Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize-Chapter 471: USA Aftermath
— Sector Alpha City - Astral Building —
It had been a week since the capture of Washington, D.C. Daniel sat in his office in the Astral Building at Sector Alpha City, listening to Cao Cao and Albert's reports. He was digesting the gains and losses from the campaigns in both Japan and the US.
He wished Envy could be there to help sort out the mess, but she had refused, insisting that it was a man's job to be a role model and pillar for their family. She didn't want to meddle in his work, though she was willing to offer advice and help in some areas. The main responsibilities, however, remained his to shoulder.
Now that the threat from Hightower had become negligible and their influence in Southeast Asia and North America had nearly vanished, only a few small secret operation cells were being… forcefully evacuated by Albert's men.
The real question for Daniel right now was what to do next. His dream life and goal had never changed; he wanted to create a card game for others to appreciate. But this dream seemed impossible now. He had to be vigilant about guarding information related to his card game, ensuring that no digital footprint of it existed.
This meant he had to deal with those testers who had tested his card game. Until now, he had avoided the issue by creating new things, such as power armor, which he used as a prototype for mass production.
He hadn't actualized the power armor from the cards, nor did Atlanteus use his power armor that comes with him, because it was outdated and lacked advanced features compared to the power armor he created.
But when it came to iconic cards like Cosmic Dragon or Lake of Avalon, if those testers saw these things, they would immediately recognize them from his card game.
Since he could no longer continue with that, he would settle for the second best thing: living his dream life with his wives, traveling, camping, and playing cards with them—preferably without interference from some idiotic death-courting folks.
"My Lord… My Lord… My Lord!" Cao Cao's voice repeatedly calling him brought him back from his reverie. "Are you listening, My Lord?" Cao Cao asked, squinting his eyes with a trace of slight disapproval.
"Sorry, Mr. Cao, I had something on my mind just now. Could you please repeat what you said a moment ago? I wasn't listening," Daniel admitted, asking Cao Cao to repeat himself while he refocused his thoughts.
"**Sigh** Ok My Lord, but please refrain from doing that in the future." Cao Cao said then began his report once again.
"Right now, with cooperation from Lady Greed and her Golden Empire Group, along with the prick over here," Cao Cao glanced at Albert, who ignored the jab while pouring English tea into his cup and enjoying it.
"We now have strong influence over North America, even in Canada, after Mr. Worseley got approval for the teleportation portal building requisition from Mr. Odysseus. We will expand our influence there soon. We detected 42 Hightower splinter cells in North America and estimate we will clear them all out within a month." Cao Cao paused, changed the slide to Japan, and continued.
"In Japan, the rebellion has been quelled by Mr. Odysseus. Now, the Tokugawa Clan and Mori Clan are the two most prominent clans. Mr. Momotaro and Ms. Tomoe have gained fame as swordmasters and exceptional warriors.
The plan to reopen the borders will proceed." Cao Cao then changed the slide again to detail their gains.
"After a careful inspection by Mr. Odysseus's team, we gained access to Tamahagane, the special ore found only in the Japan region, and..." Cao Cao continued explaining to Daniel the specific resources they had acquired one by one.
These included special ores perfect for crafting cutting weapons like Tamahagane, Orichalcum mines taken from the Alchemont Clan's cold, dead hands, and part of the mages' backup body storage under the Clahemont Clan estates. There were even secret mana fonts in North America previously controlled by the destroyed Alchemont Clan.
All in all, the list of assets under Astral Group's management was extensive, making them extraordinarily wealthy.
"Acquire samples from those locations and send them to me," Daniel interjected. "I'll create machines to transmute common rocks or readily available resources into these rare materials through alchemy." Maria, his secretary, diligently noted this down.
"What!?" Albert exclaimed, interrupting the meeting and staring at Daniel as if he were an alien.
"Why did you interrupt, brat?" Cao Cao snarled, but Albert ignored him, further fueling Cao Cao's anger.
"My lord... did you just say you can transmute rock or normal metal into Adamantine? Are you... serious?" Albert asked, shocked. Daniel's claim contradicted the established rules of modern alchemy.
Instead of answering, Daniel picked up a stainless steel paperweight and placed it on his palm. The alchemy formula glowed, emanating light, and the steel began to transform. It turned pitch black, grew heavier, and gleamed with a dark luster.
Albert was stunned. Daniel had just transmuted common metal into the exotic magical metal, Adamantine!
"This... is... crazy..." Albert muttered in disbelief, then quickly regained his composure and smiled.
"My lord, how long will this last?" he inquired.
"How long what will last?" Daniel asked, confused.
"In the realm of possibility, transmuting common material into magical material like you did is possible, but it's not permanent. Its structure changes too much, affecting its mana integrity. It won't last; sooner or later, it'll crumble," Albert said smugly, acting as if he had figured out a magic trick from a roadside magician.
"I've never seen anything I transmuted crumbling. I'll have you know, the armor plate on Nicholas's power armor is transmuted Adamantine," Daniel replied.
Albert's face contorted in disbelief, as if he had just witnessed the Earth revealed as flat. His mouth hung open, wide enough to swallow an egg. The durability of Nicholas' power armor had been rigorously tested in battle. Albert had even received a report of Nicholas surviving a direct hit from an anti-tank missile with only a scratch on the armor paint.
If that armor was made of transmuted Adamantine... just how advanced was his lord's mastery of alchemy!?
