Darkstone Code

Regarding the Workers’ Union President exploiting his position and power to establish a culture of sexual dominance within the Workers’ Union, this issue has been at the center of public discourse recently.

In fact, workers form the largest group within Federation Society, so the fact that the President has done such a thing left many workers astonished. However, after the absurdity faded, they felt it was not entirely unacceptable.

The core of the issue isn’t that the Workers’ Union also has a culture of sexual dominance, but that this behavior was actually exposed.

This was quite shocking.

There are always many shocking things in the world. Some like eating dirt, others like eating feces, but without reports about them and without the world knowing what they’re doing, people aren’t shocked.

People are shocked by the provocative truths they are unaware of; it’s as simple as that.

For over ten days, the President insisted that he did not know the woman, claiming it was all slander, a setup, and even suspected that the Police Station was collaborating with those trying to frame him.

He requested the case to be transferred to the FBI, believing the FBI would provide him with a fair outcome...

He knows that even if the President personally handled the case, he’d have no chance of clearing his name because those scoundrels were so well-prepared.

From the victim, to the witnesses, to various pieces of evidence, even his most trusted female secretary betrayed him.

Those people were fully prepared to take him down, so it doesn’t make much difference who is responsible for the review.

But he still made that request because he needed to buy some time.

The core conflict of this whole affair is that he might have encroached on the interests of the United Development Company, so now the Federation Government stands against him.

The only thing he could do was immediately activate his arrangements in Nagariel, so he called the Vice President of the Nagariel Workers’ Union.

Under the FBI’s surveillance, the two discussed these matters.

"...Don’t worry about me!" Just now, the Vice President inquired about the progress of the President’s case, and he directly interrupted, saying, "Even if I can’t clear myself of these slanders in the end, the Federation’s law won’t keep me inside for too long."

"During this time, your work becomes very important."

"You also saw this time that the entire union’s situation is much worse than we imagined, even... they’re all their people!"

He referred to his secretary, as an "official" wouldn’t let someone unfamiliar become their secretary.

The President’s secretary had worked with him for nearly ten years, and during this time, they built mutual trust, working together until now.

Yet, it was such a person who stabbed him in the back when he needed help the most.

This made him realize that the Workers’ Union’s problem isn’t the lack of a capable leader but that it has become the problem itself!

He looked at the Vice President, "Once you leave, immediately return to Nagariel, resign from the union, and start a training school with your people. We’re not running a union anymore; we’re doing business."

"Pull in some local officials as shareholders, including those you know..."

The Vice President nodded, "Connections!"

"Yes, connections, pull them in as shareholders, and within a few years, we can realize our ideas. By then, we’ll have the capital to stand against them and have a chance to achieve our goals."

In fact, the President had a complete plan in mind. As long as he was willing to distribute money and pull in more people with ties to the United Development Company as shareholders, even if the company didn’t favor them, they wouldn’t interfere excessively out of consideration for these people.

After all, most of the money would end up in their own hands anyway, while those from the Workers’ Union would only get a small share, posing no threat to them.

When the company grew larger, those from the union would have the opportunity to realize some of their initial ideas.

He initially thought there was no danger in this trial, which also made him realize the peril and terribleness of capital.

He said this while grabbing the Vice President’s hand tightly, "Remember, don’t let greed blind you. Send out the money as much as possible. We need these people to shield us from the storm now!!"

The Vice President also realized the seriousness of the situation. He had initially thought that as long as it was explained clearly, everything would be fine. Who knew the more they spoke, the more muddled it became, directly leading to a conviction for the President.

After returning home, he immediately packed his luggage; he hadn’t brought his family with him during these last two years in Nagariel.

Firstly, because he wasn’t yet clear about the situation there, the sanitary conditions, education environment, etc., weren’t as good as in his home country, and he had to consider his children’s growth.

Secondly, he wasn’t sure how long he’d persevere there, so he went alone.

But now, he was hesitant.

"What’s wrong?" his wife asked, noticing the inexplicable anxiety on his face.

He rarely showed such expressions, having become the President of the Nagariel Workers’ Union at thirty-eight; domestically, he was a Vice President.

But in Nagariel, he was the local President!

The thousands of dollars in monthly salary allowed them to smoothly join the Middle Class, and they might even enter the upper class in the future.

There shouldn’t be such anxiety on him!

He looked at his wife and suddenly asked, "Would you guys be willing to go to Nagariel with me?"

His wife also became serious, "Has something bad happened, making us need to leave with you?"

She couldn’t help but relate it to the President’s current plight. Her husband always told her it was actually a persecution. She immediately grew tense, fearing her husband might also be persecuted, and even the family...

The Vice President of Nagariel decided not to lie. He nodded, "The Federation is a bit dangerous for us now. It won’t cost us our lives, but it might cost us our freedom."

"The best way is to go over to Nagariel, where we can still have some power to voice ourselves."

Nagariel, after all, is not the Federation, even though many view it as a part of the Federation now, but it ultimately isn’t.

Some anti-Federation forces still exist in Nagariel, resisting, and there’s nothing effective the Federation people can do.

Among them is the disciple of Akumal, now a fugitive, though there’s little hope of finding him in the short term.

Although Nagariel might be more backward, for those with ability, it’s also safer.

His wife hesitated for a moment, "We need to discuss this with the kids..."

In the evening, when the children returned from school and learned about their parents’ intentions, they decided to go to Nagariel with their father without much hesitation.

He had just graduated from college and was interning at a company, dissatisfied with his job.

If leaving the Federation this time could offer some opportunities for his life, he thought it was entirely acceptable.

Moreover, once there, his father would be the company’s boss, offering him a higher starting point, allowing him to do more.

That evening, they purchased tickets for the 7:30 AM departure the next day.

The night passed in silence.

A bit past five in the morning the next day, the family got up one after another.

For the head of the household, this might be a silent journey; they faced terrible resistance, and he wasn’t pursuing dreams, but escaping disaster.

But for the child, this journey was his dream’s voyage!

He would realize his life plan in Nagariel. He’d heard many say that Nagariel was full of gold, and he believed he would become one of the most successful "Gold Diggers!"

That morning, the family had a simple breakfast. The couple felt some reluctance leaving their long-lived house, but the young child was filled with thoughts about the new environment and future.

The family got into the car, sitting in the driver’s seat. The head of the household didn’t start the car immediately, suddenly saying, "I want to smoke a cigarette first..."

After getting his wife’s permission, he sat inside the car smoking a cigarette. For two to three minutes, no one spoke.

This cigarette seemed like a farewell to the past, a farewell to the present.

Then the car started, and they discussed matters like what to do with the house during the journey.

They didn’t know when they’d return from this trip. The bills wouldn’t stop just because the house was unoccupied; monthly arrangements for these matters needed to be made.

But the sudden situation left many issues unaddressed.

From their residence to the port doesn’t take much time, and once out of the city, the car sped up.

As the coastline appeared, the Vice President relaxed completely.

"Once we arrive..."

The sudden screeching brakes and the world shaking momentarily left his mind blank...

Not far away, someone in a phone booth witnessed the entire scene. After saying something, he hung up the phone and left quietly.

Not long after, Jeruno, having just gotten up, was informed of this news and seemed rather indifferent, "That’s really terrible."

His son didn’t quite understand, "Do we need to take action against a... small figure?"

Jeruno, enjoying breakfast, was eating fresh, rare, blood-stained venison.

He glanced sideways at his son, picking up a napkin to dab deer blood off his lips, "Don’t you know anything about what we’ve been doing in Nagariel?"

The father and son gazed at each other, plunging into a long silence.