Less than a minute later, a Range Rover pulled into the castle grounds.
Seeing William waiting at the gate, Gareth parked the car ten meters away and stepped out.
As he looked at William's grinning face, Gareth felt a mix of happiness and discomfort.
Back when they first met, their relationship had been close and equal, but ever since taking the money from selling bulletproof suits, and especially after William's wealth and power skyrocketed,
Gareth still considered them friends—but he no longer dared to casually drop by like before.
"It's been a while, mate," William said, shaking Gareth's hand.
"Come on, just like old times. Let's grab our hunting rifles, head into the wild, and talk while we see if we can bag some game."
---
Night hunting?
Gareth found it odd but quickly remembered—years ago, during a hunting trip, they had secretly plotted against M.
That memory brought a smile to his face.
"Sounds good," Gareth nodded. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll get a few wild boars."
William chuckled. "If you want wild boars, I guarantee we'll find some."
---
Inside the weapons room, Gareth deliberately picked out the same hunting rifle he had used years ago.
Holding it up, he smirked.
"All these expensive rifles, sitting here collecting dust—seems like a bloody waste."
William said nothing, just grinned.
After changing into hunting gear, he tossed a pair of smart glasses to Gareth, then led him outside.
---
As soon as they stepped out, two all-terrain hoverboards with thick wheels and armrests were waiting at the gate.
Seeing them, Gareth raised an eyebrow.
Once he stepped onto the board, his smart glasses lit up, displaying real-time data.
Even objects hundreds of meters away were automatically analyzed if he focused on them for a few seconds—without obstructing his normal vision.
"Let's go," William said.
"Hunting at night is risky for you, so I've deployed over 20 floating drones and dozens of armed combat drones to cover us.
If you don't want to bother finding targets yourself, just let the drones scan for game and report back to you."
---
Gareth stared at him in shock.
"Is all this really necessary? At this point, it's not hunting—it's execution."
William shrugged. "Doesn't matter. If I'm going out, I refuse to come back empty-handed.
And your combat skills are unreliable, so I need to make sure you're well-protected."
Without waiting for a response, William leaned forward slightly—his hoverboard shot off toward the forest.
---
Twenty minutes later—
They arrived at a forest several kilometers from the castle.
Gareth noticed that once they dismounted, the hoverboards automatically followed them, turning off their lights to avoid detection.
His smart glasses' night vision was so advanced that he felt like it was still dusk.
Watching William check his rifle, Gareth couldn't help but ask,
"Did you develop all of this in just a few years?"
Before William could answer, Gareth smacked his forehead.
"Never mind, of course you did. You've built bloody spaceships—these little gadgets must be child's play for you."
---
William grinned, enjoying the praise.
But before he could say anything, Gareth sighed deeply.
"Even standing right in front of you, I still feel like I'm dreaming.
Who could have imagined that in just a few short years, you'd rise to this level?"
William laughed.
"Alright, enough reminiscing. No matter how many compliments you throw at me, you're not getting a bottle of Macallan whiskey from me."
"Oh, piss off! With all your money, can't you be a little more generous?"
They both laughed, but Gareth's expression quickly turned serious again.
---
Finishing his rifle check, William snapped the barrel shut and began walking.
"Alright, what's the problem?" he asked.
"I knew from the moment you called me that this wasn't a social visit.
What kind of mess has MI6 gotten into now?"
"It's not MI6," Gareth corrected. "I left the agency a year ago."
"What?!"
William turned to him in surprise.
Gareth shrugged.
"I thought I was getting promoted—escaping MI6's hellhole.
But then Richard found me and gave me a promotion that turned out to be a trap."
"Sir Richard?"
"That's right."
Gareth hesitated for a few seconds before continuing.
"One year ago, Richard personally recruited me and took me to a classified facility—one that reports only to him.
And the subject of its research is something you should be very familiar with."
---
William only needed half a second to figure it out.
"Sector Seven?"
Hearing that, Gareth exhaled in relief—confirming that William had already known about the extraterrestrial robots.
"So, it's true," Gareth muttered.
"That leak from the upper ranks, claiming you've been in contact with aliens for years, wasn't a lie?"
William smirked, tilting his head.
"I don't need you to explain anything."
"Let me guess—the Americans reacted quickly.
As soon as the videos of their Transformer hunts leaked, they immediately moved to shift public attention and lessen the backlash.
So they activated their inside contacts in England to smuggle Sector Seven's research out—along with the remains of the Sector Seven robot."
---
Gareth stared at him in shock.
"Richard recruited you for this exact scenario, didn't he? He saw this coming a year ago."
William scoffed, shaking his head.
"That old fox! He pulled you into this knowing your connection to me would make you come to me for help.
And since Sector Seven's robot was handed over to England by me, there's no risk of leaked information coming from our side.
On top of that, I already have the power to handle your problem."
William chuckled coldly.
"That bastard Richard—how many times has he set me up now?"
---
For a brief second, a flash of blue light flickered in William's eyes.
Gareth almost took off his glasses to rub his eyes—but stopped himself just in time.
Instead, he relayed Richard's message:
"Richard told me to tell you—consider this a favor in return for the help he gave you at Buckingham Palace."
---
Buckingham Palace?
William immediately remembered the meeting with Philip, the Templars, and England's Ministry of Magic a while back.
Richard had indeed helped him that day—securing Kingsman's authority over extraterrestrial affairs.
That realization annoyed William—but he also knew he owed Richard a favor.
Whether or not Richard helped him out of self-interest, a debt was a debt.
---
Still, he wasn't about to let the Americans off the hook.
The Decepticon attack on the U.S. military base hadn't even been revealed yet.
The U.S. needed to suffer more before William let them off.
---
After thinking for a moment, he tapped his earpiece.
"Where's White Ghost? Tell him to come to the castle immediately."
"Understood, Sir."
"Send a Kingsman Kun-class fighter to pick him up."
Ending the call, William turned to Gareth.
"Now—tell me everything you know."
______
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