Darkstone Code-Chapter 1010 - 1008: I Have a Friend Named Wood

Later, the community service company’s manager gave Lynch a call.

The person indicated that a lady claiming to be Lynch’s mother had asked him to remove the maid from Lynch’s house.

He found this matter... a bit strange, and naturally didn’t dare to decide arbitrarily, so he still consulted with Lynch.

Lynch was surprised but thought it was reasonable.

Actually, it wasn’t just Serra who didn’t like the maid, even Mrs. Tracy didn’t like this maid; they probably thought she was too flirty.

This isn’t a curse or an insult to one’s personality, but essentially a compliment from the girls’ perspective.

Adult women, driven by jealousy toward younger girls who surpass them in various aspects, often exhibit resistance and find enough theoretical justification for their behavior — she doesn’t look like a good girl!

Actually, it’s not about whether she looks like a good girl, but about the mindset of the ladies saying these things, which is a bit problematic.

Can’t let a bad girl stay by Lynch’s side!

It’s a bit contradictory, a bit nonsensical, but it also shows closeness.

"Thanks for the reminder, can you pretend this didn’t happen?"

The manager quickly nodded, "I know nothing, Mr. Lynch."

"Great, thanks for the call, if there are any issues, feel free to contact me anytime."

Hanging up the phone, Lynch shook his head slightly, glanced at the maid — apart from wearing stockings, a slightly short skirt revealing lace-edged panties, and a slightly tight top seemingly squeezing her uncomfortably, there wasn’t anything wrong?

The girl noticed Lynch’s gaze, her face blushing a bit as she turned to look elsewhere. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Fortunately, Lynch didn’t make any further moves but returned to the study room; he had to give Serra and Koman the next business plan.

He referred to a genius he met in his past life, who was very smart — while everyone was committing financial crimes, he slightly adjusted the financial crime model to make it reasonable and legal.

Lynch reminisced for a while and then began to write.

The core of this plan is win-win, aiming to create more beauty pageant champions, for more win-win opportunities.

Those champions would be fitness coaches at You’Er Mei, earning a substantial salary, while You’Er Mei would also recruit from the society.

The newcomers would be divided into two groups — one group would become new signed trainees, starting from zero, training with the goal of becoming bodybuilding champions.

The other group would be regular trainers, directly leading students and clients.

These newly joined coaches are first-level trainers, enjoying only the lowest salary guarantee, then they can choose to further study.

Pay to join the champion class for advanced training, and come out as a second-level coach, with higher income, even profit-sharing from clients’ spending.

The next step is third-level, also known as senior coach, with better treatment and welfare, also requiring further study.

Until the fourth level, which is champion coach.

Actually, through bodybuilding contests annually selecting a dozen champion coaches is already the limit; next, Lynch would have Koman encourage these champion coaches to open their own stores.

And this is the key step for the IPO; only with outstanding and attractive results would people be willing to buy the stock and attract capital’s attention.

More stores, this is key.

Many times people don’t discuss the value and sales of each branch of a franchise; they only talk about how many direct or franchise stores the brand has.

As long as these stores are plenty, even if their earnings don’t look good, capital still wants to invest — a speculative action.

Due to the current expansion’s success, some wouldn’t settle for a plain life but try being owners; as long as they open a store, it contributes to You’Er Mei’s step forward in the listing process.

As for whether these newly joined champion stores can continue operating, it’s not very important; even in some ways, having some shut down appropriately helps You’Er Mei better.

After all, if all champions started businesses, it’s also harmful to the direct stores.

Some people succeed, some fail, dividing the bodybuilding champions and those continuously advancing fitness coaches into different camps.

Leaving behind a group capable of serving the company steadily and another group generating lots of cash wealth for the company, yet unwilling to lead a plain life inside, then this part is eliminated.

Moreover, people don’t focus on the failures; they only gape at the successful ones, and the company wouldn’t crumble from franchise stores’ bankruptcy — instead, they gain more revenue from failed affiliates’ exit —

Regional operation agents.

Lynch quickly described the whole framework; achieving this actually wasn’t difficult, just required some clever folks to be "pioneers," others then knew what to do.

He needed to find some clever people for this; unfortunately, Richard had already committed suicide. If he hadn’t been so rebellious, maybe he’d be the perfect guy for this.

Just then, Lynch paused slightly as he recalled another fellow, someone who always tied Richard’s victory rates, Wood.

Then he called what used to be his company and got Wood’s number.

At this moment, Wood had left the investigation bureau, even taking several investigators with him, and rumors said the Director directly approved their resignation submissions.

No one knew why this was happening, why an undercover and a group of investigators would resign; no one knew what occurred, and those who knew, said nothing.

At this time, Wood lived in a luxurious house, contemplating his next life steps, having earned a lot during the undercover operation in the second-hand goods auction market.

Roughly the kind of money he’d never make as an investigator, undercover in his whole life.

Legal income of several thousand to tens of thousands weekly made him forget his former most dazzling ideal — justice.

As great as justice is, it doesn’t match money; one must recognize reality, money is real, ideals aren’t.

But now his problem is the competition in the second-hand goods auction market is too fierce, making further profits difficult.

When the company’s regulations hadn’t changed before, their lives were pretty good; getting first place would earn a $10,000 prize, which they’d calculated.

Buying goods worth $10,000 and earning a $10,000 bonus seems like no profit, no loss, but it was actually profitable.

$10,000 of goods would be mortgaged at 60% or lower discounts for cash — some specialized in this business.

In Sabin City, a quaint little city, branches of the six major banks didn’t consider reducing bad debts but rather worried what if they’d not had enough bad debts each cycle?

Bad debt metrics is the last line for honest people.

Yet for dishonest people, it’s a breakthrough limit!

Dealing with people known for what they are, they could receive cash of 50%-60% of the auction prices; hence, profiting $3-$4,000 each cycle, making tens of thousands monthly.

But later, the company changed the plan, lowering the reward to $5,000, directly making profits harder.

Now, a group of people gathered, considering what to do next.

Despite the second-hand market flourishing again, many still choose to go to the second-hand goods trading market than to hand over goods to be auctioned at lower prices.

Within two years, many things have changed dramatically; the once dominant company now struggles, they realized they’re shrouded in fog again, as if they’ve seen the future.

"I heard the city plans to build a big factory; they’ve brought many machines..."

The speaker stopped mid-sentence, pondering, the ones more used to easily earning thousands to tens of thousands couldn’t imagine working for a couple hundred a month, it’d be better to kill them.

Sabin City’s minimum wage is much lower than Bupen’s, only $247, nearly $50 less.

Yet with those extra fifty bucks, they’d still refuse laborious work.

Someone brought up Richard, "The things Richard did in Gafura, should we try them too?"

Everyone stared at him, but soon the gaze shifted to Wood.

Wood frowned, "We don’t do illegal things; we were enforcers before, so we don’t do illegal things."

Some showed mocking smiles, colluding with the six major banks to create bad debts wasn’t illegal?

From a purely legal standpoint, they don’t repay, so the banks directly take their mortgaged items — this isn’t illegal.

Yet sometimes tying things together makes them unlawful.

For instance, they never intended to reclaim the mortgaged items, let alone pay interest.

The bankers knew they’d never do it, deliberately handed money over, creating bad debts.

Annual reviews fail to discover anything —

Things worth $20-$30,000 are mortgaged to about $10,000, the bank’s rate is already low; even if the head office tries to research issues, they’d find nothing.

Plus, all the items are intact, paperwork solid, proving there’re no problems here.

Naturally, no one mentions they’d only given Wood’s group a few thousand bucks; another few thousand sits in their own pockets.

The whole process riddled with legal yet illegal dilemmas.

At this moment they heard Wood say they don’t involve illegal acts, the first thought they had was absurd.

They didn’t even reflect like Wood did; formerly law enforcers, why are they thinking of earning illegally now?

Just then, the phone rang.