In the afternoon, Lynch found ti to et three n seeking help and did his best to assist them. Unfortunately, one elderly man in his sixties had a very bad temper.
He maliciously accused Lynch of scheming behind his back, saying, “I know you’re behind all this,” and harshly refused him with words like, “Even if I go to hell, I won’t sell my factory to you,” and “Go to hell with your greed.”
Fortunately, Lynch was rciful and did not bla the old man. Not everyone can face reality and accept it.
Lynch wanted to help but lacked sufficient funds, so all he could do was apologize and watch as the man’s factory was legally auctioned off by the bank.
That evening, Lynch visited the veterans’ club, where a new group of retired soldiers had arrived.
The army downsizing plan was progressing steadily. In the age of great naval powers, the army’s situation was bleak.
Having just defeated Gephra in a naval battle, the Federation expanded the downsizing plan to show its stable stance and to avoid invading other countries.
The Defense Ministry planned to reduce the army to 50% of its current size. Surprisingly, both dostic and international communities supported this move.
So countries praised the Federation’s approach as a commitnt to lasting global peace. Lynch understood the reasoning: without a strong army, even if naval forces reached an enemy’s doorstep, a real invasion was impossible.
At worst, after so bombardnt, the opponent would surrender and demand reparations because the Federation’s army couldn’t sustain a large-scale invasion. They lacked the capability. It was better to keep the Federation weak for now than to allow it to grow strong again, which would pose a real global threat.
Sotis, human malice isn’t a conscious choice. Sociologists have studied cases of unard robberies—when robbers carry no deadly weapons, the likelihood of intentional harm or killing is under 20%. In many failed robberies, over 30% of robbers end up beaten by their victims.
However, when robbers carry deadly weapons like knives or guns, even if they kill victims, they often never intended to use lethal force consciously.
Put simply: Possession of deadly weapons breeds murderous intent. When people are highly stressed and emotions flare, these weapons provide an impulsive, effective solution beyond their conscious thoughts.
Thus, the Federation’s downsizing was widely accepted, with even Gephra’s emperor sending a telegram praising the Federation president for “setting a positive example in the international community.”
Dostically, support was also easy to understand. People feared war. After years of avoidance, the public was deeply afraid of death and conflict. Maybe in the darkest tis, so wanted change, but once things improved slightly, many preferred peace, knowing war only brings death and sorrow.
If distant naval artillery could solve conflicts, that was the best option.
Most families supported army cuts, and the president seed to understand the Federation’s sensitive public nerves well.
Sotis those nerves were coarse; sotis they were fragile. Knowing when to please the people was not difficult.
Thus, periodically, parts of the army were disbanded and soldiers sent ho.
Thanks to Lynch’s care at the Sabin City veterans’ club, soldiers didn’t worry about jobs, which attracted many retired veterans from York State hoping to settle in Sabin City.
“Look, it’s him again, trying to take my beloved soldiers!” joked the father of Ferrell’s wife, a lively and outgoing man chatting with recently retired sergeants. Seeing Lynch, he smiled and teased.
His friendly deanor removed any sense of hostility, and after greeting Lynch, the sergeants recognized him as the legendary “Lynch.”
“How many are you taking this ti?” he asked after shaking hands.
Lynch didn’t dodge. “My financial officer ran into trouble. She caught her servant stealing but didn’t report it, only fired her. Now I worry the servant might seek revenge.”
The man nodded in understanding. “She?”
“Yes, she.”
As they walked inside, confirming Lynch needed female soldiers, the man led him to the rear section of the base.
Female soldiers were a recent addition in the past decade. Before that, won weren’t allowed on the battlefield.
But under the shadow of avoidance and self-deception, society pressured the military to recruit won, arguing that excluding them was discrimination. Though no one believed won would be effective fighters, the pressure was imnse, so female soldiers were recruited and trained nearly identically to n—seemingly to discourage them.
Many won quit, but so persevered. The military gradually accepted them, offering so benefits rather than trying to push them out.
Lynch was a bit disappointed when he saw the female soldiers—few were attractive; most were average-looking. Military recruitnt posters were advertisents, often exaggerated.
“Recomnd two. My financial officer is single, has a child, and sotis needs help with childcare…”
The old soldier saw no sign of deceit on Lynch’s face but suspected he’d been misled by propaganda.
Not entirely deceived—there were indeed so attractive female officers. So won saw military service as a way to realize personal value and found loopholes.
In recent years, so forr models and faded actresses joined the military, partly sponsored, partly seeing opportunity.
Female officers got promoted faster and more easily than n, often just by being ornantal and discreetly pleasing superiors.
This explained the presence of so inexplicably high-ranking female officers. Compared to the ordinary female soldiers, these won wore officer uniforms, had good figures, and were more attractive.
Ferrell’s wife’s father selected two good female soldiers for Lynch, who took them back to Vera’s ho.
The two older won were hopeful about their new life.
Lynch offered them a salary of 100 Sol per week, 400 Sol a month after tax—considered high pay nowadays. They were also assigned to Blackstone Security Company, which provided social insurance.
Everything seed perfect.
When Vera returned that evening, she welcod the two won warmly. Though friendly, the female soldiers were sowhat reserved, but that would improve.
After dinner, Vera sent away the hourly maid for the next morning. The two won inspected the house’s security while Lynch and the couple ate together.
To help soldiers quickly adapt to Blackstone Security’s work post-retirent, Ferrell’s wife’s father coordinated with the local veterans’ office to launch a job training program at the Sabin City veterans’ club—security guard training.
This ensured veterans could better fit the capitalist market, and employers preferred hiring these veterans who already possessed basic security skills.“They look… pretty intimidating,” Vera whispered. “Where did you find them?”
“They’re my employees,” Lynch replied, which imdiately eased Vera’s mind.
In this society, many people held a kind of belief—no, the Federation’s people believed in gods and didn’t see faith as superstition.
Put another way, they had an almost incomprehensible confidence that employees would be unconditionally loyal to their company. So when Vera heard these two fierce-looking female soldiers were Lynch’s employees, she instantly relaxed.
This was, in fact, exactly what capitalists in the Federation—and across the world—always did: make the exploited adopt the exploiter’s values and remain loyal to their exploiters.
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