Darkstone Code-Chapter 940 - 938: Investment

"I’ve always wanted to visit the Federation." On the luxury cruise, the young Count lay on a recliner, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and large shorts.

On the table beside him were some iced fruit juices, not far away some girls were frolicking.

A few people were sitting around him.

Further away, some security guards with rifles patrolled back and forth.

The incident of dozens of Federation tycoons being hijacked at sea had spread throughout the world. Now, the tycoons were immensely concerned about their security. For the Gafura merchant group’s visit to the Federation, not only had they arranged ample guards aboard the cruise ship, but they also had a warship escorting them.

The young Count deliberately changed out of the formal attire that he was fed up with, and donned the irreverent goods from the Federation — short sleeves and large shorts.

This kind of attire was simply sinful in Gafura, even the lowlifes in the sewers wouldn’t dress in such a ghastly manner.

But undoubtedly, this attire was incredibly comfortable.

The young Count felt very leisurely, as the sea breeze blew, he sensed a different kind of life slowly appearing in his existence.

Those around him were also members of the merchant group; these new aristocrats followed Lynch’s advice, abandoning developing in Gafura and instead heading to the Amelia Region.

In Amelia, they finally witnessed the power of capital — after removing all shackles on capital, its development speed surpassed everyone’s expectations.

Initially, they needed Lynch to remotely control how they competed with the Federation people; it sounded quite unbelievable, because Lynch was a Federation man, and a main member of the Federation Merchant Group in Amelia, directing Gafura people to compete with Federation people. Was he betraying his country?

No!

Of course not.

Not only did he not betray his country, but he was very patriotic.

Gafura’s capital had always been bound by power, so its development to this day had turned into a twisted monster.

Power could wantonly manipulate the market, which clearly violated the market’s free behavior intentions, a foolish approach.

Rather than loosely binding Amelia Region’s capital, they would absorb a large amount of "moisture" and expand, reverting to their original form.

Then they would take what they mastered back to Gafura’s homeland, creating a storm.

People around him agreed; there was no choice, among this group, the young Count had the highest noble rank, he was the wealthiest, and he was closest with Lynch, so he had to be respected.

This was the most notable gap between Gafura and the Federation; if such a thing happened in the Federation, even if people couldn’t refute someone, they would retain their opinions, they wouldn’t cater nor express any stance.

This is the right granted by the Federation Charter, to preserve one’s attitude and opinions, no one can force them to do or act a certain way.

But in Gafura, failing to express one’s stance in time implies having opposing thoughts, which is dangerous. Issues among peers can be glossed over, but with a significant disparity, it could be fatal.

Don’t assume all nobles are magnanimous; there are many petty nobles. There have been real cases where nobles, jealous because their wives glanced at others, sparked war, let alone someone expressing their views and others not expressing a stance.

Someone raised some thoughts, "Does Mr. Lynch know we’re heading over this time?"

The young Count shook his head, "He didn’t know before, now he should know. I want to give him a surprise!"

The young Count’s perception of Lynch was very strange. When one person idolizes another, they gradually lose themselves — note, it’s idolization.

The word idolize carries certain religious and ceremonial connotations, blindly following a certain attitude, a certain will, or even a certain person.

In the young Count’s view, Lynch’s origin was poor, his growing environment was poor, he virtually had no capital. Yet, this one person developed to the point where even he had to look up to him.

The key thing is, they are of the same age.

This gave him a false impression of "if my peer can do well, so can I," then madly idolizing everything Lynch says, and Lynch continuously nourishes these idolizing tales through success.

Until Lynch made a significant mistake, the young Count wouldn’t question Lynch’s decisions.

As for some little issues between Lynch and his mother?

It’s quite normal for two adults to have some needs, plus they weren’t planning to marry, nor intended to give him a new brother or sister, there’s no need to obstruct.

Nobles, especially grand nobles, live far more absurd lives than this, this is nothing!

Pondering these matters, the young Count sipped from his juice cup, the icy juice flowing into his belly, cooling his slightly overheated body under the early summer sun. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

They began discussing recent profits, everyone was making money, and quite a lot of it.

With various policies facilitating stability in the Amelia Region, a large number of Nagariel people diluted the local people’s socio-cultural weight.

In addition, Nagariel people love to complain, tattle; even when a dangerous tendency arises, it can be promptly extinguished.

People began to yearn for stable work and living conditions; war and confrontation left them utterly exhausted, they wished to quickly return to their past lives.

Various reconstruction projects and emerging enterprises and factories have provided these people with an extremely stable life.

The economic development speed of the Amelia Region far surpasses that of Gafura’s mainland, and Gafura’s initial inland strategy is now beginning to take effect.

The economic boom allowed the new generation of nobles who first arrived here to make money. They already had power, and now they have money. When the Alchemist placed a flask full of power on the reactor and poured a catalyst named "wealth," something terrible quickly reacted and spread around.

After another two days of travel, the luxury cruise ship docked at the southern port.

As soon as the young Count disembarked, he was a little surprised. With a full smile, he quickly walked forward, even forgetting to support his mother.

"Lynch, it’s so good to see you!"

Lynch rolled his eyes, "If they hadn’t escorted me to the train station and brought me here, I might have said the same!"

"I’ll take that as a joke!" The young Count laughed loudly, "You’re really humorous!" he added.

Lynch couldn’t help but laugh out loud in the end, and the two hugged.

When Mr. Truman heard that these Gafura people were coming for a commercial visit, the first person he thought of was Lynch.

Lynch had a good relationship with the young Count, and the security agencies were unsure of the purpose of these visitors, as well as having other considerations, so Mr. Truman named Lynch to receive them.

And for such a commercial reception, it would obviously be inappropriate to send high-ranking officials.

"Hello, Baron." The young Count’s mother approached, extending her hand. Lynch kissed her hand on the back of her fingers.

"Hello, Madam." His solemn demeanor had not a hint of youthful frivolity; he always found the most appropriate way in any situation.

Then there were other members of the merchant group. These nobles, who couldn’t develop back on their homeland and were driven to the Special Zone, were completely different from when Lynch last saw them.

Everyone’s spirits were high, and the change in wealth had the greatest impact on people.

There’s a saying, "Wealth is the foundation of a person’s courage," a statement that may not be entirely accurate, but it makes sense.

Without money, people are reluctant to participate in others’ social events.

You can’t always eat and drink at others’ social events; you also need to host similar events of the same level to get better feedback from the noble community.

But without money, what can be done?

The only option is to reduce the frequency and scale of social engagements, which is why poorer nobles become poorer, and it also leads to another behavior—

The poorer they are, the more extravagant and wasteful they become.

Many people don’t understand this, but the former has already lost the opportunity for contact, while the latter is desperately trying to seize any chance they can.

These new generation nobles, driven out, now have money and confidence, and their spirits are entirely different from before.

Everyone was warmly greeting each other, and even the officials sent by the Federation Government wanted to come up and greet them, but they did not receive a welcoming response.

Facing Lynch, the nobles were all smiles, but with a stern face, they became difficult to approach, as if their smiles were merely an illusion.

Seated in the car, the young Count sat beside Lynch.

"I read the report. Do you have any concrete plans for this visit?"

The report stated that the purpose of the visit was a commercial one, exploring and learning about the Federation’s advanced free market structures and possibly investing locally.

This was also one of the reasons Lynch was arranged to be here. The Federation currently lacks money and investment, and the development speed means more places urgently need nourishment.

A group of Gafura native nobles came with money; would they leave without leaving some behind?

No!

After asking, Lynch looked at the young Count, who didn’t have anything to hide. "Have a look around and invest in some industries, as a form of insurance."

"Insurance?" Lynch repeated the word, with a tone of deliberation.

The young Count nodded briefly, without elaborating; this was not the place for such a talk.

He skipped over this topic and continued, "Besides that, I’ve heard the Federation’s film industry is developing very rapidly, so we plan to visit Laridemo, and perhaps invest in some film companies there."

He had done his homework before coming. The film industry was one of the most rapidly growing industries in the Federation in recent years.

As long as one has a bit of sense, not to mention substantial profits, there isn’t much risk of losing the investment, which has led to a large influx of hot money into the sector.

New films are constantly being produced, and the film industry is experiencing unprecedented prosperity, much like the Federation before the Great Depression a few years ago!