If William had been present, he would have immediately recalled what Obadiah was referring to. That $1 billion donation he made not long ago had come from an old man who had tried to kill both him and his mother, Lena.
The fallout had been brutal—Brown Hammer and his two adult sons disappeared overnight. Following their deaths, Hammer Industries was broken apart, with the remaining third-generation heirs also quietly eliminated under the guise of being "potential threats."
For Justin Hammer, Brown and his family were distant relatives at best. In truth, he likely had worse relations with them than with complete strangers.
With no emotional attachment to the Brown family, Justin even profited handsomely from their downfall.
"Just because my last name is Hammer doesn't mean I have anything to do with other Hammers," Justin said coldly, turning to face Obadiah Stane, who was eyeing him sharply.
"Mr. Stane, I'm sitting here because my company manufactures and sells over a million weapons annually."
"Ha! Hahaha!"
As soon as Justin finished, the entire room burst into laughter.
Sure, selling over a million weapons a year was impressive, but to the people in this room, Justin's company was still a minor player—just a peddler of light arms. More than that, Justin's reputation for being underhanded and opportunistic was well-known, making him a frequent target of mockery.
Obadiah smirked. "Selling a million weapons? Big deal. At the end of the day, you're just a retailer. No different from those folks selling vacuum cleaners or coffee machines."
"No, Obadiah, you're being unfair," someone else chimed in with a chuckle. "Justin's nowhere near as successful as those vacuum cleaner salesmen."
"Exactly," Obadiah nodded with mock seriousness. "Take Dyson, for example. They sell vacuum cleaners and yet their company's worth four to five times more than Hammer Industries.
Honestly, if old Brown Hammer were still alive, he'd probably prefer to see his company go bankrupt rather than have it stolen by a nobody like Justin."
"Bang!"
Justin slammed his hand on the table, glaring at Obadiah with fury in his eyes. "That's slander!"
But as he locked eyes with Obadiah, his gaze faltered, unable to maintain the confrontation.
Pathetic.
The thought crossed the minds of everyone present. Their expressions turned colder and more predatory. They silently cursed themselves for having allowed someone as spineless as Justin to take advantage of an opportunity they had missed.
Feeling the tension in the room and the dangerous shift in atmosphere, Justin's face grew pale. He quickly realized he was now a target.
Clenching his jaw, he forced himself to remain calm. His eyes hardened, and he suddenly spoke with a trace of malice, "I'm sorry, but I happen to be a fan of William Devonshire. That means I'm not going to participate in whatever shady business you're planning."
Justin stood, adjusted his suit, and cast a challenging glance around the room.
"I have a flight to London. You see, I've got to personally welcome Mr. Devonshire. Imagine if I could make him my friend—perhaps I'd end up selling more weapons than your vacuum cleaner guy. Goodbye, gentlemen."
The others watched him leave with dark expressions, particularly the representatives from Lockheed Martin, who seethed with anger.
"Unbelievable. He's really running off to suck up to the man who wiped out his family," one of them spat bitterly. "It's like betrayal is in the Hammer family's bloodline."
"Enough. There's no point discussing that fool anymore," another snapped. "We need to decide whether or not to continue our operation in the Sahara base."
"You're crazy if you think that's a good idea," Obadiah sneered. "Do you really think dragging us into this will somehow shield you from William's retaliation?"
"I—"
Before the Lockheed representative could defend himself, a rapid knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
The door opened, and Justin Hammer reentered the room, accompanied by an anxious-looking middle-aged man.
"Turn on the news—quick!" the man urged.
He grabbed the remote control, flipped through a few channels, and finally stopped at a news broadcast showing scenes of fire and devastation.
"We are receiving reports that our base in Qatar has come under attack by alien robots. Preliminary estimates place the damages in excess of a billion dollars."
"Oh my God! What the hell is happening?"
Meanwhile, on X17, William had grown impatient after hours of waiting. When he heard that a U.S. carrier strike group was approaching the Sahara region, he decided to take action.
He had Sunday report the completion of two new Transformers. "They're ready to be activated with the AllSpark or a power source," Sunday informed him.
William snapped his fingers, summoning a portal to X17. He placed the AllSpark on a device connected to the two machines.
"Let's begin."
Electric arcs surged across the five-meter-tall robots. Since they were already in mechanical form, the AllSpark's energy mainly enhanced their structure, making them more streamlined and efficient.
Within seconds, the robots' eyes glowed an ominous red. Their weapons shifted into energy-based forms, ready for combat.
Given his plan to unleash them for destruction, William saw no need to have Sunday negotiate loyalty. Avoiding that step also minimized the risk of revealing more secrets.
As soon as they gained sentience, the new Transformers predictably exhibited violent and destructive tendencies, firing indiscriminately at their surroundings in a bid to escape.
A portal opened above the U.S. base in Qatar. Upon seeing the view through the portal, the two Transformers wasted no time and leaped through, plummeting hundreds of meters toward the base.
Using the combat protocols preloaded by Sunday, the Transformers didn't panic. Instead, they scanned the base as they fell, targeting tanks, helicopters, and armored vehicles with precision fire.
Their weapons' recoil slowed their descent, and at around ten meters from the ground, they fired horizontally to create lateral thrust, rolling smoothly upon landing.
Watching this unfold, William was momentarily stunned before his eyes gleamed with excitement.
"These guys are incredible..."
What followed was pure carnage. The Transformers tore through tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets, wreaking havoc on the base. Though initially caught off guard, the U.S. troops soon regrouped and began mounting a counterattack.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]