Ross walked out of the lab with a deeply troubled look. After William's deliberate hints, the British would undoubtedly do everything in their power to get Banner's serum. But with Blonsky now in Kingsman's hands, no one would dare try to snatch him without first negotiating terms. After all, William had already taken down a U.S. lieutenant general and the head of the CIA.
Though the actual killer was a werewolf, anyone with half a brain could see that William was behind it all.
And since attempts to retaliate had failed—and every covert move had backfired on the U.S.—no one dared touch this matter again for now.
The only silver lining for Ross was that William, who had already developed the anti-Decepticon exo-armor, didn't seem particularly interested in bio-soldiers. If anything, he was already thinking about immortality.
He signaled his twelve bodyguards to head straight for the airport.
But as the convoy drove out of Kingsman Academy, Ross, deep in thought, finally took out his phone and sent William a message: "Let's talk about the Blood Orchid."
Within seconds, William replied with an invitation for a late-night meal.
Ross's spirits lifted. It looked like his guess was correct—the Blood Orchid held more value to William than the super soldier serum.
He ordered the driver to turn around and head into central London. Twenty minutes later, the cars pulled up outside Gordon's Restaurant near Stamford Bridge.
They waited on the roadside for about ten minutes before the growl of a supercar engine echoed from a distance.
The Aston Martin Vulcan came to a stop in front of the restaurant. The manager respectfully opened the door for William.
Handing over the car keys, William's gaze immediately landed on the convoy of Land Rovers parked across the street.
"Sir," the bodyguard captain reminded Ross, seeing his superior remain motionless.
But Ross pretended not to hear, silently watching William through the car window.
William chuckled to himself, then casually entered the restaurant, heading upstairs to a table and ordering wine.
Ten minutes passed. Once the restaurant staff parked the Vulcan in the garage and the crowd taking pictures outside dispersed, Ross finally told his men to stay in the car.
Wearing a plain jacket and looking like any ordinary old man, Ross entered the restaurant alone.
He sat across from William, who was sipping Latour. "You've received your payment. Now give me what I want."
"Ha, and what exactly did we agree on?"
William slowly sipped his wine, letting Ross stew in silence until finally saying, "I promised Banner's whereabouts in exchange for your Blood Orchid.
That's right—the orchid. But what did you give me? Seeds?" William's tone turned cold. "And not even seeds you're sure will grow."
Ross's brows furrowed. "And because of that, you deliberately steered the conversation toward Banner in front of Richard and the others?"
"What do you think?" William set his glass down with a crisp clink. "If you're going to play games with me, you better be ready for the consequences."
"Damn it," Ross growled in a low voice, fists clenched. "Like you said—my people are useless. If we'd managed to extract the active compound from the Blood Orchid, do you think I'd still be scrambling for research funding?"
"No way..." William said in mock surprise. "It's been seven years and you still haven't made any progress?"
But then he thought about it—if Ross had really cultivated the Blood Orchid successfully, that alone would be enough to start the most valuable pharmaceutical company in history. He'd become one of the most powerful men in America.
William looked at Ross with an expression that mixed pity and sympathy.
"I don't need your sympathy," Ross muttered, surprising William by not losing his temper. Instead, he sighed and said, "We've replicated every possible growth environment. We even went back into the Borneo rainforest to cultivate it. The orchid can bloom and produce seeds... but it lost the most crucial active element.
Its growth cycle also changed. From once every seven years, it now blooms annually—completely useless."
"It's just a normal plant now?" William thought for a moment. Could it be tied to magical energy?
And since the U.S. also had a wizarding association, had Ross ever interacted with them?
He tested the waters. "Could it be related to some kind of special energy?"
Ross shook his head. "We don't know. But we did consider that possibility. That's why over the past few years, we've sent no fewer than six teams back into the jungle, trying to find the original source.
Even with the three surviving explorers, we couldn't locate the original site."
So... they hadn't encountered any wizards?
Thinking of the British wizarding community's absurd sense of superiority, William felt a bit relieved.
Even if the Blood Orchid had failed completely, he still didn't want the secret of longevity falling into American hands.
"What about the guide?"
"Dead," Ross said after a pause. "The Blood Orchid we have came from him. Some people just don't know their place. He stole something he couldn't protect. You can guess the rest."
William felt a pang of discomfort—yet it was the truth.
After a brief silence, he set down his wine glass. "I'm going to the restroom."
Once inside, he retrieved a Blood Orchid seed from his storage space and infused it with natural magic.
As expected, the moment the energy entered, the seed came alive, radiating vitality.
William grinned. Since the seed was real, he'd send it to Celia, the Tree of Life. She would definitely be able to cultivate a Blood Orchid that could extend life.
Back at the table, William sent Banner's location to Ross's phone.
"If you want to catch him, you'd better move fast. Richard and the others got the same intel."
"You—"
"Sorry, but you understand. When it's not about aliens, I'm a Brit first—and a noble Grand Duke with vested interests."
Ross stared at William with fury for a few seconds before snorting coldly and walking out with his phone.
But the moment he got in the car, the anger on his face disappeared. Having already prepared for the worst, he found the outcome acceptable.
And as for William's real plan—he wanted to create a more powerful Abomination, not hand the British Banner's serum.
So, as soon as Ross left, Bruce Banner, who had been living as a doctor in the secluded Peruvian town of Itos, received a suspicious call requesting a house visit.
Speaking calmly and saying he'd prepare some medicine before heading out, Banner hung up the phone and began packing.
This remote town had barely two hundred residents. Only a few households could afford a private doctor.
And it was the rainy season now—three downpours a day. No tourists came around anymore. Even more suspicious, Sunday had used Portuguese instead of Spanish during the call.
In under three minutes, Banner had packed a large backpack, casually greeted a neighbor, said he was heading into the jungle to collect plant samples—and disappeared into the rainforest without looking back.
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