. The reason was simple – the airplane needed approval from the military budget.
Congress is like a sieve; nothing can be hidden, whether from domestic forces or foreign entities.
Once the spies hiding within the Federation discover this budget, ultimately, they can uncover some intelligence from it.
However... no one expected the intelligence to be leaked this quickly, within just a few days.
"To prevent some people from disturbing you, the Security Committee has raised your security level and the research center’s safety level, so..."
"We’ll assign two security personnel to be by your side; they won’t affect your daily work and life."
"Additionally, you need to consider the future development plan for the research center. If there’s no accident, many spies will try to infiltrate your research center."
After Gafura received the intelligence, the Ministry of Defense and the President had an urgent meeting. The President was very shocked by the rapid leak, and they discussed another possibility.
Since the information cannot be hidden, why not directly disclose it to the world?
In doing so, expressing the Federation’s sincerity in promoting world peace processes -
Look, we openly release information about new weaponry, so shouldn’t you disclose some top-secret weapons too?
Perhaps a representative exchange group could visit various countries for military research, to see if there’s anything of value.
This somewhat unexpected suggestion received affirmative feedback from the President, who agreed in principle, though nothing was finalized yet.
The core technology of the airplane is with Lynch, so some cooperation from him is necessary for certain matters.
Just like previous and current arms races, fake and real data can trap people deep in the mire.
It’s all fake. No one is a fool. Experts just need to look at the data to have a rough idea in their minds.
If it’s all real, then they really are fools.
Lynch is particularly skilled in this area, and if he could cooperate, the effect would be even better.
"It’s not a big deal. I’ll implement this matter as soon as possible. Also..." he paused, "when arranging for special agents, remember to arrange for females. You know, sometimes certain things are inconvenient for men to be present."
Lynch’s private life has always been a mystery. The public is very interested in his private life, like the Royal Princess of Gafura, the female heir of the Federation’s financial oligarchy, the young rising movie star, and the intern at the President’s Mansion hailed as the "Flower of the People"...
Everyone loves to see news related to Lynch. He’s handsome, witty, humorous, and most importantly, he doesn’t exhibit the "perfect" facade like traditional politicians or capitalists.
He doesn’t wear the somewhat rigid traditional suits, comb his hair meticulously, or pull out a pocket watch to check the time.
He would curse at people in the media, and directly express or even vent his emotions.
He never hides his preferences; he likes hanging out with pretty girls but always keeps a distance from unattractive ones, never insincerely approaching these people for some ulterior motive.
Authenticity is the label society has given Lynch, and that’s enough for people to like him. In this world filled with pretenses and falseness, there’s always a need for something different.
It’s just... sometimes the scale is indeed not suitable for men to be present.
"I’ll make the arrangements as best as I can. Also, the budget is out. Call the Ministry of Defense later and give them your account number."
"When will it be credited, and how much will it be?" Lynch was quite concerned about that; money is always a good thing!
Moreover, he just spent tens of millions, although he officially claimed it was over a hundred million to temporarily stabilize Every Moment’s stock price.
He doesn’t have much cash without a target right now, and this sum could solve his problems.
"The first batch is about fifteen million or so. More will follow in three to five installments..."
The Federation is no fool, and neither is the Ministry of Defense. They can’t just give all the money to those contractors at once; every budget is released in batches.
Initially, it will account for about five to fifteen percent of the total amount. After the Ministry of Defense sees the impact of the money, they’ll continue to allocate funds according to the plan.
There were people in the Federation who used such methods to continuously defraud the Ministry of Defense. The more money they invested, the less likely the Ministry of Defense would terminate the project, and eventually, the unlucky fellow met a grim fate.
Not long after hanging up the phone, two beautiful female special agents arrived outside Lynch’s house.
Lynch even suspected that Mr. Truman had anticipated his "needs" early on, thus directly arranging for two female special agents to come over.
After a brief introduction, getting to know their roles, and sending his account number to the Ministry of Defense, Lynch drove to the outskirts to the research institute.
The research institute is now quite different from some time ago. About a kilometer away from the research institute, Lynch noticed workers on both sides of the road installing barbed wire.
Undoubtedly, this wasn’t arranged by him. If he remembered correctly, this land currently doesn’t belong to him.
Purchasing land or opening up wasteland in the Federation is not an easy task.
As long as someone develops wasteland outside the city planning area, they can obtain the ownership of the land, which is why there are many large farm owners in the remote areas of the Federation.
Mechanized land development allows them to own large tracts of land quickly, but not everyone is suited to reclamation.
Depending on the region and its laws, land development requires bearing "costs" too.
For every certain area, one needs to provide between two to two hundred jobs. In simpler terms, although the land ownership is obtained through development, responsibilities must also be assumed, such as providing job positions for society.
Bupen is obviously the best area within the Federation, and the "costs" here aren’t cheap. Even Lynch, when mapping out land to build factories, didn’t dare to act recklessly.
Previously, some tried to buy land before the expansion of the Bupen city circle, hoping for appreciation and eventual riches. Sadly, they were ultimately dragged down completely by a group of workers.
Currently, the minimum wage line in Bupen is close to 287 yuan, with actual wages typically ranging from 350 to 450, which is considered low-level pay.
If City Hall arranges for 500 people for Lynch, even if each person receives a bit less, say 400 yuan, adding insurance, benefits, and meals that Lynch provides,
Each person’s monthly expense is about 600 yuan, and for 500 people, the salary alone totals 300,000.
This also results in land development leading to land ownership rights, but still, no one is willing to casually develop land because they can’t afford the extra "costs."
The vehicle quickly passed this stretch of road, and Lynch’s eyes shifted from the barbed wire, hoping City Hall would cover these "costs."
And not him.
There’s a famous saying among capitalists in the Federation —
"I can afford a million-dollar luxury car but can’t support a hundred workers!"
Of course, there’s also the second part of the saying —
"Unless I can exploit them!"
