Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

Chapter 455: Internal Conflict - Second Half

"Oh? Why don't you tell me directly? I'd like to know what we're going to have a scuffle about," said none other than Cao Cao, who walked in through the door. He seemed to have something on his mind regarding Albert.

"Ah! Mr. Cao, how nice of you to come here in the morning. Even though you don't have any reason to be here. Don't you have any more productive work to do rather than appearing here to harass me?" Albert asked, targeting Cao Cao's schedule.

"Please take note, Mr. Worseley. I was invited here by Lady Greed, our lord's consort." Cao Cao calmly retorted with a fake smile.

"Moreover, care to tell me, what's with me that you wanted our lord's favor for? Do you perhaps have a guilty conscience, Mr. Worseley?" Cao Cao asked, his tone cold and threatening.

"Against our Lord? Absolutely not," Albert asserted, his voice firm. "However, with you, Mr. Cao... perhaps. I doubt someone of your disposition would readily overlook even a minor offense.

That's precisely why, if you'd allow me to finish my request instead of interrupting me like a petulant child demanding attention, I was about to ask our Lord to mediate between us."

Hearing this, Cao Cao felt annoyed rather than angry. He thought he had finished dealing with annoying nobles when he died in his era and had been resurrected in this modern age where nobles are as rare as endangered species.

"And what did you do to earn my ire, then? Can you elaborate?" Cao Cao pressed again, but Albert didn't flinch, as if testing Cao Cao's patience.

Cao Cao understood the game. Losing his cool would diminish him in their Lord's eyes, and that was an outcome he couldn't afford.

"Could you guys please stop?" Daniel said with a hint of annoyance. He then addressed Cao Cao. "Mr. Cao, Mr. Albert was just working for someone who pulled strings behind the scenes to place you in that hotel, rather than one under Greed's business group. This led to the security compromise and the assassination attempt by the Qing Empire," Daniel explained, handing a notepad to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao received it and read for a bit before looking coldly at Albert, who maintained his cool without a hint of wavering. "Please, you know as well as I do, that keeping that Vice President as a chess piece will further our lord's consort's goal of fully controlling the Congress. Don't tell me you're taking offense at what I did for our lord?" Albert said with a smirk.

"Heh," Cao Cao snorted. Of course, he knew. That's why he didn't do anything to Albert; otherwise, he would have unsheathed his sword and fought with him already.

Cao Cao looked down at the notepad again, then at Albert, as if deciding what to do next. He knew the significance of keeping a useful pawn like Simon, who represented the opposing faction in Congress against President John Malcomes, who was essentially Greed's employee.

In this way, both the right and left wings of Congress would be under their control. Clearing out the pawns of the Confederacy and that Simon guy hidden within Congress was also a great political move. This way, Simon would have no choice but to rely more and more on the Whispering Hall, considered one of their lord's forces.

"This move is brilliant to the point that Cao Cao wanted to praise Albert, if not for the fact that he seemed to be the one losing out in this deal, of course."

In the end, he let go and handed the notepad back to Daniel with a thanks, then turned toward Albert.

"On a bigger level, I can't fault you for what you did. You are right to keep Simon Grant on a short leash and under our control. He will be useful for our lord's consort in the future. But on a personal level?" Cao Cao paused, looking at Albert before saying, "I hope this will be the last time."

"Of course, Mr. Cao. Let's hope I don't come across a good opportunity like this in the future. I can't promise you I won't do this again," Albert said with a smirk.

"You can always try, and you will find out... Mr. Worseley," said Cao Cao with a hint of threat in his tone.

The two stared at each other for a few minutes. In Daniel's mind, they were staring at each other as if sparks were flying. In the end, the matter concluded with Albert saying goodbye to Daniel and excusing himself from the room, leaving Cao Cao be.

Seeing the two bickering, Daniel could only let out a tired sigh. He knew that the people he had actualized had free will. Aside from the absolute loyalty that his power ensured they had for him, they were no different from normal people.

At first, he thought that the power of absolute loyalty would make all of his actualized people work together without conflict. But now he knew that was just wishful thinking. It seemed that the absolute loyalty only applied to him and those they regarded as his wives, such as Koyuki, Envy, and Greed.

Other than that, they could fight and quarrel with each other.

From now on, it would be wiser to only actualize people I'm sure would work well together in the same department. I'm certain that if I were to put someone like Liu Bei or Tao Quan to work with Cao Cao, they would end up killing each other before the day was over, Daniel thought to himself.

— To the Present —

Daniel looked at Cao Cao, who had just given him a report about the progress of the Astral PMC and the CERBERUS Program. Reviewing the details of the CERBERUS Program, Daniel was certain that this special force was akin to the Navy SEALs or Delta Force, but on steroids.

Considering the potential conflict between Cao Cao and Albert, Daniel, as the boss, thought he should compensate or bribe Cao Cao to make him more tolerant of Albert in the future.

"I wonder, Mr. Cao," Daniel started, drawing Cao Cao's attention. "In your era, if there were two people you wanted to work for you the most, who would they be?" he asked.

"Hmmm... just two?" Cao Cao let out a knowing smile, aware of what his lord was trying to get at.

"Don't be too greedy. I already have one embodiment of Greed, and she's my wife," Daniel said with a tired sigh while receiving a playful tap on his arm from Greed.

"Hahaha!" Cao Cao let out a hearty laugh before thinking deeply once again. "If I were given the choice of only two, then it would be Guo Jia and Guan Yu," Cao Cao said, nodding with determination, confirming his choice.