Darkstone Code
Chapter 228 - 0226 Winter, impeachment case, fugitive

Chapter 228: 0226 Winter, impeachment case, fugitive

When Lynch shamelessly uttered these words, even Mr. Fox felt that this guy was truly a... while also shivering at Lynch’s proposed solution.

A shiver from deep within the soul, because he knew that what Lynch said could indeed solve his problem!

As for help, he couldn’t see it; he only saw a capitalist standing before him, akin to a demon wearing human skin, and at that moment, he thought of many famous capitalists who perhaps employed similar methods to drain people dry.

Noticing a trace of astonishment in Mr. Fox’s eyes, along with a slightly sarcastic look, Lynch smiled modestly, "I didn’t lie."

"I not only helped them but also helped you, Mr. Fox."

"If someone borrows a thousand dollars from you and ends up having to sell their house to pay back the money and interest they owe you, what do you think will happen?"

With Lynch’s words, Mr. Fox began to contemplate.

Such occurrences are not unheard of in the financial sector; they would lend money to those targeted by them, initially not reminding them to repay timely, but instead allowing compound interest to explode unchecked until the borrower has to sell assets coveted by the financial company.

This tactic is mostly used in issues concerning land acquisitions.

Some capitalists have their eyes on a particular piece of land, possibly due to insider information, or some other reasons.

In short, they believe the value of that land will significantly increase, and to acquire this land belonging to someone else, they would exert commercial pressure on the landowner, creating various traps and problems to trap the landowner in a financial crisis.

As long as the landowner borrows money from the bank or a financial company, they will ultimately lose that land.

Bankruptcy follows, leading them to sell their land at a very low price to repay debts, leaving them no other path to take.

Another group of capitalists end up acquiring what they want, almost without spending money, possibly just costing them some social favors.

However, the result brought by this approach is not something a financial company can easily endure; society is eager to report such news where someone borrowed a few hundred bucks, and months or years later had to sell their house to pay back, and still couldn’t repay both principal and interest.

Exposing social injustices can significantly enhance the positive image of a media outlet, along with the public’s sense of shared ire and curiosity, which boosts newspaper sales; they only consider adding more subjective speculation instead of narrating the issue from a fair perspective.

Most financial companies troubled by similar issues eventually have to change names, even attracting investigations and filing of cases by the FBI and the Tax Bureau.

Mr. Fox looked at Lynch; he didn’t pretend to be smart by guessing anything. He knew his brain wasn’t as good as Lynch’s, and random guessing was inferior to waiting for Lynch to tell him the answers.

"Someone who borrowed a thousand dollars and is forced to sell their house, and someone who borrowed ten thousand dollars and is forced to sell their house are essentially no different, but people sympathize with the former and disdain the latter."

His voice guided Mr. Fox’s thinking; it was a magical force!

"For the former, people will condemn your actions, accusing you of wanting to take their house after they just borrowed a thousand dollars."

"But for the latter, people will only see it as a joke, saying ’if he couldn’t repay, why borrow so much; he deserved it!’"

This will relieve you from many troubles, troubles of public opinion, social oversight, and some legal issues, and this help is mutual."

"The borrowers received a large sum of money in a short period; if they can solve their problems, say medical issues, a house is clearly less important than life, then this deal isn’t a losing one."

"If they have no reasons and willingly borrow so much money for enjoyment, then their house is what we rightfully deserve because one day they’ll lose it; why shouldn’t we keep it?"

Lynch paused as he spoke here, "By the way, if you notice the current housing and land prices, consider buying some real estate properties in Bupen or southern big cities after some time; there’s substantial appreciation potential, and banks favor them!"

"Where was I?" Lynch pondered after the previous remark but soon recollected himself, "For those needing jobs, we can send them abroad via labor export!"

The Federation’s economic downturn has led to a decline in free market demand; we no longer need so many workers, yet over the years, the lack of labor in agriculture and animal husbandry has rapidly fostered industrialization, now very few people can accomplish what used to require many in agricultural work; there’s no place for surplus labor, which is why unemployment cannot transition back to employment.

"If we look at the global stage, you’ll find many countries have a massive shortage of young and middle-aged labor due to war, whereby women in those countries have to take up men’s work."

"Set up a company to export them as labor to other countries; I believe they won’t refuse!"

Lynch turned to look at Mr. Fox by his side as he said this, "So, any questions?"

Mr. Fox babbled, "None, Lynch buddy, I must say you’re a born capitalist, I have a very personal question..."

Lynch made a light joke, "If you find it inappropriate, you can choose not to ask!"

This little joke was amusing; Fox laughed, "I’m curious, do you have empathy?"

"Of course!" Lynch replied without hesitation, ten thousand percent positive and resolute, "Charity work is also an area I pay close attention to..."

Mr. Fox evidently understood what so-called charity truly is. Using a peculiar value system and sense of justice unique to people from the bottom level, he asked one more question, "Is that still charity?"

It’s like many criminals adhering to inexplicable moral standards; Mr. Fox, a financial company boss who can bankrupt people and tear families apart, actually possesses a strange sense of justice.

Lynch didn’t mind his offense; age brings some stubbornness. He only seriously questioned, "If each family in need receives aid in which even one percent of its value comes from me, what is it if not charity?"

When they looped back outside, the set had already changed some backdrops; the leading actress was chatting with young Fox.

Lynch tilted his head and reminded Mr. Fox, "Instead of worrying about my kindness, you should consider your son not marrying such a girl..."

A slight upward curve formed at the corner of his mouth, "Countless men have seen her body and unleashed their desires towards her."

Old Mr. Fox twitched at the eye corner and replied "He doesn’t dare" before interrupting the two’s conversation; Lynch was smart, what if he was right?

The basic exterior scenes of this movie had essentially been filmed, making the Foxs gain a new understanding of shooting films.

To save costs and time, scenes are typically selected and filmed before the crew officially starts shooting, instead of following a linear narrative like a finished film, possibly wrapping up the ending on the first day.

Many reporters interview movie stars post crew work, asking about their filming content and feelings, most don’t answer.

It’s not that they don’t want to, but because they simply don’t fully understand what they shot, everything is fragmented, and only after final editing concludes can they comprehend their performance throughout the movie.

"The movie schedule is arranged for the second Friday in January, we won’t have too many competitors," stated the film company manager whom the Foxs hired - a young industry insider to handle this professional task.

Perhaps influenced by Lynch, they started trusting young people more.

This is positive news, but what intrigued Lynch more was his apparent accuracy; he noticed some abnormality in Fox and the girl’s eyes, suddenly eager about the development, a guilty pleasure, yet first of all, it’s a "pleasure."

The weather was getting colder, yet more beggars appeared on the streets. The President’s Cabinet seemed to vanish from Bail Federal after December began.

They no longer sporadically appeared on TV singing praises for the President, no longer deceived citizens claiming everything would get better, instead, they maintained silence.

The presidential impeachment case had entered the second round, and a second vote was expected around late January; now the stage was rife with investigations concerning the impeachment case, investigations on the President, rebuttals from the President in Congress, and various hearings.

But this also exacerbated people’s discontent toward the President and his Cabinet, as if forgetting how feverishly they supported them just years ago.

People are fickle, or perhaps too realist, unable to recall things past a certain time threshold.

These days are destined to be difficult to get through, a form of torment, but life will get better, everyone believes in that.

And it was on a day like this that Gap absconded.

Lynch learned of this news through the TV; in this increasingly cold winter, Gap astonishingly disappeared from his place of house arrest, leading the Sabin City Police Station and FBI to issue warrants.

However, everyone knew capturing him wouldn’t be easy.

His escape now indicates he was well-prepared, and even investigative personnel questioned whether he truly "absconded" or merely "disappeared."