Darkstone Code-Chapter 992 - 990: The Day Before the Birthday

"How do you plan to spend your birthday?"

In the bright office, Lynch was looking at some income situation from the second quarter.

He always believed in one point: don’t put all your eggs in one basket, the Federation Government might not be completely reliable—

If some capitalists are pushing for certain events to happen, Lynch might not be able to stop them.

The best approach is to find several more baskets and hide a few.

From the books, all of Lynch’s industries maintain very low profitability.

For example, his second-hand goods trading hub in York State, he had already cleared all his shares in the second-hand goods auction. Taking advantage of the current good market conditions and the renewed craze for second-hand goods trading, he easily sold his shares to those who wanted them.

But he retained the shares of these "malls."

Don’t be fooled by the appearance that these malls don’t make much money; each unit’s management fee is pitifully small, and some city’s fees can’t even cover workers’ salaries and other costs for each cycle.

However, the land beneath these "malls" is very valuable and will continue to increase in value.

The world will always progress; Lynch firmly believes in this. As long as the world advances, the price of finite non-renewable resources will keep going up.

Nothing appreciates faster than land, even if it doesn’t seem valuable now. Just wait a few years, for war to break out, then victory; when capital worldwide floods into the Federation, these lands’ profiteering era will arrive.

This result isn’t to be doubted. Capital will never become a dam opposing the tide; it only follows the tide.

Once people realize investing in the Federation is safer, with quicker and higher returns, funds will flow back here.

Movement of funds will bring more opportunity seeking "Gold Diggers," and population will see a rapid increase.

At that time, industries that might not be bringing substantial Wealth now will quickly expand into cash monsters.

Among many companies, the most profitable ones now are the aircraft research institute and Darkstone Security.

Darkstone Security’s profits mainly come from Gafura’s national military outsourcing, a business practically giving Lynch money. Lynch’s charges are slightly higher than for the Ministry of Defense, and he earns over tens of millions every year.

In this era, a profit in tens of millions is already quite impressive.

Combined with arms sales, Lynch still made money in the first half of the year, tens of millions?

As for some income and accounts that people will never find, they will never be discovered.

Lynch closed the report and looked at Vera, "I want to have a meal with you."

"I’m afraid you won’t have time," Vera said while tidying up the desk, "I saw on the news today that your little girlfriend has arrived, saying she’s going to throw you a lively birthday party."

She was talking about Penny.

"I don’t know what will happen on my birthday; actually, the most normal thing for me is not to celebrate it; celebrating it seems abnormal," Lynch recalled.

When he was Lynch, or when he wasn’t Lynch, he almost never celebrated his birthday.

In his memory, the former was because his family didn’t have money to buy him some birthday gifts or organize a party; they could only sit together, eat something delicious, and that was considered a birthday.

For the latter... he didn’t like celebrating birthdays, as doing so meant getting older by a year, one step closer to death, which didn’t make him happy.

Lynch looked at Vera, "Cook something on the ninth, we’ll have a meal together at home."

Vera’s gaze softened immediately. Lynch asked her to cook, and referred to that place as "home," stirring unknown emotions within her.

Sometimes people can suddenly become sentimental, during vulnerability, pain, joy, or moments of sensitivity.

Vera held Lynch’s hand, "What do you want to eat?"

"I’m not picky; whatever you cook, I’ll enjoy."

Over the past three years, Vera experienced many things—her husband’s infidelity, being investigated, meeting Lynch, divorcing, moving, finding a good job.

All of it was somehow linked to Lynch; at each crucial turning point, Lynch was there.

It’s fascinating, not knowing whether he appears because of influence or he influenced all events.

Vera is already satisfied with her life now.

She recognized the nature of society; what happened to Gap also happened in many places, to many people.

Bupen magnified all of it. In just the companies she knew with partnerships with Darkstone Security, many people were subjected to sexual dominance, similar to office slaves.

It’s a mad era with a mad crowd, even when looking back at past events now, Vera finds it relatively normal.

Of course, she’s satisfied with her current life, without thoughts of change.

She only hopes her child grows up healthily and happily; that’s perhaps her sole wish.

As October rolled in, Lynch had more smiles, with the progress of Darkstone Security in Mariluo meeting satisfaction. They finished investigations, preparing to take a city controlled by a small Warlord.

Once that city is secured, it’s equivalent to controlling a river transport network between the Federation and Mariluo, allowing Federation supplies to reach these people faster.

The Ministry of Defense reportedly has some new weapons they want to test, in the final stages of testing, and will send them over once finished.

It’s not only Lynch’s research institute studying these new weapons; other companies are persistently developing new items. It’s a technological explosion era, with new innovations appearing daily.

Meanwhile, Every Moment’s follow-up is essentially finished; the board submitted a relisting application to the Financial Management Committee, expected to relist mid-month.

Every shareholder anticipates this; despite losing a crucial tobacco supplier and facing numerous challenges, Every Moment overcame them all.

This time, it will return to the public as a new, bright entity.

Some evaluation agencies believe Every Moment’s market value will soon return to peak levels, potentially reaching over twelve billion due to Lynch and Wardrick’s involvement.

This already ranks it among the top fifty businesses in the Federation, and everyone is awaiting it.

The ninth, only a day away from October 10, seemingly a redundant statement, yet it illustrates the present moment.

Early in the morning, Lynch went to Vera’s place; Vera self-approved leave and drove to the market, buying fresh, expensive ingredients.

Servants assisted her in the kitchen, while Lynch engaged in conversation with the little boy in the living room.

"Mr. Lynch..."

"Call me Uncle."

"Uncle!" the boy seemed a bit nervous, sitting quietly beside Lynch on the sofa, not fidgeting or shouting meaninglessly, simply quiet.

"Mom’s happy you came; I’m not sure if she mentioned it, but since yesterday she’s been changing clothes, asking repeatedly if she looks good..."

Hearing the serious expression of the boy saying this, Lynch almost felt like laughing.

Vera seemed to hear something from the kitchen, stepping backward to see Lynch and the boy on the sofa, "I believe I heard you discussing me, saying something?"

"We said your cooking skills are excellent."

Vera regarded them with distrust, "I’m sure you weren’t saying that, but remember, talking behind a lady’s back isn’t gentlemanly."

This was a joke; the boy folded his hands on his knees, looking at Lynch with a resigned expression as Lynch glanced over.

"I’m serious about what I said."

Lynch nodded, "I understand."

There was a pause for a few seconds, then Lynch asked, "How are you getting along with classmates at school?"

This was one of those filler questions for lack of a topic; Lynch hadn’t interacted much with children in his previous life.

Mainly because there wasn’t money to be made from children, leading to limited interactions in this life as well, resorting to "formulaic" questions.

The boy didn’t find the question dull, trying to express his enthusiasm, "Of course, of course, I’m getting along very well; people here are friendlier than at Sabin School."

They’re not genuinely friendly, simply respectful of money.

When teachers face students who pay little to nothing for education, they may not be thrilled; after all, it’s just a job, not caretakers, with limited compassion.

But when faced with students who’ve paid thousands for a semester, teachers are gentle, knowing they can’t offend those students’ parents.

Any random displeased parent might see them expelled; these days, teachers are easier to replace than students, with job seekers lining up a kilometer outside the school gate.

As for student relationships, it’s largely the same; proper education shouldn’t yield emotionally extreme children, disciplined by private tutors and whips from a young age to understand curiosity and respect for the world are crucial!