Darkstone Code-Chapter 989 - 987: The Meeting

In a dimly lit room, Sanchez sat on the sofa watching TV, his arm and half of his chest wrapped in bandages, with some red spreading outward from within.

The injuries were severe, but the emergency care was timely, and he survived.

Now the Mariluo people are looking for him, the Mallory people are also looking for him, almost everyone is looking for him.

The Mariluo people believe he wants to eliminate the sins that the Mallory people have imposed on them over the years through racial integration; they consider Sanchez to be a sinful bastard and a liar.

He’s just an executioner, having personally killed many Mariluo people, and now he’s started pretending to be a good guy. The Mariluo people reject his ideas and want to kill him to prove his foolishness and wrongness.

On the other hand, the Mallory people see him as a traitor among their ranks for wanting to mix with the lowly Mariluo people, and some extreme racists among them have also issued a death order against him.

So far, he is still unclear whether it was those Mallory people and Mariluo people who attempted to assassinate him, or those who assassinated the General.

Yet, regardless, he is both very safe and very endangered at the moment.

Despite his severe injuries, the Federation people saved him and have been protecting him, which makes him realize his importance. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Federation would not allow him to die or disappear, especially after he learned of Isabella’s disappearance and the fate of his two brothers—one dead and one fled—he was even more sure of it, as they would protect him at all costs.

This is a safe house provided by the Federation. In times of turbulent external situations and frequent flames of war, his leisure in watching TV is the best testament to that.

The TV is reporting what happened here yesterday; this is a small city near the Federation border affected by the conflict.

Two local gangs... well, they don’t admit they are gangs, believing themselves to be warlords. Yesterday, a firefight erupted in the city center, resulting in a tragedy with dozens dead.

The mayor condemned their actions severely at the nightly press conference, promising the public to drive them away and ensure a safe living environment for the citizens.

But early this morning, someone found the mayor and his wife along with three children hanging from the streetlight outside City Hall.

All five were naked, with "This place belongs to us" carved into their skin by those people using knives.

The citizens... numb, not furious.

Because such events are common in Mariluo ever since the puppet government ceased resisting, resigned to the reality of military rulers’ dominance, the local government’s control has declined.

Conversely, those gangs and warlords have started becoming mainstream because they have guns.

When soldiers do not follow the country’s will, when weapons abound, society is doomed.

The mayor, with his integrity and courage, reminded people once more that this is Mariluo, where whoever has the stronger fist speaks with reason.

Sanchez boredly switched channels, uncertain how many mayors he’d personally killed—five or six, he couldn’t remember—always some trying to resist his dead father’s rule.

Trying to win over the populace or genuinely wanting to do something always threatened the warlords’ interests, who wouldn’t permit anyone to attempt such things; those who did were killed.

The switched channel was airing a beauty contest, as the Federation’s trend of beauty and bodybuilding contests had swept into Mariluo, and many stable territories were organizing these events.

Mariluo isn’t lacking in beauties, possibly due to lineage; many girls are quite attractive, giving beauty pageants a large market.

Watching those girls in simple attire showcasing the beauty of their bodies before everyone, every man cheers for them.

Beauty contest winners mostly end up as gifts to the major warlords; their fate isn’t too tragic even though being ravaged by these warlords or their sons is somewhat unsavory.

Yet it’s far better than someone suddenly breaking in because they heard of a girl’s beauty, committing atrocities and leaving unexpectedly—some even resort to massacres.

A pathological society, yet everyone here views... this as normal.

He changed several channels, all airing brainwashing programs and recruitment ads; now every warlord is actively expanding their strength, perceiving something possibly about solving all issues at once.

Sanchez turned off the TV and complained, "When are your people coming?"

He thought the Federation contact would tell him, "Just wait a little longer, it’ll be alright soon," which he had heard dozens of times.

But unexpectedly, the contact looked at him, revealing a long-absent smile, "Our people are already on the way, should arrive by the afternoon the day after tomorrow. Now, what you need to do is think about who can be relied upon. We’ll start fighting soon."

Sanchez paused briefly, then his face revealed maniacal joy. He paced back and forth, swearing in Mariluo accent, then asked, "Is it the Army?"

"I heard the Army in the Warning Zone are formidable, will it be them?"

He shook his head, "No, the Warning Zone has to protect Payne, it should be other military regions, the Southern Military Region?"

The liaison shook his head, "No, it’s someone from Darkstone Security."

Sanchez froze, "You’re not joking with me, Darkstone Security, a company?"

He realized the word might be referring to a private company, an exaggerated expression appeared on his face, "I waited so long, only to get military aid from a private company?"

He laughed angrily, there was nothing more ridiculous than this.

The liaison explained, "We don’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, nor do we intervene in military conflicts abroad. This is the Federation’s foreign policy."

"But corporations are not restricted by these rules. Darkstone Security has elite combat personnel and commanders, in some ways, they are more suitable for your situation than the Federation Army."

"Of course, I must also notify you, Mr. Sanchez, you now owe the Federation 1.6 billion Federation Sol, after we stabilize the situation for you, we’ll find a way to recover the money in a manner acceptable to both parties."

Sanchez looked at his liaison as if he were looking at an idiot, he almost asked "When the hell did I end up owing you guys so much money?"

Perhaps seeing through his gaze what was going on inside, the liaison reminded him, "This is the fee paid to Darkstone Security, the Federation Government has paid it for you..."

"Damn!", Sanchez kicked the sofa, the pain instantly made him wince, the action was too big and pulled his wound, now he just wanted to hold a gun and pull the trigger at something.

He had never seen such a shameless government, but suddenly, he calmed down, he realized another possibility and asked, "Does this mean before I pay off this debt, you won’t just let me die?"

The liaison thought about it, "You can interpret it that way."

Sanchez felt relieved, spending 1.6 billion Federation Sol in the future to protect his life now seemed not so bad.

He sat back on the sofa, switched to the beauty pageant channel, vowed that when he got his stuff back, he would definitely make these people pay.

About two days later, early in the morning, he was called up by the liaison, after a simple disguise, they sneaked out of their hidden house under cover of darkness, to the outskirts of the city, where he saw the fully armed "mercenaries."

He understood it this way, these were mercenaries, there were mercenaries in Mariluo too, those people were willing to do anything for money, murder, looting, massacre, or burning, as long as you pay them, nothing was off-limits.

The people in front of him... didn’t quite look like those maniacs, because their outfits immediately gave a strong sense of intimidation.

Especially the emblem on their hats and the badge on their chests, with gold threads flowing through a black matte triangle, inexplicably gave a feeling of trust.

"I’m the person in charge of this operation...", a military colonel stepped forward.

He was selected by the Ministry of Defense, a future general. Besides him, many officers had also joined the operation, later Isabella’s side would arrange more people.

Supporting a force is risky, to avoid unpredictable problems, so they definitely have to find Isabella.

Can’t find her?

That’s impossible, they will definitely find her!

Sanchez tilted his head slightly, indicating he was injured, then extended his left hand, "Hello, I’m Sanchez, how many of you are here?"

"Three thousand people."

Sanchez looked behind, "It doesn’t look like that many."

"The others are outside the city, there are too many of us to easily be discovered if we enter, what should we do next?", the colonel looked at the liaison.

The latter didn’t show much, "Proceed as planned, first we clean up the resistance forces in the city, do you have experience in urban warfare?"

The liaison had stayed here for some time, he discovered that war is not like many people imagine, nor like in TV and movie works.

Not fighting on open grounds or in dense forests, but in modern warfare the main battlefield is still in cities. Urban warfare is actually quite terrifying because you never know when a bullet might fly from somewhere.

Even rooms that have been searched still pose potential danger, he feared these people might have some trouble.

The colonel was very confident, "We have veterans from Amelia, they fought in urban and mountain battles over there, trust us, we’re very professional."

"You just need to tell us, who are our people and who are the enemies, that’s all!"