"Take over the factory? Of course, I've thought about it. After all, it's a super factory. But there's a problem. What if there's a hidden mini-factory inside or an entirely automated production line? And since Valentine already plans to destroy the world, money means nothing to him. Even if he throws billions of dollars around, who in Ireland could stop him from reopening the factory? The only way to be sure is to completely destroy it."
"Haha, if the goal is just to shut down the factory, leave it to me. I guarantee that within a week, the factory will be completely out of operation, and no matter how much money he throws at it, it won't help."
William, intrigued by this, narrowed his eyes and asked, "How would you do that?"
Hannes took a sip of whiskey, feeling quite smug. "Sabotage is my specialty. For the first few years of my life, I was a full-time saboteur, and for the next 30 years, I focused on preventing sabotage. While I may not have done a great job stopping it, I'm quite skilled in causing it."
"Enough bragging about your UD days. If I didn't respect your past experience, I wouldn't be here. Just tell me your plan. If it works, you'll rise in Ireland, and I'll take over Valentine's factory and the money from shorting the stock market," William said.
"No problem," Hannes said, his eyes narrowing with the thought of his future prospects. "There are several ways to shut down a factory—cutting off electricity and water, making workers strike for more pay, or causing some accidents. But like you said, those are easy to fix if enough money is spent. However, what if the raw materials can't even reach Belfast?"
"What do you mean? How's that possible?" William asked.
"We know the culprits behind the London bombing, and we even have their contact codes. What if I use Thomas McGraw's code to order the London group to blow up Valentine's raw material shipments? Better yet, blow up the planes transporting the most critical photoresist materials."
Hannes grew more excited as he spoke. "If we destroy the raw material ships and planes carrying the photoresist, the factory will be forced to shut down. Even if only part of the factory is affected, we could have someone secretly incite the unions to cause trouble, while my people sabotage the power supply, disguised as unemployed workers. It would all seem reasonable and take longer for anyone to suspect us. This way, we'd be much safer."
Hannes then glanced at William, grinning. "Don't tell me that in a month or two, you and Catherine still won't be able to take down Valentine. If that's the case, I'll have no choice but to hide out in your castle with my daughter."
After pondering for a moment, William saw the plan's potential. As long as the London group targeted the ships and planes, he could even secretly help them.
"If you're planning to run, you'd better just take your daughter with you. As for your wife...," William smirked, fixing Hannes with a mischievous look. "Thomas McGraw didn't just put that woman Maggie next to you; he's probably already pulled your wife to his side too, right?"
"F, what do you mean?" Hannes stood up, glaring at William. "If you don't explain this right now, we're not done here."
"Relax," William said calmly. "I've shared secrets worth billions with you. You think I'd mess with you over this? Your wife has gone crazy seeking revenge for her dead brother. She's told McGraw everything about you and more." William hesitated for a moment before adding, "There are some things you should investigate yourself. Not everything is appropriate for me to say as an outsider."
Hannes immediately understood that William was hinting at something involving a scandal or an affair, so he didn't ask further. Instead, he sat back on the sofa, his face dark, silently sipping his drink.
Seeing that Hannes had lost interest in talking, William also drank his 40-year-old Macallan in silence. The whiskey was indeed better than anything he'd had before, but it was a shame that if he couldn't get more in the future, life might feel a little incomplete.
An hour later, at 11 p.m., Hannes, lost in thought, and William, slowly savoring his drink, were both startled by a loud explosion.
Hannes quickly rushed to the window to see that the farm's stables had been blown to pieces, flames rising from the wreckage. "F," Hannes cursed, immediately knowing it was Guan Yuming's doing.
He turned to William, shouting, "Damn it, that Asian old man again! Can't you stop him?"
"Well, the play needs to be convincing. Let him blow things up. Even if he destroys your whole farm, it's not worth much. Plus, wouldn't it be better for you if people thought you were too scared to leave? If anything happens later, no one will suspect you. As for your reputation, once this is over, just find some poor bastard to take the fall. After all, his daughter died because of you," William said with a smile, still sipping his whiskey.
"Damn it, how is that my fault?" Hannes growled in a low voice. "I gave that b McGraw orders to target London's financial system. I never told him to use bombs!"
"Shout at me again, and I'll make sure you're dead."
"But I really didn't order McGraw to hurt innocent people," Hannes said, his voice trembling at William's cold demeanor. He sat back down on the sofa, "If I had ordered it, do you think I would've tolerated that Asian old man chasing me around? I only sent people after him to drive him away."
"Intentions aside, the reality is that your orders led to McGraw killing Guan Yuming's daughter," William said without looking at Hannes. "Don't tell me you don't know the tendencies of someone you've worked with for decades."
"Damn it, we're almost 60. We've got families. How could I have known that b would still be stuck in the mindset of blowing things up?" Hannes muttered, covering his face. "I haven't been involved with UD for 30 years. If it weren't for trying to save my cousin, I wouldn't have reconnected with those people, and I certainly wouldn't have let McGraw manipulate me. He's trying to use the bombings to force me back into the role I had 30 years ago. In today's world, I'd be crazy to become a butcher again."
"And telling me all this helps you how?" William asked with a smirk. "Focus on crafting the orders for those London butchers in a way that makes sense."
"This directly affects your future and our fortunes. If you mess up, plenty of people will want you dead—especially Catherine, the Secretary of Security. You wouldn't want her coming after you, would you?" William said, his eyes narrowing.
Thinking of Catherine, Hannes sighed in resignation, "Of course not."
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