After realizing the significance of this matter for the Palais Mermonia, Furina stopped grumbling.
She straightened up, her expression turning serious.
Meanwhile, Neuvillette began his gacha pulls.
With a terrifying 100,000 draws at his disposal, he didn't even consider the slower 10-pull or 100-pull options.
Without hesitation, Neuvillette selected the 1,000-pull.
The gacha animation played, and a purple glow burst forth.
"Huh? A Purple Card in just 1,000 pulls?"
Furina was surprised.
Clearly, Neuvillette's luck wasn't bad—but whether this Purple Card was useful remained to be seen.
If the effect was underwhelming, then this pull might as well have been a dud.
Furina's Equipment Belt was already fourth-tier, allowing her Eye of Insight to appraise fourth-tier Purple Cards.
Without needing Lu Heng's help, she examined it and shook her head. "It's useful, but pretty mediocre."
"I see."
Neuvillette wasn't too disappointed.
He had already steeled himself for this, so his heart remained calm.
He continued pulling.
The next three 1,000-pulls yielded no Purple Cards.
"90,000 pulls left."
"Lady Furina, would you like to participate?" Neuvillette asked.
Furina thought for a moment. "Keep going for now. Just leave 20,000 pulls for me at the end."
"Understood."
Neuvillette immediately selected the 10,000-pull.
The moment he pressed the button, a golden radiance illuminated the surroundings.
Even Chevreuse, who had been busy sorting cards, was drawn to the spectacle.
As everyone knew—fifth-tier Gold Cards corresponded to Archon-level power!
Among the neatly stacked cards on the counter, one glowing Gold Card stood out prominently.
Alongside it were two Purple Cards.
"Your luck's not bad!"
Furina examined the two Purple Cards.
One was useless, but the other had a decent effect.
Now, it was time for the main attraction—the Gold Card.
Even the other Fontainians nearby couldn't help but stare.
No one could remain calm in the face of a Gold Card!
Furina had completely abandoned her dignified demeanor by this point.
Well, this was another Archon-level power—it was only natural for the Hydro Archon to be shocked, right?
She hastily handed the card to Lu Heng, praying, "Please let it be something good!"
Lu Heng flipped the card over.
It depicted an ornate bronze mirror.
As he touched it, a golden light flashed across the surface, and the mirror's image became clearer.
[Wandering Heaven's Mirror]
[Tier]: 5th-tier · Gold
[Type]: [External Equipment Card]
[Effect]: [Sustained] [Heavenly Surveillance]
[Description]: A treasure from another world, used to oversee the mortal realm.
"What kind of equipment is this?" Furina asked curiously.
"In technical terms, it's a magical artifact."
Lu Heng explained, "It's a self-moving mirror. You can input certain commands—for example, if you set it to monitor illegal activities, it will autonomously surveil the designated area with extreme efficiency."
"Of course, given its fifth-tier status, its uses don't end there."
"It also possesses offensive capabilities. Just as a mirror reflects light, it can fire devastating energy beams."
"In short, this is an incredibly powerful artifact. Its full potential depends on how you utilize it."
After hearing Lu Heng's explanation, Chevreuse muttered, "Am I about to be unemployed?"
This thing sounded terrifying!
It could monitor the world, detect crimes, and instantly blast offenders with energy beams—instant deletion!
Hiding?
At fifth-tier, even someone kilometers underground would be as exposed as if standing in broad daylight!
"No."
Neuvillette shook his head. "From a fifth-tier perspective, it shouldn't be wasted on such trivial matters."
"So I should be grateful my job isn't important enough?" Chevreuse deadpanned.
"My apologies, that wasn't my intention—"
Chevreuse waved him off. "Relax, I was just joking."
"Ah."
Neuvillette turned to Furina. "Lady Furina, I believe the Wandering Heaven's Mirror should be classified as a national treasure of Fontaine."
"Agreed." Furina nodded solemnly.
If nothing else, it would be extremely accurate at monitoring water levels.
(Though that was a minor application in the grand scheme of things.)
"An external equipment card..."
"In the future, any department wishing to use it must obtain signatures from both Lady Furina and myself, and its output must be strictly regulated," Neuvillette declared firmly.
Furina nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, the Fontainians nearby—especially the nobles—felt a chill run down their spines.
Any thoughts of exploiting supernatural powers for personal gain were swiftly abandoned.
Neuvillette observed their expressions and murmured, "Lady Furina, I believe we should hold a press conference afterward."
Chevreuse understood his meaning.
Once the mirror's capabilities were publicly known, no one would dare test its limits.
Imagine preparing to commit a crime, only for the mirror to silently watch you.
The moment you act—before you can even harm your target—you've already violated the law, and a beam of annihilation descends...
It was a beautiful mental image.
But it also meant the Patrol might become obsolete.
Chevreuse fell into deep thought.
Would the Patrol be reduced to crime scene cleaners?
Surely not… right?
Neuvillette quickly bound the [Wandering Heaven's Mirror] to the [Unified Management System].
The moment the process completed, an ancient bronze mirror materialized in his hand before vanishing into the void.
"Shall we continue?" Lu Heng asked.
"Absolutely."
Neuvillette nodded.
He couldn't help but share Furina's earlier sentiment:
"You spent 100 million Mora and got something as broken as this mirror… Are you sure you're not running a charity?"
But Neuvillette didn't dwell on it, focusing instead on the gacha.
Unfortunately, it seemed the Wandering Heaven's Mirror had exhausted his luck.
The next two 10,000-pulls yielded no Gold Cards, only three decent Purple Cards and two duds.
"It seems Gold Cards are exceptionally rare," Neuvillette remarked.
Furina wasn't impressed.
She had gotten three Gold Cards in 30,000 pulls (even if one was dismantled).
Meanwhile, Neuvillette had only gotten one Gold Card in 34,000 pulls.
Furina shook her head. "Seems your luck's pretty bad."
"Then why don't you try?" Neuvillette offered.
"Fine, I will!"
Furina stepped forward and decisively selected two 100-pulls.
"Why do it this way?" Neuvillette was puzzled.
"Building pity. You wouldn't understand."
Furina wore an expression of absolute confidence.
"Is there some logic to this?" Neuvillette turned to Lu Heng.
"Just superstition," Lu Heng chuckled. "If it works, it's meaningful. If it doesn't… well, that's just terrible luck."
"I see."
Neuvillette felt like he was starting to grasp the concept.
Then he watched as Furina's 10,000-pull yielded nothing.
"So… bad luck?"
Furina coughed awkwardly. "No, no—someone must be stealing my luck!"
"That's a thing?!"
Neuvillette was stunned.
"Of course! No one understands gacha superstitions better than me!"
"Someone out there is definitely whispering, 'I'll trade Furina's luck for a Gold Card!'"
"Like this—"
Furina raised a finger dramatically.
"I trade Neuvillette's lifespan for a Gold Card!"
She pressed the single-pull button.
A golden light exploded forth.
"HUH?!"
I WAS JOKING!
Furina's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.
Neuvillette was equally dumbfounded.
"Wait, Lady Furina—why are you using my lifespan to pull cards?! And why did it WORK?!"
Neuvillette didn't understand.
He was profoundly shaken.
----------
T/N:
Access 30 chapters in advance on my Patreon: p@treon.com/furinaimpact