Yes, Lady Funina!

Shen He nodded, stuffed the animated photos into his bag, and said, "Let's go take a look."

"That's great." Scarface's grin widened, and he sneered at Teto beside him, "You're more of a worrywart than a wet hen. Look how bold that young lady is!"

Scarface wasn't too surprised by Shen He's agreement. He knew Shen He was no ordinary person; he was able to come to Gray River alone, and after his previous performance, he still dared to agree to go out with him, which clearly showed that Shen He was confident in his abilities.

As for what they rely on, it should be closely related to the God's Eye on the other party.

But Scarface has been traveling the world for many years and has martial arts skills. He's seen all kinds of people. He's just the holder of the Eye of God. It's not like he hasn't killed anyone.

If this is all the guy in front of me is relying on, then Scarface will accept this windfall without hesitation.

Moreover, this little vixen is pretty. After we've had our fun, she might fetch a good price. We'll have to be careful when we hit her later, so as not to disfigure her, or the price will have to be reduced.

Scarface thought to himself that he had already considered Shen He as his own.

Teto wanted to persuade him again, but Shen He had already left the bar with Scarface. After much deliberation, he decided to take some men with him, at least to save the young girl's life and be true to his conscience.

However, not long after Teto left, he heard several muffled sounds coming from a secluded alley not far away, like flesh hitting a steel plate on the ground.

I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but I felt the steel floor beneath my feet tremble.

"They've already started fighting?" Teto's expression changed, and he immediately led his men into the alley.

But what Teto saw next was a scene he would never forget—a white-haired woman with an ethereal aura stood alone in a deep, dirty alley, while at her feet was the scarred man who had just been spouting nonsense.

No, it can no longer be called Scarface, because the other person's entire head, along with his upper body, was embedded in the iron plate on the ground. If you looked up from directly below the iron plate, you should be able to see a clearly defined face.

Scarface's henchmen weren't much better off; some were embedded in the iron wall next to them, while others were embedded in the metal trash cans.

Seriously? Trying to see who's harder, your head or iron.

"I misjudged him." That was Teto's first thought.

Then he saw Shen He looking at him, and immediately raised his hands as if by divine inspiration, saying, "Miss, we just came to take a look, we don't mean anything by it."

Shen He's indifferent face remained expressionless, her face neither flushed nor out of breath, as if she hadn't just embedded a group of vicious thugs into the wall.

"I know." Although Shen He himself was emotionally detached, he was still able to distinguish between goodwill and malice.

She looked at the people on the ground, as if remembering something, and asked, "These people..."

“We’ll handle it, don’t worry,” Teto replied instinctively.

Shen He nodded and left Gray River directly.

After Shen He left, Teto led his men to check on Scarface's condition. After finally managing to pry him out of the metal plate, they finally succeeded.

They discovered that the scarred face had become flat, the bridge of his nose had collapsed, and his teeth were broken, but his chest was still rising and falling. It seemed that the female warrior had held back and used a clever technique.

Otherwise, if you really had to use a human brain to knock such a big dent into an iron plate, even if the head is the hardest, the brain inside would be shaken to pieces.

"Mr. Tito, what's the next step?"

"Throw it at the boundary of the Rose Society's protected area, and the rest will be taken care of," Teto said.

The scene that unfolded in the tavern today was witnessed by countless people. Although they didn't take down Scarface, who would know if they didn't speak up?

Throwing it at the boundary is a warning to those who are pessimistic about the recent stirrings of the Rose Society, telling them that the Rose Society has not fallen and will not fall, and they should think twice.

As for Scarface and his gang, their fate is in their own hands.

After all, given how arrogant these people are, they've made many enemies in the past. Now that they're in trouble and have no ability to fight back, their chances of survival are slim.

However, there are fewer and fewer faces in the Grey River every day. Teto is not so saintly as to sympathize with these scoundrels. As long as they don't die in the territory of the Rose Society, he can't be bothered to even glance at them.

Indeed, this was the case shortly after Teto and his men threw Scarface into the street.

The group disappeared into the Grey River.

the other side.

"My lord, those people are under control," the debt collector said, emerging from the shadows and bowing.

"Take care of them all, be clean-cut. Oh, and by the way, make the leader suffer a bit before he leaves." The servant closed the photo album in his hand, his eerie 'X' eyes stained with blood, his tone calm as if he were explaining a trivial matter.

The debt collector vanished into the shadows, while the servant stared at the soaking wet figure on the photo cover.

“...Politicians, ha!”

P.S.: Time for bed. There will be another chapter when I wake up. This sleep schedule is getting more and more bizarre.

Volume 1: Chapter 128 The mother-in-law finds her son-in-law increasingly...displeasing.

"Where did you get all these strange things?" Richard asked, his face dark, looking at the kinetic art on Funina's desk.

Just like cockroaches, if you find one cockroach in your home, it means there are countless cockroaches hiding in some dark corner of your house.

Richard didn't even need to think twice before he knew that when the animated GIF of his photo appeared on Funina's desk, Funina wouldn't be the only one with it; Lynette, Clarinde, and Ningguang must have had it too.

Upon hearing Richard's words, Funina looked at him as if he were a primitive man who was out of touch with the world, and said, "Don't you know? These mechanical paintings are selling very well in Fontainebleau now. You can walk into any store on the street and you'll find them."

Funina paused here, then added, "Of course, considering the issue of portrait rights, the store certainly cannot sell this one without your authorization."

"How did you get it?"

"Do it yourself and you'll have plenty. The store doesn't sell photos, but it does sell the bases for these mechanical paintings. Customers just need to follow the instructions to cut the photos to the appropriate size and stick them on. It's very convenient."

"Where did that photo come from?"

“They’re sold everywhere on the Grey River black market, but the one I have is legitimate, and the photo is from the archives,” Funina said.

According to Fontaine Law, even if the Official Protection Act is used to remove photos from the exhibition, they cannot be destroyed on the spot; instead, they must be archived and sealed.

The photos that Funina had were taken from the archives, and not for free. Funina even wrote a detailed usage report for them. Regardless of the contents of the report, from a procedural standpoint, all of Funina's actions were in accordance with regulations.

Even Richard couldn't find fault with it... what a load of rubbish!

“This is my photo, right? At least you should get my permission before using it,” Richard said.

“I didn’t make a profit; it was for my own use, so it doesn’t constitute infringement.” As if she had expected Richard to say this, Funina had specifically checked the relevant laws and found that as long as it wasn’t used for commercial purposes and didn’t constitute a business relationship, even if Richard had objections, it would only be a civil dispute.

Furthermore, Funina discovered a problem: because of Clarinde's mistaken association, the photos legally belonged to her, and the copyright was in Funina's hands. Therefore, Funina could not use them herself, nor could she authorize them to others without Richard's consent.

Of course, Funina would never authorize it. After all, what would it mean if someone else saw her man?

To some extent, Funina also advocated banning the wet photo, but this ban was directed at others, not at herself.

Richard clearly understood that he couldn't do anything to Funina at the moment, and Funina could even use this method to threaten Richard.

Mr. Richard, you wouldn't want your photos to be made public, would you?

Fortunately, Funina didn't seem to realize this. Having only traveled far from home once, Funina clearly hadn't picked up Inazuma's bad habits.

However, if Funina were to go to Inazuma, the outcome would be unpredictable.

Since the matter was already settled, Richard obviously had no better options than to add another charge against Clarinde, so he stopped dwelling on the issue.

These photos are fine to show to Funina and the others, but it's best to avoid letting them circulate in Fontainebleau.

Over the next few days, Richard mobilized his connections and dismantled the largest pornographic crime syndicate in Grey River, arresting hundreds of people, including the syndicate's leaders and related individuals. They were punished for various crimes, such as disseminating obscene materials, infringing on others' portrait rights, operating without a license, and making huge profits.

It will be dealt with severely.

Even the lowest-level sales staff were sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison. As for the leaders, they will probably have to spend the rest of their lives in Mero Petersburg.

Even after the judgment was handed down, these individuals involved in the case couldn't understand why the court, which usually turned a blind eye to them, would suddenly go to such lengths to deal with them.

Moreover, it's not just the Rose Society; even the Fools have gotten involved. What makes them worthy of being targeted by so many forces?

It's no exaggeration to say that these film sellers experienced for the first time what it means to be at odds with the world. Overnight, they became the public enemy of all forces in Fontainebleau, becoming rats that everyone wanted to kill. Before they could even react, they were already sitting in court.

Leaving a big spectrum!

——————

"Shen He, what are you holding in your hand?" After several days of research, Xian Yun finally had a general understanding of anti-gravity technology. After walking out of the room, he saw Shen He fiddling with a mechanism in his hand.

“A moving photo,” Shen He answered honestly.

"A moving photo?" Xianyun was taken aback.

Shen He generously handed the mechanical painting to Xianyun, and then took another one out of her otherworldly bag.

Xianyun took the painting and was even more surprised to see the familiar face on it: "Is this Richard? Did he fall into the river? He looks like a drowned rat!"

Shen He didn't know why Richard was taking pictures with his clothes wet, so he didn't answer Xianyun's question.

All she knew was that the painting was incredibly interesting. Even if she stared at it all day long, watching the mechanical painting swing back and forth, she would never feel bored or weary. On the contrary, she would become more and more engrossed in it.

Unlike Shen He, Xian Yun only glanced at it twice, fiddled with a few parts of the 'Richard' head on the mechanical drawing to figure out the workings, and then lost interest in it.

It has absolutely no technical content.

Seeing Shen He clearly engrossed in the thing, Xianyun couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get this?"

Based on Xianyun's understanding of Richard, it's unlikely that Richard would turn his own photo into something like this and give it to Shen He.

Well, it's hard to say. After all, it's been over twenty years since Xianyun last met Richard. It's hard to guarantee that Richard's personality hasn't changed over such a long time...

“I bought it,” Shen He said.

"Bought? Who sold it to you, Richard?" Xianyun asked, thinking to himself that even if things had changed, this was going to be too drastic.

Is Richard so short of money that he's resorting to selling his body to make a living?

Wait a minute, Richard, who owns half of Ningguang's assets, doesn't seem like someone who's short of money. Could it be that he's just looking for something spiritual?

“No.” Shen He shook his head. “It’s someone I don’t know.”

"How did someone I don't know get his photo?" Xianyun was a little confused by Shen He's words.

"There's a photography competition in the center of the venue..." Xianyun paused, "...taken by Fu Ningna."

"I see." Xianyun didn't understand at all, but she didn't intend to dwell on the matter any further.

"After you bought it, you're not just going to keep staring at it like this, are you?"

"No, I won't watch it while I eat." Shen He shook her head, afraid that soup would splash onto the painting.

"What's so interesting about this mechanical painting? Why are you staring at it?"

“It’s beautiful,” Shen He retorted, then, as if remembering something, added, “It’s more interesting than the stove Master made.”

Xianyun couldn't understand why Shenhe could stare at a photo for so long with such enthusiasm. Similarly, Shenhe couldn't understand why his master was so obsessed with fully automatic kitchen appliances, and had been researching them for more than ten years.

Xianyun couldn't stand such talk. More interesting than her stove? Impossible!

The magical arts of immortals are far beyond what these little gadgets can compare to.

Although after studying the anti-gravity technology, Xianyun also believed that Fontaine's technology did have its merits, the merits certainly did not include the mechanical painting in his hands.

She would definitely do a better job with such a simple item!

To prove this to his apprentice, Xianyun decided not to go out for a stroll and went straight back to his room, preparing to handcraft a Liyue mechanical art version of the Perpetual Motion Mechanical Painting to show Shenhe.

When Shen He saw his master return to the room, his cool eyes flickered for a moment. Then he took out a dozen copies of "The Cat Stealing Fish" in original quality from his bag and followed Xianyun into the bedroom...

The next day, Richard, at Xianyun's invitation, came to Ningguang's residence in Fontainebleau. Looking at the ethereal and colorful fairy paintings on the coffee table, he was immediately dismayed.

Why is there a Liyue-exclusive edition? Is this even possible?

"Richard, you give your opinion: is my mechanical drawing better, or is Shen He's mechanical drawing better?"

As if oblivious to Richard's indescribable expression, Xianyun insisted that Richard judge whether her mechanical skills or Fontaine's mechanical skills were superior.

I have no objection (Licha Longtu Limited Edition).jpg

"Of course, it's because you did a good job, True Lord."

If we set aside Richard's personal opinion, in terms of both quality and technical skill, Xianyun's ingenious drawing is clearly superior. He even added the detail of the blinking eye. Moreover, compared to the uneven, pieced-together mechanical drawing, Xianyun's drawing is much better.

The ingenious paintings created by Xianyun have a more natural transition, and the picture looks more like a whole. The difference between the two is like one eating Dove chocolate and the other not only not eating it but also choking on it.

No, you have this skill and you're using it for this?

After receiving Richard's affirmation, Xianyun immediately turned to Shenhe and said, "See? Richard has already said so."

Shen He nodded, his eyes seemingly glued to the ingenious painting Xianyun had made, and said, "Yes, Master is truly amazing."

"This is just a superficial application of mechanical arts. The art of mechanical arts is vast and profound..." Xianyun seemed a little smug after hearing his disciple's praise.

Rarely seeing Shen He so interested in mechanical arts, I launched into a long explanation of the technical knowledge related to mechanical arts to Shen He.

Unfortunately, Shen He was indeed interested in Xianyun's ingenious painting, but not in the technique itself, but rather in the dynamic version of 'wet tea' that the technique presented.

"Shen He, after all I've said, what are your thoughts?" Xianyun asked his disciple after taking a sip of tea.

"Yes." Shen He nodded.