Darkstone Code

Harry stared dumbfoundedly at the money that had fallen at his feet, his gaze somewhat dazed.

Really received this one million... for a moment, countless thoughts surged into his mind!

At this moment, he thought of many things, thought of the future, and his dreams glowed brightly because of the money spread across the ground!

"Want to say something?"

The host walked up to him with a microphone, "A million-dollar prize, people hope you can say something, or maybe you have something you want to say to everyone?"

"For example, how do you plan to use this money?"

Harry came back to his senses, he was still very excited, excited to the point where his body was slightly trembling.

He took the microphone from the host with both hands, needing both hands to hold it tightly, otherwise, it might slip out of his hands and fall.

His lips trembled slightly, and his voice shook somewhat, "I want to move with my family to a better community, buy a house that can fit all of us, and then maybe start a little business?"

"I’m not sure, but as long as there’s a chance, I might start a little business, so I can help more people."

In the Federation society, helping others is a very noble virtue, it can even be said to be a kind of moral integrity!

No matter what your identity, status, whether you have money or not.

When you exhibit—at least, exhibit such virtues, people will cheer for you, just like the audience is doing at the moment.

Actually, whether you really go on to help more people isn’t important, it is essentially just giving people hope, telling them there are always people who will lend a hand when you are in trouble.

At least leave some hope for people, otherwise, this desperate society will be doomed.

The host nodded in agreement with this viewpoint which aligns very well with the Federation’s values, "I wish you success ahead of time, it seems your family also has many things they want to say to you..."

The cameraman followed Harry walking towards his family while the host began announcing the wrap-up, of course, he also mentioned, the TV station will continue to film some of the participants’ subsequent lives, allowing people to see these things happening in reality even clearer!

Moreover, he also previewed that there will be a week’s break for the program, within the week, any Federation citizen can send letters to the TV station to register.

This time, the production team plans to do something big, selecting four hundred people from across the country for fierce competition, every month ninety-nine people will be eliminated, but in the finals, they will resurrect six of the most popular contestants from among the eliminated ones.

And a series of higher rules will also be detailed in the subsequent issue of Vanguard magazine.

The entire Federation is again sensationalized because of this!

Because they saw a miracle, now they are just a registration letter away from the miracle!

At the scene, people reluctantly looked at the money, in the end, they still honestly left.

Darkstone Security is considered an industry leader in the Federation, they occupy a large proportion of overseas military operations, even some overseas military actions of the Ministry of Defense have been contracted to Darkstone Security, which has quickly spread its fame throughout the world.

Trying to get some money in front of these people’s eyes?

This is probably thinking their death is too slow, trying to press fast forward for themselves?

It must be known that Darkstone Security is allowed to legally bear arms domestically and use firearms in combat during work, they have certificates jointly issued by the Ministry of Defense and many security agencies.

When a person makes a wrong move and is shot dead, it might just mean paying some money for them...

"Hey, that’s our money!"

Harry, who was discussing the future with his family, suddenly heard his father’s shouting, looking back, the staff were cleaning up the scattered money.

Harry pressed down on his father’s shoulder, something he would definitely not dare to do before, but at this moment, he dared.

Because he is the one who possesses this money, whereas his father, who actually doesn’t have a good temper, unexpectedly didn’t resist this time, just sat down.

Harry looked at him, "Relax, I’ll go ask what’s going on."

He turned and walked towards the host, who was tidying up some things, seeing Harry, he smiled and said, "Just in time, the company’s lawyer will come later, do you have your own lawyer?"

Harry blanked for a moment, he shook his head, "Except for when they plan to send me in and give me a free lawyer, I don’t have a personal lawyer."

The host was not surprised, people at the bottom of the society cannot afford those lawyers who charge based on time, he gave Harry a suggestion, "You can find one now, or you can trust us, our lawyer will also explain many things to you clearly."

Harry hesitated for a moment, the host saw his hesitation, "I personally suggest you find one yourself, so there won’t be any gaps between us..."

Harry returned to his family and mentioned this matter, his father immediately had an idea.

"Our club has a lawyer, we can get him, he only charges twenty bucks an hour!"

This price is very cheap, which actually made Harry a bit worried, but then he thought, he probably doesn’t need a highly sophisticated lawyer, this isn’t a lawsuit.

He only needed a lawyer who could read and understand the contract.

Soon, the duty lawyer from the Workers’ Club where Harry’s father was a member drove over. If it weren’t for his cheap suit making him lose some points, he actually looked pretty decent.

Then, Harry and his family, along with their lawyer, sat down with the TV station’s staff and their lawyer.

The TV station’s lawyer handed over a notice and some documents, "These are the various standard terms we have used in the program so far and the information we used when registering the program."

"To put it simply, this million-dollar prize is actually before taxes, not after taxes."

Harry paused for a moment, and before he could say anything, his father couldn’t help but ask the Workers’ Union lawyer in a low voice, "What does this mean?"

The lawyer, while looking through the documents, gently said, "It means you need to pay taxes on this million."

Harry’s father had not yet reacted, and the lawyer added, "It’s not a million because some of the prize money has been taken away. It’s actually a little over nine hundred forty thousand."

"According to the current tax rate, you ultimately only receive about...", he frowned and made a rough estimate, "less than three hundred fifty thousand in prize money."

Harry himself was stunned, "So little?"

The TV station lawyer sitting across the table smiled and countered Harry’s view, "That’s not considered little at all; it’s just that the tax policy has suddenly changed. If it hadn’t changed, you would have gotten around six hundred thousand in prize money."

"It’s still a significant amount of money."

The Workers’ Union lawyer nodded, "That’s indeed the case."

He secretly glanced at the opposite lawyer, feeling a bit intimidated.

There’s no way around it; the badge on the opposite lawyer’s chest is from one of the top three law firms in Bupen. Just this badge is enough to make some prosecutors and judges feel troubled.

Not to mention fellow lawyers!

They have the most formidable team of lawyers that can help anyone achieve their judicial goals to the fullest extent.

Even if you killed someone in the street, as long as they are willing to defend you, it might not even count as second-degree murder, and you might not even have to go to jail!

Facing such a top lawyer, the young lawyer from the Workers’ Union who was just muddling through life felt a bit embarrassed. He resented having been called here.

And he shouldn’t have put himself in this situation for twenty to forty bucks.

He decided then and there to raise his rates, from twenty to twenty-five... no, thirty bucks. After all, this family has money; they wouldn’t mind spending this amount.

A million turning into three hundred fifty thousand was something that Harry and his family had a hard time accepting.

Truth be told, three hundred fifty thousand is enough to buy a house in a Middle Class community, but it’s limited to buying the house.

If they want to do anything else, this amount of money is clearly not enough.

The room suddenly fell into silence.

Harry’s father asked the Union lawyer to check the documents for any mention of a post-tax million-dollar prize; the lawyer searched for a long time and didn’t find anything, becoming a bit impatient.

This prompted Harry’s father to start flipping through the pages one by one himself. The Union lawyer remained silent; if the TV station used lawyers from a top law firm, their chance of making a mistake is smaller than that of a man getting pregnant!

At that moment, the TV station’s lawyers offered another new proposal, "Mr. Lynch has considered this situation and thus provided a completely new proposal."

"In fact, Mr. Lynch didn’t anticipate the tax policy to change so drastically this year, and he hopes this money can bring some change to you and your family."

"Therefore, our second proposal can ensure you receive at least six hundred thousand in prize money, but it is paid out over thirty years."

"Each year the prize money we give you will increase from the previous year until you receive the entire prize money over thirty years!"

After comparing the first proposal, Harry and his family seemed to become interested in this one, and they began to discuss quietly among themselves.

The TV station staff and lawyers thoughtfully offered to step outside for a breath of fresh air, giving them space to discuss.

Once they left, Harry’s father habitually took charge of making decisions about these major family matters.

"I think we can adopt this suggestion; at least with this choice, our money won’t be less—six hundred thousand, not three hundred fifty thousand!"

He felt that as long as the money wasn’t a problem, nothing else was an issue.

Harry hesitated a bit, while his brother, despite some complaints, ultimately just expressed his stance—"I still think it’s best to get all the money at once."

Everyone was voicing their opinions, while Harry looked towards the lawyer, needing to seek professional advice.

The lawyer scratched his head, "I’m not too clear about this either..."

When it comes to money matters, he tries not to intervene; he only provides legal assistance!