Darkstone Code-Chapter 947 - 945: Countless Schemes

The salesperson who walked out of a roadside shop adjusted his attire and headed towards the store across the street. This was not the first store he had persuaded, nor would it be the last.

Shi Haoyun’s plan was simple: mobilize a sea of people strategy to make Every Moment lose in lawsuits.

If there were people suing Every Moment on every street in every city in every state, it would amount to a terrifyingly large number.

Every Moment would be unable to handle every lawsuit, and once the first lawsuit was won, there would be a second, a third, and many more.

Once there were enough successful lawsuits, these cases could even serve as important references for future similar trials — not every case requires a jury.

No one prepares a jury for minor cases like speeding or singing while urinating. Most non-criminal, non-major cases ultimately rest in the hands of the judge.

Breach of contract clearly falls into the category of cases that don’t require a jury. To avoid making mistakes, judges choose successful cases as the basis for their rulings — isn’t that very normal?

This was Shi Haoyun’s and other tobacco companies’ plan: to drag Every Moment, which was already in big trouble, into the abyss of litigation.

They couldn’t cope, and when they did, they’d find holes everywhere.

There’s never any room for leniency in wars between capitals. In the Federation, remember to wear spiked anti-slip shoes when you can crush your opponent to death.

After the salesperson left, a truck stopped outside the store, and two workers, led by a guy who looked a bit like a foreman, entered the shop.

"I’ll take all of these and all of Every Moment’s cigarettes..." The foreman-like guy took out a roll of twenty-dollar bills from his satchel, which was the largest denomination of currency in circulation at the moment.

This roll was at least a thousand or two thousand dollars, and there were still more he hadn’t taken out from his satchel.

The store owner’s reaction was somewhat sluggish as he was still thinking about something when the sudden visit of the trio snapped him back to reality.

"Huh? Ah! You mean... all of them?"

It was only now that he truly comprehended, "There are a lot here, you guys..."

"Selling to anyone is still selling, isn’t it?" The foreman-like guy smiled as he placed the roll of money on the counter.

Seeing that roll of money, the store owner’s breathing became a bit heavy. He thought that selling the goods and then purchasing a new batch shouldn’t be a problem.

Everyone said that by May or June, supply would be short, but now as long as there was money, they could still acquire some.

Business is all about selling goods to make profit. He didn’t hesitate for too long and went back to the warehouse to bring out the few reserved goods he had.

Altogether, it was slightly over three thousand dollars. The store owner had a bit of a smile on his face, having made over four hundred dollars in profit from this transaction.

This would ordinarily take over two months to earn.

Some of the distribution-supplied high-priced miscellaneous colors were also sold out. Overall, this transaction left the store owner very satisfied.

Eyeing the money in the foreman’s satchel a bit greedily, the store owner swallowed, "I have other brands of cigarettes here."

The foreman shook his head and waved goodbye, leaving with the two workers carrying large bags of tobacco.

The store owner felt something was amiss, but he had indeed profited.

After the big client left, he picked up the phone to order more stock from the distributor, but he received bad news — no stock left.

The tobacco products that were planned to be supplied until June were out of stock by mid-April.

The owner looked dazedly at the scene outside; he seemed to understand something.

The attack plan involving several tobacco companies was still proceeding methodically. For them, buying up large quantities of tobacco at market and wholesale prices was not a loss.

Because as long as these items are intact, their value won’t change significantly.

They could even return this tobacco to Every Moment for a refund using any random reason.

Even if some of the goods couldn’t be refunded (retail goods without receipts can’t be returned, but distributors with bulk trades have invoices for returns), once the time is right, they could discount these tobacco products and resell them in the market, minimizing their losses.

But since Every Moment ran out of stock earlier, there would be no goods flowing into the market for several months — this would be devastating, destructive for Every Moment.

The next day, some things naturally happened, such as someone inquiring if Every Moment’s cigarettes were available, and upon learning they weren’t, the person left.

The store owner quickly went to the door and watched as the guy walked to the opposite store, coming out later with a cigarette in his mouth, making him realize he needed to make a decision.

By noon, the salesperson came again. It didn’t take much persuasion before the store owner agreed to the salesperson’s proposal, although he had one question.

"Why is it in my name to sue Every Moment?" The shop owner was somewhat nervous about this. On one hand, he was just an ordinary person; on the other, it was a once multi-billion-dollar company.

In the capital society of the Federation, it’s impossible not to feel afraid.

"Because you are one of the main subjects of the lawsuit. Your interests have been violated. You need to voice out for yourself, as only you will care about your rights. Others won’t!"

"If you don’t even have the courage to speak out for yourself, who can you expect to help you?"

Ultimately, in a half-persuaded, half-voluntary manner, the shop owner hesitantly signed his name on the power of attorney contract.

Meanwhile, Lynch had already returned to Bupen. An increasing number of legal notices and court summonses were being delivered to Every Moment’s legal department.

They could ignore them, but they could not be absent when the local court convened.

Lynch sat steadily in the president’s office, surrounded by a bunch of company executives.

Those with relatively higher status stood inside the office, while those with lower status stood outside. Everyone knew that the company was in big trouble, possibly even threatening its very foundation.

People looked quietly at Lynch, and Lynch looked at a court summons in his hand.

After reading it, he showed it to everyone, "This is a court summons with a postmark from last week, but it only appeared in our company mailbox today. Our competitors have used some rather disreputable means."

Such tactics are indeed quite disgraceful, but... quite common.

When the plaintiff sues the defendant, the court will notify the defendant in writing, asking them to attend the trial within a specified time.

If the defendant ignores the summons and lawsuit, then at the trial time, they will bear responsibility in absentia—this is what usually happens unless the plaintiff’s allegations are utterly ridiculous.

Does this mean that as long as the other party doesn’t show up, the judge can give the plaintiff the result they desire, based solely on the plaintiff’s attorney’s statement, without the defense attorney’s argument?

Yes, exactly.

The court might even fine the absent defendant a few hundred bucks, citing contempt of court.

There was once a real estate company and some residents in a community. They couldn’t resolve a demolition issue, so they sued the residents.

They then used some small tricks, like tampering with the postal truck.

The Federation, being a country with a standard work system, wouldn’t have the mailman deliver letters on a bicycle when the truck broke down. It took a week to fix the vehicle—an afternoon to repair it, and the rest of the time was spent applying for repair expenses.

By the time the summons reached the residents, the court had already made a ruling in favor of the real estate company.

Those residents wanted to appeal but didn’t have much money. In the end, they could only sign a contract not very beneficial to them and moved out of their homes. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

In the Federation, capitalists have countless ways to squeeze profits from their targets, and this is just the most common method.

But it’s also very effective.

"I have more than a dozen unopened summonses here. They’re likely all of the same content, sent about a week ago, yet only arriving in my hands now."

"Our opponents have used very despicable tactics trying to snatch victory and glory from my hands, and we absolutely cannot let them succeed."

Lynch pondered for a moment and then looked at the legal department head, "Do we have any countermeasures?"

The legal department head thought for a while and shook his head, "The only thing we can do is delay the trial time by claiming excessive litigation. In reality, we still need to handle every lawsuit, which definitely doesn’t meet your expectations, Mr. Lynch."

Lynch was talking about "counterattack," which, unlike defense, is more aggressive.

Lynch furrowed his brow, "What if we ignore these lawsuits..."

The legal department head replied, "There’s a high chance we’ll lose every lawsuit, face huge compensations, and also lose some of the company’s previous designs."

If Every Moment loses the "Counter One" advantage, their competitiveness in the lower market will obviously decline. Those tobacco companies have found Every Moment’s current weakness.

The terminal distribution was Every Moment’s magic weapon to win, and also a lasso to bring them down!

Lynch suddenly looked up, "We haven’t specified when we must supply, have we?" he asked, looking at the legal department head, "Is there a standard contract?"

If the contract doesn’t mention the supply method and deadline each year, then these lawsuits are clearly inappropriate. Supplies can be delivered at the last minute according to the contract without violating its terms.

The legal department head seemed to realize this too, "I’m not sure, I’ll go check immediately..."