Two hundred energy crystals equaled twenty thousand star credits. While that was expensive, for high-ranking members of space pirate groups, buying one or two for life-saving purposes was totally acceptable.
And since Yondu used to be part of the Ravagers, he had countless connections with various crews and factions.
Not to mention the dozens of teams within the Ravagers alone—selling a thousand talismans among them would be a piece of cake. And that was just a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of space pirates across the galaxy.
With such a massive opportunity laid out in front of them, Yondu and Quill felt energized. Holding the box full of self-healing talismans, Yondu straightened up and said earnestly to William, "Mr. Devonshire, I'll go right now to look for Yaka metal for you, then contact my informants to see who might have valuable artifacts. I'll report to you immediately once I get any leads."
After that, he pulled a small data input device from his pocket and uploaded the instructions for crafting a Yaka Arrow, handing it to William.
Only then did he tuck the box under one arm, place his other hand over his chest, bow to William, signal Quill with a glance, and turn to leave.
Quill opened his mouth as if wanting to say something while watching Yondu's back. But perhaps remembering Yondu's years of raising him, he simply nodded respectfully to William before quickly following behind.
As William sat on the couch, listening to Sunday analyze the Yaka Arrow crafting method and watching the two men leave, a smirk tugged at his lips. With a flick of his hand, just as Yondu was about to exit through the door and start celebrating, he suddenly found himself standing in the exact same living room he had just left—instead of the plaza outside.
Startled and pale, he heard William's voice drift in behind him. "Did you forget something?"
"N-No, Mr. Devonshire," Yondu stammered, trying to play it cool. "Just used the restroom real quick. I'm leaving now, right now."
He bowed repeatedly as he tried to walk away, his mind racing—clearly William had already seen through his plan to keep the whistle secret.
"That's good. Take your time."
But Yondu's legs suddenly felt like they were made of stone. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move an inch. Within seconds, sweat beaded on his shiny bald head.
Outside, Quill stood just beyond the doorway, looking left and right in confusion. He didn't see Yondu anywhere and turned back—only to spot Yondu still holding the box, frozen like a statue.
Well, no doubt now—this was William's doing.
He turned to walk back in, but with a loud bang, smacked right into an invisible wall.
Rubbing his forehead, he realized he was touching an unseen barrier.
He patted it a few times and was just about to shout when a cold voice rang out behind him, commanding him to raise his hands.
No need to guess—those were Asgard's guards.
Carefully lifting his hands, he turned around to find a full squad of twelve gold-armored soldiers pointing their spears at him.
"Damn it, Yondu! Always playing your sneaky little games—now you're gonna get us both killed!"
Cursing under his breath, Quill obediently knelt with his hands on his head as the guards instructed.
Seeing Quill surrounded and weapon-pointed, Yondu finally shouted out the secret behind the whistle's control method.
Sunday recorded everything and reminded William to keep the Yaka Arrow.
William snorted coldly. He knew Yondu had handed over the manufacturing method only after seeing him control the arrow with mental power. Clearly, Yondu was trying to keep one trump card hidden.
But William wasn't asking about the whistle just for himself—he planned to give Selene, Nissa, and even his own mother Yaka Arrows. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked for ten kilos of Yaka metal.
This whole situation served as a reminder: when dealing with people from the wider universe, he couldn't use Earth's rules to judge behavior. One small misstep and he could be easily taken advantage of.
And if someone dared try to pull one over on him? William was definitely not the kind to let it slide.
He reached out and summoned the Yaka Arrow from Yondu's body into his storage space. Then, using mental power, he picked Yondu up and flung him out the door.
As for Yondu—who had just lost his most powerful weapon—whether or not he could control his unruly crew anymore had nothing to do with William.
"If you want your Yaka Arrow back, bring me ten kilograms of Yaka metal. You have three months.
Otherwise, you'll see wanted posters for yourself all over the galaxy—with a bounty of one million energy crystals, or one hundred million star credits."
As those words echoed in Yondu and Quill's ears, their faces changed dramatically.
Both of them cursed William in their hearts—calling him a lunatic who didn't value money at all.
Selling the Yaka Arrow only got them two thousand talismans—twenty million star credits. But to hunt them down, William was willing to offer five times that?
If that one-hundred-million-credit bounty ever hit the galactic networks, Yondu knew his only option would be to hide on some backwater primitive planet and waste away in obscurity—otherwise, there'd be nowhere safe to run.
Even his own crew, and those Ravager captains he'd once risked his life with, might turn on him for that kind of money.
The only saving grace? William hadn't confiscated the one thousand talismans he'd already given them.
While that made Yondu feel a bit guilty, he quickly realized the true purpose: William wanted him to go out and spread the talismans across the galaxy.
Once word got out, William could just sit back and let the big players come to him.
"Let them go."
Hearing William's command, the surrounding Asgardian soldiers lowered their weapons. Four of them stepped forward, flanking the two on either side to escort them away.
But unlike the dejected Yondu, Quill's ears perked up when William's voice rang in his head—his mood instantly improved.
As they walked away, he was already planning to sell nine of his ten talismans.
With 180,000 credits, he could buy a small ship and contact his network of informants. First, he'd gather some rare and unusual items that were easy to obtain and sell them to William.
Once he had enough capital, he could form his own crew and go treasure-hunting across the stars for William. Maybe, if he earned enough, he'd even return to Earth and settle down.
As for William, he was already thinking about how to build trust with Quill first—then find the right moment to have him search for the Orb. That way, it wouldn't seem too deliberate and wouldn't make Quill suspicious.
With that matter settled, William had nothing else to do in Asgard. In a great mood, he threw a wild party with a dozen Asgardian girls. The next afternoon, he said his goodbyes to Odin and returned to London.
Appearing at the vampire manor on the outskirts of London, he cast a cleaning spell on his dust-covered Aston Martin Vulcan. While driving home, Sunday suddenly reported, "Sir, Mr. Blonsky called just now. He wants to know if you have time to meet."
William didn't even need to think. "They still haven't found Bruce Banner and are trying their luck with me now? Have you located Banner yet?"
"Yes, sir," Sunday replied, projecting a map onto the sports car's windshield. "Bruce Banner has been hiding in the South American rainforest for the past six months.
But based on recent surveillance, he seems to be searching for a particular type of plant."
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