"It's all settled—$10 million and assistance with patent applications for the Chinese company. In exchange, they authorized us to manufacture and sell the product, but there's a condition: we cannot establish production facilities or subcontractors in Asia," Bryan explained.
William immediately laughed. "They haven't even officially partnered with us, yet they're already planning to use Asia's low labor and material costs to start a price war against us."
"That's likely their strategy," Bryan nodded in agreement. "But I think they'll be disappointed. With you, Boss, our product's upgrade cycle will definitely outpace theirs."
"Leave the patent negotiations to me and some key contacts. Your task is to establish the company immediately," William said. Since he owned 75% of this new venture, he wasn't particularly concerned about what the Chinese company might attempt later.
"The company is nearly ready to go," Bryan responded with a confident smile. After a pause, he added, "But about Mr. Felix from the Swiss National Bank…"
Bryan's mention of Felix reminded William of his earlier plan to hire him as the company's financial advisor. However, given his current strained relationship with the bank and his new stake in a rival legal and accounting firm, William dismissed the idea. "Has Felix reached out to you recently? Is he considering resigning?"
"If you extend the invitation, I'm sure he'd accept," Bryan replied with a grin.
Understanding Bryan's implication—that Felix had likely not been in touch—William immediately dismissed the notion. "Forget it."
"Understood," Bryan said, letting go of the idea. "Where should we set up our production facilities? The USA or England?"
"The USA, of course. I have no plans to enter the low-end market. Let's first secure the high-spending American market and worry about the rest later. Once the company is officially established, Sunday will send you technical documents. Your first task as CEO is to patent those technologies. Afterward, whether we manufacture in-house or outsource is up to you."
Bryan thought for a moment before nodding. "Got it, Boss. I'll handle it."
As they spoke, Catherine's plane taxied to a stop nearby. Moments later, the door opened, and Catherine was the first to disembark. Smiling warmly, she greeted William with a hug.
"Good evening, William," she said, releasing him. "Thank you for picking me up."
"Catherine, you're an old friend and now a business partner. Picking you up is the least I can do."
After some pleasantries, the group headed to the hotel. William and Catherine briefly discussed the latest developments with the defense company before he left. Sunday had already kept William updated on most details, so there wasn't much new to learn.
By the time William returned home, it was already 11 PM. Just as he was preparing to shower and head to bed, Sunday interrupted. "Sir, you might want to take a look at this."
"What is it?"
A beam of light projected from the ceiling, displaying a hologram of Clyde Shelton pushing a cart. William frowned. "Is he transporting a body?"
"Yes, Sir. This is footage of Clyde Shelton retrieving a corpse from a cold storage facility. The body appears to have been frozen for a significant period and closely resembles Shelton in size and shape."
"Wow. This guy has guts, doing this in the middle of the night," William muttered. After a brief pause, realization dawned. "He's planning a fake death, isn't he?"
"Apologies, Sir. I cannot calculate the likelihood of such a scenario," Sunday replied.
William didn't need advanced algorithms to see what Clyde was up to. His suspicions were confirmed the following evening. Clyde, perhaps fearing that widespread adoption of William's explosive detectors in New York would derail his plans, moved quickly. After retrieving the corpse, he exited through an underground passage and drove off in a small truck.
"Sir, the route suggests Clyde is heading to Bruce Mack's house," Sunday reported.
Moments later, spider robots transmitted images from the truck. William cursed under his breath. "Damn it."
Sunday elaborated, "The weaponized robot in the truck appears to be equipped with an M2 heavy machine gun and rocket launcher. It also has a directional EMP weapon and a remote control system with video feed capabilities."
"Can the explosive detectors pick up this system?" William asked, his mind racing.
"The weapons themselves cannot be detected, but the remote control system can."
Hearing this, William relaxed slightly. "Good. Send a warning to our dear Prosecutor Bruce Mack. I don't want him dying and messing with my revenue stream."
"Understood, Sir."
"Wait—can the detector withstand an EMP attack?"
"It can, Sir. The detector's outer layer is metal, and its small display screen is shielded against EMP interference. Based on the size of Clyde's EMP device, it will not affect the detectors."
William grinned. "That's even better! This selling point will make the detectors even more appealing. Damn, saving lives is turning out to be great for business."
As William spoke, Clyde parked his truck near Bruce Mack's house, left the vehicle, and activated the remote. The modified truck's side panel opened automatically. After checking the street to ensure it was deserted, Clyde closed the panel, pocketed the remote, and walked away.
The following morning, Bruce Mack, now elderly and living alone after his wife's passing, followed his routine of having a simple breakfast before leaving for work at 6 AM. Meanwhile, in the prison's isolation wing, Clyde monitored the situation through a surveillance feed.
When Bruce Mack's car came into view, Clyde remotely opened the truck's compartment. As Bruce's car approached the corner of the street, Clyde pressed another button on his remote, releasing an invisible electromagnetic pulse. The car sputtered and stalled.
Beeping alarms erupted from the detector Bruce carried. A voice warning followed: "Alert! Alert! Remote-controlled rocket launcher detected on the right side. Danger! System armed. Estimated launch in 5 seconds. Evacuate immediately. Countdown: 5, 4..."
Panic-stricken, Bruce unbuckled his seatbelt, threw open the door, and scrambled across the street, barely escaping the blast zone.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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