New Item

"????"

Shamira, who had been looking down to take notes, had only just let her pen tip touch the paper before she suddenly jerked her head up.

Her mouth hung open and her pupils constricted as she stared at Luca, who remained as calm and composed as ever.

It wasn't just her.

Even the company employee who had followed along with the new car to serve as a temporary driver couldn't help but subconsciously want to turn around and look at the future heir of their company.

However, perhaps considering that he couldn't afford to lose such a well-paying job, the driver ultimately used great willpower to keep his head facing forward.

Then, while "concentrating" on driving, he pricked up his ears to listen carefully, occasionally darting his gaze toward Luca in the rearview mirror.

"Y-Young Master, is that really appropriate? You are still so young, and that... that sort of thing..."

Listening to Aunt Shamira's stuttering, trembling voice, Luca twitched the corner of his mouth and forced himself to continue in a calm tone.

"Aunt Shamira, what are you thinking about? It's just that my upcoming invention requires these items; you just need to help me get them."

"But, but Young Master... the company doesn't have products like that," Shamira stammered.

"..., I didn't say to get them from the company. Just like the medical equipment, just purchase them from outside."

"O-okay."

Hearing that Luca seemed quite determined, Shamira ultimately bit the bullet and wrote the words "vibrator" down on her paper.

However, she decided she wouldn't arrange for anyone else to handle this order; she would purchase everything herself.

As a middle-aged woman, even though she had never been married, buying such things was familiar territory, and she felt no embarrassment whatsoever.

The reason she had been so nervous just now was simply out of a guardian's concern that Luca might be going down the wrong path.

Now that she had calmed down, she didn't dwell on the matter any further.

After stealing a glance at Luca and seeing that the boy had once again gone blank, lost in his own thoughts, Shamira could only sigh silently.

I wonder if little Luca is thinking about a new invention, or if he's missing his mom and dad.

Either way, at least having something to keep himself busy is a good thing.

After carefully putting away her notes, Shamira began to ponder.

Should she have this temporary driver fired from the company later, or should she find a way to transfer him to a factory far away from the New York headquarters?

Meanwhile, seeing that Shamira was no longer paying attention to him, Luca breathed a slight sigh of relief and lamented in his heart.

As expected, it's good to be rich.

If he didn't have the company or the funds, and had to prepare these things himself, not to mention the cost of frequent trial and error, even if he managed to buy the qualified items needed for the "synthetic consumables" every time, it would certainly take a lot of effort.

However, it seems I still need to find an additional full-time assistant to handle these trivial matters. Shamira is a warrior by trade, after all; making her do the work of a housekeeper and secretary is really asking too much of her.

But doing so would bring him back to the issue of maintaining control over the company and its funds.

Either heal Gina or get the company under control—in any case, I need to find a breakthrough as soon as possible!

An hour and a half later.

Connecticut, Greenwich Town, inside a seaside villa.

The time was nearing evening.

Looking at the pile of miscellaneous items cluttering the villa's living room, Luca rubbed his temples in frustration.

"Aunt Shamira, go ahead and notify the combat team for recall and handle the material procurement; those two things are more critical."

"As for this mess, I'll handle it slowly myself."

After sending Shamira away, Luca simply plopped down in the middle of the living room.

This villa was one of the Orange family's properties in Connecticut.

Although it wasn't in New York City, it wasn't actually that far from Manhattan's Lower District—only a little over an hour's drive.

Originally, the family of three would occasionally come here to stay on weekends to escape the hustle and bustle of Manhattan and relax.

But now, the apartment on the Upper East Side was severely damaged.

Coupled with the fact that Manhattan was currently in total chaos and under martial law, Luca had temporarily moved here, turning a "vacation" into a permanent residence.

Well, although he said he was living here permanently, Luca still spent most of his time these days sleeping at the hospital.

As for the pile of miscellaneous things in the living room right now:

Some were items Luca had ordered his subordinates to collect, while others had been sent directly from the company.

They were a motley collection—daily necessities, toys, models, weapon samples, everything imaginable.

The main issue was that Luca still wasn't quite sure how to trigger the "Core Component" of his golden finger, or rather, what kind of items could even be considered a "Core Component."

He only knew that indirect imagery like photographs and videos could not allow him to see the faint glow emitted by a "Core Component."

Helpless, he could only have people purchase a random assortment of miscellaneous items to be delivered, waiting to inspect them one by one himself.

Yet, as it stood, this method was hardly efficient.

At the very least, after Luca swept his gaze over them, he had yet to see a single item emitting that white light unique to a "Core Component."

"It seems I can't keep doing things this way in the future; the efficiency is too low, and it's a hassle to process."

"However, when I saw those people from the Avengers earlier, almost everyone had a Core Component on them. Starting with plot characters could at least be considered a viable strategy."

Immediately, Luca thought of the [Power-Enhancing Shoes] he was currently wearing. The "Core Component" in these had merely been found in an ordinary shoe store; it had no high-and-mighty origin.

"Perhaps wandering the streets more and screening items in bulk from shopping malls is also a decent path."

While calculating these things, Luca did not choose to immediately open and inspect the packages that remained sealed.

Instead, he walked directly toward the two boxes placed in the corner of the living room.

One of them was quite large and had the Orange Industries company logo printed on it; clearly, it was the accessory props Luca had commissioned the company to customize and deliver.

As for the other, smaller box, it looked like an ordinary red medical kit from the outside, even featuring a white-bordered red cross printed on it.

Yet, in Luca's eyes, this box was emitting a unique, shimmering white light.

Yes, the reason Luca, who had been staying at the hospital to provide care for so many days, chose to return home today—aside from wanting to see if any new synthesized items could be found among the messy pile of collected goods—was something else.

The more important reason was that, over these past few days, Luca had indeed encountered yet another new "Core Component."