Darkstone Code

The world outside is gobbling up the assets of the Duncan Clan, while Mr. Jeruno, at this moment, seems somewhat desolate.

He is standing at the port, watching those expensive artworks being loaded onto the ship.

The sea breeze blows in, piercingly cold.

A painful expression suddenly flashes across his face, his right hand clenches into a fist and pounds against his heart.

This act of pounding seems to have indeed worked, as the momentary pain begins to lessen, a surge of strength re-fills his body.

His heart has developed problems; recently, he has been exhausted, constantly on the move, ultimately unable to change this outcome, his heart occasionally experiences some pain.

He is unsure if this is temporary or long-term, he has not told anyone, including the doctor.

Once news of his physical condition leaks out, the already terrified family might shatter in an instant.

He still has to hold on until they reach a new location before he can rest.

He’s secretly contacted a small country’s king, where he also has some investments, owning a family castle, and this small country’s king was once his business partner!

Yes, he once had a cycle whereby, at intervals, he sent two slaves to this king.

He isn’t very concerned about what ultimately happens to these slaves.

Those involved in slavery and human trafficking are typically hard-hearted.

When contacting the king, he told the other party that he would increase investments in this small country in exchange for protection of him and the Duncan Clan by this country.

The reason he chose a small country this time is because he gradually realized how important it is to hold the "moral high ground"!

This small country doesn’t have a strong military, and its population is not large; with a little effort, it’s not impossible to replace the royalty of this small country.

By that time, whatever they do will be legal!

Of course, he surely won’t live to see all this; this is a path he’s set for the family’s future development.

"Sir, everyone is on board now..."

The butler comes from afar, with the last few items being loaded onto the ship, reminding Mr. Jeruno it’s time to leave.

Mr. Jeruno snaps back to reality, glancing at the butler, "Is it?"

His voice sounds as if not yet fully awake, and his gaze past the butler’s face, looking towards Bupen!

Once he departs, there will be no chance of returning, unless it’s at the time of his death.

He can arrange for his ashes to be sent to the family cemetery, hoping they won’t destroy the family’s burial ground.

The Federation people, especially the wealthy Federation individuals, like to set up family cemeteries in the shady areas behind their manor.

Whenever anyone in the family dies, they are all buried in that place. Mr. Jeruno’s family also has such a cemetery, and it is larger in scale!

If someone buys his manor—if the Federation Government auctions it to compensate those so-called victims, then his manor will be transferred to others.

He hopes those people will not disturb his ancestors.

However, those who can purchase his manor presumably would not do such a thing.

Actually, things were mistaken from the beginning!

He once again confirmed his mistake; he was too impatient, which he had already realized earlier!

His active promotion of the "Security Law", its purpose was essentially to establish a legalized private armed force.

But, at that time, he hadn’t yet realized that the size and influence of the Duncan Clan had actually harmed the Federation Government; he did not awaken to this.

Until now, awakening comes too late!

He sighed briefly, decisively withdrawing his gaze, and with the butler’s support, boarded the ship.

The ship slowly leaves the port, Mr. Jeruno did not go out to bid farewell to the Federation.

He stays in his cabin.

Only after leaving the Federation’s territorial waters does he gather the important members of the family in his room.

"Once we arrive at our destination, I will step down from the position of Patriarch..."

People instantly burst into commotion, Mr. Jeruno did not stop them, allowing them a moment to release their emotions.

Indeed, after experiencing unprecedented major failure, to suppress them at this time would be wrong.

Only by letting them vent some emotions can they quietly begin the next phase of life.

For about a few minutes, most people were pleading for Mr. Jeruno to retract this decision, some expressed confusion about the future, and of course, there were those wanting more.

They are very interested in the position of Patriarch, yet they do not overtly express their desire to be the next Patriarch, but instead, keep asking who will be the next Patriarch!

Once they had all quieted down, Jeruno picked up a cup of hot tea and took a sip.

As one grows older, the body’s response to external stimuli is no longer as sensitive or quick as when younger.

Clearly, this cup of hot tea is still somewhat scalding, yet for Mr. Jeruno, it seems he cannot sense it.

"I have basically arranged everything for what follows..."

As soon as Mr. Jeruno began to speak, the room immediately became very quiet.

He put down his teacup and looked at them, "Once we arrive at the location, the first thing we need to do is inventory how many resources we can still utilize."

"Secondly, I have already spoken with... the King, and we will gradually invest about one billion Federation Sol in this place."

Seeing someone wanting to speak, Mr. Jeruno raised his hand to stop him, "I know what you’re going to say. This money won’t be given to them all at once. With local policy support, our actual investment will be approximately less than four hundred million."

Once the industries are supported by policies, making money becomes easy, because whatever you do is right, making money isn’t that difficult.

Tax exemptions, low costs, and low labor—all these bring profit.

"The matter of private forces cannot stop, we must also intensify the infiltration into this small country."

"We must strive to make theirs, ours..."

Some people’s breathing gradually became rapid, and they also realized the benefits of doing so.

Once they firmly control this small country, then what is justice and what is evil will be defined by them!

This will become a foundation for the Duncan Clan to soar again!

Mr. Jeruno claimed to be arranging the next developments, but in fact, it was a summary of the series of mistakes he made throughout his life!

He made mistakes and now understands the reasons for these mistakes and the consequences they brought. He begins to convey these to these descendants through new methods.

This is why humans can stand at the top of the food chain!

There are many intelligent creatures, but being able to systematically organize, summarize these experiences, and then pass the experience on, only humans do it best!

From time to time, Mr. Jeruno would cough twice.

The doctor listened to his chest and lungs and found no problems, yet he always felt an itch in his throat and couldn’t help but cough twice.

He continued talking, touching on some issues that needed attention, changes within the international community.

In his view, the Federation has no reason to fail; the Federation’s current national strength has clearly surpassed Gafura, and even in collisions with Peng Jieao, it would not fall behind.

The future new order will still be formulated by the Federation, so he asks everyone not to hate the Federation Government, not to think about causing trouble for the other party.

The best way is to pretend as if nothing has happened, without those unpleasant pasts, and start anew!

Mr. Jeruno said a lot in one breath; he feels his body is getting worse, and indeed he should rest.

Perhaps... these young people might perform better than he imagined?

He let the people go, with more than ten days still till they reached their destination; everyone could rest and vent their emotions on the road.

After everyone left, Mr. Jeruno finally left the room and walked onto the deck.

He looked at the endless sea, felt the sea breeze for a while, and then returned to his cabin.

Sitting on the bed with a blanket covering his legs, he picked up a book and started reading slowly.

It seemed like he was reading, but in fact, he was still summarizing this failure.

This was not entirely triggered by a single event but resulted from many events linked together continuously.

The pressure exerted by the Duncan Clan on the Federation Government was too much; they never found a relief outlet, and the pressure kept accumulating.

It was just that Mr. Jeruno had bad luck. Unfortunately, while he was leading the family, the Federation Government exploded!

Luckily, they were still able to leave!

If they had delayed a little more, they might not have been able to leave.

He had even thought of the end they would face!

Core members commit suicide out of guilt, and peripheral family members all meet justice.

In order to ensure more secrets are not leaked, these core family members would be made to commit suicide; he understood all this.

With a sigh, amid fatigue, there was also an indescribable relief!

Meanwhile, in the Federation, Mr. Truman sat opposite Lynch.

He looked at Lynch, "You won’t act recklessly, will you?"

Lynch, smiling, looked at Mr. Truman, "I don’t know if what you call acting recklessly is the same as what I imagine."

Mr. Truman maintained a smile, but his smile was peculiar.

Because he wasn’t someone who frequently smiled.

As a military man, his face was mostly stern.

As the President’s staff officer and Minister of International Affairs, he also needed to maintain his authority and couldn’t always be smiling.

Such a stern person suddenly smiling can give people a strong sense of contrast.

Mr. Truman thought for a moment, "It should be the same thing."

Lynch gave a faux sigh, shrugged, and spread his hands, "I’m sorry..."