Darkstone Code
Chapter 217 - 0215 Heavenly luck, who is sillier than whom

Chapter 217: 0215 Heavenly luck, who is sillier than whom

Tom, a very ordinary name, so ordinary that people are reluctant to give their children such a bland name.

But it is indeed a person’s name, and the owner of this name is currently hiding in an alley, full of fear.

A military vehicle slowly drove past on the street, and the people in the vehicle couldn’t see Tom hiding in the deepest part of the alley. The soldier with his hands resting on the machine gun’s gaze only lingered on figures that might appear in the light.

The strike had ended, and the military control had somewhat relaxed, becoming a curfew.

During the eleven hours from six in the evening to seven the next morning, no one was allowed to be on the streets without a legitimate reason.

The military initially intended to issue passes to those who needed to go out at night, but someone thought this move resembled the oppressive rule in a dictatorship with no freedom, conflicting with the free nation reputation of the Bail Federal, so they canceled this idea and practice.

Instead, people needing to be on the streets must provide their social security number to the patrolling soldiers, as well as an explanation for being outside their bedrooms during the curfew.

This is much freer, as no one interferes with the public’s free will; they can appear wherever they want, anytime, as long as they can provide a reason.

This is the sweet taste of freedom, Long Live the Free Federation!

The departure of the military vehicle made Tom breathe a sigh of relief. After waiting a while without hearing the sound of soldiers’ boots on patrol, he once again traversed through the light and shadow.

This time, his destination was Nell’s house.

He was Nell’s best friend. They had been in the same class since the first grade, and up until not long ago, they were employees at the same factory and smoothly became unemployed together.

To say they were unemployed wasn’t entirely accurate, as it wasn’t unemployment; it was a complete and indefinite factory shutdown.

At that time, their foreman’s idea was to take a bunch of people to use up the raw materials in the warehouse directly in the workshop, and then sell the finished products to compensate for their losses.

In this matter, the two good brothers who always took the same path had some differences.

Later, Tom and other workers pried open the factory’s raw material warehouse and moved the materials to the workshop for production. The products were evenly distributed among all the workers, who took them home to dispose of themselves, though it’s said most were handled to the Interstellar Trade Company.

Though the auction couldn’t operate normally during the big strike, acquisition was never a problem. Of course, people could conduct recycling according to rules mainly because those places had armed security for protection, which from their professionalism, didn’t seem fake.

Everyone thought this matter wouldn’t have any follow-up result. During the strike, the factory owner didn’t do anything to them, but unexpectedly, just after the strike ended, their boss sued them all in court, demanding compensation totaling over three million.

The police and military had begun to arrest them, and a new batch of police officers had been positioned, executing duties more efficiently than the previous ones.

The previous batch of police thought they could return to work after the strike but overlooked that they weren’t the only option, providing the Veterans Affairs Office a chance.

A large number of veterans filled the vacancies in the Sabin City Police Station and all its branches, leaving no positions for those who initially planned to return after the strike ended.

Under such circumstances, it was almost impossible to hope to evade legal penalties. After narrowly avoiding capture once, Tom planned to seek help from Nell, having heard that Nell seemed to be doing well now, even with some managerial title, hoping he could provide assistance.

In fact, when all the compensation was divided among everyone, it wasn’t that much, just one or two thousand per person... just that!

After several narrow escapes from patrols, Tom finally reached outside Nell’s door. He knocked on the door, and soon sounds of movement from inside the room could be heard.

Not sure if it’s because the city was as quiet as a graveyard without any noise, Tom outside the door even heard the sound of some mechanical spring being pulled inside, the sound of a gun.

At the same time, a cautious voice came from inside, "There’s no money here, and we don’t want any trouble..."

The sins generated during the big strike were innumerable. People didn’t notice because their attention was drawn to the labor dispute, unaware that during this period, at least hundreds of families were invaded, some women violated, and some even killed by intruding robbers.

People didn’t notice because it had no direct relevance to their interests; they could only see what was related to them.

The midnight knocking heightened Nell’s tension; his response was typical of people in their socio-economic class — if you come to rob, there’s nothing to gain, even subtly indicating he’s willing to avoid trouble at all costs.

"It’s me, Tom."

The door opened, and the light from inside made Tom limp with relief. He looked at Nell, suddenly feeling an urge to express what was bottled up inside, not knowing where to begin.

"Are you alone?" Nell looked into the dark corridor behind Tom, his hand hidden behind him not lowering the gun, with his finger not leaving the trigger.

Tom nodded, and only then did Nell make way, while he slipped his handgun into his pocket and led Tom inside.

After letting Tom in, Nell glanced down the dark corridor again, then closed the door and locked it, making it impossible to open directly from the outside.

This is a little trick one must master living in such a place; when someone visits, people often don’t lock the door, leaving a chance for those outside, but here, Nell won’t let those whose existence is uncertain have their way.

After the two sat down, Nell poured some alcohol for Tom. The weather was getting colder, and there was no heating in the room.

If they don’t drink a bit, they’ll soon freeze from the inside out, and that’s not a good feeling.

After sitting down, the two didn’t immediately start talking; they just sat silently for a while, drinking.

Maybe it was the effect of the alcohol, but Tom’s expression became grim, "You have to help me now, you’re the only one who can."

Nell looked at his friend of several decades and suddenly realized he wasn’t as soft-hearted as before, agreeing immediately, perhaps due to recent experiences.

Since Lynch had entrusted him to become the manager of the construction company, working with Asir for over a month, he finally understood some things aren’t as simple as people imagine.

Initially, he thought capitalists were all evil, but after becoming a "capitalist’s dog," he suddenly discovered the matter wasn’t as absolute and simple as he previously thought.

Outside the employment center, he felt everyone was pitiful; some even knelt and prayed to him as if worshipping a deity, pleading for a job to help their families through the crisis.

He wanted to save many people but ultimately found he couldn’t.

Lynch gave him a limited budget; he had to complete the task given to him before the budget ran out, unable to save everyone.

He selected those he thought were most pitiful, but soon discovered he had been deceived.

Some worked hard, but others lazily; one guy in his thirties deliberately injured his finger, demanding not only to stop working but also to receive wages equivalent to others rather than the minimum wage.

Gradually, he became less indignant, starting to remain calm and indifferent, not knowing if this was good or bad, only realizing he understood the world a bit more.

Nell didn’t express an opinion, and Tom didn’t immediately react, thinking he was too vague.

"That last incident, the one Hick mentioned, the boss has reported to the police and sued us, and I can’t afford to pay!"

"He insists we compensate him according to the product’s sale price. Even if I still have those items, I can’t afford that much; he only wants money!"

Their former boss demanded three million in compensation for the factory’s economic loss, with about eighty percent of the estimate based on the market price of the goods.

In other words, no matter the value of the stolen raw materials, they must compensate the factory at the store sale price.

The factory owner himself didn’t expect to earn a huge amount suddenly, reviving from an imminent bankruptcy.

The City Hall and Ministry of Justice, aiming to appease capitalists, also agreed to sue and act against those causing damage during strikes, with the Sabin City Court supporting the factory owner’s claims.

If these people couldn’t raise three million, they would face a terrifying sentence.

Tom’s face was full of regret, "I should have listened to you back then, Nell, you have to help me!"

Nell was silent for a while, "How much is left?"

Tom mentioned an amount he himself felt embarrassed to state, "Twenty-two thousand..."

This gave Nell a headache, and he couldn’t help but frown, "How much did you sell those items for?"

"Fifteen hundred..."

The room suddenly went silent; Nell took over ten seconds to confirm his ears hadn’t deceived him, "You sold things worth several thousand for... fifteen hundred?"

He had never thought Tom was a fool; sometimes he was even a bit clever, but after just over a month of not seeing him, he suddenly felt Tom wasn’t just foolish!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.