"Speaking of which, the Governor also helped me a bit..." Lynch naturally mentioned the important role the Governor played in his rise.

He showed just the right amount of closeness to the Governor without going overboard. In fact, the continuation of the current Governor's re-election only benefits him, with no downsides.

Bupen is indeed a good place, people often use various praise to describe Bupen, but in reality, it's also a huge slaughterhouse, a meat grinder.

Each year, countless capitalists, politicians, or others "fall" here, losing their future and ending in misery.

People only see the prosperity of Bupen, the lights and glamour, but not the towering piles of bones beneath.

Looking at the well-known tycoons of the Federation today, none actually started in Bupen. That place can't give birth to any major tycoons, as they would be devoured before they grow.

Instead, local places have become breeding grounds for tycoons, like York State. If the Ristone Group didn't have a bunch of bad debts hiding some issues, if they can survive this crisis, they might become a tycoon from this place in the future.

Whether it's local or statewide resources, they're inclined towards them, plus various policies, they find it much simpler to grow bigger than others and have ample advantages.

If Lynch has the opportunity to build a business empire in the future, York State will undoubtedly be his headquarters. Naturally, maintaining some local relationships becomes imperative.

These thoughts aren't for outsiders to know. If anyone hears a 21-year-old young man already fantasizing about a business empire being born in his hands, they might laugh off their tooth.

But Lynch knows, this is no dream, it's reality.

Adelaide's expression softened considerably; his interests and the Governor's interests are aligned, whether it's their individual interests or those of their family.

Only by firmly controlling York State can they and their families further expand politically and economically!

Having achieved his main objective and receiving positive feedback, Adelaide stood up to leave. Lynch did not hold him back too much, and as Adelaide was about to leave from outside the door, Lynch said in a very subtle tone, "Recently, York State's social atmosphere has been declining. I've talked with the Governor, and we will certainly come up with a rectification plan..."

Watching Adelaide's departing back, Lynch thought first of those few swindlers.

Actually, some things can't be hidden from others, such as Lynch using the local Security Committee's resources to do things for himself, which will all be archived as written reports.

With the Police Station's cooperation, the Mayor soon knew Lynch had utilized his special adviser status with the Security Committee to mobilize public resources, and he also informed Adelaide about it.

This might be the sorrow of the Mayor of the capital city, in name they rule over the most bustling city of a state, but above them are still a series of state government institutions.

Upon learning about these matters, Adelaide considered some people's handling as a form of repayment and directly brought it up.

This actually wouldn't cause dislike; instead, it would make Lynch feel Adelaide and the Governor behind him know how to handle people well.

With the support of city court judges and state court judges, even if those few people hardly have much incriminating evidence, it's enough to put them in jail for a while.

Early the next morning, Lynch arrived at the company. Upon entering the company doors, he could feel an atmosphere of gloom.

People stood, not daring to sit down; they didn't even dare to look at Lynch, who was younger than most of them, only lowering their heads and trying to stand in the corners, hoping Lynch wouldn't notice them.

The footsteps in the room seemed like they tread on people's heartbeats, each step heavier than the last, each more suffocating, every step causing those with poor psychological endurance to see stars.

Finally, the footsteps stopped, a weak inhaling sound, like suffocation lasting a long time, came from the room, a hiss, then quickly disappeared.

After glancing at these employees, Lynch entered the manager's office. Richard stood by, his hands wrapped in bandages, and to Lynch's surprise, he hadn't reattached his little finger.

Though the Federation's medical science technology can't reach the heights of the previous world, limb reattachment isn't too complex of a surgery, the Federation's medical conglomerates have long conquered the corresponding challenges.

Not only can fallen fingers be reattached, even if the entire hand was severed, it can be reattached.

But Richard didn't go for it, noticing Lynch's gaze linger on his hand for a moment, his expression suddenly became regretful.

Lynch crossed the desk, sitting in the office of the general manager. The desk was tidied very clean, and the manager's plaque was brightly polished. Through the room's decor, it was apparent Richard was quite satisfied with the office.

Quickly, he shifted his focus from the room's decoration back to Richard, pointing to the chair opposite the desk, asking a question Richard wasn't anticipating.

"Do you want to go independent?"

The prepared speech Richard had was instantly useless. He first fell silent, then nodded, soon after falling silent again.

The idea of going it alone started to germinate when he came here. He knew how profitable the Interstellar Trade Company was; calling it hugely profitable was an understatement in describing its speed of making money, at least from his perspective.

With almost no initial capital, the operation could roll over hundreds of thousands to millions of funds—combined, all the cities in the entire state would see about two million flowing into the company's account each week.

Now, the company had basically freed itself from the shackles of Gaitenau Financial Company in the second-hand goods market. As the company's reputation grew, many ordinary citizens spontaneously brought second-hand goods they wanted to sell to the company.

The company kept good products with profit margins, and refused to buy those without. Coupled with the "new second-hand goods" strategy proposed by Lynch, a large number of cheap new products were being turned into second-hand items within the category of sale items.

While the company's operating costs were steadily declining, its revenue did not drop significantly. Around three to four hundred thousand in weekly profits would flow into Lynch's personal account, and another two to three hundred thousand would be distributed to all the salespeople, including Richard's own income from this share.

Apart from necessary expenses, operating costs, and product costs, about ten to twenty thousand would become dividends for shareholders, as well as capital increases for the company.

In other words, Lynch could earn at least over a million in profits every month. This was just what Richard could see; there were some Lynch's earnings he couldn't see, meaning Lynch's income would only be higher.

And there was almost no risk. Regardless of business conditions, Lynch would surely never incur a loss. This business plan made Richard eager to try.

He wanted to try establishing his own company, using his talent to serve himself. This is why he gradually fell into the trap and became obsessed with gambling.

At this moment, his thoughts were seen through by Lynch, and he felt somewhat dejected.

He knew what he had done, and also some of Lynch's thoughts after discovering his intentions.

If it were him, and someone stole his money to start their own company, he would definitely go mad, so he had no intention of using those prepared excuses.

He hung his head, very dejected, "Yes, Mr. Lynch, I've thought about going solo."

Lynch looked at him with little expression.

A smiling Lynch made people feel close; his smile was infectious. But a stone-faced Lynch made people nervous in an instant, his serious face instinctively causing heartbeats to quicken and mouths to dry.

"Having such thoughts is normal, but you shouldn't base them on harming my interests."

Richard looked up at Lynch in some astonishment, feeling somewhat... unbelievable.

In the current culture of Federation Enterprises, "loyalty" is a very important factor. Coupled with the unshakable pension system, the vast majority of employees are essentially willing to work in one enterprise for a lifetime, because if they frequently changed jobs, they wouldn't receive the highest level of pension when they got old.

This has evolved into a very prevalent culture of "corporate allegiance." There are always people appearing on television from time to time, beaming smiles conveying a thought to the broader audience—I've worked for the company my entire life; it is my pride and my honor!

So when someone suddenly talks about starting a business or opening their own company, it likely would make people feel they're somewhat... going against the natural trend of societal development.

Yet, Lynch's words insinuated he didn't seem to care much, which surprised Richard.

"With ambition and desire, you will burn more thoroughly. I'm sorry to use a torch metaphor for you, Richard, but that's just the truth."

"To me, a subordinate who can only earn a fixed salary and doesn't bring me good profits is far less valuable than a partner who can let me enjoy life with peace of mind."

"From the beginning, you misunderstood something. We are partners, not in a superior-subordinate hire relationship. You can go it alone; start your own company, whatever—realistically, I don't mind."

"As long as you continue to provide me with profits, I don't care what you do."

"But if you can't provide me with benefits and harm my interests, then I might consider doing something."

He slightly lifted his head, "Looking at the sales figures from the last three weeks, after excluding some small flaws, our profits are quite stable, so I want to gamble with you once more."

"I will give you opportunities, even offer you a big gift. I will provide everything you need!"

"And you, as long as you can continuously bring me wealth, the little gaps between us...," Lynch smirked, "They're irrelevant things!"

Richard swallowed, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes. He was already accustomed to this kind of life; if he lost it, he would find life worse than death.

"What should I do, boss?"

Lynch pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook one out, and held it in his mouth. Richard immediately got up and took out his lighter, bringing the flame to Lynch's mouth.

Lynch looked at him with a half-smile, "Have you heard of five-level ternary?"

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