William thought to himself, "What a shrewd businessman," as he glanced at Sean. While he internally grumbled, he actually appreciated Sean's money-focused approach as a manager.
"Reducing the range isn't difficult; we just need to lower the battery's technical specifications," William said with a chuckle, patting Sean on the shoulder.
"You'll oversee coordinating with the engineers and handling the production of hardware for the prototype. Once it's done, you can return to your regular duties at the company.
Remember, strict confidentiality is crucial. Understood?"
Sean nodded firmly. "Understood, boss."
"Good. I'll handle the battery development. If you run into any issues, come directly to me. Do your best—I have high hopes for you."
Encouraged by William's supportive words and the reassuring pat on his shoulder, Sean felt a weight lift off his chest.
After personally escorting William out of the conference room, Sean returned with a bright smile, serving tea and water to the seven engineers.
Once out of the meeting room, William wandered around the experimental building, pretending to inspect each piece of equipment and room.
In reality, he was using his mental energy to carefully scan the premises, ensuring there were no surveillance devices or hidden bugs.
After confirming the area was secure, he discreetly released over a hundred spider robots to monitor the entire building.
The morning passed quickly. After lunch, which Selene had delivered to him, William sat in the lounge chatting quietly with her.
"You and Nissa should put all other tasks on hold and wait for my orders," William said.
"Got it," Selene replied as she helped clean up the table. "By the way, Nissa wanted me to ask if you're coming to our place tonight."
With a playful grin, William shook his head. "Not likely. I'll probably be here for the next few days. But once this is over, I'll take both of you on a trip."
"Really?" Selene's eyes lit up, her excitement barely contained. "Just the three of us?"
"Unless you're okay with others tagging along, I have no objections."
"No, just us three," Selene insisted, kissing him softly on the cheek. "I'll head back now. Nissa will likely be the one delivering your dinner tonight."
After seeing Selene off, William took a short nap. When he woke up, he visited the conference room and the small power lab to check on the engineers' progress. Returning to the lounge, he found Sean finishing a phone call.
"What do you think about me upgrading the equipment in Aston Martin's power lab?" William asked casually.
"Uh…" Sean was momentarily taken aback before shaking his head. "It's not necessary, boss. Our current lab equipment is more than sufficient. If we need something more advanced, we can always rent facilities at the National Power Lab.
"The few million it would cost to upgrade could cover at least twenty years of rental fees there."
Hearing that upgrading the equipment would cost several million, and that renting would achieve the same results, William nodded in agreement. "Alright, we'll revisit the idea later."
Entering his private lab, William asked Sunday to call the logistics director and request materials for ten simplified 01 batteries.
Over an hour later, when the materials arrived, William began tinkering with the batteries himself.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic in the U.S., Church, who had been quietly enjoying semi-retirement, was shopping at a supermarket with his new girlfriend, Sarah.
Church and Sarah had met seven or eight months ago after Church stepped down as the CIA's New York director to help cover up one of William's operations. He had since returned to Virginia to serve as a brigadier general at the base.
Although Church had lost his CIA director position, he wasn't doing too badly. William provided him with a 5% discount on bulletproof suits and explosive detectors, which Church discreetly sold.
Although the semi-privatization of William's bulletproof goods company had slightly reduced his business, Church's extensive network still allowed him to sell one or two suits a month to people who either needed the product urgently or wanted to avoid leaving a purchase record.
In just six months, his Swiss bank account had grown by nearly £600,000.
However, financial success didn't mean he was free from trouble.
Shortly after leaving the CIA, some people, fearing that Church might expose secrets, saw him as a liability.
One quiet night, a team of six heavily armed operatives attempted to assassinate him.
But Church, now living under the alias "Frank Moses," teamed up with his new girlfriend and a group of elderly but deadly former operatives to take down Senator Robert Mearn, who had presidential ambitions, and his backer, the arms dealer Alexander Dunning.
After resolving the incident, Church happily settled into a quiet life in Virginia with Sarah.
Unfortunately, as a legendary CIA operative, true retirement wasn't so simple.
While shopping at the supermarket, Church noticed Marvin Boggs, an old acquaintance, trying to get his attention.
After finding an excuse to send Sarah off temporarily, Church frowned and approached Marvin, pushing his shopping cart.
"Dammit, Marvin," Church grumbled. "I thought we agreed not to contact each other anymore."
"I didn't want to see you either," Marvin retorted, glancing around nervously with his hoodie up. "But I've been sending you messages all day and got no reply."
"I'm retired," Church replied. "Of course, I'm not checking my secret inbox anymore."
"Retired? Really?" Marvin pulled down his hood in frustration. "Want me to tell everyone your current position?
"F*** you, Frank Moses. You're living the high life, while I'm hiding in a swamp down south!"
"Alright, alright," Church interrupted, sighing. "Who told you to act like a paranoid lunatic all the time? If you were normal, I'd have brought you in as an instructor ages ago."
"Instructor? How generous of you," Marvin sneered. "What, a sergeant? A master sergeant? I'm 62, Frank. I'm not saluting kids who could be my grandkids.
"Besides, I was on track to become a butler for a noble family in London. If it weren't for this mess, I'd be living the high life right now."
"You? A butler?" Church gave Marvin a skeptical look. "Can I just say that family must have been blind?"
"Cut the crap, Frank," Marvin said seriously. "I'm not joking—you need to grab your girlfriend and leave right now."
"I'm not going anywhere," Church replied with a smirk. "If I have to go with you, I might as well hide out at the base."
"Where are you two going?" Sarah's voice interrupted them.
Turning around, they saw Sarah walking toward them, her expression curious.
"Nowhere, sweetheart," Church said smoothly, smiling at Marvin. "Didn't expect to run into Marvin here. What a coincidence!
"Marvin, we should meet up for dinner sometime. See you later!"
"Frank," Marvin said through gritted teeth, his face stern as he tried to explain without alarming Sarah.
But seeing Church's focus on his girlfriend and his apparent backup plan to return to the base, Marvin could only curse under his breath and walk away.
After Church and Sarah finished their shopping and left the supermarket, Marvin pulled up in his car and asked one last time,
"Are you sure you're not coming with me?"
"Nope. I'm heading back to the base, and you're going to London to be a butler. Bye, Marvin."
Church figured he'd be safe as long as he stayed at the base, surrounded by Navy SEAL teams and nearly a thousand elite soldiers.
As long as he remained a brigadier general, no one would dare mess with him.
Watching Marvin drive off after muttering "stay safe," Church wrapped his arm around Sarah and began walking toward their car.
But before they had taken ten steps, a loud boom echoed from not far away.
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I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
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