With all concerns set aside, Castle took his wife and kids, along with John and his family, on a journey across the country known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.
After all, in his previous life, Castle had been a "rabbit"—a tea-loving Chinese man—who never had the chance to visit this world-renowned producer of fine tea. Now that he finally had the opportunity, how could he pass it up?
Sri Lanka was one of the most famous tea-producing regions in the world, thanks to its unique geography and significant temperature differences between day and night.
Like coffee, the taste of tea varies with altitude, and the best tea comes from regions over 1,200 meters above sea level.
The eastern part of Sri Lanka mainly produced Uva tea, while the central region was known for Nuwara Eliya tea, with Ceylon tea being the most famous of all.
Back in his previous life, Castle had drunk plenty of tea marked with the iconic lion emblem, signifying its origin from Sri Lanka. Now that he was here in person, he couldn't leave without buying at least a few dozen kilos.
He also took the opportunity to purchase some of the country's famous gemstones for Beckett—the woman who had given birth to his son. Whether it was sapphires or cat's eye moonstones, these were trivial expenses for him now.
Moreover, Sri Lanka had an elephant orphanage established in 1975, making it a perfect place to take the kids. There was also Anuradhapura, a city with a history spanning 2,500 years—the oldest in the country. Castle wanted Beckett, who grew up in the United States with its mere two centuries of history, to experience what true historical depth felt like.
Other sites, like the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, 210 kilometers northeast of Colombo, and Sigiriya, which had one of the best-preserved ancient city centers in Asia for over a thousand years, were also on their itinerary. Over the next few days, the group of four adults and two children left their footprints all across the country.
Meanwhile, beneath the temple in Kerala, various factions worked together at full speed to extract the countless treasures hidden in the underground chambers and secretly transport them away.
A cargo ship had already docked at Kochi's port. This ship had been arranged by the arms dealers—only they could pull off something like this on such short notice. The vessel had been waiting nearby in the Arabian Sea, and by the second day of Big Ivan's team arriving at the temple, it was ready to receive the treasure.
The arms dealers even provided three large cargo trucks to transport the treasure. These trucks could carry nearly all the temple's wealth in one trip, ensuring that everything moved in a single operation. This prevented any temptation from arising among the various factions involved—after all, no one wanted greedy hands jeopardizing the mission. The last thing the powerful backers behind this operation needed was unnecessary trouble or losses.
Money was truly the best motivator.
Every individual involved in the excavation was promised a three-percent share of the total haul as a collective bonus. This meant that the dozens of men working on-site—each a burly, battle-hardened fighter—stood to earn at least $10 million each. With such an incentive, their efficiency skyrocketed.
In less than two days, they had completely cleared out the six underground chambers.
(For reference, the Indian authorities had reportedly only excavated five chambers, leaving the sixth untouched due to rumors of a curse. But hey, this is a novel—curses be damned!)
The treasure included at least a hundred tons of gold, countless silver and gemstone ornaments, and antique artifacts. The sheer volume was so overwhelming that even Big Ivan, who was supervising the entire operation, couldn't keep track of it all.
Without the ability to weigh the haul on-site, they simply ensured that every chamber had been emptied before loading the goods into the three massive transport trucks. The convoy then headed directly to the port of Kochi.
A few well-placed bribes took care of the local authorities, and just like that, the billion-dollar treasure trove was loaded onto the cargo ship in broad daylight.
As soon as the treasure was secured on board, the ship set sail at full speed, heading straight for the three U.S. Navy warships stationed just outside India's territorial waters—two destroyers and a cruiser.
At last, General Peterson, waiting at the Diego Garcia base, could breathe a sigh of relief.
Damn, they had struck gold!
The cargo ship, carrying tens—if not hundreds—of tons of gold and priceless treasures, reached the naval fleet in less than ten hours. At that moment, everyone involved, from the sailors on board to the military officials back in the U.S., celebrated their success.
The arms dealers, the politicians, the high-ranking military officers—everyone who had a stake in this operation—could finally relax and enjoy their cut of the loot.
As for Castle?
He was still in Sri Lanka, shopping for sapphires.
He didn't care how much the treasure was worth. His only concern was waiting for General Peterson to successfully transport it back to the U.S. so he could quietly leak the information to the clueless Indian government.
He just wanted to see the look on those greedy officials' faces when they realized that he had smuggled such an enormous fortune right out from under their noses.
Castle knew exactly how they would react—like starving dogs, they would come running after him.
And that was precisely what he wanted.
Did he fear the Indian government's retaliation? Not at all.
Everyone who profited from this heist had a vested interest in protecting him. The last thing they would do was leave Castle to fend for himself.
Besides, India's government was still busy trying to distance itself from the recent kidnapping attempt on Castle. They wouldn't dare make a move against him now.
India had been designated a "democratic ally" of the U.S. and had seen a massive influx of Indian immigrants post-World War II. Because of this, even the U.S. government had to tread carefully when dealing with India.
Indian communities in the U.S. maintained an unusually strong sense of ethnic solidarity, even among those who had acquired American citizenship. Given these circumstances, the U.S. government couldn't take direct action against India over Castle's kidnapping attempt.
But Castle?
He wasn't bound by those limitations.
If India's government had any thoughts of retaliating, well—he welcomed it.
Let them experience firsthand what it meant to mess with him.
Previously, Castle had believed that no matter how powerful he became, he couldn't take on an entire nation. But his passive stance had only encouraged India and Japan to escalate their hostility against him.
That strategy was no longer viable.
Since these countries had already marked him as a target, Castle decided to use the temple treasure as an opportunity to strengthen his position.
By cutting military and political leaders in the U.S. in on the loot, he was turning them into his allies.
This way, even if he had to face India, Japan, or even Turkey, he wouldn't be standing alone.
Before, he had only been a wealthy man with stakes in numerous arms companies. But to the governments of India, Japan, and Turkey, he had simply been a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Now, with two high-ranking U.S. generals and two powerful politicians personally benefiting from this operation, he had real backing.
For the first time, he had the ability to push back against national-level threats.
At the same time, the U.S. was about to officially announce military action against Turkey at the United Nations.
India's leaders would have to think twice before picking a fight with a well-connected American figure like Castle during such a sensitive period.
Meanwhile, Big Ivan's ship, now under the escort of three U.S. Navy warships, was heading toward the Suez Canal.
The plan was to sail westward, passing through the Gulf of Aden and into the Red Sea, then through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean. After crossing the Mediterranean, they would navigate through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean, finally reaching the U.S. East Coast—New York, to be precise.
This route was long, but it was also the safest.
At every stage of the journey, U.S. military bases and naval assets would be within range, providing continuous protection.
General Peterson had considered airlifting the treasure using military transport planes, but the sheer weight exceeded standard tactical airlift capacity. Deploying C-5 Galaxy strategic transporters would have been too conspicuous.
Moreover, air transport carried significant risks.
In the end, everyone agreed that shipping the treasure by sea was the most secure option.
Slower, yes—but much safer.
With three warships escorting the treasure and U.S. military bases along the way, getting the gold safely to New York was practically guaranteed.
And once it was on American soil?
What treasure?
India who?
Castle would play dumb all the way.
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