Darkstone Code

Chapter 462: 0460 Who can solve this trouble?


The Minister of Construction, who had just enjoyed a gourmet meal, was not happy at all at this moment. The satisfaction brought by delicious food couldn't compare to a fraction of the damage this phone call inflicted on him!

His face was livid, yet when he opened his mouth, the words he spoke, his voice, his tone, all bore a certain joy, "Wonderful, it's good you're okay, many people are searching for you now, it's best if you don't make an appearance for a while!"

"Of course, if you trust me, you can tell me your address, I can send you some things to help you get through this difficult time."

A sharp laugh came through the receiver, "Help me go to hell?"

The expression of the Minister of Construction gradually eased somewhat. Some things are just like this, once you've been in a bad mood for a while, you can calmly face what caused your distress.

His tone became more straightforward, "If you don't trust me, then there's no need to call me at all. You know, within half an hour, I can find you." He gently found a button under the table and pressed it.

Then, while speaking, he took out a sheet of paper and a pen, "Listen, Preton, things are not as bad as you imagine. I and others are constantly thinking of ways to exonerate you."

"The war with the Federation..." At that moment, the study door silently opened, and the butler stood at the door.

Pressing the button was actually to alert the butler to come to his study.

As the Minister of Construction, he often met many varieties of Empire nobility and privileged classes.

Some meetings were pleasant, but there were also some that were unpleasant.

When encountering these unpleasant meetings, the best solution is the "unsophisticated" butler prompting them to end the meeting quickly. The Minister can send the guests away without falling out, rather than asking them to leave directly.

At this moment, he gestured to the butler, handed over the written note, used his eyes and fingers to convey to the butler the importance of the contents on the note, then urged him to do it quickly.

The butler left with the note, but the conversation did not stop.

"...Actually, whether it's the Federation or the Empire, our conflicts are bound to erupt, just sooner or later."

"A lion may not refuse flies, but it will definitely refuse wild dogs. The Federation's behavior is like that of annoying wild dogs, you just happened to play a pushing role during this time."

"Even without you, in two to three years at most, we would have launched a localized war to spar, so you don't need to worry about His Majesty taking it out on you."

"Please forgive me for what I'm about to say next which may make you feel uncomfortable, Preton. You always think you're very impressive, a 'Mr. Key', imagining yourself to be more important than you are. We don't care about you at all!"

"His Majesty the Emperor doesn't even know your name; he doesn't have the time or energy to remember the name of a trivial person. Do you understand what I mean?"

"You're just a small person; you think of yourself as too important!"

The Minister of Construction belittled Preton severely, the more he belittled Preton now, the more he could create an illusion for the opponent, as if he really wasn't as important as he thought, even if he appeared in front of people, no one would take anything against him.

Such words wouldn't be a problem if stated to ordinary people, but the man on the other end is Preton. Almost half of the wealth he obtained from Nagariel each year went into the pockets of Empire Ministers, sometimes even exceeding half of his income.

Not everyone is a gentleman; some take whatever you give with thanks for your benefits.

Some people directly ask you for things, and speak a large number right away.

As far as His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire is concerned, Preton indeed is just a small person, but the ministers still don't dare to let him freely appear; what if he chooses to selectively disclose transactions with ministers from recent years, naming only a few, then real trouble and deaths may occur.

Striking out danger at its inception, how familiar are these big figures of the Empire?

"The whole world is looking for this small figure of mine; it seems I really am just a small figure!" Preton's self-deprecating comment led the Minister of Construction to have an uneasy suspicion; he seemed too calm, as if already fearless.

He was even able to laugh during the phone call and keep the conversation going.

"You're not in the Empire?!" he suddenly asked.

Preton laughed loudly and replied, "Of course, are you disappointed? I'm certainly not in the Empire, you should thank me for not saying your name on the phone..."

The first reaction of the Minister of Construction was to slam this damned phone onto its base; Gafura's communication with the outside was via undersea cables.

From the current perspective, this thing seems a bit... incredible, but actually it's not that incredible.

Gafura is an island nation, but it is not completely isolated from the continental shelf, suspended over the ocean. Its base is connected to the continental shelf, making it a whole.

This also means that the depth of the seawater in this part is not too deep. Engineering submarines can easily reach the bottom, which provides the necessary environment and convenience for laying cables.

Between Gafura and the nearest land under the sea surface, there is such a communication cable. Incoming calls from outside the island first enter a relay station and are manually transferred to the telegraph offices of each city.

Then the telegraph office forwаrds it to the local telephone account. During this process, the operator records the call as necessary, ensuring that the content of any given call can be traced at any time.

Manually transferred calls often come with a manual prompt after the receiver picks up, such as "You have an incoming call request from abroad/your country. Would you like to be connected?"

At this stage, due to technical reasons, such long-distance calls require multiple relay stations to provide termination services to ensure the call can be completed. As a result, long distances are charged on both ends, and the fees are not cheap.

Ordinary people can't afford to initiate or even receive international long-distance calls!

Before this call was connected, there was no prompt, which is why the Minister of Construction mistakenly believed Preton was in the country.

Domestic calls are not recorded, so he dared to say anything, but now he regrets it. Preton, this bastard, set a trap for him, and he jumped right in.

The ten-plus seconds of silence allowed the Minister of Construction to stabilize from two extreme emotions, rage, and fear. As long as Preton didn't shout out his name, the issue wasn't too severe.

"Where are you now?" He rephrased the question he asked when the call first connected.

Preton didn't hide anything, "I am in a very safe place, many people are watching me, and if I make a move that could be misunderstood, they'll hit me!"

"This isn't funny…" The Minister of Construction thought he was joking, but he immediately realized, "Wait, you've been captured! Who got you?"

Before Preton could answer, the Minister of Construction had a suspicion that quickly turned into reality.

"Federation!"

"So you don't have to worry too much about me betraying you, or you guys. Your value is higher than mine, understand?" At this time, under tight surveillance, Preton inexplicably felt a sense of schadenfreude.

As long as he utters the other party's name over the phone, it would cause them a lot of trouble. He never thought such a thing would happen before. Their standings have changed; he's not the one scared anymore!

"What do you want?" The Minister of Construction's scalp tingled. Falling into the hands of the Federation is no better than falling into the hands of the Emperor. He's even considering whether turning himself in to the Emperor would be better.

"No matter what you want, I must first remind you, I will not betray Gafura, nor will I sell out His Majesty the Emperor!"

...

More than half an hour later, the butler brought a letter to the Minister of Construction's study. He placed the envelope on the desk and slightly bowed his head, "We found three phones in that house, two of which were modified."

"The call first went to one of them and then was transferred here. By the time we got there, there was no one left in the room, and no clues were left."

"I learned from the real estate dealer that the house had been vacant for quite some time…"

After hearing this, the Minister of Construction waved the butler away. His eyes sternly fixed on the letter. After a long while, he picked it up and cut it open with a letter opener.

No wax seal, no fragrance. He took out the letter paper. There were no gold embossed patterns and no family crest. A commoner remains a commoner!

He unfolded the letter and after reading it, his expression became somewhat strange. Because in a sense, what Preton required was something that the Empire needed as well. In other words, was he here to solve the Empire's troubles?!

For several days in a row, it seemed like the sky over the capital of the Empire was shrouded in dark clouds. The situation in the Amelia Region remained ambiguous. The Empire had already sent additional army troops to Amelia for military operations.

Yet these useless army units seemed to be fighting against the elite forces of the Empire. Not only did they lack any significant achievements, but they also suffered heavy casualties.

A few well-known figures who actively surrendered from the Amelia Region also expressed their dissatisfaction with the current situation to the Governor and His Majesty the Emperor through various means.

If the Empire cannot extinguish these recurring resistance organizations in a short time, the situation could deteriorate, potentially causing unrest throughout the region and affecting the Empire's sovereignty.

After all, nobody wants to live under this high-pressure terror rule every day. Maintaining such a situation will only drive more people to join the resistance organizations.

The new day dawned, and in the Ruler's Hall, the Emperor of the Empire again asked, "Who can solve this problem?"

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