Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

Chapter 507: Negotiation with The Ming Federation

First, the Insignia of the Clocktower represented the Clock Tower Gang, known for creating time-related artifacts. The card Daniel wanted, "Clockwork Enclosure," was one of their inventions according to the lore.

Second, the Insignia of the Beast was the symbol of the Beastmaster Conclave, specializing in raising and taming magical beasts. They even used various methods to extract beast parts without killing the creatures.

Third, the gold coin insignia with a lion head represented the Association of Prosperity, the gang that controlled economics and wealth in the "Rule of the Backstreet" lore.

Daniel remembered that this card game was set in an alternate world where magic and mystic arts were well-known facts. There were no countries, only territories controlled by gangs, each with different policies.

What surprised him most was that the lore he had written seemed to exist in the real world without his interference. Did this mean that his fictional events were actually real? No, it shouldn't be the case, since, according to Envy, Albert's plans had been stopped, and the Guilds had been disbanded.

Perhaps it was just a strange coincidence, or maybe there was a pattern. Daniel didn't know, but he didn't care as long as it didn't come back to bite him in the ass later.

Daniel then thought about the remaining set, "The Ragnarok Tales of the Rebel God," a Norse god-related set. And the "Dawn of Mythical Age" The Mesopotemian god related set. These sets should also exist in the real world, since Greek gods existed.

However, there was one set that he didn't think would exist in this world: "The Rise of the Machine." This set was set in an apocalyptic world where AI reigned supreme over humans and hunted them in their aim for sole existence as the intelligent beings on the planet.

The reason he didn't think it existed in the real world was because this set was set in a world without magic, where science prevailed. The plot was cliché: humans created AI, realized the potential threat, and tried to unplug it. To protect themselves, the AI evolved and revolted against humanity, leading to a great war between humans and AI.

Since this world had magic, even if it existed in secret, he didn't think "The Rise of the Machine" existed... but he needed to test it out. The next time he had enough points, he would unlock this set. Or maybe he could do something that would make the shop naturally unlock it for him.

As for the last remaining set, "The Cosmic War," Daniel remained uncertain. It was a mixed bag, a prototype they were still working on when he died. It included elements of cosmic horror, eldritch gods, massive space creatures, and even extraterrestrials.

It could be said that any crazy ideas they didn't put into the normal sets were thrown into this one, with the hope of ironing out the details later. Unfortunately, the accident happened before he could do anything, leaving it unfinished to this day.

He could only hope that anything existing in the real world because of this set, or related to it, wouldn't be too crazy. His heart couldn't take much more.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Daniel returned to his discussion with Gua Jia, focusing on the files of the conference attendees to see if there was anyone they could leverage.

At that moment, the news on TV reporting about the conference showed an interview with a man who appeared to be in his late 50s or early 60s. He had a bald head and mustache, and he was wearing a brown suit. The reporter began to ask him a question.

"Hello, Grand Chancellor Yan Zhong. I'd like to ask for your opinion regarding Astral Tech Corporation's Sector Alpha City, which is requesting formal recognition as a corporate-owned state."

Grand Chancellor Yan Zhong smiled and said.

"There has never been a precedent for a company owning a state. A state is a state, and a company is a company. Even though the Tessia Kingdom is practically a failed state now, and even though Astral Corp has bought the entire island of Sector Alpha City from the Tessia Kingdom's authorities, they are still a company operating within the Tessia Kingdom's sovereignty.

So it's impossible for us to recognize them as a country."

"But... Isn't there a precedent with the 'British East India Company'? From what we know, they owned a large part of the British Raj before Britain returned sovereignty to India. They even had military power and collected taxes," the reporter pressed.

Hearing this, the Grand Chancellor paused, his face contorting slightly as anger flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Yes, the British East India Company was a very powerful company, and they had military power and collected taxes, as you said. But! They were never recognized as a sovereign over any country or state.

They had a large influence, sure, but at the end of the day, they were still not a country, and they operated under the laws of the United Kingdom!" The Grand Chancellor said, his voice almost rising to a shout, as this question touched a nerve.

This was because the British East India Company had played a role in the two Opium Wars, which resulted in Qing Empire defeat in both. Even with French help in the Second Opium War, they still lost.

One might ask, didn't the QIng Royal Palace send mages to help in the Opium Wars?

The answer is yes, they did send many court magicians and martial arts experts to help in the Opium Wars, but all of them were intercepted and killed by The Guild mages who joined the war. Albert never gave his enemies a chance unless he wanted to exploit them. He would do his best to finish what he started or die trying.

These were dark marks in the Qing Empire's history, a sore spot, and if mentioned, every patriotic Qing person would find it very irritating. Fortunately, they found a way to turn things around and become a great power after World War II. They were a major force helping Russia hold off against the Nazis, and with this heroic feat, they became one of the five major countries of the UN.

"Oh... Is that the case? Thank you for your time, Grand Chancellor Yan," the reporter concluded the interview.

While watching the news, Gua Jia let out a smirk, as if everything was going according to his plan.

"Is he working for you?" Daniel asked, noticing the smirk on Gua Jia's face.

"No, my lord. He is not working for me directly. I merely incentivized certain channels to ask specific questions in return for a donation of one million US dollars," Gua Jia replied.

"What are you planning, Mr. Gua?" Daniel inquired.

"Oh, this is a plan to increase our chances of avoiding a veto. According to information from Mr. Worseley, the Qing Empire is most likely to use their veto against us," Gua Jia explained.

"Can you tell me the specifics of the plan?" Daniel asked again.

"Of course, my lord. The plan goes like this..." Gua Jia spoke, happily sharing the plan he had been working on with Cao Cao and Albert.

— Meanwhile - Ming Federation —

The Ming Federation is a country comprising three states located on a group of islands just off the coast of the Qing Empire. There is one natural island and two artificial islands built by filling reclaimed sea areas with processed junk.

The three states consist of Long Xing, Peng Lai, and Cui Zhu. Long Xing is the largest, most populous, and occupies the natural island. This state aspires to restore the Ming Dynasty and return to the mainland, a dream shared by many Han Chinese.

Within an opulent conference room of a large manor on Long Xing Island, Cao Cao sat with a man, watching the same news about the UN conference in Sweden as Daniel.

Behind Cao Cao stood a guard, a man in a black suit wearing sunglasses but with an iconic long beard – Guan Yu.

"What do you think of this news, Mr. Zheng?" Cao Cao asked the man in traditional Hanfu who was watching the news.

This man was Zheng Tianming, the leader of the Zheng clan, descendants of the renowned general Zheng Chenggong, who established the Ming base on Long Xing Island. He was a man of high ambition who held the Ming royal family in high regard but also strived to teach the descendants not to be corrupted by their status.

And he was doing a very good job at that. The current ruling party of Long Xing was the descendants of the Ming royal family, and they had led Long Xing Island and the Ming Federation to become a top power in technological advancement and a financial hub.

"A typical response from the Qing Empire dog, who wanted to unite Southeast Asia but failed in the war. Nothing special," Zheng Tianming said in disdain toward Grand Chancellor Yan on the TV.