Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

Chapter 535: A Pawn Delusion

— Veneziale Estate —

On the sprawling green lawn of the Veneziale estate, the white rabbit Cotton frolicked freely as her breathless caretaker chased after her. Michaela descended from the sky, landing gracefully on the lawn. Little Cotton eagerly leaped into her arms.

"Cotton! How are you doing, huh? You little furball," Michaela cooed as she rubbed her face on Cotton's belly.

Squeak! Squeak!

Little Cotton chirped happily, enjoying the affection.

A taxi arrived at the estate's main gate, and a young man in a neat tuxedo stepped out, accompanied by a large suitcase. This was Russo Veneziale, son of the notorious Don Ardito Veneziale, head of the Veneziale gang, which dominated Sector Alpha City's underworld.

Russo walked in, amid the awe of the gang members who witnessed his transformation from a bully and hoodlum into a fine gentleman with a neat appearance and noble demeanor. He briefly greeted and socialized with fellow gang members before heading toward the estate's main building.

He then saw Michaela bonding with the rabbit. Michaela had already transformed into her human form, and Russo hadn't seen her during his time in Sweden when he visited Daniel. He was immediately charmed by her beauty.

"Ahem... beautiful lady," Russo began, interrupting Michaela's interaction with Cotton. "Would you like to join me for tea inside?" he asked with a charming smile.

At the entrance of the main building, Ardito Veneziale was very excited. This was the day his son returned from overseas. But... the first sight that greeted him nearly gave him a heart attack.

The body language of a young man flirting with a young lady, trying to look good while speaking politely, wasn't the issue. The problem was the target of his son's attention. That damn rascal was flirting with Lady Michaela!

Smack!

Before he knew it, Ardito rushed over and smacked his son on the head to make him stop seeking death. Ardito really wanted to strangle his idiot son. He didn't know where his son got this idiocy from.

"What's this for!? Is this the first thing you did to greet me after a long time, huh, Dad!?" Russo protested, clearly humiliated by his father's action, especially in front of such a beautiful woman.

Ardito gritted his teeth in frustration, clearly wanting to give his idiot son another smack on the head. But he quickly reconsidered and pulled his son aside, whispering something in his ear.

Russo's face paled after hearing his dad, realizing he had narrowly escaped disaster. He quickly looked at the silver-haired lady he had flirted with just moments ago. Her face displayed annoyance, but fortunately, his dad had intervened just in time to save him from a potential beating.

Who would have thought this silver-haired beauty was an archangel and one of Mr. Emberweave's women? Neither of them were people he could afford to offend, and he had almost done just that by flirting with her.

"I'm very sorry, Lady Michaela. I hope you can forgive my ignorance," Russo immediately returned to his butler mode, apologizing politely.

"That's okay, but I hope you won't disgrace yourself like that again. My heart already belongs to my lord," Michaela said sternly, much to the relief of the father and son.

"By the way," Michaela placed little Cotton on her head before taking a contract from her inner pocket and handing it to Ardito. "Our lord decided to forgive your blunder from several months ago. He's returning the cut that should have been yours from this moment on. He hopes you won't repeat the same mistake and will carefully control your greed if you wish to gain more benefits from him."

Ardito gratefully accepted the contract, which stated that his cut would return to normal.

"Please tell Lord Emberweave that I'm grateful for his generosity," Ardito said, bowing politely to Michaela.

"Yes, he said that from now on you might be busier because after he makes an important announcement to the world, both refugees and fugitives might increase. He hopes you can help him work with the police force to monitor the underworld and prevent trouble. He's giving you sole authority to manage the underworld of Sector Alpha City. No one will usurp your power.

He will also give you something later to help you maintain this position more firmly," Michaela said before giving Ardito another item: a personal wrist console identical to Daniel's. Ardito looked at it with confusion.

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"This console is the first gift he gives you. You have a few days to familiarize yourself with it," Michaela said while Ardito took off his wristwatch and replaced it with the personal console.

The console screen came to life as it booted up, displaying a lot of information, including registering Ardito's information, such as DNA from skin flakes, so that only Ardito could use it.

"Hello, primate Ardito. It's nice to meet you. I'm Nexus Prime. You can call me Prime. We'll be working together from now on," an artificial male voice spoke from the wrist console after it finished booting up.

"Excuse me, Lady Michaela. What is this?" Ardito asked, confused, pointing at the console.

"Oh, he's a new addition to our lord's inner circle. He's a super advanced AI called Nexus Prime. He's the one who single-handedly planned and controls all of our smart city features. He'll also help you in your endeavor to take control of the underworld in this city," Michaela replied.

"Oh! Lady Michaela, greetings from this primate wrist angle. I didn't see you. I'm sorry for not greeting you," said Nexus Prime.

"Hey, Prime, don't you think calling my father primate is a little rude?" Russo protested.

"Primate Russo Veneziale, former hooligan, and a bully. After getting his ass kicked, he was punished by being sent to study at the best butler school in Sweden. Hello, primate Russo, how may I help you?" Nexus Prime, clearly ignored Russo's protest.

"You little..." Russo uttered in anger. He was about to return to his old self, but he stopped himself in time by taking deep breaths to calm down.

"'Little' means small in size, amount, or degree. It can be used as:

Adjective: A little duck.

Adverb: The duck quacked little when it was scared.

Why, Primate Russo, do you have some problem regarding your self-confidence because some part of yours is little?" Nexus Prime inquired.

"You're clearly trying to get on my nerves, aren't cha?" Russo's anger vein popped. He was about to revert to his hoodlum self.

"You are overestimating your nerve value, primate. Why would I want to get on it?" Nexus Prime stated.

Russo: "#!@!&%$"

Seeing this, Michaela chuckled and let out a mischievous smile. Nexus Prime is really vicious. After days of internet learning, the AI seemed to have mastered the art of trolling.

"Mr. Ardito, I'll bring Cotton with me today. Thank you for looking after her," Michaela said before taking flight, her wings unfolding gracefully.

After Michaela goes back Ardito admonish his son once again for losing his composure before bring him to the main house as Ardito had already prepared a feast for his son for welcoming him back from overseas.

— Seraphine Isles —

Within the luxury estate of Supreme Ruler Juan Carlos de Almeida, in the guest room, Juan Carlos is receiving a very important guest: General Wang Dahui from the Qing Dynasty.

"Mr. Carlos, I have good news for you. Crown Prince Tianhao Zhisheng has approved your request for new armament and even manpower for this operation. Also, regarding the division, once you gain control of Astral Corporation, you'll receive 30% of the assets and patents, while 70% will go to the Qing Dynasty," said General Wang.

"Ohhh! 30%! That's good enough. Please convey my gratitude to His Highness, the Crown Prince, for me, General Wang," said Juan Carlos.

"Hahahaha, of course! Of course! Serve us well, and we'll guarantee that you'll live like a king for the rest of your life!" General Wang assured him.

In Juan Carlos's mind, he was already dreaming of a life of luxury. He didn't have to worry about rebellion within his country due to his lack of administrative skills, as Astral Corp had the technology to make a smart city come true.

He would be able to maintain regime stability with the help of A.I. once he gained control of Astral Corp. So what if Astral Corp had advanced technology? Even with power armor, if those things got bombarded with cruise missiles, they would be destroyed.

From the information provided by the Qing Empire, Astral Corp's forces numbered only about 10,000 to 20,000, a very small force compared to his glorious army of more than 500,000. It would be a massacre! And after he got his hands on that technology, he could become one of the superpowers!

While Juan Carlos daydreamed about his brighter future, General Wang sneered at him in his heart.

[Heh... fool. To think he really believes he has a chance against Daniel Emberweave. What an idiot; he doesn't even realize he's just a disposable pawn.]