"Hello, Mr. Devonshire,"
William turned around at the sound and saw the man who had previously introduced himself as James Bond, holding a glass of wine and smiling at him.
Remembering Bond's earlier joke, William laughed and teased, "I still can't remember your name, Mr. Bond."
Bond smiled and responded, "Thank you for remembering me. Congratulations, William, England's youngest billionaire."
Rolling his eyes and feeling wary, William replied calmly, "Mr. Bond, if you have something to say, you can be direct."
Still waiting to receive his money, William had no interest in getting involved with Bond and the secret services. Being approached by them meant trouble, indicating that they were interested in some secret he possessed. He grew even more cautious, aware of the enormous secret he carried—the system and magic, which he absolutely couldn't reveal.
Bond could sense William's wariness and distance. "Okay, William, I'm here to introduce you to someone."
"Who?" William asked.
"Follow me, it's not far, just in the hotel café," Bond indicated for William to follow him to the hotel's café.
Before entering, William noticed two burly bodyguards at the entrance, suggesting that the person they were meeting was quite special.
Entering the café, Bond led William to a woman in her 60s. Bond stood respectfully beside her, remaining silent.
Before entering, William's mental abilities had scanned the room, and he recognized the famous M. Having seen so many Bond movies, he knew only a few memorable characters, and M, the head of MI6, was one of them. Played by a young woman and later an older woman, M had appeared in seven Bond films, making her a staple of the series.
M extended her hand and said, "William Devonshire, you can call me M."
Feigning a puzzled expression, William shook her hand and said, "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm William Devonshire. What can I do for you?"
M looked at the young man in front of her, amazed that he had become a billionaire before turning twenty through his own efforts. Henry, the old man, was indeed fortunate to have such an outstanding successor.
M kindly said, "May I call you William?"
William nodded, "Of course, ma'am."
Without further small talk, M got straight to the point. "I'm here because of your extraordinary talent in computing. We would like to invite you to join MI6's cyber division."
William instantly knew this was just a pretext. If he joined MI6, he would end up being directed by this old lady, potentially facing dangerous missions.
"Sorry, ma'am, you must know about my recent windfall. This money allows me to pursue my ideas, so I'm not planning to work for anyone else."
M knew the chances were slim that a newly-minted billionaire would accept, but she wouldn't give up easily.
"William, we're not just any organization. I think you should look at this."
Her assistant handed William a file.
Opening the file, William's eyes were immediately drawn to a photo of his grandfather Henry. What did this have to do with his grandfather? He thought back to what Henry had taught him.
Quickly flipping through the file, the contents shocked him but also made sense. His grandfather had been an MI6 agent, codenamed W, and had served from the age of 18 until his death.
The file included a letter from Henry, expressing his hope that William would join MI6 after turning 20 to continue the family tradition, as the W codename had been in their family for generations.
Before he could think further, something in his mind seemed to activate.
Knowledge of espionage, assassination, and special forces tactics flooded his mind. A prompt appeared in his consciousness, asking him to choose a basic alignment.
Understanding the prompt, he realized it was about choosing a moral alignment. Being lawful meant adhering to rules and order, while being chaotic meant defying laws and norms with impunity.
The only advantage was that the system didn't require him to be a saint; justified killings would still be permissible. Without hesitation, William chose the lawful alignment. As someone who had lived an ordinary life in both his past and current lives, he had no desire to cause chaos or destruction.
"Congratulations, you have chosen the lawful alignment. Reward: 1 cubic meter of portable storage space."
Delighted, William thought about how useful this storage space could be for smuggling high-tariff goods and turning a profit.
But, reminding himself that he was now a billionaire, he decided it would be unbecoming to resort to smuggling.
Seeing William staring at the file without reacting, M signaled Bond.
Bond, understanding, asked, "William, are you okay?"
Looking up, William saw genuine concern in Bond's eyes, which puzzled him. Why would the famous Bond show him kindness? These top agents were not known for their softness.
Sensing William's confusion, Bond explained, "William, over ten years ago, I was an agent under your grandfather. Before I joined the 00 division and received my code number, your grandfather taught me a lot. After his death, I moved under M. I even knew your mother, and when you were little, I held you. The first time I visited your grandfather, I met you in his study when you were just five years old."
Hearing this, William immediately recalled why Bond seemed familiar. Initially, he thought it was because Bond was played by the famous actor Pierce Brosnan in his past life. Now, Bond's words triggered a flood of buried memories.
"Ha-ha."
Pretending to recognize an old friend, William smiled, stepped forward, and suddenly grabbed Bond by the neck, lifting him with one hand.
Four chapters delivered. During this new book period, please help with recommendations and collections. Thank you very much.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter