Darkstone Code
Chapter 119 - 0118 Hidden within the decay of all things is a new wave of eruption

Chapter 119: 0118 Hidden within the decay of all things is a new wave of eruption

The people most directly affected by the decline of the real economy are probably truck drivers. When a business goes bankrupt, there is no logistics demand, and without logistics demand, truck drivers will be unemployed.

The more companies go bankrupt, the more unemployed truck drivers there are. And this unemployment is different from that of ordinary workers.

After ordinary workers become unemployed, they can still look for other jobs. If they are lucky, they can still find a job to make ends meet, but it is different for truck drivers. Without new logistics demand, job opportunities will only decrease, not increase.

This also leads to the fact that once truck drivers are unemployed, it is difficult for them to find a very suitable job, even if they lower their standards for salary requirements.

Truck drivers are a very special group. They can be categorized as part of the working class, but it is obvious that workers are unwilling to accept this group of truck drivers who earn more, have better benefits, and have relatively easier work.

And truck drivers are also unwilling to mix with the sweaty, smelly workers, after all, they have their "exclusive vehicles."

This has also led to the Workers’ Union not paying much attention to the unemployment issue of truck drivers. If there is a chance to make noise, they will, but if there’s no opportunity, they’ll just pretend not to see.

In fact, the work of truck drivers is not only exhausting but also very dangerous.

Even today, there are many road robbers active on the Intercontinental Highways, and the vast and deserted highways, spanning hundreds or thousands of kilometers, are like marching through Hell for every truck driver. Each trip is like dancing on the edge of life.

With one careless moment, you might not know when you’ll die halfway through, and the truck will be driven away by someone else, leaving only a pile of bones that will soon become one with nature.

Therefore, truck drivers often travel in convoys when on the road, especially on intercontinental routes. Running with two or three trucks is very dangerous, so there are often more than five trucks together.

If they encounter problems on the road, they will not stop, but rather smash through directly, so on the Intercontinental Highway, don’t even think about stopping trucks, let alone forcing them to stop.

But are all big truck drivers good people?

Obviously not, in the past, among the FBI’s files on highway murders, it can be said that most of the murder cases related to highways have some connection with big truck drivers.

The most famous is the "Highway Serial Killings," a lone wolf truck driver who enjoyed helping others but also liked to kill people after helping them. After being captured, the driver confessed to dozens of murders on the highway, some of which the police hadn’t even discovered.

All in all, they are a very special group. Once off the highway, they are just ordinary people, not too different, maybe looking a bit fierce, but overall still just ordinary people.

But once they enter their "territory," these people undergo a transformation, a fundamental change.

Lynch took them to the outdoor parking lot. The truck heads and trailers aren’t integrated; they came looking at the big trucks’ heads.

More than forty truck heads were parked in the clear ground. Cook suddenly got a bit excited. He ran to a truck head, his lips trembling slightly.

He gently caressed the headlight, feeling apologetic and a bit heartbroken. Cook’s friend, James, stood aside and explained to Lynch, "That was Cook’s truck before our company went bankrupt."

"Understandable...," Mr. Lynch is a very tolerant and kind person; he did not disrupt the warm reunion between Cook and his beloved truck.

After a while, Cook came back to his senses, scratched his head a bit embarrassedly, and the man who seemed like a monster surprisingly appeared a bit shy and bashful.

This is also a notable feature of the social isolation of truck drivers—their circle is too narrow.

In his eyes, there was a longing that he was embarrassed to voice, but Lynch, understandingly, beckoned to the staff, "Bring the keys to that truck for my friend to take a look."

With Lynch’s words, all the truck drivers’ eyes became somewhat different. First of all, they began to respect Lynch because his actions showed he didn’t look down or humiliate Cook in any way. Instead, he fulfilled Cook’s small wish by asking for the truck keys.

Furthermore, he didn’t refer to them as subordinates, employees, or just truck drivers, but used the word "friends."

Probably because terrifying news from the highways always emerges, in this civilized society, not everyone is willing to become friends with these highway truck drivers.

Coupled with their narrow social circles and everyone’s inherent, to some extent, social obstacles, and their short tempers, the only ones who can accept them are themselves.

Mr. Lynch, a big boss and merchant, instead called them friends, which was touching, making them feel a warm power.

If it had been before, they might not have felt so strongly, but now, a few months or half a year after their unemployment, Lynch’s words were like winter sunlight warming everything, melting the ice in their hearts!

Cook didn’t know how to express his feelings and emotions at this moment, and finally, with a thousand words, it could only be summed up with a "thank you." He was a beast not good at expressing himself.

With the keys in hand, Cook immediately turned into another person. He effortlessly retrieved a toolkit from the truck’s cab, opened the engine cover, and started checking the condition of the vehicle, quickly getting into his role.

Lynch then looked at the others, "And you, what are you waiting for? Maybe there’s your truck here, or maybe not, but there’s one you like. Why not take a look or try it out?"

This instantly stirred the crowd, they wanted to move for a long time, just more reserved.

With Lynch’s permission, they immediately thanked and grabbed the keys to examine their rides, with Lynch standing at the edge of the parking lot, watching these truck drivers.

As the saying of this era goes, the highway is a Land Beyond the Law, especially the Intercontinental Highway, where you can hardly see anything on hundreds or thousands of kilometers of road.

Even on states’ highways, only at the entrances to the highways will there occasionally be a police car parked there; they won’t actively interfere with matters on the highway. That’s the territory of truck drivers.

If someone can control most truck drivers within a state, it equals them controlling the entire state’s logistics system.

Trains?

Hmm, that’s indeed a good way to avoid truck drivers, but trains still face two problems.

Up to now, Bail Federal doesn’t have a complete railway network that can reach all places across the entire Federation because not all areas are suitable for railway laying due to geological and terrain reasons. Simultaneously, in places too desolate, there’s an issue of railway theft.

Coupled with the low public usage of railways, this has prevented railway companies from growing strong and thus becoming a relic of the past.

Running a railroad loses money—a common understanding everyone has now, but railways still exist. Generally, each state’s main cities are covered by railway networks facilitating population movement, but Intercontinental level railways are rare.

If Lynch controls the state’s logistics, he can strangle some people’s lifelines, and even if he does nothing, it would be easy for him to step into certain businesses later.

Even without using his own money, he can get a certain level of stock, because who’s got the logistics transport under control?

After waiting here for more than half an hour, Cook finally tidied up the tools and also tidied himself up, cheerfully stating that the truck is well-maintained, without any major issues besides some long-standing minor problems.

Others held similar views about their trucks or the ones they chose, and Lynch didn’t bother to say much, directly discussing prices with the dealership manager.

A new big truck of this type costs between thirty to fifty thousand. Although not very expensive, it’s beyond the spending power of truck drivers like Cook.

Even now, these trucks are all second-hand, and all are priced above fifteen thousand.

After friendly discussions with the dealership manager and owner, Lynch signed a special agreement with them to purchase no less than a hundred trucks within half a year, and the price must be pressed below twelve thousand.

The dealership is only responsible for providing vehicles for Lynch to choose from; how to choose is up to Lynch.

If five years ago, such an agreement was placed in front of the dealership owner, he would have torn it up without hesitation, pointing to the door and roaring, "Get out."

But now, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he signed the agreement, thanking Mr. Lynch for taking care of his business.

Vehicles locked in stock mean funds are tied up tight, as times and circumstances change daily.

Facing an already expected future of decreased prosperity, having cash and having dozens of vehicles are two completely different situations.

Even for little profit, even no profit, it is a rare opportunity to liquidate for the dealership owner; he had to gritting his teeth, sign this agreement.

Immediately, Lynch let Cook and the others drive to the club. After a few days of arrangement, everyone at the club had already reached an agreement with Kane, ending their careers at the club.

As a boss and philanthropist, Lynch should comfort these people and affirm the work they did at the club.

Before doing so, he also needed to visit Jogriman, having just bought trucks, it’s certain they’ll be mortgaged to the bank, using others’ money to serve himself, that is the core of the "financial game."

Those using their money to serve themselves but also bearing the risks...

Lynch has never discriminated against those intellectually challenged; instead, he finds them very adorable!