"Haha, haven't we already made enough by riding his coattails?" Philip said with satisfaction as he patted Wilson's shoulder again.
"Just from the sales of bulletproof suits and fabrics in desert regions alone, I've received £120 million, haven't I? Including sales in other countries, that's nearly £300 million in less than a year, right?"
"Correct. Including the explosives detectors, we've already taken in £320 million," Charles replied with a chuckle. He glanced at Wilson with a mixture of pride, helplessness, and envy.
Wilson modestly downplayed the praise but sighed with regret. "It's just a pity I didn't swap for more shares earlier. That Grand Duke Grove holds 10% of the bulletproof supplies company, while I only have 6.5%—far too little."
"Haha," Charles laughed heartily. "If you missed one opportunity, don't miss the next."
"Exactly. Just follow William's lead and rake in the profits," Philip agreed, nodding. But his tone quickly turned serious. "However, if William ever sets his sights on politics, that's when we'll need to cut ties with him."
Charles and Wilson pondered this for a while before nodding. "Understood."
On Monday morning at 9 a.m., England Electric's stock price started fluctuating as soon as the market opened. By midday, most stockbrokers were frantically making calls, trying to glean insider information from friends and connections.
In the afternoon, the stock began a slow upward climb. After the market closed, Charles reported to Philip, "We were lucky. We made a large entry right at the opening this morning and managed to acquire 3.6%. By the time others caught wind of the movement in the afternoon, the stock had risen to its price from a month ago, but overall, we still made a profit."
"Haha! We sold 4% over several months and bought back 5.2% in a single day—that's certainly a win," Philip said with a hearty laugh. He then instructed, "Acquire another 0.3%. Once we hold 12.5%, we'll stop. Always leave some scraps for others. Then, in three days, leak the news."
"This…" Charles hesitated before saying, "Father, wouldn't this risk angering William?"
"No, you still don't understand—or rather, you've been intimidated by William's apparent greed," Philip said gleefully. "From what I've heard, the buyers today were primarily us and a few opportunists in the morning.
In the afternoon, as the news began to spread, more buyers came in.
Given how volatile the stock has been over the past few months and today, it's clear that William hasn't been acquiring shares. He's been waiting for people like us to climb aboard.
I suspect the electric company isn't his primary focus. He's not as profit-driven or selfish as we might think."
While Philip and his family were scheming to profit from William's momentum, William had spent the past ten days resolving matters related to integrating electric balance scooters into Aston Martin and finalizing designs for electric sports cars.
Contrary to his expectations, no trouble came his way.
Not only did no one from England approach him, but even the Americans acted as if they knew nothing. Not even a token probe.
This left William torn between worrying that the Americans were brewing something and suspecting that they might be dealing with internal problems.
While instructing Sunday to investigate, William also contemplated his strategy. Relying solely on military strength might make him appear too confrontational. Soft power was equally important.
If he announced his acquisition of England Electric, his number of employees would instantly surge from nearly 2,000 to over 10,000. And as he expanded through acquisitions and the establishment of new tech companies, the workforce could grow to tens of thousands.
Combined with the massive tax revenue he'd generate, as long as he didn't act recklessly, England wouldn't dare move against him. They might even need him.
"Call the people at Mastercard and have them prepare the legal documents. I'm going to announce my controlling interest in England Electric," William instructed.
With more than $10 billion in cash stashed in Swiss banks and nearly £5 billion from bulletproof suit sales in English banks, he thought:
Why not spend the money to control England's essential public infrastructure?
Not only would it preserve his wealth, but it would also enhance his influence over England.
After all, making money was hardly a challenge for him.
The only headache was finding enough trustworthy managerial talent to oversee it all.
In July 2001, after spending ten days navigating legal and tax issues, William and his team from Mastercard resolved all procedural matters related to holding England Electric shares through offshore funds.
On this day, William, accompanied by a team of over a dozen lawyers and accountants, made a high-profile visit to England's securities regulatory authority.
He formally submitted an application to acquire full ownership of England Electric at a price 10% above the current market value.
The next day, England Electric's stock price skyrocketed by over 10%. With a one-month subscription period now in place, William planned to transfer the shares held by various offshore funds to his name.
This maneuver would also legally shift nearly £1.5 billion into tax havens like the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands.
As Mastercard's lawyers and accountants assured him, as long as he stayed within England's legal framework, he could do whatever he pleased. Any future legal loophole closures wouldn't concern him.
By mid-August, England Electric's stock price had reached 80% of its peak valuation. Its market value stabilized at around £4 billion, with minor fluctuations.
During these nearly two months, William left most mundane tasks to Abigail while he focused on major decisions and developing the Arc Reactor.
At the same time, his spherical detection devices were practically printing money.
In just over two months, the devices, priced at £1 million each, sold over a thousand units in more than a dozen major capitalist countries. The United States alone purchased 200.
This brought in over £1 billion in revenue.
The only downside was that not a single unit of the £1.1 million silver-powder-equipped self-destruct model sold.
When introducing the product to buyers, they'd shake their heads and look at William as if he were a scam artist.
The ultraviolet-equipped model, priced at £1.5 million, sold only a handful before the Americans developed their own ultraviolet flashlights, making those models unsellable too.
While the detection devices caused global panic among vampires and werewolves, who now hated William with a passion, they also poured more resources into research on immunity to ultraviolet light and silver.
After spending another ten days reorganizing and adjusting England Electric's resources and personnel, the company announced a new energy production model. Starting next month, electricity prices would be reduced by 12% across the board.
While the announcement caused minor fluctuations and a slight dip in England Electric's stock price, competitors' shares plummeted dramatically.
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I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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