Darkstone Code
Chapter 202 - 0200 Festus Festus

Chapter 202: 0200 Festus Festus

Nell and his companions gathered in a relatively secluded small park, each with a bottle of beer in one hand and a large fried chicken burger in the other.

These were the reasons they could come here—free beer, free fried chicken burgers.

This seemingly unhealthy diet is precisely most popular with the working class. They favor high-calorie food, needing some energy to fill the void after a long day of work.

At this moment, such food is even more enticing to them. When everyone is unemployed, everything becomes different. Their families seldom buy food, opting to save money for emergencies.

The food vouchers distributed by the City Hall provide enough for their daily lives. Though it keeps them from starving, they do miss the flavors.

The person standing in the crowd was loudly discussing some seemingly profound truths, such as saying that what they lost must be taken back with their own hands, and that the factory owners who exploit them daily should return the money squeezed out of them.

It’s not that they want to do something terrible; it’s that society has reached a dangerous edge, and workers and factory owners should be united.

Every day they endure the exploitation and oppression of the factory owners. But now, factory owners should also lend them a helping hand so that everyone can overcome the difficulties together, rather than driving them away.

The person also gave some examples, saying that in some industrial cities in the North, even if factories are not operational, factory owners still pay workers minimum standard wages to help them get through the current difficulties.

But look at their boss; at the first sign of trouble, he kicked them out, completely extinguished their hope.

"This is a war of revenge!" The organizer roared loudly, shouting angrily, and his hoarse voice was indeed very enticing, prompting many to shout along.

However, more people remained calmly watching; workers are not criminals. Sometimes they might seem hard to deal with, but in reality, they are a group that very much abides by the law. Otherwise, they wouldn’t silently endure various exploitations without standing up to resist.

Someone suddenly interrupted, asking, "Hick, are you going to kidnap the boss?"

Hick is the name of the organizer. Upon hearing this, he didn’t show strong aggressiveness, just shook his head, "Hey, guys, listen, what I’m saying is not about getting you to commit crimes with me. That would be illegal, and we’d end up in jail."

"Although I heard you can eat chicken and beef there every day, losing freedom doesn’t feel good."

"What I want to do is take back our share!" He again directed his gaze toward the workers standing or sitting on the open ground, "There’s a full warehouse of raw materials in the storeroom. We’ll open the storeroom directly, continue production, and take the products we make to sell."

"I heard Interstellar Trade Company recycles various goods. We can sell these things at relatively low prices, using this money to compensate for what’s been squeezed out of us from outside."

"At least this money is enough to last us till the end of the year!"

His voice got louder and more determined, "This is what we deserve!"

These words avoided the most direct criminal actions, though it actually still is a crime. But compared to severe crimes like injury, kidnapping, extortion, it’s a lot milder and easier to accept.

At that moment, many people were tempted. As factory workers, they know how much the products they manufacture are worth. Hick made a lot of sense—they’re just taking back what’s rightfully theirs.

Thinking about how recently life has been so difficult, even beer and fried chicken have become a luxury, some observers began getting restless too.

Someone beside Nell nudged him with his elbow, a good friend and schoolmate. They didn’t finish school and started working early. According to Federation law, child labor is allowed but with strict standards.

Working at the ages of fourteen or fifteen wasn’t considered illegal, which relieved a lot of the burdens on their families, and that was the norm for most families at the time.

The two went to school together, dropped out together, found a job together, and worked as colleagues up until two months ago.

"What do you think, should we join?"

Nell was a bit hesitant; he is a good person, sometimes with a bad temper, but he has never committed a crime, which is the template for most men in ordinary families.

Sometimes they might seem wild and crude, as if they could kill someone anytime, anywhere. But this is their disguise. Beneath that fragile façade, they’re just ordinary people who could collapse or get hurt, too.

He poured a gulp of beer into his mouth, the rich wheat aroma and bursting bubbles made him take a deep breath—this was the most serene moment he had since losing his job, "I’m not sure, Hick is with the Union. If the boss gives him trouble, the Union will back him up."

He didn’t finish his sentence and wasn’t entirely clear, but his long-time friend understood his meaning, "We’re also with the Union."

Nell shook his head and continued, "It’s different, he’s like the favored son."

Simply put, Hick is a worker "delegated" by the Workers’ Union to this factory, tasked with organizing the union within the factory, and he counts as the workers’ representative there.

He not only represents the workers within the factory but to a certain extent, he also represents the Workers’ Union of Sabin City, the state, and the Federation.

To put it plainly and understandably, if he gets into trouble, there will be a substantial entity from the Workers’ Union to help him.

But if others get into trouble, they can only find Hick, though this isn’t Hick’s problem; the Workers’ Union will certainly provide some assistance but not like how they help Hick.

"If something really happens, someone will have to bear the responsibility. I don’t want it to be you or me."

Nell finally expressed his stance, but his friend had different ideas.

"No one is paying attention to us small people right now. Even if they want to cause trouble, they’ll only go after that guy..." Nell’s old friend motioned with his chin towards Hick, who was continuing to stir up the crowd.

"And this is a good opportunity. None of us know how long these days will last. We have to prepare for the future!"

Eventually, Nell couldn’t convince his old friend, nor could his old friend convince him. This was the first major disagreement since they met in the first grade.

Disagreements over small issues are normal, but this was the first of such a principle-based disagreement. Ultimately, Nell left in the face of scornful and hostile gazes, along with several others who also left.

They became the cowards who came for free food and drink in the mouths of those who stayed, though they seemed to forget Hick’s reason for gathering everyone here was to hold an event with free food and drink.

He didn’t know if his choice was right, nor did he know what would happen between him and his old friend in the future. This made him very agitated inside.

Actually, he wasn’t clear that the reason he hadn’t made such a decision wasn’t because he was afraid of committing a crime, but because he hadn’t been driven to a dead end yet.

What Hick said when they were leaving was quite accurate; Nell and the others like him weren’t of the same breed as those willing to take risks. This sentence directly hit the core of their disagreement.

Those people had already been pushed to the edge of a cliff with no retreat, but those who left, including Nell, hadn’t yet stood at the cliff’s edge. They still had more choices, which is why they lacked the courage to risk everything.

Feeling somewhat unhappy, he returned home. As soon as he pushed open the door, a nauseating stench coming from the living room reached him, making him wrinkle his brow and miss the smell of fried chicken, hamburgers, and beer from earlier all the more.

As the longstanding pillar of this family, Nell’s authority wasn’t affected even by his unemployment.

He glanced at the kitchen and immediately noticed the bottle of liquor on the cupboard, "You bought alcohol?" In just one short sentence, his voice noticeably rose several times, indicating his internal displeasure.

Serra quickly turned around and explained, "Lynch is back, this is a gift he brought."

Nell quieted down instantly because Lynch was his last fallback, the option he didn’t want to admit even to himself.

He suddenly felt out of his depth, not knowing how to face Lynch. If Lynch had listened to him back then, they would be no different from those people in the park now because they would have no options left.

But admitting this would also make him unhappy, as it would mean his decision was utterly foolish, undermining his position as the head of the household.

Nell said nothing, and Serra remained silent, continuing to prepare dinner. Ten minutes later, the family sat at the old but spotless table.

"Not sure if you’re used to this stuff, I added some beans and potatoes," Serra introduced their dinner to Lynch, looking somewhat embarrassed, as if ashamed for not being able to offer sophisticated food to her child.

In front of the three was a simple dinner; everyone had only one bowl with a thick, porridge-like food resembling manure, mixed with beans and potato chunks.

Lacking sufficient cooking knowledge, the beans had lost their vibrant green, turning slightly yellow, and the entire bowl looked as though someone had soiled it.

These were the foods exchanged with food stamps after being cooked.

Lynch raised an eyebrow, grabbed a spoon, scooped up a mouthful, smacked his lips, and nodded.

After swallowing the food, he put down his spoon, "I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat it, but didn’t expect it to be better than I imagined."

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①The smell Lynch detected was fragrant, while Nell found it sickening. The author uses subtle yet brilliant ways to articulate some underlying issues and stances between father and son, connecting implicitly with the title, remarkably done, making one want to clap in praise.