Darkstone Code
Chapter 186 - 0184 We are alone and unsupported

Chapter 186: 0184 We are alone and unsupported

Speaking of shamelessness and playing rogue, no one can rival a nation.

When the President and his staff decide to sacrifice the interests of some ordinary people, no one can change this decision. Moreover, it’s a hasty decision because the Bail Federal is not as perfect as they imagined.

The economic and financial development of this country has long been distorted and abnormal. It’s not a sturdy skyscraper, but rather a high-rise building on a precarious balance beam, which could collapse instantly with the slightest accident.

Many middle-class people have been trapped due to buying a large number of bonds. Coupled with the President’s Cabinet’s constant shirking, even if they have put forward several scapegoats, they cannot solve any substantial problems, and such contradictions have only intensified.

Then, on October 9th, an article titled "We Are Alone and Unsupported" appeared out of nowhere, accusing the President’s Cabinet of the wrong decisions made since coming to power, including their isolation policy, which has been the most failed policy in history.

The article exposed all the hidden contradictions and conflicts within the Federation and used the inability to cash bonds as a lead-in to describe the Federation’s current status in the international community.

Just as the title of this article suggests, the Bail Federal stands isolated in the international community. The seemingly powerful Federation Government faces obvious rogue behavior without any solutions, not even ideas, resorting only to sacrificing the public.

The article depicts the Bail Federal being on the brink of collapse, weighed down by growing class contradictions, social conflicts, contradictions between capitalists and politicians, as well as those in education and healthcare. It resembles a leaking battleship, soon to sink.

The day after the article was published, the Federation’s Industrial Index, after seven years of continuous rise, experienced its first plunge; within one morning, it fell by more than five percent.

An article exposed the bloody reality that people wanted to hide; some things can no longer be concealed!

This has further accelerated the exodus of foreign capital. Many international funds realized that the Federation’s boom period has ended, and keeping the money in the Federation would only lead to sinking with it.

These international funds, with no position or camp, left without hesitation. The trading volume of the stock and securities market experienced irregular fluctuations. On October 11th, the Federation’s Industrial Index surged again, and almost all newspapers and media gave positive summaries.

They claimed that the plunge on October 9th was merely a technical adjustment, meant for gathering strength to reach new heights. Some experts even used a spring as an analogy on television to explain why the drop was a buildup for a rise and how it released more upward potential.

In the following days, the stock market seemed to indeed be stable and gradually rising, just as the experts said, but brokerage firms and financial companies were quietly withdrawing.

A trading volume more than twice the regular one was deliberately perceived by some as the arrival of a new market trend, without knowing the huge crisis hidden within.

Even real-world developments saw changes, such as the continuous decline of housing prices in the Federation’s first-tier cities, even supporting long-term installment payments, while banks began tightening the granting of mortgage loans.

Everything seemed to be getting better. Just as people were puzzled about whom to trust, at the end of October, the Federation’s Industrial Index experienced another historical single-day drop of nine percent.

This time, no one laughed and said it was merely a "technical adjustment."

On the last Saturday of October, Lynch had just gotten up and was sitting by the dining table reading a newspaper. The paper, which should have been in color, seemed to have reverted overnight to monochrome black, like decades or a century ago when the technology wasn’t advanced.

The front page of the Trade Report had only one word that occupied the entire page, "DISASTER."

In just one day, hundreds of billions of funds evaporated from the entire Federation trading market, and every trading hall was crowded; even the much-attention-grabbing bond rights protection groups had few who cared.

People were all talking about stocks, because the Federation’s Industrial Index had plunged twice within a month, which was very unusual. It had never happened before, let alone the last plunge, where many stocks directly lost a third or even half of their market value.

Such a plunge is not just a simple technical adjustment; it’s adjusting not the parameters, not the prices, but lives.

An uncontrollable panic began to spread rapidly. Not just the Trade Report, almost every financial-related newspaper changed from their usual colorful printing style to a heavy black-and-white tone as if mourning something.

At this time, reporting such pessimistic news not only does no good to the financial market but might directly burst this bubble.

Once panic-selling forms, it’s hard to stop unless state power steps in, but it is evident that the Federation Government does not have the financial power to take the entire society’s liabilities.

Even if they could, they wouldn’t do it. If the Conservative Party causes the Federation Government to go bankrupt, they certainly would become a historical joke—the first party to bank up the Federation Government along with their President.

Just thinking about it sends chills down one’s spine. Rather than becoming a joke, they’d prefer to turn a blind eye.

Seeing this news, Lynch acted very calmly and composed. He hadn’t been involved in these things during this period because he knew these things were destined to collapse. External factors were only part of it; there were many internal problems within the Federation itself.

Of course, the most fatal was the Conservative Party Government’s pushed isolation policy, directly locking down international trade. In fact, just looking at history tells you.

The powerful countries internationally, if the Federation barely counts as one, originally rose during the Age of Discovery, a time that didn’t emphasize isolationism.

Any country practicing isolationism can only become weaker and weaker, while those actively engaging with the international community and expanding their territory through plunder grow stronger and stronger.

Unexpectedly, over a hundred years later, under the Conservative Party leadership, a group of war-fearing cowards chose to reverse history. It’s an irony, an enormous irony, that descendants of adventurous sailors are now afraid to engage with the outside world.

However, this can’t be considered entirely bad; at least this disaster woke up the Federation. Things will be easier to handle going forward.

While Lynch was still having breakfast, Ferrari hurried over, and like Lynch expected, he was here to inquire about matters concerning the financial market, believing Lynch was more familiar and had a more mature perspective—this was the impression Lynch gave others.

"Get Mr. Ferrari some breakfast as well..." After Ferrari stated his purpose, Lynch asked the maid to prepare another breakfast, while closing the newspaper and setting it aside. "These things actually have little to do with us."

His first statement affirmed a tone, "There are only two listed companies in Sabin City, one has already been delisted, and the other would close soon even without this stock crash."

"The real impact is on those who heavily invested in the stock and securities market, who will lose everything. If they used credit loans, the situation might be worse, but these people are only a minority in society."

Ferrari wore a sorrowful expression, "If most residents of the city go bankrupt, even if the President’s Cabinet aids us with some fiscal allocation, we cannot afford the needs of the entire city."

Lynch smiled lightly, "You’re overcomplicating things. When circumstances are desperate enough, people’s needs reduce to just ’surviving.’

No matter if those people lived in big houses before or drove luxury cars, once they go bankrupt, they’ll have to collect relief food like ordinary people. What you need to do is issue more food vouchers and add more flour to the relief food."

He paused for a moment, "In fact, I believe when you find it hard to bear, turning solid food into liquid food can meet more food demand on the same resource base."

"Moreover, hunger helps to relatively stabilize the lower society!"

When people are too hungry to commit misdeeds, law and order naturally stabilizes, which is quite a correct statement.

Ferrari shook his head with a bitter smile, unsure of what to say. Sometimes what Lynch said, calm and rational, didn’t sound like something a young man should say, yet it was hard to deny his correctness.

When external conditions don’t allow, people’s demands reduce to just "surviving."

The maid brought a lavish breakfast at this moment, and after thanking her, Ferrari began to enjoy the sumptuous meal. He had only eaten a few bites when Lynch suddenly asked, "That article ’We Are Alone and Unsupported,’ it came from within the Progressive Party, right?"

Ferrari’s dining motion paused suddenly as he then laughed and said, "Of course not, we wouldn’t do such a foolish thing; it’s not good for anyone."

Lynch smiled while looking at him. In the exchange of glances with Lynch, Ferrari gradually couldn’t take it. Lynch’s gaze was very firm and certain, which significantly diminished Ferrari’s appetite.

After a moment of silence, he took out a cigarette, lit one, and said, "Top-level decision, they just informed us."

After obtaining confirmation, Lynch nodded with a smile and said, "This is politics."

Ferrari seemed to grasp more meaning from this phrase, and he sighed and responded, "This is politics!"

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