"What's the big news?!"
Charlotte rushed into the shop, her voice brimming with excitement.
"Come, let me introduce you."
Lu Heng introduced her to Furina and Focalors, though he kept the full story under wraps, only mentioning the incident of the Hydro Archon "splitting."
"Huh?"
Charlotte was stunned.
One split into two?!
This… this is truly explosive news!
"Also, let me introduce you to some new products," Lu Heng said with a smile.
Charlotte perked up immediately.
After Lu Heng finished explaining the smart devices, Charlotte fell into deep thought.
She had a keen sense of how much these innovations would shake up Fontaine.
Take The Steambird, for example.
The newspaper's main revenue came from print sales and ad placements. But once phones and computers became widespread, The Steambird would inevitably shift its operations online.
After all, if people could read the news on their phones, who would bother buying physical newspapers?
Charlotte wasn't worried about the paper's survival—as long as the management had half a brain, they'd adapt.
There was another upside: she'd be able to learn about breaking news faster and even conduct interviews remotely.
There were pros and cons, but overall, the future was clearly digital.
"Incredible!"
That was all Charlotte could say.
"How about helping me advertise these?" Lu Heng asked with a grin.
"You're being too polite," Charlotte chuckled. She and Lu Heng were familiar enough by now, so she cut straight to the point. "Let's take a photo. With the two Hydro Archons endorsing these, they'll take Fontaine by storm in less than three days!"
"Of course!" Furina puffed up proudly.
Her reputation might not have been built on governance, but when it came to popularity, she was unmatched.
Soon, Charlotte finished taking the promotional shots.
"Let me see you out," Lu Heng said, opening a portal for her.
"Thanks! I'll rush this to print—it'll make the afternoon edition!" Charlotte dashed off in a hurry.
After she left, Neuvillette spoke up. "I should take my leave as well. I'll bring these devices back to the Palais Mermonia. Hopefully, the AI can teach everyone how to use them."
"No problem at all," Lu Heng assured him.
"Mm. Farewell."
Neuvillette departed in a hurry.
Lu Heng's gaze shifted to Furina, who was snacking away, and then to Focalors, who was sulkily watching people pull cards. He sighed. "When it comes to hands-off leadership, you two take the cake."
"Huh?" Furina blinked innocently.
Focalors, understanding his meaning, smiled faintly. "We can't exactly trust this airhead to handle state affairs, can we? Leaving things to Neuvillette puts everyone at ease."
"I'm not an airhead!" Furina grumbled under her breath.
Lu Heng agreed with Focalors.
Whether big or small, any matter entrusted to Neuvillette would be handled flawlessly.
As long as no one tried to exploit the system, his fairness and impartiality were beyond reproach.
"It's almost noon," Furina remarked. "Should we grab lunch? Focalors hasn't eaten in ages, right?"
"I am a god," Focalors replied lightly.
Truthfully, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd eaten.
"Let's go!"
When it came to meals, Lu Heng was always the most enthusiastic.
That afternoon, news of the card shop's new products sent shockwaves through Fontaine.
Customers flooded the store to buy the "smartphones."
Two people were already fiddling with their new toys on the spot.
There were no phone numbers—instead, each device had a unique identifier tied to the user's account. For simplicity, Lu Heng used the device's serial number as the account ID.
"This is amazing!"
"So, even if I'm overseas, I can still make calls and send messages like this?"
"That's just the basic function! I heard there'll be even more features later!"
"At 10,000 Mora, this isn't even expensive. Compared to the Vision-equivalent devices, Boss Lu is practically giving these away!"
"The great and generous Mr. Lu!"
Lu Heng hadn't expected the biggest topic in Fontaine to be him—not even the Hydro Archon splitting in two could compete.
He mused that if he ever drew a card like "Divine Ascension Through Worship," he might just become a god on the spot.
There was no helping it.
Standing in the heart of Fontaine, he could practically feel the city's "devotion" to him.
Back in the shop, Lu Heng stared at the heavily bandaged, clearly severely injured Tartaglia and couldn't help but ask, "You went this hard?"
"Cough…"
Tartaglia coughed weakly, his face pale.
Honestly, Lu Heng was half-afraid the man would drop dead right there.
"Don't worry about it. Just a minor issue!"
Tartaglia had thoroughly enjoyed himself.
After leaving the shop, he'd gone all out—not only fighting Arlecchino but also seeking out other Fontaine elites.
The only disappointment was that Clorinde had zero interest in sparring with him.
His current sorry state was the result of back-to-back battles.
"How many are you buying?" Lu Heng asked.
"Ten… no, twelve!"
Tartaglia figured he couldn't forget his sponsor.
At the very least, he ought to bring one back for Pantalone as a gift.
"That's quite a few," Lu Heng remarked.
"For family, the Tsaritsa, and the big boss behind the Northland Bank," Tartaglia explained.
"You really do think of him," Lu Heng teased. "Won't he increase your budget for this?"
Tartaglia and Lu Heng exchanged glances before bursting into laughter—though Tartaglia's was cut short by a pained cough as his injuries protested.
"Seriously, though, you need a healing skill," Lu Heng said bluntly.
For someone like Tartaglia, who lived for combat, not having a good recovery card was practically inviting an early grave.
"Haha, no need to worry! I'm tough!" Tartaglia insisted.
Scars were a man's medals!
"I can feel myself getting stronger with every fight!"
"I'm getting closer and closer to Morax!" Tartaglia couldn't contain his excitement.
"Uh…"
Buddy, are you delusional?
Lu Heng set down his teacup and studied Tartaglia.
Under his gaze, Tartaglia began to feel uneasy.
"Do you really think you're that strong?"
"Well… I'm not bad?"
"You only have one gold card. Meanwhile, Arlecchino has two. See the gap? You've still got a long way to go before reaching the pinnacle."
"As for Morax… take a seat. There's a long line of people itching to challenge him lately."
Tartaglia froze.
He'd been so focused on fighting that he hadn't kept up with Arlecchino's progress.
Two gold cards?!
One gold card had already made him a monster. The power of two was beyond his imagination.
Suddenly restless, he stood up.
"Leaving already?" Lu Heng asked.
"I'm going to withdraw funds!" Tartaglia declared, his voice resolute.
Besides combat, he'd had the Northland Bank's Fontaine branch calculate his available funds the day he arrived.
By now, they should have a number ready.
Pulling cards wasn't just about getting stronger—it was about fulfilling Her Majesty's mission!
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T/N:
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