"Sigh."
Seeing Halsey's completely relieved expression, William could only sigh and nod in agreement, saying, "Alright, since you think it's fine, then once the fleet reaches Earth, I'll take Ivan to Minos."
"No need to worry so much," Halsey added, seeing William's reluctant look. "Colonel Kent and Athena will definitely take good care of Ivan for us. There's no need to worry about anything."
"Ah, I know." William waved his hand and said, "I was just wondering if I should tell Andre about this. After all, he spoils Ivan and Yelena much more than we do."
"Uh…" Halsey showed a crestfallen expression for the first time.
She almost forgot about that 'grandfather'.
Andre is a member of the Olympus board of directors, and with his naturally imposing demeanor, he is highly respected within Umbrella.
Moreover, most of the officers in the company's military forces came from the first and second batches of UBCS, all personally trained by Andre.
If Ivan were to go to Minos Island for training, Andre would definitely find out.
Given Andre's tendency to dote on children, he might even dismantle the Infinity with his bare hands.
"Heh heh." Seeing Halsey's helpless expression, William couldn't help but pat her head and laugh, "I'll handle Andre. You, ah, have become a bit silly after having children."
"You're the silly one…" Halsey mumbled softly.
"Haha~, I won't tease you anymore."
William laughed heartily, turned and walked out of the room, saying, "Don't wait for me tonight. You and Yelena can go to sleep first."
"Mmm." Halsey responded softly, then followed William to the villa door, watching him leave.
—
…
William took the railcar to the training area next to the Infinity's hangar.
Due to the immense space of the Infinity, the stationed combat personnel had their own independent training areas, no longer needing to conduct daily training in the hangar as before.
Inside the carriage.
William, sitting by the window, rested his right elbow on the window frame, propping his chin with his fisted right hand, while his left hand held an A4 reader displaying company-related documents.
Suddenly, the scenery outside the window changed dramatically.
The previously enclosed tunnel became wide open, and the train seemed to be traveling on an aerial track, with the 'hangar' of the Infinity directly below the track.
"Oh!"
At this moment, several marines sitting by the windows on the other side exclaimed:
"No matter how many times I pass by here, it's always so awe-inspiring!"
"The Infinity truly lives up to its name as Umbrella's strongest battleship!"
"It seems transferring from the Spirit of Fire was the correct choice."
"Hmm?" Hearing the commotion in the carriage, William folded and put away his A4, turning his head to look out the window.
The hangar space was enormous.
New-style F-X, Viking fighters, Pelican dropships, and other carrier-based aircraft were parked on the high-altitude decks on both sides of the hangar. Each aircraft was secured by four robotic arms to prevent accidents.
The lowest level of the hangar was filled with neatly arranged ground vehicles, such as Siege Tanks, Mammoth Mobile Fortresses, and even armored vehicles too small to discern clearly.
Besides these conventional vehicles, what truly made people exclaim "Wow!" were the fifteen neatly arranged Mantises.
Each Mantis had its Spartan number imprinted on its left chest armor, and a special paint job on its left shoulder armor, such as John of Blue Team having a dark blue paint job to visually distinguish Spartan teams.
Next to each Mantis were numerous corresponding weapons and accessories, such as giant shields, Gauss cannon magazines, or interchangeable floating turrets, and so on.
Soon.
The train passed over the aerial track built within the hangar, re-entering the somewhat oppressive tunnel, and arrived at the training area station.
Getting off the train.
He put on his headset and first had Serina notify Myron to escort Ivan to the station, then notified John and Carl to head to the hangar.
Shortly after, everyone met at Sector Seven in the hangar, boarded a Pelican, and flew away from the Infinity.
—
…
Inside the Pelican's cabin.
John, Carl, and Myron, three Spartans in military uniforms, were sitting near the hatch, chatting idly.
William and Ivan, father and son, sat side by side near the cockpit.
William put an arm around Ivan's shoulder and asked kindly, "Son, why did you suddenly want to go to Minos?"
"Father," Ivan looked up at William and said,
"Minos Island is the company's base for manufacturing Mantises and super soldiers. I want to see it, and it will also help me mentally prepare for containing anomalies."
"Containing anomalies?" William was stunned.
Then he shook his head gently and said, "Ivan, you're only four years old… Four years old, no need to think so much."
"Father," Ivan said earnestly, "In fourteen more years, I'll be eighteen. And as your son, I believe it's necessary to establish sufficient prestige in the military.
After watching the video archives of you piloting the Mantis and fighting the Reaper civilization, it only strengthened my resolve."
Looking at Ivan's serious face, William sighed, "Oh, sometimes I really wish you were just a normal child."
Hearing this, Ivan showed a rare smile and said, "There's no need for that. Actually, I'm already very happy just having my family's company.
Like you, Father, and Mother, you always respect my decisions.
The truth is, my sister and I were born with a silver spoon in our mouths, enjoying wealth and power that others don't have. That's why I need to be even more disciplined, so I can better assist you in the future."
"I'm very pleased that you have such thoughts, Ivan." William gently patted Ivan's shoulder.
"Also…" At this point, Ivan looked a bit reluctant and said, "I'll leave Grandpa Andre to you, Father."
"Hahaha." Looking at Ivan's face, William laughed heartily again, saying,
"Good boy, you know your grandpa isn't easy to deal with, huh? Never mind, leave it to your old man."
—
…
Date: April 15, 2015.
Location: Minos Island.
Local time: 14:14.
The Pelican carrying William and the others was hovering over the building complex on the island's west coast, then slowly descending towards the high platform of the helipad.
It settled.
The hatch opened.
First, the three members of Spartan Blue Team exited the cabin, followed by William and Ivan.
On the platform were numerous USS personnel in instructor uniforms, along with Kent and Athena, the two people in charge of Minos Island.
Seeing William emerge from the cabin, Kent and Athena stepped forward together and saluted, "Boss."
"Mm." William returned the salute.
He also secretly observed Athena.
This former goddess of wisdom and war had now been completely 'assimilated' by Umbrella.
She wore the same instructor uniform as Kent, but the collar pin was not a military rank, but a golden owl.
Following that, William smiled at Kent and Athena, "You two, I'll be troubling you with Ivan for a while."
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