The city blurred past the car's dark windows while Lumine kept her eyes fixed on her phone, specifically the WhatsApp group.
The group was teeming with messages and stickers: some exaggerated, others purely scandalous.
But the overall summary of the past three weeks made Lumine's heart flutter with pride.
She leaned her head back against the leather seat and rolled over.
@Victoria: "I still can't believe the emperor intervened on our behalf. MY GOD."
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva: "That's called diplomatic charm, darling."
@Nikoly: "It's easier to call it 'manipulation', but oh well."
Lumine laughed to herself.
The truth was, no one knew exactly what Matthew and the Emperor discussed that secret afternoon in the halls of Phoenix Castle. Not the ministers present, not the guards. But everyone knew the outcome: the Lancaster family's blockade had dissolved like ice in lava.
The imperial order fell like a flaming comet upon the political backstage.
The most recent notification in the group brought her back to the conversation:
@Victoria: "There are already 50 million Lux units sold in the Phoenix Empire!! I'm freaking out"
@Lumine: "Ingredients for the next shipment already secured."
@Nikoly: "I'm still stuck in code hell. But the site is still handling the demand. Still. Send me coffee, please."
Lumine typed a quick reply.
@Lumine: "Focus, sister. Without you, we break."
She locked her phone and allowed herself a moment of silence, looking out the window at the sunset washing over the golden skyscrapers.
In memory, it all came together like an epic puzzle.
The Last 3 Weeks in Retrospect.
Matthew talking to the Emperor, alone, without recording. The heavy air in the palace that day seemed to portend war.
But the result was an official and public decree: "Diamond Tycoon will have equal access to all commercial sectors of the Phoenix Empire."
Victoria, once Lancaster's disowned daughter, became the company's official face. With charisma and a diction capable of hypnotizing emperors and CEOs, she accepted interview after interview. Websites, high-profile channels, and even global media broadcasts featured her speaking authoritatively about Lux—the most advanced face mask in history.
The result?
50 million units sold in pre-sales alone.
Official website + Amazon = SERVERS AT LIMIT.
Lumine, on her side, ran like a war CEO. She contacted laboratories, bioengineered farms, and quantum hyaluronic acid suppliers (yes, that exists in this world) and secured mass production of the first batch.
Nikoly, trapped in her tech bunker in Japan, was tasked with building the company's entire IT foundation.
As Tycoon's internal divisions took shape—Strategy, Research, Marketing, Development, and Innovation—Nikoly dove into servers, code, data intelligence, and AI integration, almost becoming a hologram of herself.
Luna, meanwhile... continued to be buried in corporate meetings on American soil. As a shareholder in several giants, she was invited (or dragged) to board meetings, votes, and formal dinners where she practically slept over the contracts.
Lumine took a deep breath.
The car slowed down.
Lumine looked ahead. The entrance to the Stellar Crown Complex rose like five towers under the crimson sky.
She took out her phone again and sent it to the group.
@Lumine: "See you at the top. Or on the Forbes website."
The limousine's black doors opened smoothly, and Lumine stepped out elegantly, wearing a shimmering scarlet suit, sunglasses, and stiletto heels.
Ahead of them loomed the Stellar Crown Business Complex.
Lumine found herself momentarily intimidated by the grandeur of what they had built.
"Welcome, CEO Lumine," said a guard in tactical armor, saluting with martial precision.
She nodded with a slight smile.
The guards were retired special forces soldiers, carefully hired after physical and psychological examinations—Tycoon security was no joke.
As you passed through the security gates, the structure detected your biometrics, retina, body heat, heart rate, and even your step pressure.
In a split second, a translucent hologram emerged from the ground in the form of a woman with floating hair, iris-less eyes, and a tech assistant outfit.
"Access granted. Welcome, CEO Lumine. I am ÆVA, Diamante Tycoon's Ultimate Business AI." The voice was calm, with a neutral accent, but charged with power.
"Thank you, ÆVA." Lumine replied, giving a slight wave.
The inner doors opened like the wings of a cosmic bird, revealing the interior.
Along the way, wherever she went, Lumine heard the sound of running water—the real sound of the crystal-clear lakes that cut through the marble paths.
The colossal trees cast cool shadows over the benches in the internal gardens, where some employees could already be seen reading, wearing headphones and wearing calm smiles.
There were luminescent flowers, floating walkways, and even meditation kiosks, activated by digital touch.
"Would you like some tea, CEO?" ÆVA asked, appearing again in an interactive glass pillar.
"Maybe later."
As she walked, ÆVA followed her steps, projecting holographic data alongside Lumine.
"The Stellar Crown Complex consists of five interconnected buildings, each with 110 floors. The general layout simulates a five-pointed star when observed via satellite.
Each building has:
Smart mirrors on all windows, adaptive to sunlight.
Fourth generation solar panels integrated into the structure.
Individual helipads with private access for directors.
Augmented reality rooms, data intelligence, and brainstorming rooms with integrated AI.
The entire complex is 100% self-sustainable, and its energy consumption is neutralized in real time with automated carbon credits."
Lumine paused for a moment as she saw a glass bridge over a translucent pond where goldfish swam in mesmerizing patterns.
She blinked slowly.
"We created this..." he murmured, as if only now he had a real understanding of it.
A group of new employees walked past her, some still shy, wearing white suits with chrome accents and the diamond-shaped star logo.
They greeted her with reverence. "Good morning, CEO!"
Lumine smiled. A real smile. "Good job, guys. Let's change the world, shall we?"
They waved enthusiastically.
ÆVA spoke again with a slight change in tone. "There's an important notice from the Board. Victoria is finishing up a live interview with the Imperial Business Network. Nikoly sent critical updates about the website servers. And Luna… is late for the meeting."
Lumine chuckled. "Luna late? That's new."
"She's playing League of Legends right now."
"...Of course it is."
She pressed the elevator button. The Panel automatically read her presence.
As she was climbing, she sent a message to the group.
@Lumine: "Complex successfully delivered. I'm feeling like I'm in heaven. Next stop: world domination?"
The others started responding with emojis and jokes, and for a moment, Lumine allowed herself to relax.
On the other hand, in another country...
In a dark room bathed in the light of floating screens, Nikoly sat before a 360-degree panel, surrounded by beams of data, shifting code, and a holographic AI floating calmly beside her.
The command room was the heart of his technological mansion in Japan. No excessive decoration, no unnecessary luxuries. Just what was necessary: cutting-edge technology, absolute concentration, and total silence—except for the sound of systems running.
The girl with her hair tied in a messy bun munched absently on a matcha cookie as her eyes scanned the ZERØPHAGE system code. The complexity was surreal.
And this was coming from Nikoly, a systems genius and former top hacker in Asia.
"ÆVA, run new simulation of the ICE Layer 7 protocol. Check for leaks."
ÆVA blinked, floating with a more technical appearance and a neutral expression. "Simulation activated. Running integrity check on ZERØPHAGE."
A swirl of holographic data passed between the two, shimmering like crystal shards.
Alert: ZERØPHAGE system confirmed as Quantum Military-Grade Cyber Defense. Reaction rate: 0.0009 seconds. ÆVA compatibility at 96.1%. Estimated integration in 3 hours, 42 minutes.
Nikoly arched an eyebrow. "Three hours and forty minutes to make the world's most powerful AI understand this beast? That thing is really arrogant..."
She leaned back in her ergonomic chair and picked up her iPhone, unlocking it with her iris. A notification flashed from the group of girls:
@Lumine: "Sede successfully delivered. I'm feeling like I'm in heaven. Next stop: world domination?"
Nikoly laughed smilingly.
@ Nikoly: "Are you serious? Is the place that good? You're exaggerating, right?"
The answer came almost instantly:
@Lumine: "Nikke... The headquarters is divine. Giant trees, ponds with goldfish, individual helipads, 4th generation solar panels... even the elevators are smart. I cried a little."
Nikoly raised a skeptical eyebrow. "ÆVA, display holographic view of corporate headquarters. Fourth surveillance camera, 2 PM local time."
The AI spun around, eyes glowing, and a high-definition hologram materialized before Nikoly.
The transparent sky reflected in the smart windows.
The path between giant flowering trees.
The water mirror cutting through the garden where employees walked smiling, while soft drones transported smart boxes.
The star-shaped building.
The glow of the Diamond Tycoon logo slowly rotating on top like a living crown.
Nikoly almost dropped the cookie from his mouth. "Okay. Okay... this isn't a clubhouse. This is... like... a sci-fi utopia funded by billionaires from another dimension."
She clicked on the group again.
@Nikoly: "I withdraw my skepticism. The headquarters looks like something out of a movie. I can't wait to see it in person."
@Victoria: "I only stepped foot in there once and almost cried too. Thank you, Luna, you lazy genius."
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva: "I'm one game away from the Challenger. Leave the billionaires alone."
Nikoly riu.
But soon his attention returned to the codes. "ÆVA, constant alert for proxy attacks from that pesky group. They were trying to track our AI last week."
"Alert registered. Threat level: Moderate. ZERØPHAGE has already identified attempts and neutralized them before they were executed."
Nikoly smiled mischievously. "Good. Now I want to see some poor bastard try to hack into Diamante Tycoon."
She swiveled in her chair, opened a new screen, and began reviewing the logs.
If ÆVA was the brain...
ZERØPHAGE was the shield.
What about Nikolay?
She was the architect on the digital throne.