Bab 260: Chapter 260: The Joy Built on Others' Misery is Truly Satisfying
After learning that William could inherit the Earl's title, Lina, concerned about her reputation, had subtly mentioned to him that she wouldn't consider remarrying or finding a boyfriend. Although William agreed with this in his heart, he couldn't say much about it and could only let nature take its course.
In Western countries, marriages, divorces, remarriages, and re-divorces are extremely common. Lina's choice to remain unmarried for her child's sake was quite unusual. So, if Lina ever had any ideas in this regard, William, who had grown up, had no reason to stop her.
Sigh, William had never wished as much as he did now that his dead father, whom he had never even seen in a photo, were still alive.
"Sorry, Gary, please have a seat. I need to make a phone call," William said as he got up and nodded at Gary.
"Go ahead," Gary replied cheerfully, unaware of how much his earlier words had impacted William. If he had known, he would have given himself a good slap.
Walking out of the hall and into the castle grounds, William took out his Bluetooth earpiece and said to Sunday, "Help me search for female bodyguards from the Celestial Kingdom, preferably those who specialize in protecting important figures. Make sure to use legitimate methods. Also, check if there are any upcoming events or gatherings hosted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in England."
"Understood, sir," Sunday replied. A few seconds later, it added, "Sir, the Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 13th of this month. The Chinese community in London will be having a dinner gathering. I'll report back once I have more information on the bodyguards."
William thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, submit an application to the Chamber of Commerce on my behalf. Say that, as someone with ties to China, I want to experience the festival's atmosphere. Also, tell them that I am very fond of Chinese jade and embroidery. I hope they can help me find a master of jade carving and Su embroidery. Prepare two gifts with Chinese characteristics as birthday presents for my mother."
"Understood, sir. The application has been submitted."
Although William lived in the West, his past life in China made him naturally inclined to seek out Chinese bodyguards. Given his current status, he believed that as long as he was willing to spend money, he could achieve his goal through private connections.
People all have their social circles. Those who can succeed in business in England likely have connections back home and can introduce William to influential people. As long as the employment process is handled properly, William wasn't worried about any problems.
If he offered a high enough price, he was confident he could find the best bodyguards. If he couldn't, it just meant the price wasn't right. Besides, he would only be responsible for paying; everything else would be handled by others.
"Sir, Madam Lina asked me to inform you that dinner is ready. You can bring your guest to the dining room now."
"Got it. Please let her know I'll be there shortly," William replied, setting aside his thoughts as he returned to the hall to take Gary to dinner.
That evening, they had charcoal-grilled wild boar chops and a pan-seared pure chicken sandwich made with pheasant breast and cheese. William wasn't particularly interested in the wild boar chops, but he loved the chicken sandwich. Even after finishing the extra-large portion his mother had requested for him, William still wanted more.
After dinner, the head chef, Gordon Ramsay, came to the dining room to ask for feedback on the meal. Everyone praised the chicken sandwich, but only Gary was fond of the wild boar chops. William and his mother, Lina, found them too greasy and didn't like them much.
Gordon Ramsay took note of this. Understanding a client's taste is essential for top chefs. After apologizing, he promised to adjust future dishes to better suit William and Lina's preferences and expressed hope that he could have the honor of hosting them at his restaurant to gather more feedback.
Not wanting to embarrass Gordon with pleasantries, William readily agreed that he would visit when he had the chance.
At the end of the dinner, William was quite satisfied with Gordon's team, so he wrote a check for $110,000 and handed it to Gordon. The extra $10,000 was a tip, which made Gordon very happy. After thanking William profusely, he left for London with his team.
After sending Gary off, William wandered around the castle by himself. As he walked, he found himself by the small river outside the castle. After a few minutes, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at a small grove nearby.
"Come out, Craig."
As soon as William spoke, Craig emerged from behind a tree with a surprised look on his face. "How did you know I was here?"
William, of course, had special abilities. He was always in the habit of using his mental power to sense his surroundings in unfamiliar places. "My hearing is very sharp. Your breathing was so loud that it would've been hard for me not to hear it. And you parked your car in such an obvious way that it was clear you wanted me to notice you."
William took a few moments to scrutinize the disheveled Craig. The man who had been so full of energy and confidence just a few months ago now had a scruffy beard, heavy breathing, and a hoarse voice.
Shaking his head, William said, "If things aren't going well, you should have returned sooner. Numbing the pain with alcohol isn't a good idea."
Craig responded in his hoarse voice, "Do you really think I should have come back? If they sent me on a mission, they should have trusted me. But look at me now. Maybe you'll understand how I feel after you've been shot by your own people."
"Alright, stop complaining. I know you have your principles. Otherwise, you wouldn't have rushed back to England as soon as you heard I could cure you. I've already prepared the doctors and equipment. Are you sure you're ready to return?"
William saying he could cure him was just giving Craig an excuse. The real issue was that Craig couldn't get over being shot by his own people. If that weren't the case, he could have gotten treated anywhere. Now that William had exposed what was really on his mind, Craig surprisingly didn't get angry.
He just let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's hope the doctor you found doesn't mess me up, or I'll really have to retire."
Unlike the self-serving William, Craig was a true patriot. Once he sorted out his thoughts, he returned immediately. A person with such a strong sense of duty would be an ideal ally.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't let such a valuable asset like you go to waste. You've heard of cell regeneration technology, right? To speed up your recovery, I spent £500,000 on the black market to get a special experimental cell regeneration kit. It can accelerate your healing by several times. I guarantee you'll be back to normal soon."
William hadn't actually bought any such kit; he said that just to hide his use of healing magic. "However, for confidentiality, you'll be under anesthesia during the procedure. Is that alright?"
"Hehe, as long as I get better quickly, I don't care what you do to me," Craig replied with a smile.
"Go to hell, you pervert. I didn't expect you to be that kind of person, you bastard. Stay away from me," William shivered. "Come on, let's head back to the castle. Once you're healed, I want you out of here."
"Hmm," Craig said, perhaps deliberately trying to annoy William as he followed him. "With all your money, you might want to give it a try. Plenty of rich people in England enjoy… unique forms of interaction."
"Damn it," William growled, grabbing Craig by the collar and hurling him into the small river beside them.
When Craig surfaced, William shouted, "Are you sober now? If you are, get out of there yourself."
Craig burst into laughter as he watched the furious William stomp back toward the castle. His mood, which had been depressed for months, suddenly lightened considerably.
It seems that when you're feeling down, seeing someone else in even worse shape can really lift your spirits. The saying that happiness is built on others' misery is definitely true, especially when that misery falls on someone of higher status than you.
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Bab 261: Chapter 261: The Enforcer is Ready
As William walked back with Craig, he decided not to take him to the castle but instead headed to the medical room in the stables. He pulled the on-duty veterinarian aside and quietly asked for a bottle of anesthetic spray. The veterinarian didn't ask too many questions, just emphasized several times that the anesthetic spray shouldn't be overused before happily heading home after William gave him the night off.
Entering the medical room, William tossed the anesthetic spray to Craig. "Take off your shirt."
Craig looked at the bottle in his hand, and when he realized what it was, he exclaimed, "Damn it, are you trying to kill me? This is meant for horses!"
"You're not an idiot; you know to only take a few whiffs. You should have notified me before you came. Now we can only make do with this. The surgery won't take long anyway. Just think of it as taking a nap, and by tomorrow morning, you'll be fine," William said with a grin.
"I suddenly don't feel like getting the surgery here. Maybe I should go back to the Special Operations Office," Craig hesitated, holding the anesthetic spray.
"Suit yourself. That'll save me half a million. Good riddance," William replied, pointing to the door of the medical room. "Close the door on your way out. Thanks."
Whether it was because Craig didn't want his colleagues at the Special Operations Office to see him in his current state or because he truly trusted William, Craig hesitated for a few seconds before opening the spray bottle and taking several deep breaths of the anesthetic. 'Pssst, pssst.'
"If I end up disabled, I'll stay here and freeload off you," Craig mumbled before collapsing onto the medical bed, already drowsy.
William smiled as he looked at the unconscious Craig. He took a lab coat and draped it over the camera to block the lens. After scanning the entire medical room with his mental power and ensuring there were no issues, he extended his hand and used his telekinesis to lift Craig, laying him flat on the medical bed.
Assessing Craig's condition, William found two unhealed wounds. One was a large wound, likely caused by a rifle shot that had lodged a bullet in his scapula. Fortunately, the bone was unharmed. The other wound was smaller, probably caused by a stray bullet. This wound had nearly healed, but it was more problematic because it contained numerous bullet fragments.
After confirming the nature of the injuries, the next steps were simple. William controlled a surgical knife to cut open Craig's shirt, exposing the two wounds. He then used his telekinesis to extract the bullet and fragments from the wounds. Finally, he cast a healing spell on Craig.
Soon, the wounds began to heal. After a few seconds, the smaller wound was nearly closed, but the larger wound from the rifle was healing too slowly for William's liking. He cast another healing spell, and this time, the wound healed at a visibly rapid pace.
With the wounds taken care of, William wrapped the extracted bullet fragments and deformed bullet in his telekinesis and brought them close to his eyes, admiring Craig's toughness.
Metallic fragments embedded in the body would cause constant pain, even if the surface wounds healed. Whenever Craig exerted pressure on his arm or the wounds were touched, the fragments would tear the muscle tissue again. It would take years for the body to form enough scar tissue around the fragments to reduce the pain, but it would never disappear entirely.
Looking at the unconscious Craig, William silently praised him for his resilience. The man had endured the constant pain, leaving the fragments in his body, waiting for the right time to have them removed.
William rinsed the bullet fragments and deformed bullet in the sink, placed them in a bag, and covered Craig with a blanket. Finally, he took Craig's phone and dialed his own number, then removed the lab coat covering the camera.
"Sunday, notify me when Craig wakes up."
"Understood, sir."
William left the stables and returned to the castle basement. Over the past few days, he had been ordering instruments and equipment. The basement, except for the sealed server room, was beginning to look like a laboratory.
William used the equipment to scan the bullet fragments and said to Sunday, "Sunday, analyze these bullet fragments and then log into my account at the Special Operations Office. See if you can find out who has used this type of bullet before."
A few moments later, Sunday replied, "Sir, analysis shows that the fragments are made of depleted uranium. Seven individuals in the database have used this type of bullet."
As Sunday's projection displayed photos on the wall, William quickly recognized one of the individuals. "The first one on the second row."
Sunday removed the other photos, leaving only the suspect's image on the wall. "Sir, the Special Operations Office database identifies this man as Patrice. He's a ghost with no known nationality. To access more specific information, I would need your authorization to enter some of the global special access databases."
"No," William immediately refused, not wanting to trigger any unintended consequences by searching without a clear goal. "Keep an eye on the Golden Dragon Hotel in the capital city of Asia. Bug the hotel manager, Severine. I want to know everything about her. Also, closely monitor airports, train stations, and hotels, especially in Singapore. Patrice might be heading there soon."
While he doubted he would get much useful information from spying on someone under tight control, it was worth a try. For Sunday, this was a simple task. "Send Patrice's details to Brian Mills and ask him to use his contacts to help track him down."
"Data transmission complete, sir."
About twenty minutes later, William's phone rang. Seeing it was Brian, he answered. "Good afternoon, Brian. Did you find something so quickly?"
"Haha, it's evening over there, isn't it? So I should say good evening. Good evening, boss," Brian replied, joking for a change.
Hearing that Brian was in a good mood, William didn't rush to ask about Patrice. "You seem to be in high spirits lately. Anything good you'd like to share?"
"Yes, actually. Kim and her mother have agreed to go on a trip next month. The only trouble is we haven't decided where to go. Boss, do you have any suggestions?"
"Hmm, a trip?" William's mind raced. "It doesn't matter where you go, right? It's probably Kim and her mother who can't agree, which is why you're struggling. Where does Kim want to go?"
Brian sighed. "Boss, you're still as sharp as ever. You hit the nail on the head. Kim wants to go to Istanbul, but her mother thinks it might be too troublesome there and wants to go to Budapest instead. But I'm having second thoughts. You know why."
William understood perfectly. Both cities had significant Albanian connections. "If it were up to me, I'd avoid both Istanbul and Budapest. Both cities have strong Albanian ties. But if you're looking to rekindle something with your ex, maybe you could play the hero and save the day."
"Definitely not," Brian quickly rejected the idea. "Even if I have those feelings, I wouldn't put Kim and her mother in danger. Maybe Brazil or China would be good options. I've heard China has excellent security. I'll try to convince Kim and Lenore to change their plans."
"Good. Even though the Albanian kingpins in Paris were taken out, it's still better to be cautious. You know how Albanians hold grudges."
"Understood. Thanks. I'll be careful. As for Patrice, he's linked to a bombing at a small South American embassy. The U.S. Special Operations Office has already tracked his movements. I'll let you know if I get any more concrete information."
"OK, enjoy your trip."
"Thanks. Goodbye, boss."
"Bye."
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