Darkstone Code
Chapter 108 - 0107 No personal feelings under the rules

Chapter 108: 0107 No personal feelings under the rules

The meeting between Lynch and the president of the Local Women’s Rights Protection Association was destined to be a successful one.

As both sides were prepared, as long as the fundamental limits of principles weren’t crossed, nothing was insurmountable in their negotiations.

Lynch straightforwardly told President Elina that he could initially offer about a hundred job positions. Some of these were related to female rugby players and associated support roles, while others were connected to his Interstellar Trade Company.

The company needed to expand, and it couldn’t be run solely by a group of men. While their mutual enthusiasm could boost morale, neglecting to improve resilience in favor of increased sturdiness could lead to a brittle situation, much like steel that shatters just as easily as glass when dropped.

The solution to this was to introduce some female employees as a balancing factor. Lynch also planned to organize the call center roles, which would require some operators.

Compared to irritable, impatient men, women were better suited for this work.

President Elina once again praised Lynch for his honesty, though she also had her own demands and opinions.

The development of job positions couldn’t be completed in a few days; otherwise, women around the world would have already risen up. She understood this would take time, but she hoped Lynch would communicate with the local association when arranging these positions, even if it was just a phone call.

This could prevent misunderstandings between them and increase efficiency. As the local association’s president, she expressed that some tasks might be more manageable for the association than for Lynch.

In summary, there were two main issues: Firstly, the Women’s Rights Protection Association would fully support Lynch’s plan to promote "female professional athletes" locally and statewide. Ms. Elina would also leverage her power to ignite a national sports equality movement.

Secondly, Lynch needed to provide more job positions suitable for women to Elina for her operation—positions that could only be given to her, including those in other cities, all entrusted to Sabin City’s association for arrangement. This was President Elina’s bottom line.

Both sides reached a verbal agreement without major disagreement. There were other people present, acting as third-party witnesses. Such verbal agreements tend to have legal effectiveness, although they aren’t as clear-cut as formal contracts and might entail some variables.

Unless new, irreconcilable conflicts emerged, there was no need to worry about these issues.

After leaving the association, Lynch headed to the club, which had become his property after signing the agreement yesterday. Today, Kane gathered everyone waiting for the new owner’s inspection.

The other people in the club were ecstatic that someone was willing to take over. At the very least, they no longer needed to face the United Transport Association’s attitude every month for their paychecks. At least there seemed to be a brighter future ahead.

Those unwilling to transfer, mostly because no teams wanted them, could finally return to the sports field. They had grown tired of work and found being athletes slightly easier and indeed more lucrative.

After noon, Lynch arrived here, only changing his attire from the morning slightly to a dark professional outfit, transforming himself from a young, vibrant handsome guy into a man who looked more mature and composed.

On the training lawn behind the club, Lynch saw these people.

There were roughly thirty people whose monthly salaries alone exceeded seven thousand dollars. When Lynch signed the agreement, the person from the United Transport Association responsible for signing burst into smiles.

With Lynch taking over, they no longer needed to sustain a failing club’s maintenance costs, let alone the additional "debt."

Looking at these people, Lynch didn’t immediately make a statement. After briefly discussing his views on the club’s future, he asked them to continue with their work and summoned Kane to the office.

With the door closed, the atmosphere in the manager’s office grew heavy. Lynch sat behind the desk, looking at Kane expressionlessly, with a deep look in his eyes, causing Kane’s heart to sink and making him feel a stifling tension in his chest.

"Boss..."

He uttered a word to break the silence in the room, but before he could continue, Lynch interrupted him, "Fire everyone except the electrician and plumber, including the athletes."

Kane forced a hard-to-watch smile. Out of thirty-plus people, only three were electricians and plumbers, while the rest constituted former first and second team athletes as well as some related staff, including coaches and assistant coaches, as well as cleaning personnel.

A team doesn’t operate with just one coach; often, under a head coach, there are coaches specialized in areas such as fitness and explosive strength. These specialized coaches handle regular training logistics according to the head coach’s requirements.

Under them were assistants who recorded each athlete’s physical condition, allowing the head coach to access this information when needed.

This formed a fairly sizeable group. Apart from them, some athletes who hadn’t transferred out were essentially no longer athletes.

While receiving the minimum living allowance from the United Transport Association, they sought jobs externally, and many had completely lost their athletic physique. What’s more, their ages were advanced.

A professional athlete’s career spans about a decade, which assumes they maintain form and continuously participate in games and training.

Now, after years without training and competition, everyone at the club was essentially burned out. Lynch even smelled a strong scent of alcohol from the head coach, possibly an alcoholic.

He might have been a good coach, but he wasn’t the one Lynch needed.

Lynch tapped his fingers twice on the desk, its dull sound slightly interrupting Kane’s heartbeat and causing a brief palpitating sensation, followed by Lynch emphatically reiterating his decision, "Fire them all!"

With his head lowered in silence, Kane reflected on their service to the club, which spanned over fifteen years, some even longer than himself.

Before Lynch arrived, they struggled in darkness, encouraging each other, hoping for the arrival of light.

The light indeed arrived; Lynch’s ownership should immediately improve the club, but if this hope required sacrificing these colleagues, wasn’t it too cruel?

They awaited the light and encountered judgement from it—not blessings, but judgement.

Silent, Kane pondered deeply. He hadn’t stepped up when Lynch dismissed Julie; it was too sudden, and he was unsure how to respond.

Now, as Lynch demanded dismissing the others, he hesitated, wondering if he should stand up. Simultaneously, he feared his opposition might lead him to join "that group."

He still aspired to lead the club back to glory, having dedicated his youth here. Leaving now would be more painful than death.

Lacking grand dreams or ambitions, he only wished to stand by the training field, watching those guys run with smiles, striving for a championship.

He had mistaken his silence as gathering strength for a powerful response; quickly realizing it was merely compromise.

"They...for the club..."

"Those whose contracts with the club haven’t expired will receive an additional three-month salary in compensation. Those whose contracts have expired will halt renewal processes and receive a month’s salary as compensation. That is the final decision!"

Lynch’s voice was decisively unyielding, preventing any rebuttal. Ultimately, Kane remained silent.

After twenty or thirty seconds, Lynch’s voice broke the silence again, "Kane, you must realize, taking over this club imposes great pressure on me, but since I have taken over, I will rejuvenate it."

"I have struck an agreement with the mayor to allocate a larger plot outside the city Ring Line for us to build a comprehensive training facility, with more advanced support and logistics systems."

"Moreover, I am prepared to introduce younger, stronger players, reliable coaches, and more scientific training..."

"By no later than early next year, the Sabin City professional rugby team will enter the league’s arena—something we all hope for!"

"You know what to do, don’t you?"

Though still just a twenty-year-old young lad, his words imposed enormous pressure on Kane, making his breathing laborious and heavy.

After a while, under Lynch’s gaze, Kane nodded, "I understand, Boss."

Lynch nodded slightly, tapping the table lightly with his fingers, "Good, I want to see results before next week. You’re dismissed."

Kane exhaled deeply, leaving the room, only realizing in the office hallway that he just exited his own office.

Now he somewhat understood Lynch’s rationale, though emotionally hard to accept.

Without removing these "seasoned veterans," Lynch would struggle to fully control the place.

Their past glories would inherently hinder Lynch’s control here, thus they must go.

Would anyone support Lynch?

Minor people needn’t have opinions!