INFINITE MONEY - I Will Buy Everything

For even having slight suspicion of your highest ranking personal was something that was not only dangerous but could be fatal. If Carl wanted to then he could have harmed or even had been able to kill William without much work.

So for appearances and for the sake of his bosses mind, he appeared as calm as he could be.

William regarded him for a moment before asking, "Will this plan involve someone getting killed?"

"Why, boss, are you having second thoughts?"

"No, it's just… I know I've done things that aren't exactly commendable, but I still don't want to kill anyone unless it's absolutely necessary." William though had some experience in it, still didn't want to kill anyone without clear reason.

"What if the person deserves it?" Delmar asks in intuitively.

"And what exactly constitutes a 'Deserving' person, Delmar?" William asked as he felt the question had many answers.

"The answer to that is complex and subjective. There's no absolute good or bad—just those who exploit and those who are exploited. But if I were to frame it in your terms… sure, if you're going to take a life, at least ensure your conscience is as clear as possible." William said while finishing it with Delmar's own judgment.

Delmar paused, considering his words. "Honestly, I'm not sure if anyone is going to get hurt or not. It all depends on how things unfold." Though he said that, Delmar knew that more than one person was about to get hurt in this matter, no matter what the results were.

"Whatever the outcome, keep me informed, and I'll decide if the repercussions are justified." William sighed as he nodded to his words.

"Understood." Delmar said ending this matter for the time being.

William glanced at a photo of Adam as he inquired, "So, what's the plan for my security?"

"I don't know if Adam is innocent or not, but I'm not willing to gamble my life on uncertainties."

"Don't worry, boss. I'm on it. When I find someone trustworthy, I'll make contact."

"Let me know about the guy before you hire him. I want to ensure he's not too good-looking."

"Good-looking, boss? Why would that matter?"

"We can't have the bodyguard stealing all the attention from the ladies, can we?"

Delmar paused momentarily before bursting into laughter. "HAHAHA! Ahh, you've got a point there."

"That's why I chose you as my first guy."

"…"

"…"

"You're joking, right?"

"…"

"...Boss?"

"How's the weather looking? We're flying pretty high. Will the plane withstand damage if it gets struck by, say, a lightning bolt?"

Delmar fell silent, observing William's blatant attempt to change the subject. He knew he wasn't going to get the answer he sought, so he let it slide.

"Yeah, it can handle it."

"This hunk of metal is built to withstand even multiple nuclear bombs, so I'm confident it can take a few lightning strikes."

"Really? Nuclear bombs?" William asked, clearly skeptical. "Please, tell me you didn't buy this plane because of some over-the-top marketing pitch."

"Of course not. But I know the guy who sold it to me, and he builds the best planes—not the fastest, but definitely the most resilient. So even if it can't handle a nuclear bomb, it'll definitely survive something close to it."

"Did you also install that mana hime jigi or whatever it's called?"

"Mana Blast Proof? Yeah, I did. Not only that, but I also upgraded the plane's machinery and boosters. When I first bought it, it was good, but now it's a beast."

William nodded, accepting the explanation with a resigned understanding.

"Well, there's no need to worry. I checked the weather report; there won't be any storms for at least a week."

"You're putting your trust in a weather app?" William asked, scrutinizing him.

"I know most apps aren't that reliable, but this new one is pretty accurate. It has a 4.5-star rating, which is the highest I've ever seen for a weather app."

William decided not to press the issue further. "As long as nothing happens."

Delmar leaned back in his chair and said, "Relax. If the app is accurate, we'll only see blue skies for a long time."

[ Half an Hour Later ]

"Blue skies, huh?" William muttered as he gazed through the transparent walls at the ominously dark clouds encircling the plane. Occasional lightning strikes illuminated the sky, some perilously close to the aircraft.

"Who would've thought an app with a 4.5-star rating could be so off?" Delmar remarked, eyeing the unusually menacing clouds.

"Well, I'm definitely downgrading my rating from 4.9 stars to 1," William quipped, watching Delmar as he attempted to downplay the situation.

"Hey! Wai—"

BOOM

The plane shuddered violently as a massive bolt of lightning struck it, triggering intense turbulence. Alarms blared, systems malfunctioned, and chaos ensued with no prior warning.

William was thrown around before managing to grab onto a chair. "DIDN'T YOU SAY THIS PLANE COULD WITHSTAND A NUCLEAR BOMB?!" he shouted.

Delmar, who was faring better due to his heightened strength, pushed against the wall. "IT WAS SUPPOSED TO! I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THIS IS HAPPENING AFTER ALL THE MODIFICATIONS!"

"WELL, ASK THE PILOT WHAT'S GOING ON! AND SEE IF WE NEED TO EVAC—"

BOOM

Another lightning bolt struck, rocking the plane even harder. But this time, William was unscathed, having secured himself to a chair, though the chair was beginning to crack under the pressure.

He was about to shout again when the lights, which had been flashing red and yellow, suddenly returned to normal, and the alarms ceased.

With the turbulence subsided, William quickly moved to a sturdier seat and fastened his seatbelt.

Delmar steadied himself, retrieved his tablet, and contacted the pilot. "HEY! What's going on out there? Why are we experiencing so many issues?"

A voice responded, presumably the pilot, "Sir, I'm not sure what happened earlier, but all our shields were temporarily disabled."

"Even the electromagnetic ones?"

"Yes."

"Aren't those systems only operable manually?"

"That's correct, sir. Which makes it even more bizarre that all our defensive measures were disabled at once."

Delmar's expression darkened as he asked, "What's the status now? Is everything functioning properly?"

"Yes, sir. All systems are back online."

"How long until we reach our destination?"

"An hour or two, sir."

"Alright. Let me know if anything else goes wrong."

"Yes, sir."

Delmar ended the call and sat beside William, lost in thought.

"What happened?" William asked.

"Apparently, all the security systems went down for a moment."

"All of them?" William asked, his suspicion growing.

"Yes."

"Right before the lightning struck?"

"...Yes."

"What did they say was the cause?"

"They couldn't specify. Perhaps a malfunction."

"Haaah, a malfunction at such a critical moment."

"Yeah, a great f*cking coincidence," Delmar said, clenching his fists.

"Let's hope the guys on the ground aren't dealing with the same kind of trouble."