Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet

William didn't care if bringing danger and death to the command center would make people resent him. He had openly told everyone that if they didn't want to be part of this, they could take leave. Those who stayed behind would have to deal with the consequences.

After an initial moment of panic, many people calmed down. However, about half of them saw Commander Bromley standing with his hands behind his back, staring at the blank command center screen. When the first middle-aged woman left, it only took two minutes before nearly the entire command center had cleared out, leaving only seven or eight people remaining.

Five minutes later, people and vehicles sporadically streamed out of the anti-air command center's parking lot. Watching this from the window, William shook his head.

Standing beside him, Bromley said sternly, "Seems like I'll need to emphasize the importance of honor in the future. Half of them ran off before a single shot was fired."

"Come on. You know that letting the civilians and non-combat staff leave was the right call. Otherwise, we'd have to spare resources to protect them during the fight. Plus, regardless of whether Barkawi's people are still here or not, we had to make it seem like they're not."

"With so many people leaving, I wouldn't be surprised if Barkawi's team grabs a few to gather intel. And you should also get a headcount of how many are ready for combat."

Bromley understood this logic all too well. "Don't worry; we have four combat teams downstairs with a total of 48 men, plus 32 more who've arrived in two shifts from the 22nd SAS Regiment. Using the terrain and our armored vehicles, we can hold this place. And I just reported the situation here. In half an hour, 12 helicopters will arrive with 96 SAS soldiers."

Bromley lowered his voice and leaned close to William. "Before we found Benjamin, we could stall, but now that he's here, there's no more time to wait. They're so desperate that they're willing to risk choppers in the airspace, despite potential attacks. Didn't you notice Banning's calm now? He was about ready to bite someone's head off a few minutes ago."

William turned to look at Banning, who stood silently beside Benjamin, checking his weapon. After that, he put on the bulletproof vest, suit, and coat William had provided.

"Go take care of business, Bromley. Don't let them actually get in here, or you'll be blamed if things go wrong," William said, gesturing Jacqueline over. "I assume I can give you orders?"

"Of course, sir," Jacqueline replied. She had just confirmed with the new MI6 head, Gareth Mallory, that William held a high-ranking position in their agency. Furthermore, Mallory had subtly hinted that William was beyond Gareth's or even Catherine, the Secretary of Security's, control.

So when Jacqueline heard William had a task for her, she straightened up, almost ready to salute.

"Good," William said, satisfied with Jacqueline's attitude. "Your task now is to keep a close eye on John Lancaster. Anyone who approaches him is a potential suspect. If anyone tries to rescue him, take them down immediately. If he makes any attempt to escape or poses any danger, eliminate him."

"Understood, sir."

Jacqueline nodded, relieved. The plan to use John Lancaster as bait was obvious, but she was grateful that William wasn't putting her life at unnecessary risk. At the same time, Jacqueline was curious to see who might make a move. Cleverly, instead of hiding John away in another room, she handcuffed him to a table in the corner of the command center, keeping him within sight while she concealed herself, ready to watch for any unexpected visitors.

Noticing Jacqueline's tactic, William gave a small smile and asked Sunday, "Are the spider bots in position?"

Driving everyone out had also served another purpose: it made things easier for the spider bots to operate.

"Yes, sir," Sunday responded. "There are over 500 spider bots deployed across the Anti-Terror Command Center and surrounding buildings. Additionally, 12 Black Blade drones are patrolling within a two-kilometer radius, monitoring any movement of people or objects."

"Excellent. By now, you should have gathered intelligence on Barkawi's operatives?"

"Apart from the hundred or so in their main base, I have located 137 operatives across London, each monitored by two spider bots. I can eliminate these street operatives in ten seconds if you command it."

"No. If word gets out that I can single-handedly neutralize all enemies, a lot of people will start losing sleep—and so would I, as the root of their nightmares."

After a moment of thought, William continued, "Alert the Black Specter unit near Barkawi's main base. Their mission is to hunt down operatives fleeing from the abandoned building and any who escape our resistance here. Guide them to their targets."

"Understood, sir. Orders have been issued."

With that, William took a data cable from a staff member and connected it to the satellite phone, pulling up a computer to conduct a "search." Not that he needed Sunday's help—William was already skilled with this kind of tech and quickly found the satellite phone's location.

Displaying the coordinates on the command center's large screen, he asked, "Where is this?"

"Broad Street in the city center, about a fifteen-minute drive from here," Bromley replied, highly familiar with London. "But it's an unfinished building—a concrete skeleton."

Already aware of this, William mentally gave Bromley a thumbs-up. As a commander, the man knew his job. William stepped up to the command desk and ordered the remaining staff, "Immediately investigate the recent power usage of that building. If it's higher than usual, then there's likely something going on in there."

The staff had all seen William checking the satellite phone earlier, so using power consumption to confirm suspicions seemed logical.

"Understood," Bromley ordered his team to check at once.

In their rush to avenge, the Americans took only three minutes to report, "Power usage in that abandoned building over the past few months has been triple that of normal construction. There's definitely a power-hungry system inside, most likely servers connected to London's power grid."

"Send a recon team. If our intel is correct, we'll storm it once the fight begins here. We need to restore power to London as quickly as possible," Bromley said to a uniformed officer.

"Understood."

"Wait," Banning interjected, stopping the officer as he pointed at the screen displaying the abandoned building. He looked at William and Bromley. "I recommend attacking that location immediately. We'll not only take them down but also draw all enemy attention to the streets."

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