“I am a very reasonable person, and I do not make wild, baseless demands.”
Lynch tried his best to make his words sound authentic:
“First, the Archaeological Association. Actually, it is not just them, but the civilian organizations led by them, such as the Historical Society, the Biological Research Society, and the Arcane Research Society. They are all represented by the Archaeological Association. After all, who else has a rank eight powerhouse?”
“The Archaeological Association is merely interested in the city itself. As long as they know of its existence, how could they possibly oppose it?” Chairman Grant stared at Lynch with suspicious and vigilant eyes, his voice icy. “Do not use their name to achieve your own goals.”
“For someone in politics, you are surprisingly ignorant of such tactics.”
Lynch scoffed with disdain. In his past life, there were countless such tactics. Any department could stick its foot into an engineering project to find fault or squeeze out some profit. How could these people from another world, who had not developed to such a level, possibly understand this?
“That is an archaeological discovery of world-shaking significance. World-class! And you want to build a tunnel right next to it? Who gave you the courage? It requires professional assessment. Can excavation begin at this stage? Will the tunnel route affect the ruins? Can the tunnel project start on time, or does it need adjustments? Who do you think provides the technical guidance for all this? President Olei can define the nature of the project with a single word. If he says it is impossible, who will bear the responsibility? Will the eldest prince bear the responsibility for destroying historical treasures, or will you, Chairman Grant?”
Chairman Grant clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead throbbing, yet he was speechless. He had to admit that Lynch was not wrong. The Archaeological Association did not need to confront him politically like the Valente family; they could simply disgust people from an academic standpoint, leaving no room for rebuttal.
“That is not all. There is also the demand of Chief Bru. The ancient city has been unearthed, but is it truly the city of the Bru tribe? Is it Zur-Baha-Sahr? Who gets to decide that? Even if it looks like it, it would be quite reasonable to conduct cautious research for ten or twenty years before making a judgment. There are many examples in archaeology of research lasting over a hundred years. Is Chief Bru willing to wait that long?”
Thump, thump, thump. Footsteps approached. The bald vagrant who was supposedly eating emerged from somewhere, standing silently beside Chairman Grant. He simply fixed a sharp gaze on Lynch’s smile, only letting out a hum at the very end.
Chairman Grant finally sighed and said in a low voice, “What are their requirements?”
He finally believed it.
Lynch breathed a sigh of relief, knowing his bluff had stunned the other party. A faint smile appeared at the corners of his tense mouth, though he was busy mentally calculating what conditions would attract the Archaeological Association.
“Academic personnel are very reasonable. Since Chief Bru was able to discover the secrets of the hillmen, he must be very familiar with the history of his own tribe.”
“It was the empty frame that notified us, but we have indeed studied our tribe's history for some time since then.”
It really was that black spider. What exactly is he trying to do, and which of the major gods is standing behind him?
Without wasting time dwelling on it, Lynch simply nodded and continued, “The Archaeological Association wants knowledge. You ghouls must fully cooperate with the research work of the Archaeological Association and provide them with the most comprehensive information. Chief Bru should know that such early contact, while troublesome for you, is not a bad thing.”
“Hm? Just that?” Both of them looked a bit stunned.
Is that not enough? This way, I do not have to live under the shadow of being taken advantage of and constantly frightened by examinations. Muttering to himself, Lynch curled his lips and said testily, “The other item is for Chairman Grant. For the subsequent excavation of Zur-Baha-Sahr, the chairman must find a way to have the city government bear the full costs.”
“Are you joking?” The chairman’s cane struck the ground hard. “Do you know how much that will cost? How could the city government possibly afford it?”
“I do not know, and that is your business. Why should I know?” Lynch spread his hands, smiling half-heartedly. “I am not here to negotiate; I am just informing you of the Archaeological Association’s demands. Satisfy them, and all the problems they can solve will be handled for you clearly and properly. If you do not satisfy them, everything will be handled by the book. How you decide is up to you; it has nothing to do with me.”
Chairman Grant choked, looking at Lynch as if he wanted to devour him, but Lynch only smiled elegantly, even taking off his hat and bowing, calm enough to be infuriating. “Honestly, these requirements are not high, at least not compared to the demands of other factions. Given your status, you have many ways to solve this. I suggest you save your anger for when you hear the other requirements.”
“Fine, I accept,” Chairman Grant said bitterly. “What else?”
“The second is representing the hillmen.” Lynch winked at Miss Valente, who looked somewhat puzzled, and said solemnly, “The hillmen have lived in Bester Mountain for hundreds of years and are deeply rooted there. Now, because of the tunnel project, they must relocate, which is a very troublesome matter. Furthermore, land prices in Lande are so high; after relocating, they will have to spend a large amount of money to find a new residence. Should you not show some gesture? Hmm… this seems to be a new concept; let us call it a relocation resettlement fee.”
Upon hearing Lynch’s description, the chairman’s expression twisted, but Lynch did not care, continuing leisurely:
“Having to suddenly move away from their homeland of hundreds of years will cause great mental distress; this is called a mental damages fee. Moving the furniture and items accumulated over centuries will take a lot of effort; this is a moving fee…”
Lynch counted on his fingers, speaking with extreme fluency. The other three were dumbfounded, especially Miss Valente, whose small mouth behind her folding fan never closed. Poor people of the old era, it is your turn to witness the horror of forced relocation:
“Lande people have always been gentlemen who value gentlemanly conduct. I will not ask you for too much for the hillmen, just one hundred pounds per person. That is not much, is it? I am always reasonable. Miss Valente, how many hillmen are there roughly?”
“Cough, cough, one hundred and twenty-seven people.” The noble lady finally managed to close her mouth.
“So few? What a pity, it seems ten thousand pounds will settle it.” Lynch spread his hands toward Chairman Grant. “What a shame, it is such a small amount of money. In fact, this money is used to resolve the hidden dangers of that thing; we cannot let it wake up and destroy the world. This sum should not be in the city government’s engineering budget, so you will have to find a way yourself, Chairman. This money is also non-negotiable; otherwise, the hidden danger cannot be resolved, the hillmen will never move, and the Governor’s Office and civilian associations will stand with the hillmen. This matter is also not open for discussion. If you do not agree, then route the tunnel to other cities hundreds of kilometers away.”
This time, Chairman Grant did not show much anger, clearly having been mentally prepared, but upon hearing the specific number, he still looked pained, his eyes nearly turning red.
“Do not rush, there is a third party.” Lynch lit his pipe again to clear his head, carefully recalling the tone and gestures of Duke Vane, and pretended to say in a deep voice, “You crossed the line, Mr. Grant. What you did regarding that matter was too much.”
The chairman’s face darkened, and for the first time, sweat beaded on his forehead.
Hm? Lynch’s heart stirred, realizing something was wrong.
His intention was to use the name of the Governor’s Office to intimidate Grant. The so-called 'that matter' naturally referred to the square incident. But Grant had shown no guilt when mentioning the victims of the Crown Square Massacre just minutes ago. How could he have become so uneasy now?
No, the only explanation is that he interpreted it as something else.
His brain raced, and Lynch said calmly, “I did not pursue the matter in the square. Do you really think I know nothing? To actually do such a thing again—do not forget your status; you are the chairman of Rhine City.”
“That matter has nothing to do with me.” This time, Grant no longer doubted Lynch’s identity at all and quickly explained, “It was Howard who had private contact with the Salter princess. He said it was to secure a loan, but I have no interest in knowing what his real intentions were. I only collaborated with him on the railway project. Whatever he did cannot be linked to me.”
Hiss, I accidentally caught a big fish. It seems the one colluding in secret with Princess Chloe is the Mayor of Rhine City. The one who made Princess Chloe wary and forced her to involve me is likely him—no, a mayor might not be enough to make a princess wary; it must be the faction behind him.
Lynch exchanged a hidden glance with Miss Valente and said nonchalantly, “I hope you are telling the truth. This kind of mistake is not as easy to resolve as the square incident. The Duke will investigate clearly.”
Grant wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Lynch narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and continued, “Furthermore, the Duke was very dissatisfied with how you handled the square incident. Although you found someone to take the blame, you showed no gesture toward the victims, and the civilian impact was extremely poor. How about this? You pay out of your own pocket—you are not allowed to use city government funds—and in the name of the Governor’s Office, issue a subsidy to each victim. The subsidy for each victim must not be less than fifty pounds.”
“I…” This time, it was the chairman’s face that turned ashen. Bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes, and his fists crunched. “Do you know that even my entire fortune does not amount to that much cash?”
“I said before, I do not know, and I am not interested. But were you not heartbroken that their deaths were worthless? Now they have value.” Lynch smiled calmly. “Once the subsidies are in place, the Governor’s Office will not only continue to turn a blind eye to what you have done but will also remain neutral regarding the Bester Mountain tunnel project, without using administrative means to intervene. If the subsidies are late… then I wish you good luck. Remember, it must be in the name of the Governor’s Office; you know the reason.”
Having stated all his conditions, Lynch smiled at the near-collapsing Chairman Grant and said, “I believe you can resolve everything well. Of course, it does not matter if you cannot; at least it has nothing to do with me. Do not answer me now; you can consider it slowly. Notify me once you have decided so I can arrange for you to meet with the various parties as soon as possible. No need to thank me; this is what I should do.”
Saying this, he took off his top hat, bowed once more, and turned to leave with Miss Valente. Only when they were almost out of the cemetery could Miss Valente not help but ask excitedly, “I had no idea you were a representative of the Governor’s Office and the Archaeological Association.”
“I did not know either, I just found out.”
“Ha? You made it up? It sounded so real.” The noble lady’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you not worried he will find out you lied to him?”
“The son-in-law of Gates—it is an old trick, but it happens to be effective.” Lynch winked slyly. “As for your concern, it does not matter. We are going to the Archaeological Association now.”
“Ah?”
“We are going to turn the story into reality. Then it will not be a lie, though we will have to change our identity this time.”
“What?”
“A secret envoy of the Duke’s mansion combined with a partner of the chairman—what do you think of this identity?”
“Hee hee.”
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