The city blurred past the dark windows of the car while Lumine kept her eyes fixed on her cellphone, more specifically on the WhatsApp group.
The group was buzzing with messages and stickers: some exaggerated, others purely outrageous.
But the general summary of the last three weeks made Lumine's heart beat with pride.
She leaned her head back on the leather seat and scrolled up.
@Victoria: "I still can't believe the emperor intervened in our favor. OH MY GOD."
@SmellOfEarthAfterRain: "That's called diplomatic charm, darling."
@Nikoly: "Easier to call it 'manipulation,' but alright."
Lumine laughed to herself.
The truth was that no one knew exactly what Matthew and the Emperor had discussed that secret afternoon in the halls of Phoenix Castle. Neither the ministers present nor the guards. But everyone knew the result: the Lancaster Family blockade had been dissolved like ice in lava.
The imperial order fell like a flaming comet over the political backstage.
The latest notification in the group brought her back to the conversation:
@Victoria: "50 million units of Lux sold in the Phoenix Empire already!! I'm freaking out!"
@Lumine: "Ingredients for the next batch already secured."
@Nikoly: "I'm still stuck in code hell. But the website is handling the demand. For now. Send me coffee, please."
Lumine typed a quick reply.
@Lumine: "Focus, sister. Without you, we break."
She locked the cellphone and allowed herself a moment of silence, looking out the window at the sunset washing over the golden skyscrapers.
In memory, everything came together like an epic puzzle.
The Last 3 Weeks in Retrospect.
Matthew talking to the Emperor, alone, without records. The heavy air of the palace that day seemed to foreshadow war.
But the result was an official and public decree: "Diamond Tycoon will have equal access in all commercial sectors of the Phoenix Empire."
Victoria, who had been the Lancaster's renegade daughter, became the company's official image. With charisma and diction capable of hypnotizing emperors and CEOs, she accepted interview after interview. Websites, noble channels, even global media broadcasts showed her speaking with authority about Lux — the most advanced facial mask in history.
The result?
50 million units sold just in the pre-sale.
Official website + Amazon = SERVERS AT LIMIT.
Lumine, on her side, ran like a war CEO. She contacted laboratories, bioengineered farms, suppliers of quantum hyaluronic acid (yes, that exists in this world), and secured all mass production of the first batch.
Nikoly, stuck in her tech bunker in Japan, was in charge of building the entire company's IT foundation. With the internal divisions of Tycoon taking shape — Strategy, Research, Marketing, Development, and Innovation — Nikoly dove between servers, codes, data intelligence, and AI integration, almost becoming a hologram of herself.
Luna, meanwhile... remained buried in business meetings on American soil. As a shareholder of several giants, she was invited (or dragged) to boards, votes, and formal dinners where she almost slept over the contracts.
Lumine took a deep breath.
The car slowed down.
Lumine looked ahead. The entrance of the Stellar Crown Complex rose like five towers under the crimson sky.
She took the cellphone again and sent a message to the group.
@Lumine: "See you at the top. Or on Forbes' website."
The black limousine doors opened softly, and Lumine stepped down with elegance, wearing a shimmering scarlet suit, sunglasses, and stiletto heels.
In front of her stood the Stellar Crown Business Complex.
Lumine felt intimidated for a moment by the grandeur of what they had built.
"Welcome, CEO Lumine," said a tactical armored guard, saluting with martial precision.
She nodded with a slight smile.
The guards were retired special forces soldiers, carefully hired after physical and psychological exams — Tycoon's security was no joke.
Passing through the security gates, the structure detected her biometrics, retina, body heat, heart rate, even the pressure of her steps.
In fractions of seconds, a translucent hologram rose from the floor in the shape of a woman with floating hair, irisless eyes, and a technological assistant outfit.
"Access granted. Welcome, CEO Lumine. I am ÆVA, the Supreme Business AI of Diamond Tycoon." The voice was serene, with a neutral accent, but filled with power.
"Thank you, ÆVA," Lumine replied, nodding lightly.
The inner doors opened like wings of a cosmic bird, revealing the interior.
Along the path, wherever she passed, Lumine heard the sound of flowing water — the real sound of crystal-clear lakes cutting through marble paths.
Colossal trees cast fresh shadows over the benches of the internal gardens, where some employees were already seen reading, with headphones and 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 on an interactive glass pillar.
"Maybe later."
As she walked, ÆVA followed her steps, projecting holographic data beside Lumine.
"The Stellar Crown Complex consists of five interconnected buildings, each with 110 floors. The overall layout simulates a five-pointed star when viewed by 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 brainstorm rooms with integrated AI.
The entire complex is 100% self-sustaining, and its energy consumption is neutralized in real-time with automated carbon credits."
Lumine stopped for a moment upon seeing a glass bridge over a translucent lake where golden fish swam in hypnotic patterns.
She blinked slowly.
"We created this..." she murmured, as if only now realizing its true scale.
A group of new employees passed by her, some still shy, wearing white suits with chrome details and the star-shaped diamond logo.
They greeted her with reverence. "Good morning, CEO!"
Lumine smiled. A real smile. "Good job, everyone. We're going to change the world, yes?"
They waved enthusiastically.
ÆVA spoke again with a slight change in tone. "There is an important notification from the Board. Victoria is finishing a live interview for 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 she is."
She pressed the elevator button. The panel read her presence automatically.
While ascending, she sent a message to the group.
@Lumine: "Complex delivered successfully. Feeling like paradise. Next stop: world domination?"
The others started replying 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 by floating screen lights, Nikoly sat before a 360-degree panel, surrounded by beams of data, mutable codes, and a holographic AI calmly floating beside her.
The command room was the heart of her tech mansion in Japan. No excessive decoration, no unnecessary luxury. Just what was needed: cutting-edge technology, absolute concentration, and total silence — except for the sound of systems running.
The girl with hair tied in a messy bun was distractedly chewing a matcha cookie while her eyes scanned the code of the ZERØPHAGE system. The complexity was surreal.
And this coming from Nikoly, systems genius and former best hacker in Asia.
"ÆVA, run new simulation of protocol-ICE Layer 7. Check for leaks."
ÆVA blinked, floating with a more technical appearance and neutral expression. "Simulation activated. Running integrity check on ZERØPHAGE."
A whirlwind of holographic data passed between the two, shining like crystal fragments.
"Alert: ZERØPHAGE system confirmed as Quantum Military-Level Cyber Defense. Reaction rate: 0.0009 seconds. Compatibility with ÆVA at 96.1%. Estimated integration in 3 hours, 42 minutes."
Nikoly raised an eyebrow. "Three hours and forty minutes to make the world's most powerful AI understand this beast? This thing is really arrogant..."
She leaned back in the ergonomic chair and grabbed her iPhone, unlocking it with iris scan. A notification blinked from the girls' group:
@Lumine: "Headquarters delivered successfully. Feeling like paradise. Next stop: world domination?"
Nikoly laughed alone.
@Nikoly: "Is that for real? Is the place really that good? You're exaggerating, right?"
The reply came almost instantly:
@Lumine: "Nikke... The headquarters is divine. Giant trees, lakes with golden fish, individual helipads, 4th-gen solar panels... even the elevators are smart. I cried a little."
Nikoly raised a skeptical eyebrow. "ÆVA, show holographic visualization of the corporate headquarters. Fourth surveillance camera, 2 pm local time."
The AI spun, its eyes shining, and a high-definition hologram materialized before Nikoly.
The transparent sky reflected in the smart windows.
The path between giant flowering trees.
The mirror water cutting through the garden where employees walked smiling, while soft drones transported smart boxes.
The star-shaped building.
The Diamond Tycoon logo's glow slowly spinning on top like a living crown.
Nikoly almost dropped the cookie from her mouth. "Okay. Okay... this is not a headquarters. This is... like... a sci-fi utopia funded by billionaires from another dimension."
She clicked the group again.
@Nikoly: "I take back my skepticism. The headquarters looks like it came out of a movie. I can't wait to see it in person."
@Victoria: "I only set foot there once and almost cried too. Thanks, Luna, you lazy genius."
@SmellOfEarthAfterRain: "One game away from Challenger. Leave billionaires alone."
Nikoly laughed.
But soon her attention returned to the codes. "ÆVA, constant alert on proxy attacks from that annoying group. They were trying to track our AI last week."
"Alert registered. Threat level: Moderate. ZERØPHAGE has already identified attempts and neutralized before execution."
Nikoly smiled maliciously. "Good. Now I want to see some poor soul try to hack Diamond Tycoon."
She spun in the chair, opened a new screen, and started reviewing logs.
If ÆVA was the brain...
ZERØPHAGE was the shield.
And Nikoly?
She was the architect on the digital throne.