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Regardless of what Russell was thinking, Five and the other man, seeing that the matter had been resolved, did not linger. As for assigning Russell any tasks, he had only just "joined" the Spirit Begging Society. They would leave him be for now, simply asking him to await their notification.
After seeing the two of them off, Russell let out a long, shuddering breath, his body finally relaxing. "They're finally gone." Today's experience had been more than just exciting; it had been terrifying. He still hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
Sitting on the sofa, Russell summoned his cards. Luffy, Zoro, Kaneki, and Yoriichi all appeared, and on each of their faces was a look of shame and unwillingness.
Russell just waved his hands, comforting them. "Don't blame yourselves. It was me who was too careless." He was speaking from the heart. The events of the past few days—being hailed as a hero, meeting the masters of the Association, being showered with rewards—had made him feel a little overwhelmed, a little too comfortable. As a wage-slave artist in his previous life, he had never felt such a feeling of being held in high esteem. But today's experience had been a harsh lesson.
"It's better to rely on yourself than on others," Russell sighed, a new resolve hardening in his heart. "No matter how powerful Director Blake is, it has nothing to do with me. Even if he could avenge me after the fact, what good would that do?" At this moment, he finally realized that in this extraordinary world, being a cardmaker was a truly dangerous profession.
In the final analysis, he was not strong enough. If he were a Master... no, if he were just a gold-level cardmaker, the Spirit Begging Society would never have dared to approach him so openly. But fortunately, the final result was a good one. He was not bound by their contract, and he had even gotten a piece of material out of the deal for no reason at all.
Marcus. Thinking of the traitor, Russell couldn't help but feel a chill. The New Metro Cardmakers Association was rotten at a high level. God only knew how many more traitors were hiding in the dark. Now, the only people he felt he could truly trust were Blake Whitmore and Lance Jennings. After all, if those two betrayed the Federation, New Metro would be doomed anyway.
Pushing aside his messy thoughts, Russell looked at the material Five had given him.
Bronze-level [Individual Combat Armor] (Purple).
"This material..." he thought silently, "is indeed quite interesting." He didn't hesitate any longer, taking out his phone and Browse the trading website. After a while, he found the other components he needed.
Bronze-level [Portable Power Furnace] (Purple).Bronze-level [Primary Artificial Intelligence] (Purple).
The two bronze-level materials only cost a little over one million credits in total. The market for mechanical materials had never been very good in the Federation, which had a strong cultural preference for gods, ghosts, and monsters. The real market for such things was in the Western nations, like the Union of States.
Russell immediately placed the order without hesitation.
As for what he was going to produce, it was, of course, the famous powered suit that had appeared in countless American comic stories. It was a prop card that perfectly balanced comfort, safety, and speed—exactly what he needed right now. He had some knowledge of the source material. And besides, the power level of the [Mark 3] was obviously not higher than the bronze level.
Soon, a Metro Express drone delivered the materials to his house. Based on his memory, Russell began to draw the image of a sleek, silver metal armor on a blank card. The original hot-rod red and gold of the armor was a bit too conspicuous for his taste. A small change like the color, which didn't affect the essence of the story, was well within the permitted range.
[Please start compiling your story.]
[The Mark 3 armor was manufactured by the genius billionaire, Tony Stark. It stands two meters tall and weighs ninety kilograms. Different from the ugly, canned-food look of the Mark 1, the Mark 3's appearance has been greatly improved. Its streamlined shape is pleasing to the eye, and its new silver color is irresistible.]
[Unlike the Mark 2, which suffered from freezing at high altitudes, the Mark 3 has fixed this problem. Its high-quality power source provides it with long battery life.] The Ark Reactor was obviously not something Russell could make right now, so he had to make some minor changes to the lore.
[The Mark 3's excellent weapon system allows it to provide sufficient firepower when facing danger. And its maximum flight speed can reach...]
Just as he was about to fill in the original speed of 2,740 kilometers per hour, a feeling from the mysterious space, a sense of wrongness, told him that if he wrote that down, the card creation would fail.
"1,000?" he thought tentatively. No."500?"Still no."200?"
Seeing no negative feedback this time, Russell nervously wrote it down. [...200 kilometers per hour.]
[The excellent artificial intelligence system also solves the wearer's troubles with aiming and flying.] J.A.R.V.I.S. was certainly impossible to create. In Russell's opinion, an AI of that level would require at least a gold-level material.
When his consciousness returned to reality, Russell stared at the card in his hand in a daze. What had just happened in the mysterious space made him seriously wonder if he was its biological son. As far as he knew, it was impossible for other people to get feedback during the card creation process; they had to rely entirely on their own judgment, which was why so many of them failed. No one else got to bargain.
Unfortunately, no one could answer his doubts. If other cardmakers knew what happened to him, they would probably be furious. Still, he could understand the 200 km/h flight speed limit. The power reactor wasn't the original Ark Reactor, after all. And if it really could reach nearly 3,000 kilometers per hour... he would just have one of his cards put on the armor and become an ICBM.
200 kilometers per hour doesn't seem impossible, Russell thought, looking at Yoriichi. The swordsman couldn't help but shudder. The way Russell was looking at him always made him feel that something bad was about to happen.
But the idea of a card wearing a mecha was indeed a fun one. Just imagine Nika Luffy or Six Paths Naruto piloting Gurren Lagann. That was too outrageous. Or EVA! Imagine the enemy finally breaking through EVA's AT-Field, only for Nika Luffy to pop out. Russell was a little afraid to even imagine that scene.
Pushing aside his wild thoughts, he began to review the information for his new card.
[Mark 3]
Rank: Bronze
Quality: Gold
Category: Prop
Skills:
[Firepower System]: Arc Pulse Cannons (Repulsors), Micro-Missiles, Flare Decoys, and Dual Shoulder-Mounted Six-Barrel Mini-Cannons. Characteristics:
[Enhanced Composite Armor]: Excellent metal armor that can provide good defense for the wearer.
[Artificial Intelligence]: Although it is a relatively low-level AI, it can still provide good targeting and flight assistance to the wearer.
[Power Furnace]: A small, portable power furnace that can provide up to one hour of continuous use. Can be recharged using mental energy. Chain: Can form a chain card with the card [Tony Stark].
"There's actually a battery life limit," Russell noted. But being able to replenish it with his mental strength was a nice bonus. He didn't hesitate any longer. He summoned the [Mark 3] and put it on.
The pieces of sleek, silver armor flew through the air and assembled around him in an instant. A soft, female voice sounded in his ears.
"At your service, my Lord."
(End of this chapter)