Darkstone Code

Chapter 494: 0492 Discovery and Learning


When Gadon explained why he buried a deceased relative in the front yard, the reporters already had ideas for writing the news article, even thinking of many headlines.

"Father's Love is Like a Beacon"

"Father is a Gate"

"The Man Buried in the Front Yard"

"Never Leaving"

...

Heart-wrenching stories are always a favorite of reporters. They love to dig up the shining aspects of human nature in tragic stories, as it's these shining aspects that resonate with readers.

Only when readers feel moved and have learned something new will they write to the newspaper, spontaneously promoting the article and sparking societal debates, which in turn attracts advertisers to place ads in their personal columns.

Of course, some reporters feel this story isn't "painful" enough—it's merely a story of a father sacrificing himself to protect his wife and children from bandits.

Honestly, it does fit the standard for promotion, but similar stories happen more than once annually in every nation. These reporters believe there should be more points of pain in this story!

It must be noted that they ventured into a troubled area at great risk, not just to report mundane news. They also need more valuable rewards, more impactful stories.

Someone asked Gadon a question, "Were you by his side when he died?"

Gadon paused, and almost everyone, including Lynch, had a brief mental blank.

He knew these reporters could be jerks, but didn't expect them to go to such lengths. However, he quickly regained his composure.

He recalled an amusing story of a news reporter who, to get firsthand information, stopped medical personnel from rescuing an accident victim, removed the victim's oxygen mask, and asked, "Did you know your whole family is dead? How do you feel about that? Do you want to cry?"

The survivor's only thought at the time might have been "I want to curse, three days, three nights, in the middle of the night, howl!"

Faced with the reporter's question, memories Gadon preferred not to recall surfaced, including Mr. Simon's indifference and cruelty, and his disdainful gaze at Gadon. All this and more unspoken feelings fueled his impulse to pull the trigger.

His upper eyelid twitched slightly; it was definitely not a sad expression, which piqued Lynch's interest.

"Yes, I was not far from him, I don't want to…" out of courtesy and the presence of so many onlookers, he answered the question but intended to refuse responding to further questions.

But the reporter didn't give him a chance, "Did you hold his body when he fell? Did you watch the blood flow from him onto you? Were you scared? Did you call out to try to awaken him? How did you confront the bandits, or did you kneel beside the father who sacrificed himself to protect you and beg for mercy?"

Gadon's fists clenched, but the reporters were excited, and inwardly they gave a thumbs up to their colleague's tough questions.

These questions were truly probing, not only reopening Gadon's wound but also pressing a scorching cigarette stub into it.

Someone inquired about this reporter's background, and upon learning he was from Bail Federal's "Federal Times," they immediately wore a knowing expression.

Their favorite activity is reporting news with no bottom line, but this draws great interest from those eager to learn more.

They didn't even realize that the reporter was prepared to be hit, as being struck would boost his reputation and draw more attention to the news report.

Unfortunately, Gadon is ultimately a "Nagariel native," with mixed blood, but still a native at heart. Born and raised here, he is a genuine Nagariel native.

This naturally instills a reverence for foreigners, even though he is also partly one.

He didn't retaliate, merely looked at the reporter for a moment and shook his head, "I refuse to answer these questions; they make me suffer!"

"Because you helplessly watched your father die before you, and couldn't do anything?" the reporter persisted in pursuing the matter.

As the atmosphere began to turn strange, Lynch stepped forward, "While we strive for more authentic reports, we shouldn't rub salt in others' wounds. Can we avoid such questions?"

The reporter who anticipated Gadon might throw a punch suddenly became meek. He knew that Gadon would at most beat him, but someone like Lynch, who was already part of the local ruling class, could cost him his life if they got angry.

With his life and bank savings in mind, the reporter offered an apologetic smile, slightly bowed, "Of course, Mr. Lynch, I apologize for my reckless actions earlier. I was eager to tell others about the tragedy caused by this turmoil, neglecting the feelings of those involved. I'm sorry, Mr. Gadon."

He also apologized to Mr. Gadon, who couldn't act out but had to nod his head to accept the apology.

This is his character; over the years, he has repressed himself so much that certain things gradually shifted from pretending to habit, such as his politeness.

As the group entered the room, they saw the lady of the house, a local woman.

She was kneeling beside the coffee table, preparing for the guests who were about to arrive. Once Lynch and some others entered, she immediately stood up, bowing low and lowering her head.

In Nagariel, women's status is pitifully low. Before Mr. Simon's passing, she had a status almost as low as a servant within the family. Now, with Mr. Simon gone, her status is only equivalent to that of a housekeeper at best.

It's not that Gadon treated his mother poorly; he actually treated her very well. However, in the local traditional beliefs, women inherently have no status.

Even among couples, husbands seldom regard their wives as "family," treating them more like free servants.

This is a societal common knowledge, so Mr. Simon's death doesn't significantly elevate the lady of the house's status, unless she has an extremely prestigious background.

After Lynch sat down, the others also took their seats, to discuss past, current, and future events.

Gadon's mother, the lady of the house, kneeled beside Lynch again. He was the most distinguished person among them, and according to tradition, she needed to make Lynch feel at home.

Gadon quickly shifted his attention to the ongoing conversation, "I inherited everything here, and am touched by the destruction this chaos caused. I, more than anyone, hope for chaos to stay away from us."

"To achieve this, we must first strengthen ourselves, which is the common wish of me and other Nagariel people. Only when we are prosperous and strong can we avoid these issues..."

At this moment, Gadon still carries a very traditional Nagariel perspective in understanding the world, including the majority within the Youth Party.

They believe once the Nagariel people become wealthy and capable of education, the situation here will naturally improve.

To achieve this, economic development and industrialization must be considered, so Gadon's initial words were "prosperity and strength," causing some to ponder while others smirked silently.

No one can be blamed for what's right or wrong; after all, he is still a young man.

Of course, Gadon wanted to tell people from this moment, everything here would be his to use and possess, declaring his stance.

"...Next, I will resume work. I've noticed..." He glanced at Lynch sitting nearby and smiled slightly, "Mr. Lynch's factory is hiring more workers, which is actually a very positive phenomenon."

"I believe in Mr. Lynch's ability; if he has faith in Nagariel, it shows that we truly have development potential. So why should we think of leaving or escaping? Why not continue building our homeland here?"

Gadon focused mostly on future development in his speech, while Lynch, after listening for a while, didn't stay attentive. Initially surprising with intelligence and forbearance, the young man lacked something special now, a kind of spiritual energy. What he showed was his most concerted effort to exhibit to people, not his essence.

It sounds perplexing but is precisely the key distinction between large merchants and small vendors.

In his childhood, around six or seven years old, during Lynch's era, silkworm farmers would sell silkworms at school gates in certain seasons.

Once sold, the farmers would leave, making it hard for many students who had silkworms but no mulberry leaves, watching helplessly as the silkworms died.

Back then, Lynch sparked business-minded ideas, picking up mulberry leaves from silkworm research institutes during vacations to sell at school, earning over twenty dollars in just one day.

During that era, an adult's monthly salary was only about a hundred dollars.

Unfortunately, soon after, the school confiscated his money and publicly criticized his actions, while others began selling collected mulberry leaves, but those people learned.

The biggest difference between them and Lynch was that Lynch saw wealth, while they only picked up what others left behind.

This was similar to the young man before him, who was trying hard to show his "learning" results. He, along with those around him, thought he was smart and made sense, but Lynch knew this was just an illusion.

Some things cannot be learned nor acquired.

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