The story of the melancholic man is indeed captivating, whether for male or female listeners, and ultimately Lynch decided to offer him a job.

Lynch is not strictly a kind-hearted person; he has once ruined many families financially.

But he's not strictly a bad person either; many have been saved from despair because of him.

He's a very contradictory person, only doing what he wants, which could be considered capricious or a unique value system.

Of course, he also has a very realistic side.

Anyone who can become a senior partner in a large company possesses high business acumen, even if, in Lynch's view, they don't have the qualified commercial savvy, they're still a qualified senior employee.

No matter the current circumstances, such things don't happen easily, but when they do meet Lynch's needs, he doesn't mind offering a helping hand.

After giving the melancholic man a business card, Lynch and the girl returned to the room; the melancholic man had already signed a contract with the cruise company, so he couldn't immediately start working for Lynch.

"So, see you at dinner?" Standing at his room door, Lynch planned to take a short rest.

The cruise arranged quite good rooms for the major shareholders of the United Development Company, completely unlike those cramped rooms less than fifty square meters occupied by ordinary passengers on the lower two levels.

In Lynch's room, there was a spacious living room, a study, a side chamber, and three principal and secondary bedrooms.

Of course, normally moving into this room via regular means would cost ten to even dozens of times more than a regular ticket.

The girl stood at the door without leaving, looking at Lynch, biting her lip, her face flushed.

Her chest heaved rapidly, seemingly concocting some intense emotion within.

"I don't know how to say it, I know there wasn't any intention in your plan to help that gentleman, but you did, and I'm very touched..."

She suddenly raised her head, glaring fiercely at Lynch through her glasses, "Regardless, you must try today!"

People often tell children to do the right thing because doing the right thing leads to positive, affirmative feedback.

Perhaps what Lynch is experiencing now is precisely this positive, affirmative, slightly irrational feedback.

…

"What happened to your lips?" During dinner, Lynch met Mr. Pato again, and Mr. Pato curiously looked at Lynch, pointing at his lips, "They seem a bit swollen."

Lynch touched his lips and chuckled, "I accidentally hit them getting up, thanks for your concern, Mr. Pato."

Mr. Pato smiled, skipping over that topic as both selected their dinner courses.

Due to the large number of guests on the cruise, reportedly over a thousand people or more on each trip.

Even though there are plenty of chefs on the cruise, it's impossible for them to cook for everyone simultaneously, so only upper-tier clients can enjoy à la carte service, while others must take what's freshly cooked for all.

It's somewhat like a buffet style, with some exquisite dishes placed in trays, and people can help themselves.

But even a buffet here is one of the best, with food made from exquisite ingredients that one can't resist; some reportedly board not for travel, but for months-long dining.

Lynch dined alone tonight, as did Mr. Pato; neither opted to order but chose to select food like the typical folk.

After picking some food, Lynch had a similar portion sent to his room before finding a place with Mr. Pato to sit down.

Mr. Pato didn't explore why Lynch's assistant wasn't with him, just as Lynch wasn't concerned about whether Mr. Pato came alone and where his associates were.

The two chose a relatively secluded spot and naturally began chatting.

"This afternoon, I met the bank people," Mr. Pato casually chatted while cutting the food on his plate, "They revealed some additional information I was unaware of before."

At this point, Mr. Pato slightly paused, raising his head to carefully watch Lynch's expression change.

The six major banks are also shareholders in the United Development Company but not major ones; they don't engage in specific development matters, their role is to provide financial support to the United Development Company.

This situation is quite normal, and there is nothing curious about it for Mr. Pato, but the person he was conversing with mentioned something else, sparking new speculations for him — something important that he didn't know was happening.

So he had his assistants gather some information, and they spent an entire day studying it in the room, eventually reaching some conclusions.

"You plan to snipe Galiel," Mr. Pato spoke with a hint of pride, even arrogance, when he revealed this answer.

He slightly shook his chin, letting go of the dining knife and rubbed his fingers. His tone was very certain, as if telling Lynch, "See, you've been hiding everything from me, but I still uncovered the truth," showing a pride of seeing through all illusions, alongside an arrogance that nothing could be hidden from him.

He was observing Lynch, who didn't seem to have any reaction to his words, until he stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed it a few times, then picked up the napkin beside him to dab the sauce on his plump lips. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Pato."

"Moreover...," he casually fiddled with the napkin in his hand and placed it neatly folded on the corner of the table before looking up at Mr. Pato, "we just pushed Galiel's exchange rate higher, and you should know I've acquired a hundred billion Galiel. If anyone wants to snipe Galiel, they must be my enemy."

"I'd lose a huge sum of money!"

The title "Mr. Hundred Billion" has become well known throughout the Federation. As the youngest Mr. Hundred Billion, Lynch created a miracle, he nearly became the spokesperson for Nagariel and Galiel!

Mr. Pato smiled, "If losing a hundred in one project could bring a thousand in profit for another project, any loss is acceptable, don't you agree?"

Lynch looked at him, the two gazing at each other for three, four, five, six, seven, eight seconds before Lynch was the one to break the silence with another question, "What did the people from the banks tell you?"

Mr. Pato's lips curled slightly, realizing more from Lynch's reaction, at least confirming his suspicions were correct.

He leisurely said, "The people from the bank told me Galiel may continue to appreciate, they've been busy acquiring Galiel spot all over, complaining their work is too hectic, and they haven't had a break for almost half a year..."

No one would miss the opportunity to know someone like Mr. Pato, whose backing Star Dream Butterfly Group stands as one of the largest and most influential Consortiums in the Federation. Establishing even just a casual acquaintance with Mr. Pato could mean opening the door to high society.

Even the people standing opposite him were from the Federation's top six banks.

To demonstrate their familiarity, the bank manager jokingly complained about his work, touching on some actual work details.

This was supposed to be normal, but Mr. Pato smelled something unusual in there.

It's like having a broken tap at home, a typical occurrence, but it always breaks when you're on a business trip, suggesting hidden untold mysteries within.

After a casual chat with the bank people, Mr. Pato returned to his room to gather his subordinates and express his thoughts and the peculiarities he perceived.

These staff who enjoyed the best treatment immediately started looking for answers for Mr. Pato. Surprisingly, although their salaries were high, they were actually quite useful.

They quickly reached a conclusion — the Federation possibly plans to snipe Galiel, and the countdown phase had already begun.

This made Mr. Pato feel a bit incredulous, as the Federation had just acquired so much Galiel not long ago. If they were to snipe Galiel, there seemed to be no need for that. However, his assistants provided an explanation that was somewhat acceptable.

Currently, the Federation holds the largest reserve of Galiel worldwide, including individuals like Lynch, the "Mr. Hundred Billion," who were part of the aggregate.

If the Federation itself begins to lose faith in Galiel's future and starts selling off Galiel, what would happen?

As the currency used to support Galiel in the Foreign Exchange market is abandoned, others would have even less reason to hold Galiel.

Once the banks, the Federation Government, and people like Lynch who have acquired large amounts of Galiel start creating a huge short position, the Nagariel United Kingdom's government will not be able to withstand Galiel's exchange rate!

Then what benefit would come from Galiel's collapse?

This is also what made Mr. Pato very certain there is definitely an issue here — what is the motivation behind sniping Galiel?

In the Federation, and even worldwide, motive is the key point in logic; the development of anything is inseparable from motive. So, what is the motive behind sniping Galiel?

They found last year's newspapers and reports regarding diplomatic negotiations in the ship's library. They discovered something therein.

The Federation Government once proposed hoping Federation Sol could become selected as Nagariel's legal circulating currency but was rejected by the Nagariel United Kingdom delegation. In the end, it could only retreat to allow Federation Sol to be a legally circulating currency within Nagariel.

One is legal circulation, the other is lawful circulation; although only a single vocabulary differs, the actual significance is vastly different.

Perhaps this is their motivation!

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