Darkstone Code

Chapter 1269 - 1268: Going Around in Circles

The warm room, with a deep red carpet and a few very expensive-looking camel hair rugs.

The gentlemen of high society were dressed in high-end formal wear, and their speech and conversations exuded a distinct upper-class style.

Even their topics were very high-end, related to the state elections.

"Old Joe has a great chance in Orante State. This time the party has placed heavy bets there; Hicks’ loss was really undeserved, wasting a lot of our resources..."

This was a group of Conservative Party politicians. Hicks’ sudden withdrawal indeed put the Conservative Party in a somewhat passive position in their political map strategy. Now, besides stabilizing their stronghold, the Conservative Party has new targets in the swing states.

Resources originally intended for Hicks were all used on this gubernatorial candidate named "Old Joe."

Old Joe was quite well-known within the Conservative Party. Prior to this, he was a Senator in Congress, serving for eight years.

His sudden transition from a Senator to running for Governor had its own personal interests. He was not too old, just turning sixty, an age that is considered just right for politicians in the Federation.

He planned to serve two terms as Governor, take a break, and then try running for President.

By then, he would only be sixty-six, and having been a Governor is a significant plus for a presidential run.

Many believe that if you can manage a state well, you can manage a country well. At the very least, you need experience governing a region.

If someone becomes President without having served a single day as a mayor, governor, or any role governing a region, it would be as if the Lord were jesting with the Federation!

As a qualified and successful politician, he was indeed successful—after all, not everyone can become a Senator in Congress, and he harbored ambitions to reach the pinnacle.

Sitting in the President’s chair would be a fulfillment of his decades-long struggle.

Besides his personal reasons, the Conservative Party also needed some positions to be filled by new, strong newcomers.

While referred to as newcomers, they were in their forties, but on the highest political stage of the Federation, they were certainly new.

There are only so many seats in Congress. When someone wants in, someone must go out, along with a lot of behind-the-scenes transactions, eventually making it happen.

These people were the "high-ranking officials" within the Conservative Party. This doesn’t mean they held any positions in the Federation Government; currently, it was a Progressive Party government, unrelated to them.

High-ranking here refers to positions within the party, such as serving on a committee or heading some party branch or office.

A political party itself is an extensive organizational structure, much like companies.

Some are responsible for production, but they produce influence.

Some handle operations, knowing how to better sway the populace.

Some manage personnel, continuously finding suitable people to join and removing those who aren’t.

These individuals were high-to-mid-level management in this company called "Conservative Party."

Thus, they could enjoy such a favorable life in this severe winter without needing to work.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Klein was on her way here.

"I didn’t know we had to take a boat to get here. It’s my first time coming..."

After getting off the boat, Mrs. Klein looked curiously at the island entrance, which resembled a city gate. She had never been here before, only heard about it.

Paradise Island, the most secretive place in the Federation, reportedly developed by someone who claimed to be the King of Paradise Island, where precious jewels were commonplace, like a Celestial Kingdom!

There were many speculations about Paradise Island, mostly describing its luxury beyond imagination and the enjoyment found there.

The former personal trainer was a bit nervous, pressing his lips without speaking.

Mrs. Klein seemed to notice something and curiously asked, "Did you bring the dog?"

She looked around, "I don’t see it; did you leave it on the boat?"

She knew the former fitness coach had a dog; many fitness enthusiasts liked to keep dogs, with most explaining that they could run together with the dog.

Whether that’s true or not, no one knows.

The former fitness coach glanced at Mrs. Klein, then handed over the collar in his hand, "This is for you..."

The sudden silence made the former fitness coach a bit embarrassed...

"I know it’s a bit much, but trust me, it’s worth it."

"Later, you will go in with an important person. Whatever they ask you to do, it’s best if you follow."

"This place is not under Federation law; I’ve heard some people disappear here forever!"

"Don’t you want to solve those debt issues?"

"This is a great opportunity!"

The former fitness coach had been persuading her all along, and finally, she silently put the collar around her neck.

A collar on her fair neck gave off a peculiar feeling.

The weather was cold, and after standing for a while, their feet were almost frozen. Finally, someone came out from inside.

The former fitness coach, just like when he first saw her at the gym, approached with a flattering smile on his face, bending over as he walked over.

The two were saying something, but the wind was strong, scattering their voices, so Mrs. Klein couldn’t hear anything.

She only noticed that the two would occasionally glance at her.

The person talking to the former fitness coach was a client of You’Er Mei.

Clients of You’Er Mei can use their membership card to enjoy the same treatment at any branch as they would in the card-issuing store. This gentleman immediately took a liking to Mrs. Klein.

However, he was somewhat of a public figure, a politician, and he couldn’t possibly participate in those private lessons that everyone knew what they were all about.

Mrs. Klein’s appearance, figure, and temperament perfectly fit some people’s little quirks, and after thorough investigation, a conclusion was reached.

Fortunately, persuading a "career-oriented" store manager isn’t too complicated, which led to this scene.

Two minutes later, the man came over, pulling a dog leash out of his pocket, attaching one end to Mrs. Klein’s collar and holding the other end in his hand.

She was like a real dog, without any thoughts, not considering what she would face next, allowing this stranger to take her through some places and eventually enter a warm room.

She removed her clothes, kneeling on the ground. The red carpet and the camel wool rug didn’t make her feel cold, even though she had stripped off her clothes.

The soft carpet made her recall the best times not long ago, as if everything was getting better again...

Mrs. Klein didn’t know that even before she set foot on this island, she had already caught the eye of the Security Committee.

Paradise Island was considered the shame of the Federation, as such an incredible state-within-a-state existed within the Federation’s territory.

However, this also promoted the improvement of the Maritime Rights Bill, with the new international maritime rights clearly stipulating within what range outside the coastline an ocean and all derivatives are owned.

With the legal loopholes resolved, some within the Federation Government still wanted to reclaim Paradise Island, as leaving such an unregulated area posed a severe challenge to the Free Federation’s spirit of freedom!

So, people often paid attention to this island, including those from the Security Committee and the Investigation Bureau.

They didn’t necessarily list all those who landed on the island as criminals, but instead hoped to find some people to help them break new ground.

For example... exposing some heinous crimes?

Far away in Gafura, Lynch wouldn’t have imagined that his greed for silver’s Wealth, causing him to short silver, would lead to a series of events that eventually involved himself and Serra.

But even if he knew, he would still have done it.

In late November, taking advantage of the nice weather, Lynch and the young Count led their men in several skirmishes with the old aristocrats.

The Prime Minister seemed to have made some realization and suddenly not only didn’t interfere with their actions but even sent the police to clear the fight venue, setting up a perimeter.

Perhaps the Prime Minister’s actions greatly provoked these people, making the brawl particularly exhilarating.

Considering everyone was nobles, except for some noses getting bloodied and skewed, nothing truly bloody happened.

As some bystanders put it, street gangs were much more entertaining in fights than these nobles.

But that being said, people still loved watching these noble brawls, and the nobles’ image was rapidly changing.

Some believed the fights shattered the modern Gafura public’s image of noble high-status, after all, whoever saw those nobles pulling each other’s hair, shouting profanities, and wildly throwing punches wouldn’t find anything respectable in them.

Others thought these nobles revived the traditional gritty spirit of Gafura, a country founded on war and conquest; people should not forget courage and struggle.

Especially the empire’s army, which should learn from these nobles...

"Who took this photo?" The young Count knocked on the table in dissatisfaction, "Did he capture me that poorly? Am I that haggard?"

Lynch pulled the newspaper closer and glanced at it.

The photo was enlarged, showing the young Count and Kipling pulling each other’s hair in a crowd fight, with footprints and some dirt on both of them.

The photo was captured at a very opportune moment, with Kipling’s fist landing right on his face, making his eyeball appear almost ready to burst out.

Lynch cheerfully handed the newspaper to the former Countess, stirred his coffee cup twice, and took a sip, "Actually, this is great. You’ll be more easily accepted by the public than other nobles."

"You may not realize it now, but soon you’ll understand, whoever gains more public support, speaks louder!"