Darkstone Code

After Lynch finished reading the letter from Nagariel, he walked to the door and handed a ten-dollar bill to the messenger.

The messenger was a young postman in his twenties. At this moment, he was nervously holding his wide-brimmed hat with both hands. Normally, such letters could be delivered directly, but he saw this as an opportunity, so he didn't place the letter in the mailbox as instructed. He was waiting for someone inside the room to open the door, and luckily, the door opened, and he met Mr. Lynch.

"This is what you deserve," Lynch said, seeing the postman's hesitation, and with a smile, placed the ten dollars into his hat.

Just as Lynch was about to close the door, the postman spoke up, "Mr. Lynch, I want to work for you."

Lynch found this somewhat amusing. The postman in front of him was about his age, but their statuses were vastly different. Lynch slightly pulled the closing door, looking at him, "You are already serving me, Mr. Postman."

It seemed the postman realized something. He quickly wiped his empty right hand on his clothes, then extended it, "I'm such a fool. My name is Oldridge. I've heard some of your achievements, and I want to work for you like others do."

He emphasized the word "work" to ensure Lynch heard "work" and not "serve."

Lynch looked at his outstretched hand and then reached out to shake it.

Honestly, Lynch was actually a very approachable person. Unlike those with impressive family backgrounds who naturally bore an air of arrogance and always looked down on ordinary people.

These issues couldn't be found in Lynch. Whether the one wanting to shake hands with him was the President of the country or a postman, as long as it was well-intentioned, he wouldn't refuse.

Lynch sized up this bold self-promoter. He actually liked such people. These people, whether or not they possessed some unique skills others didn't have, at least they had courage.

People with courage have the foundation for success. As the saying goes, you may never know if you'll succeed unless you try, but if you don't try, failure is certain!

"Do you have a pen and paper?" Lynch casually asked.

The postman named Oldridge hurriedly took out a pen and a blank sheet of paper from his pocket. Postmen always had such things on them.

Lynch wrote something the postman couldn't understand on it, then folded it and handed it to the postman, "Do you know the Green brothers?"

"Yes, of course, I know them, they're famous!" The postman quickly nodded when he brought this up, "No one doesn't know the Green brothers' names, Mr. Lynch."

These brothers had actually toned down a lot recently, but their notorious past still lingered. If left unchecked, in a few years, Lynch might see them on the execution ground.

Although the Federation advocates freedom and allows people to do what they want, crime is absolutely not permitted. If it becomes too public, even if the city manages to suppress some voices, it cannot suppress voices from the state level or even from Bupen.

Fortunately, they timely recognized their mistakes, which significantly avoided some potential dangers.

Lynch nodded, "Take this message to them, tell them to find you a job!"

He patted the postman on the arm as he said this, closing the door after the postman left excitedly.

"What happened?"

Just as he returned to the living room, Landon asked, feeling that Lynch took too long and suspecting something unexpected might have happened.

Lynch didn't explain. He went to the edge of the sofa, and those who were sitting on and around the sofa quickly stood up, cleared a seat for Lynch on an independent sofa, and slightly distanced themselves from him.

Of course, saying thanks isn't worth much and won't make anyone lose face, it only makes others think you're well-mannered, and Lynch wasn't stingy with these worthless words.

After saying thank you, he sat down, "It was nothing, just an interesting young man, let's continue our previous topic."

Mayor Landon nodded, "Mark intends to dispose of all local assets..."

Mark, as Mayor Landon's white glove, had always been responsible for managing these assets. Indeed, some things he personally couldn't handle well, like the distribution of relief food this time.

The relief food people are eating now comes from Mark's food processing factory. Allegedly, he won the contract after attending a bidding conference, but no one can say for sure.

If the mayor himself was to take charge, it would look quite unseemly. But having Mark do it instead made it look much better and even earned him praise for strong regulation.

There are quite a few such things, with Mark actually controlling a lot of industries.

Now that Mayor Landon was about to leave, he no longer held dominant power locally. These industries that used to make money could suddenly plunge into a loss, the losses increasing until eventually eating up all that he had earned over the years.

So Mark had to deal with these matters while the mayor's power hadn't completely expired.

"First, the food factory..." Mayor Landon glanced at the people in the room, but no one volunteered to take over, everyone had many concerns.

The food factory isn't a very profitable business. If the situation is good, you might still make some money. But with the current situation being unfavorable, it's tough to earn, even with municipal relief food orders, you can't be sure of making money.

Mark can earn because the mayor is his uncle. You could even say that the factory essentially belongs to the mayor, which is why he can make money.

But when others here take over, they don't have "my uncle the mayor," that would be their nightmare.

Mayor Landon knew very well why these people didn't step up, glancing at Ferrari, who coughed to draw people's attention.

"When I take office, all the current incentives and policies given to the food factory by City Hall, including financial subsidies, will not change!"

Ferrari's guarantee immediately had a magical effect, with someone quickly stepping up with a smile, expressing his willingness to buy the food factory.

He wasn't doing it for profit, just to contribute his part to every family in Sabin City needing relief food!

But clearly, some didn't want one person to enjoy all the limelight, joining the rush to buy. From no one caring to competing eagerly, Lynch's expression was placid, the mayor somewhat sarcastic, while Ferrari was beaming.

Three people, three completely different emotions and attitudes, but regardless of whether Mayor Landon would be unhappy with the businessmen's blatant behavior, or if Ferrari would confirm his position in people's minds surpassing Mayor Landon due to his remarks changing the situation, this is reality. This game must go on, with no end.

The assets under Mark were mostly dealt with throughout the day, almost fetching two million dollars. If not for being heavily duped on the cheap apartments issue, they might have taken away more funds.

And today also marked the end of a period in Sabin City's history, a period belonging to Mayor Landon.

By nighttime, everyone had left. Mayor Landon and Mark were also preparing to leave. When Mayor Landon stood by the door to shake Lynch's hand goodbye one last time, he would submit a resignation letter to the state government and recommend a successor in the next day or two after returning. The state government would appoint an interim mayor before the next election.

In other words, after today, Lynch might not have many more opportunities to meet Mayor Landon—this refers to in Sabin City, once Mayor Landon moves to Bupen, meeting opportunities would still exist.

At this time, he brought up the matters they discussed earlier, "I'll take part of the money, and I plan to give the rest to Mark, as we previously discussed, the business on the Nagariel side."

Lynch nodded, "I'll arrange some work for Mark then."

Mayor Landon sighed satisfiedly, patted Lynch on the arm, said goodbye, and left quickly with Mark.

Standing under the eaves, watching the mayor's car drive away, Ferrari, standing beside, exhaled heavily, "It's finally over."

Lynch turned to him, smiling, "So, how does it feel to hold power?"

Ferrari walked out wordlessly, the winter night sky devoid of clouds, bright stars filled the whole sky, just like looking at the sky in his childhood, gazing intently, he answered Lynch's question.

"It's captivating, did you feel it, even before Landon left, people's attitudes towards him already changed drastically, but as soon as I spoke, everything went back to how it was, this is the value of power."

Even Ferrari himself hadn't realized that he'd already ignored referring with "Mayor" or "Your Excellency the Mayor" or "Mayor Landon," instead just calling him by name.

"I want to say that I don't actually feel much, but we all know that's a lie. Power really is attractive, and I don't know if I'll feel pain when I lose it!"

"No, it will be painful, actually, everyone will be in pain, just whether they express it or not."

He retracted his gaze, standing in the yard, looking at Lynch, "So what shall we do next?"

"Once you announce your inauguration, cooperate with me in acquiring some factories, then you'll provide at least four or five hundred jobs for the city, and soon people will start supporting you." These were plans discussed earlier, and Lynch had specifically stayed longer domestically for this purpose.

Ferrari's state might not be quite right, he asked a question even he hadn't thought of, let alone thought to ask aloud, "Is it safe?"

"I mean, are we safe doing this?"

"Of course!" Lynch looked up at the sky too, "Everything we do complies with the laws of this country, so it's all safe!"