Blackstone Code-Chapter 518: Culture is Also a Commodity

The fact that the Interstellar Club won the preseason championship didn’t make much of a splash in the world of professional men’s football. They weren’t the first team to rise through sheer hard work, and they certainly wouldn’t be the last.
The old powerhouses had their ways of dealing with such underdog teams. Now, their approach was simply more refined—sending in star-level workhorses to crush less impressive ones was the easiest tactic.
Every elite team had a deep bench. With their multi-tiered structure, they could pull up capable players from lower-tier squads at any time to do the dirty work.
For these high-level workhorses—mostly aging players nearing retirement—football belonged to the young. Every extra game was a chance to earn more.
So the Interstellar Club’s victory wasn’t much of an issue. Public attention remained focused on the upcoming state elections.
With just over a month to go, the campaigns had reached a fever pitch. Every day, the moment people opened their eyes, they were bombarded with election messaging.
From the bold, black headlines in the morning papers—
Who Will Emerge Victorious?
—to the 8:30 AM newscasts ing that
the race is neck and neck
, the public was surrounded by this information, unable to escape. Eventually, they got swept up in it.
So did people like Bentley. The day after the team’s win, Lynch attended a small celebration hosted by the mayor of Bentley City.
Originally, there was no plan for a celebration. But once Lynch confirmed his attendance, the event was arranged.
The mayor invited many local elites and notable politicians. Though called a celebration, it felt more like a networking event.
The atmosphere was lively. Joint Development Company had only been involved in Nagaryll for less than two months, but in that time, its market value had already multiplied.
This was a massive conglomerate with assets measured in billions. For such a behemoth to double in value spoke volumes about the staggering wealth hidden in Nagaryll.
Those who were late to realize this opportunity were now full of regret, hoping to catch the tail end of the boom.
Initially, the mayor didn’t see the celebration as a big deal. It wasn’t that he underestimated Lynch—on the contrary, he valued him—but he didn’t believe Nagaryll could generate the kind of profit local billionaires were looking for.
What could they do—sell strange outfits to
savages
?
Maybe the clothes those
savages
wore were more fashionable than anything top designers in the Federation had created.
Still, he held the event to show the public he was actively seeking opportunities for the city. In return, perhaps they’d support the current governor with their votes.
What no one expected was that Lynch would actually have valuable advice for these people.
“…So far, many believe that to benefit from Nagaryll’s economic revival, they must go there directly. That’s a mistaken view.”
“For those in traditional industries or resource-based enterprises, yes—they must be physically present. But for those in cultural industries, that’s not necessarily the case.”
“There are many ways to engage. Everyone knows I have a stake in Fox Pictures…”—people nodded. Lynch’s connection to Fox was no secret.
He had licensed his Lynch’s Adventures series to Fox for a low price, allowing them to adapt and film it—an arrangement that revealed a lot.
Looking around at the people gathered, Lynch continued once they affirmed his point. “I heard the first film did well, and the second is wrapping up this month. It might even set a new box office record.”
“More films connected to Nagaryll are in the works. And not just that—some of the unique animals I brought back have been licensed to toy companies to produce plush versions.”
“All this points to one thing…” Lynch stood among local elites—not many, but each highly influential, including founders or heirs of major fashion brands.
They surrounded Lynch, attentively listening to someone possibly younger than their own grandchildren.
Several women were visibly taken with him. His charisma, appearance, wealth, status, and influence made him utterly magnetic.
Lynch, unaware of the fantasies playing out in their minds, simply laid out his ideas: “…Culture has economic value.”
“Nagaryll’s significance to the Federation will spark long-term curiosity—at least three to five years of public interest.”
“During that time, they’ll hear lucky stories, small miracles, and their fascination will deepen.”
“Culture related to Nagaryll will become a trend, even mainstream. The question isn’t what we can do in Nagaryll, but how we can turn things about Nagaryll into economic value.”
“Accessories and clothing with Nagaryll-inspired designs, jewelry and fashion made from its raw materials, handmade crafts—these will all be consumption trends in the near future…”
If these people had a word for sudden clarity, this was it.
Without Lynch’s explanation, they would’ve eventually figured it out—but slowly, through their own trial and error.
Their logic was simple:
Go to Nagaryll.
Make a fortune.
Since all the moneymakers were doing it over there, those in the fashion world felt lost. Did they need to go too?
Lynch gave them clarity. And that clarity was like coughing up fluid from a congested lung—a sudden, satisfying relief.
Whereas figuring it out on their own was more like recovering from a mild respiratory infection—less dramatic, more gradual, and full of learning.
With this new understanding, they could now clearly see the future of fashion.
Come spring, exotic aesthetics would dominate trends for at least two years.
Finally, Lynch added that it wasn’t just Nagaryll’s culture that had value—any culture unfamiliar to the Federation could have value. But within that value lay potential harm too, which needed to be carefully filtered and digested.
All in all, it was a highly successful social event. Once again, Lynch proved that his ideas were ahead of their time. His reputation as a youthful leader was well-earned.
After a full day, four days after the championship, Lynch returned to Sabin City.
He hadn’t been back in a while, and being there again gave him a mix of feelings—familiarity, calm, and a sense of safety he didn’t feel anywhere else.
Not many knew he was back. He hadn’t told the mayor or Ferrell, yet Ferrell was waiting outside the station.
It had been less than two years, but Lynch had already grown into someone who demanded serious respect.
Alongside Ferrell were the Green brothers, also there to welcome him.
The Green brothers were the two oldest boys among the children once seen delivering newspapers. Lynch had taken them in—not as a father figure, but more like an older brother, which was exactly how they addressed him.
Among this group of kids, the leaders were the Green brothers—Noel Green and Fern Green. They were now responsible for Lynch’s main operations in Sabin City.
In truth, there wasn’t a whole lot to manage. Their primary duties included looking after Lynch’s warehouses to keep them safe from thieves, and coordinating with local cottage industries—delivering raw materials along with payment, then collecting the finished goods.
While the work seemed simple on the surface, it wasn’t actually that easy.
Lynch had already heard more than once about these kids running into trouble with some difficult families. Not everyone applying to join the cottage industry program was trying to earn an honest living. Some just wanted to scam free materials and equipment, sell them, and splurge the proceeds.
Calling the police didn’t help much in these cases, and lawsuits weren’t practical either. In an era of economic downturn and record-high unemployment, even the president had instructed local judicial departments to slow down and lighten the handling of crimes committed out of financial desperation.
This move earned the president widespread public support, boosting his approval rating by three percent. But it left local governments struggling.
Petty theft became rampant, and most prisons had stopped accepting short-term inmates. Cases like these were reclassified as
disputes
, which police largely ignored.
With law enforcement turning a blind eye, some people began to see this as a new way to make money. That’s where enforcers were needed—to deter them.
At the very least, these people had to understand one thing: they could rob, steal, even kill—but they must never infringe upon Mr. Lynch’s interests.
Because the price for doing so would be devastating.