Darkstone Code

Chapter 1229 - 1227: Enthusiastic Bystanders

Lynch’s birthday party... was a little different from what was imagined.

In the imagination, Lynch’s birthday party should have been attended by many star politicians and big capitalists, surrounded by people, being the only protagonist.

But in reality, it wasn’t like that.

Although the friction between the Federation and Peng Jieao began to cool down rapidly with Gafura’s intervention, the tense atmosphere still existed, and government officials were unlikely to appear at Lynch’s birthday party.

People like Mr. Truman and those military generals were indeed not suitable to be there either.

As Lynch’s status and reputation grew higher, sometimes gatherings or parties centered on his private purposes were not suitable for inviting certain people.

Capitalists like Mr. Wardrick would arrange for representatives to attend and present valuable gifts on their behalf, but they themselves would not attend.

Their presence would also be inappropriate, as Lynch was too young, and they were at least a generation older than him.

This led to the absence of politicians and large capitalists, leaving only celebrities.

A reporter filming the party whistled, discovering some very beautiful girls in his lens.

Some were celebrities, some... they didn’t recognize.

In Lynch’s villa, beautiful girls and handsome boys could be seen everywhere, and the whole party exuded a strange atmosphere.

It seemed everyone had already anticipated the outcome—this was bound to be an orgy.

But no one would complain or call it off, wasn’t this exactly how young people celebrated birthdays?

Many from the entertainment industry attended, which Lynch had anticipated. He chatted briefly with Little Fox and greeted some company shareholders, exchanged a few words, and then disappeared.

Clearly, it was his birthday party, but it looked like a Fox Film Corporation celebration.

At this time, Lynch was sitting in the study chatting with Mrs. Tracy.

"... Recently, I’ve been under a lot of pressure, a bit... can’t hold on, Lynch, I need your help!" Mrs. Tracy’s voice was a bit weary.

The state election had left her exhausted both physically and mentally.

In the early October poll, her opponent had more support, above 69%, while her personal support rate had dropped to 57%.

The large gap was because the opponent had a very clear stance on the potential outbreak of war.

He advocated demonstrating the Federation’s might as a great power and the determination to maintain world peace. If negotiations couldn’t yield satisfactory results for both sides, then speak with fists.

A very tough attitude, not like someone from the Conservative Party at all.

His ideas resonated with the current situation to some extent, giving people the feeling that "this guy is very capable."

And these feelings were undoubtedly fatal to Mrs. Tracy.

As a woman, she was inherently unlikable in a political game dominated by men; people had never seen a female politician at the governor level and weren’t sure if a woman with no political experience could do these things.

Initially, with limited choices, people would choose her, but when more options were available, their attitude quickly changed.

This was also characteristic of a swing state—whoever performed better, the voters would vote for them, and many of them didn’t have a stable political stance, which in some aspects actually gave swing states an advantage.

To cater to these voters without a stance, candidates sometimes would do things without principles and bottom lines to please the voters.

With only a few dozen days until the final unveiling, Mrs. Tracy, who had waited for a while, couldn’t wait any longer. She felt that if she didn’t act now, it would be too late.

After listening, Lynch smiled and comforted her a few words, "Actually, I’ve always been doing these things, but since you hope to see some results soon, I know what to do."

"Keep an eye on the recent news, and soon you’ll notice some changes..."

After chatting a few irrelevant matters, Lynch dialed the Green brothers’ phone, telling them they could start taking action.

Mrs. Tracy’s opponent, a Conservative Party candidate for governor, was a handsome and outstanding-looking guy, always carrying a smile, very elegant in speech, and humorous.

Plus, with his background as a former military man and later experience as a lawyer, these all fit the Federation voters’ fantasy of an ideal politician.

The military background gave him simple and loyal qualities, while being a lawyer would allow him to understand what was right and wrong.

He had a great chance of winning, and he thought so himself as well.

In the evening, this candidate named "Hicks" left a park speech, got into his car, let out a breath, then tore off his tie.

He was a bit tired, but in high spirits.

"How did I do?" He adjusted his collar and unbuttoned one button of his shirt, revealing some chest hair.

He had very dense body hair, as some Federation people do, as if they felt cold while in their mother’s womb, and had dense body hair from a young age.

Some people, especially some women, found this very sexy. This world is never short of various strange sexual fetishes.

His staff officer gave him very positive affirmation, "Those people really like you. Next, you just need to show more willingness to stay with them and listen to them, and our chances of winning the election will be very high."

This made Hicks very excited, and he didn’t forget to ask about his opponent, "How are things with Tracy over there now?"

The assistant replied with a smile, "She’s no longer an obstacle for us. We just need to maintain our current advantage for the next period, but you also need to restrain yourself."

He stressed his tone, "Especially remember, don’t do anything stupid. If you want to do something, wait until after the state election!"

Hicks said he understood and that he would behave honestly.

They had already anticipated that Tracy and her people might use some underhanded tactics, creating scandals and throwing mud, but as long as he himself had no flaws, these slanders wouldn’t harm them.

The convoy quickly disappeared into the traffic, not noticing a young man who walked out of a phone booth.

"Let’s start with that woman..." Noel lit a cigarette. He had been in the area for some time and had investigated many things related to Hicks, obtaining a lot of dirty materials.

Now all that’s needed is to organize these materials into a "script" and throw them out one by one.

Originally, they planned to start at the end of October. One month would be enough to destroy Hicks’ standing in the minds of the voters in the swing state.

The people here would not vote for someone just because of their party, even if he did something outrageous.

It wouldn’t happen here; people would only vote according to their own wishes, at least most people do.

Starting early isn’t necessarily good, it would give Hicks more time to retaliate and find ways to counter, but Ms. Tracy demanded it, so Lynch complied with her wishes.

If any accidents caused the plan to fail, she would have to return what Lynch invested, possibly through other means—like persuading her uncle to make some deals with Lynch.

After nine o’clock at night, several investigators from the Federation Tax Bureau appeared outside a house in a middle-class neighborhood, wearing bulletproof vests and looking very serious.

The community service company was watching from a distance, perhaps they might be needed, while other residents hid in their houses.

They didn’t want to get too close to these tax investigators, fearing even a glance might cause them to be audited.

A female investigator knocked on the door, and it opened shortly after, revealing a woman in a nightdress standing by the doorway, looking puzzled at them.

This was a very beautiful woman, not particularly young, appearing to be around thirty years old, and maintained her figure well; her nightdress also seemed expensive.

Considering the housing prices here, it’s imaginable that she must be at least a reasonably successful independent woman.

Based on her identity info, she hadn’t married yet.

A single woman earning that much was truly impressive.

The female investigator showed her credentials and warrant, "These are my credentials and documents. Someone reported that you received an unreported fifty thousand dollars in February this year, and we have obtained the relevant evidence."

"We are now conducting further evidence collection on your residence based on Federal and local laws, and we also need you to cooperate with our work, do you understand?"

The female investigator retrieved her credentials, then placed one hand on her holster, shoulders forward, squeezing inside when the hostess wasn’t paying attention.

The hostess looked confused but soon realized that something serious was happening.

"May I... change into different clothes?" Her gaze looked past the female investigator’s shoulder at the men.

The short, plump female investigator sneered, "Of course, it’s your right."

The woman quickly went upstairs, but didn’t notice the female investigator made a phone gesture to the people outside as she turned.

This phone call would be recorded!

The woman returned to her bedroom, shut the door, and dialed Hicks’ number immediately.

The money was actually hush money sent by Hicks through an anonymous account, and he had arranged a very idle job for her.

She didn’t need to go to the office daily, and she would receive a monthly salary of a thousand dollars. This money maintained her current lifestyle.

But the Tax Bureau people came to her door!

Her hands trembled slightly, aware of what Hicks was doing now. She started imagining plots from TV movies, continuously scaring herself!

Moments later, as she prayed, the phone was answered, "This is Hicks..."