Time: February 6, 2007, late at night.
Location: Manhattan Island, New York.
A suite in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, at the southwest corner of Central Park.
The view was positioned before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a perfect panorama of New York's nighttime scenery.
"Splash—" The sound of water pouring from the shower drifted out from the room.
Not long afterward, the water abruptly stopped, and someone switched on the lights in the room.
The reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows revealed William, dressed in a bathrobe and considerably more muscular than he had been six months earlier.
After enjoying a refreshing hot shower, William walked through the spacious bedroom and sat down on the sofa before the television.
"Phew—"
Much of his fatigue had lifted.
He picked up the stemmed wineglass on the low table, poured in some red wine, swirled it around, and took a small sip.
Then he looked ahead and fell into thought as he stared at the black screen.
The reason the Athabasca Protocol had been signed so smoothly was not merely Umbrella's immense wealth or its dedicated Containment Unit.
There was another crucial factor.
Russell.
That surname carried considerable influence in Europe.
Had he transmigrated into an ordinary nobody, no matter how wealthy he was, every country would have viewed him as nothing more than a nouveau riche upstart.
Their historical ties had led the Commonwealth nations to offer their full support, while smaller countries with weak militaries joined as well. Even if the USA wanted to oppose it, it would not dare incur the wrath of the masses.
After all, William's intentions were obvious:
If any country has a difficult Containment Object, I'll help you deal with it—for free.
If the cooperation goes well, I'll even invest in you and help stimulate your economy.
Everyone wins.
For most countries around the world, this was a good thing.
For the USA, which sought hegemony—especially the USA at the height of its power—Umbrella was essentially a "competitor."
But now that a common enemy had appeared before all of humanity, the USA had no choice but to take it seriously. Besides, Nevada was home to the famed Area 51.
Thus, the signing of the Athabasca Protocol had been only natural.
As for sending experienced UBCS personnel to various countries to train their Special Forces, William had no reason to refuse.
No matter how much they learned, the UBCS's special techniques for dealing with humanoid creatures would not be exposed.
When it came to handling Containment Objects, Umbrella's greatest advantage was its technology, which surpassed the current era.
Before those weapons gradually revealed themselves to the various countries, he needed a form of absolute "deterrence."
Deterrence was not as simple as nuclear weapons. William needed a certain kind of carrier that could give his forces the ability to conduct global operations.
If a special Containment Object suddenly appeared, or the Containment Unit encountered a powerful enemy, reinforcements had to be able to arrive within minutes.
William had never considered a conventional carrier. The USA would never let him buy one, either.
Firearms, aircraft, tanks, and even missiles—there was no way the USA would make too much of a fuss over those.
But an aircraft carrier was a strategic weapon. After all, the USA's current military standing had been built around carrier-centered fleets.
If William dared to ask to buy or build one, the USA would certainly obstruct him, both openly and covertly.
If he pushed them too far, the USA might even become experts at tearing up agreements.
In demand, but unavailable.
Fortunately, the carrier William needed was an "Aerospace Carrier."
In other words, a carrier powered by Nuclear Fusion that could break free of gravity's restraints and travel into space.
And the concept of a global force was the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, abbreviated as...
ODST.
Or Helljumpers.
Shortly after Troy Base had been completed, William had Wang Zhaofeng lead the Engineering Team to Newfoundland and Labrador, one of Canada's northernmost provinces.
Because the area was sparsely inhabited, the Umbrella Engineering Team built a secret base there and stockpiled large quantities of materials and equipment.
It was all for the day Halsey had a flash of inspiration and succeeded in developing the Aerospace Carrier technology.
As luck would have it, he had drawn Herendine not long ago, allowing the base to finally be activated ahead of schedule.
But after concluding the long and tedious United Nations conference, William did not choose to return to Halifax City.
Instead, he planned to stay in New York for a few nights.
After all, according to Marvel's "tradition," and as the benefactor who had rescued Marvel from the brink of bankruptcy, William had been invited by the head of the film division a month earlier to make a cameo at the filming location of Iron Man.
But William had been busy dealing with a mountain of matters at the time. How could he have had the mood to shoot a movie?
Now that the first anomalous object had been contained and every department had fallen into proper operation,
Halsey had also said that she was debugging the latest individual combat systems for the UBCS and USS, which were expected to be fully completed in three days.
By a rough calculation, William really did have a few days of free time.
So why not visit Marvel's headquarters and see how the comics detailing the UBCS and USS forces were coming along?
If they had any good ideas, he would not mind investing some money and making things happen.
"Knock, knock—" A knock sounded from the door.
"Hm?"
William's thoughts were interrupted. He rose and left the bedroom, arriving in the living room. With some confusion, he asked,
"Hunk, what is it this late at night?"
"Boss, a cargo delivery has arrived." Hunk's voice came from outside the door.
"Cargo?" William was even more puzzled.
"Click—" The door opened.
Immediately afterward, the double doors of the Presidential Suite swung open.
Hunk and several Alpha personnel stood behind the door. At the center of the group...
was actually a "woman" dressed in a white dress.
???
William had booked out all the floors above and below his suite for Hunk and the other Alpha personnel to stay in.
The USS sent by Andre had concealed themselves nearby, secretly ensuring his safety.
Although the USA absolutely would not allow anything to happen to William on American soil, the Alphas still would not let their guard down.
But how had this woman broken through layer after layer of security?
Several minutes earlier;
Four Alpha personnel were standing guard outside William's suite.
The room directly opposite had been converted by the Alphas into a temporary monitoring room.
Several laptops sat in the living room, their screens displaying every corner of William's suite without a single blind spot.
One of the computers even displayed detailed information about William's body.
In fact, several months earlier, a special chip developed by Halsey had already been implanted inside William.
The chip could monitor his physiological condition around the clock, track his location, and perform various other functions.
Hunk and several Alpha personnel were sitting there monitoring everything.
Suddenly, one of the Alphas wearing a headset rose and said solemnly to Hunk,
"Lieutenant, the USS downstairs want to send a piece of cargo up."
"Cargo? Al—"
"Beep, beep—"
Hunk had just been about to order everyone to stay alert when a computer responsible for direct communication with Troy Base sounded an alert.
An incoming communication.
Andre's figure appeared on the computer screen.
"Colonel!"
Upon seeing the burly old man, the Alphas, who had been sitting in relatively relaxed positions, all stood and saluted.
"At ease, soldiers."
"Yes, sir!"
"Lieutenant." Andre looked at Hunk through the screen and asked,
"How is the boss's current condition? Is he asleep?"
"Reporting, Colonel, the boss has not yet retired."
"Mm, good. Sign for the cargo and deliver it to the boss."
Before you continue