Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

"You mean... the stuff they write in Xianxia novels is true?" Daniel asked, as if he'd just heard something ridiculous.

"Well... I don't think it's that simple, and like I said, I'm no expert on the subject. But if you don't mind, I'd like to do some research on Tian Xingyun and ask her a few questions. You might not realize this, but she's the first Heavenly Realm God to get this close to us," Envy replied.

"You're not planning to do some weird experiment on her, are you?" Daniel asked, suspicious.

"No! Of course not! Who—or what—gave you that idea!?" Envy said, sounding irritated.

Daniel pursed his lips. "Well, you seem to know a lot about a lot of things, and you're powerful, too. So, I figured you must've done a lot of weird experiments."

"What do you take me for, Dr. Frankenstein!? Yes, I've conducted experiments, but they weren't bloody or inhuman! I was just trying to understand my nature and find a way to counter the curse of sin. The reason I know so much is because I'm old enough to—" Envy abruptly stopped, noticing Daniel's mischievous smile.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"What did you make me say!? You!" Envy pouted, slapping Daniel repeatedly on the chest and shoulder, frustrated at being teased about her age.

"Hey! That hurts! You're the one who said it! Why are you taking it out on me?" Daniel protested, still smiling as he shielded himself with his arms, pretending to be hurt.

Envy ignored him, venting her frustration with a few more slaps before storming out of Daniel's private workshop, pouting the whole way.

After Envy left, Daniel couldn't help but chuckle. Just then, the beeping sound of his console broke through, alerting him to an urgent call on his wrist console. He read the message, his expression growing serious, before leaving the workshop and heading straight for the elevator.

— New Atlantis - Old Willow Family Hideaway Wharf —

On an abandoned island not far from New Atlantis, the surface was covered in trees, and amidst the sea of foliage stood a few recently deserted buildings. Beneath the island, there was a hidden cave near a well-concealed cove.

A small ship slowly floated into the cove, mooring at a secret wharf within the cave.

Several people disembarked, some carrying a single large metal case—military-grade, designed to transport sensitive weapons or ordnance.

One of the men, who was among the first to step off the ship, oversaw the process. He carried a spear and wore soft armor over his clothes. If Pride and Penthesilea had been present, they would have recognized him as none other than Achilles.

"Welcome. I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly," said a voice. A man in his mid-twenties emerged. He appeared a bit haggard, as if ravaged by desperation and hardship, yet there was a noticeable maturity in his demeanor.

The man was Edgar Willow, the last heir of the Willow family. This island was one of the few properties he had kept from Daniel in exchange for his freedom and a guarantee that he wouldn't be hunted.

"Ah, Mr. Willow, thank you for your cooperation," one of the men from the group said, smiling as he shook Edgar's hand.

"When will it start?" Edgar asked.

"We'll need some time to prep the goods before we send it to New Atlantis," the man replied.

Edgar nodded. "Gentlemen, I apologize for not being able to offer you anything, but please feel free to make use of this island. I'll take my leave now." After that Edgar walked out of the secret cave, leaving them alone.

The metal case was unlocked and opened, revealing a cylindrical object with several intricate structures. Inside, there was another case containing a computer with two keyholes. This was a nuclear warhead.

The reason these people were transporting the nuclear warhead by hand instead of launching it via ICBM was because of Daniel's advanced Anti-ICBM technology, which had rendered ICBMs obsolete. The system prevented missiles from even launching, incinerating the warheads the moment the silos opened.

That's why they were carrying the warhead here, hoping to deter Daniel's advancements and send a message to the world that New Atlantis was not omnipotent. Their advanced technology didn't make them invincible.

This move was intended to convey that message to both regular governments and the secret societies of the Curtained World.

The men spread out and took up guard positions, prepared to defend against any threats in case some stupid fisherman or an overly curious content creator stumbled upon them on this island by sheer dumb-luck.

— Outside —

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Outside, one of the mages on lookout duty sensed something. His magic was attuned to detecting movement, and it could even alert him to immaterial beings like ghosts—detection magic was his specialty.

He turned in the direction where his magic had detected a strange movement. However, the presence lacked the will or consciousness that normal people or ghosts would have. It seemed like nothing more than a dry leaf drifting toward his detection barrier.

The mage cautiously moved to investigate. He needed to confirm it for himself; reporting a false alarm about a harmless leaf would make him the subject of ridicule.

Slash!

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his neck. His vision blurred and spun as his head rolled on the ground. He saw his headless body slowly collapse before his consciousness was consumed by darkness.

Standing behind the mage was the SD-900-I, a nanomachine-based robotic assassination model. It had perfectly mimicked the floor to hide from the mage's eyes. Detection magic was useless against non-magical and non-organic entities like robots. To the detection magic, the robot was no different than a tumbling rock, unable to identify as a threat.

It could be said that the mage's cautious nature, always checking anomalies himself, worked against him. This is how he fell victim to the assassination machine.

Inside the hideout, the group continued their preparations for the warhead. According to their plan, once the warhead was ready, they would send it aboard a small boat disguised as a fishing vessel to the largest port in New Atlantis. Using remote control, they would detonate it upon arrival.

With this, the message would be sent, and Daniel would be none the wiser as to who was responsible for the attack.

At that moment, Achilles' instincts flared, something was amiss. He turned to the nearest mage.

"Check on the lookout. Something's off," he ordered. The mage obeyed and used the walkie-talkie to contact the lookout, but there was no response.

"Sir… there's no response." Reported, the mage.

"This is... bad," Achilles muttered, just as several SD-800 series robots stormed through the cave's only narrow entrance. These were mass-produced killing machines, so basic that Nexus Prime hadn't even bothered with synthetic muscle or skin. They were designed for open combat, not infiltration.

Their bodies were made of Atlantean steel. While not as durable as adamantine, Atlantean steel was much cheaper, quicker to produce, and still highly durable—though not enough to withstand extreme conditions like a direct hit from a cruise missile.

The bots flooded in, starting with mana-burning grenades aimed at the mages. The explosion released a mix of substances and runestones designed to deplete mana in the surrounding area, quickly draining the cave's magical energy.

The mages hastily formed mana shields and jointly cast missile-warding spells, but with the mana rapidly disappearing, their defenses became unstable.

Some shields shattered the moment they were hit by a hail of bullets, while the warding magic held for a few minutes before the mana depletion became too great to sustain.

In a desperate move, one of the mages roared and activated his blood magic, using his own blood as a substitute for mana to maintain the ward. The ward immediately strengthened, easily deflecting the bullets. Though his blood magic was depleting his life force, the mana drain returned to a normal rate.

"What?! Blood magic? It works against anti-mage armaments!" the blood mage exclaimed. This surprising revelation needed to be reported to their comrades—they didn't know why it worked, but it was vital information.

At that moment, the killing machines, noticing their bullets were ineffective, marched forward, aiming to eliminate the mages with their powerful metal arms, strong enough to tear through steel.

One of the mages, quick-witted, took advantage of the moment while the mana hadn't completely depleted, overloading his mana pathways and casting his magic into the ground.

Rumble!

The earth trembled as several large jagged stones erupted from the ground, slamming into the advancing killing machines and pinning them against the cave wall.

"No! It's still not enough!" The mage roared as his mana pathways began to overheat from the depleted mana, causing them to burn and injure him as he struggled to maintain control of his magic.

The rumbling continued, and the earth shifted as the cave ceiling began to collapse, burying the killing machines beneath it.

"Phew..." The mages, along with Achilles, let out a sigh of relief, having witnessed the scene. The danger seemed to have passed.

But suddenly, they felt movement from beneath the pile of earth and stone that had buried the killing machines.