That evening, William and Abigail dined with his mother, Lena, who was in an exceptionally good mood. Lena excitedly recounted how their football team had intercepted Brazilian player Ronaldinho from Paris Saint-Germain. Even after just a few practice sessions, the team's offensive capabilities had noticeably improved.
Hearing this, William smiled slightly. An uninjured Ronaldinho, even if not at his peak yet, was still a world-class player.
Ronaldo was also thrilled about Ronaldinho joining the team and had even joked that the club should bring in one or two more Brazilian players he was close to during the winter transfer window.
However, Mourinho would never agree to that. If it weren't for William using his authority as the team owner to push for Ronaldinho's transfer, Mourinho might not have accepted him at all.
Despite being a championship-winning coach, Mourinho knew he could defy anyone at the club—except William.
Winning the Premier League in their first season owed much to the self-healing device, which significantly reduced player injuries.
Moreover, Mourinho understood that William, out of consideration for his mother's dream of winning championships, had not made the device widely available to the football industry. This had already drawn public criticism from other clubs and players.
In the months following the championship win, more than a dozen clubs and dozens of renowned players publicly criticized William.
Unfortunately for them, William didn't care in the slightest.
After dinner, William spent some time chatting with Lena before taking Abigail for a walk around the estate.
As they strolled, Abigail clung to William's arm and asked, "Are you really not planning to unveil the Arc Reactor? If you announce it, the company's stock price will absolutely skyrocket.
I understand you're only authorizing its use for the electric company, but keeping the reactor at their headquarters in London—isn't that too dangerous?"
"Relax, I promise it's safe. Besides, if it's not at their headquarters, how can I convince the other shareholders to fund the construction? It's also a reassurance and a bargaining chip. If they upset me, I can just call a board meeting to kick them out—or revoke their authorization to use the reactor altogether."
As he was speaking, Sunday reported in his ear, "Sir, one of the Mumbai Communications satellites I control captured an image while scouting potential base locations near Antarctica. You should see this."
"Hmm." William pulled out his phone, and a virtual hologram appeared. After examining it closely, he asked, "A pyramid? Does anyone else know about this?"
"Besides us, Weyland Corporation's mining satellite likely detected it as well. Based on my calculations, the size of this pyramid is astonishing, and it's located 600 meters beneath the ice."
"600 meters deep?" Abigail exclaimed in shock. "How is that possible? Could there be a satellite malfunction?"
William smirked, leaned in to kiss Abigail, and said, "You head back first."
"Jerk!" Abigail shot him a glare and pinched his arm before reluctantly returning to the manor.
Once she was gone, William gave an order: "Tell Barney from The Expendables I want to see that mercenary called Trench tomorrow morning."
"Understood, sir. Message sent."
After a few minutes, Sunday reported back, "Apologies, sir. Barney couldn't reach Trench. According to my research, Trench is currently in East Africa and is likely captured."
"Then equip The Expendables with Mark III armor, and have them parachute in to find him. I want him here by tomorrow. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
A single order from the boss sent everyone scrambling. After receiving Sunday's notification, Barney reluctantly said goodbye to his family and called every team member to ensure they'd received their orders. He and his teammates, Caesar and Toll Road, boarded a private jet arranged by Sunday in the USA.
Once on the plane, Caesar curiously asked Barney, "Boss, why does the big man want Trench? Did Trench offend him or something?"
Barney shook his head. "Definitely not. We're heading to London first to meet Gunner, Christmas, and Yin Yang before heading to East Africa to rescue Trench."
"Rescue him?" Caesar said in disbelief. "That arrogant guy actually got captured?"
"Enough. If you've got time to mock others, you might as well get some sleep," Barney said, though his expression revealed he was also secretly amused by Trench's predicament.
Eight hours later, at 3 a.m. London time, Gunner, Christmas, and Yin Yang, who were already prepared with Mark III armor, met Barney's team at the airport. They all boarded an amphibious aircraft and flew toward East Africa under Sunday's guidance.
Four hours later, they arrived over the target location. After deploying a Blackblade drone to scout the area, they confirmed that Trench was indeed being held in a rebel base.
With Barney piloting the aircraft, the other five suited up in Mark III armor and jumped out of the plane using specialized parachutes.
Christmas and Gunner, the first to land, identified several heavy machine gun positions that posed a threat to them. Using their grenade launchers—each loaded with six rounds—they fired off eight grenades.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After eight explosions, the machine gun positions were obliterated.
They then fired the remaining 16 grenades at clusters of rebels. Once the grenade launchers were emptied, the devices detached from their arms, allowing them to inspect the chaos they had caused.
By the time the five were only 20–30 meters from the ground, some rebels began firing at them.
"Clink! Clink! Clink!" Bullets bounced harmlessly off their armor. When they were just a few meters above the ground, they ditched their parachutes and jumped directly into the base.
Gunner, Caesar, and Toll Road stayed behind to handle the rebels, while Christmas and Yin Yang smashed through the walls of the factory where Trench was held.
Drawing combat pistols designed specifically for their armor, they charged in without hesitation.
"Boom!" Christmas kicked open the iron door and, ignoring the bullets from AKs, entered a 200-square-meter workshop.
There, they found Trench tied to a pillar.
Their target located, Christmas and Yin Yang fired their dual pistols, clearing the room of a dozen rebels in just two seconds.
"Trench?"
Seeing the figure, clad in a tattered combat suit glowing faintly blue, Trench was stunned for a few seconds before stubbornly asking, "Who the hell are you?"
Yin Yang pulled out a knife to cut the ropes and explained, "We're The Expendables. Our boss wants to see you."
"The Expendables?" Trench asked suspiciously. "Where's Barney?"
Christmas and Yin Yang burst into laughter, pointing toward the sky. "He's probably sulking in the plane up there."
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