"Interstellar exploration?"
Hearing that term, Laura momentarily forgot about not being able to monopolize William.
Excited and curious, she wrapped her arms around his neck and asked sweetly,
"Have you already found alien ruins? Or do you have a lead on one?"
"Heh," William smirked, kissing her lips teasingly before adding, "If you want to explore alien ruins, you first need to prove you have what it takes. I don't want to hear news of you getting into trouble."
"A test, huh?"
Laura pressed her cheek against his ear and murmured, "With my Kingsman combat suit, there's no ruin or hidden temple on Earth I can't explore.
And if I had your armor, there wouldn't be a single planet I couldn't reach."
"I don't mind giving you access to the Devonshire Mark III armor," William replied with a smirk. "But this Sentinel Armor? Heh.
I'm the only one who can use it."
As soon as he finished speaking, a portion of his Sentinel Armor detached and began creeping onto Laura's body, molding itself around her in real-time.
Laura tensed for a moment, nearly jumping in surprise.
But when she realized the armor wasn't harming her, her fear quickly turned into excitement.
Lifting her hand, she watched in fascination as the nano-suit spread across her arm and then her entire body.
Clenching her fist, she immediately felt a surge of power—her strength had increased several times over!
But then she stood up.
The moment she left physical contact with William, the armor covering her body darkened from golden to black.
Even worse, the suit no longer granted her any enhanced strength or flight capabilities.
"What's going on, William?"
William had been half-expecting this outcome.
Seeing the armor refuse to function for anyone else, he burst into laughter.
Laura, now annoyed, shot him a glare.
Shaking his head, he explained, "When I created this suit, I knew it would be insanely powerful.
To prevent any rogue AI from taking control of it, I designed it to be controlled only by my mind.
No AI assistance. No external control.
So, when you wear it, it's nothing more than an extremely durable set of armor."
Laura didn't believe him at first and tried moving around.
But no matter what she did, she couldn't activate any of the suit's functions.
Yet, the moment she walked back to William and touched his armor, her suit instantly turned golden again, and her powers returned.
As soon as she let go, it reverted to black once more.
"Damn it," she muttered. "I don't know whether to call you careful or paranoid."
"Haha, doesn't matter," William grinned.
"The important thing is—no one is taking this suit from me."
With a wave of his hand, the nano-armor on Laura disassembled and reintegrated into his own suit.
"When we get back to London, I'll upgrade your Mark III armor," he promised.
"Fine!" Laura huffed. "But I want the upgraded version to have flight capabilities and—"
Before she could finish, William cut her off.
"Come on. If I give you all those abilities, how will you ever train your adaptability?"
Laura crossed her arms and pouted.
William hadn't forgotten—her father, Richard Crawford, had ties to the Trinity Organization, a secretive group shrouded in mystery.
Even the Mark III armor, if given the chance, would be targeted by those lurking within Crawford Enterprises.
If Laura, with his support, couldn't even handle a group like Trinity, then he would seriously reconsider taking her on off-world expeditions.
Unfortunately, Laura misunderstood.
She thought William was holding back technology from her because he didn't trust her.
Her eyes turned red with frustration.
"Whatever!" she snapped. "When we get back to London, I'll invent something better than your armor!"
"Hahaha!"
William found it amusing that, even when angry, she didn't resort to real insults or anything truly hurtful.
It was clear—she cared about him.
Pulling her into his arms, he ignored her weak struggles and whispered,
"If I gave you too much tech, exploring ruins would become too easy.
Without danger or excitement, you'd get bored quickly.
And if you attract too much attention, you won't just be dealing with ruins and traps.
You'll have to worry about assassins and hidden enemies, too."
Running his fingers through her hair, he murmured,
"And if my guess is right… your real enemies aren't just external."
Laura's playful demeanor disappeared instantly.
"You mean… someone wants me dead?"
More importantly, someone from inside Crawford Enterprises?
She shook her head in denial.
"That's impossible. I'm just an orphan now."
But as she spoke, she realized the truth.
That's exactly why she was vulnerable.
With her father dead, there were bound to be people eyeing the Crawford fortune from within.
At that moment, Laura understood—William was the only person she could trust.
She hugged him tightly.
"What should I do, my dear?"
William shrugged.
"This is your battle, Laura.
If I solve everything for you, you won't grow from it.
Crawford Enterprises belongs to you.
It's only right that you take control."
Pausing, he added, "But if you ever need help, I'll be there."
Laura, touched by his words, leaned in and kissed him deeply.
—
After a few moments, she rested her forehead against his.
"I should return to London soon," she murmured.
"I've been missing for almost 19 months.
If I stay here any longer, who knows how much of Crawford Enterprises will be left?
Besides… I need to properly handle my father's funeral."
Even though William didn't want her to leave just yet, he knew she was right.
More importantly, her father's passing was something that couldn't be ignored.
Raising his hand, he summoned a small spaceship.
The darkening sky made it look even more imposing as it descended.
"The ship will take you directly back to London," he told her.
"If you need anything, contact Abigail."
Laura pouted at the mention of Abigail.
Seeing her reaction, William chuckled and waved his hand again.
A small black box floated from the spaceship into his hand.
He took out a miniature earpiece and placed it in Laura's ear.
Then, he handed her a communication watch and a smartphone.
"If you don't want to go to Abigail, you can contact Sunday instead," he said.
"It's my AI assistant.
It has access to a good chunk of my forces in England.
Or… you can just call me directly."
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