[Chapter 765: The Move]
Mr. Billionaire's vacation had been ruined, and his mood naturally wasn't great. However, since there were people in even worse spirits, he didn't dwell on it too much.
As the plane landed smoothly at Lanai Airport, William White's mood mirrored the sunny weather around him. Without the bothersome smog, he found it much easier to breathe. The air in Los Angeles wasn't great, and he wasn't just being fussy. Yet, thinking about the arrangements he made for his children made him sigh.
"Honey, he is so little; I'm just not comfortable with it."
Looking at the tearful little beauty, Michelle Reis, William felt even more conflicted. There wasn't anything his sons wouldn't enjoy. It was just that these kids wouldn't have much of a future if they weren't toughened up a little.
"Aw, come on, I never said you couldn't visit. If you like, you can go every month. Isn't this just like those boarding schools?"
"I know, but it's just too far away. Plus, why do you want to separate them?"
"Silly girl, my operations are just too vast. And besides, planning for them now puts my mind at ease, doesn't it?"
Though Michelle Reis felt reluctant, she had no choice. The educational system in America was like that; the wealthier the family, the less likely they indulged their children without reason.
If there was any difference, it was that Mr. Richest had no plans to send his two daughters away.
"You can't keep children with the parents forever. At least, they need some time to be relatively independent. Don't look at me like that; no pouting. Athena and Hebe are girls. Otherwise, you can try harder tonight."
"As if I'm going to have another one for you."
"See, Jack's right there with you. And about those two little ones? Haven't you noticed how much I've invested in there?"
Though she felt a bit reluctant, Michelle Reis had to admit that William's plans did eliminate some unpleasantness. Everyone knew what it was like in a big family, even if they hadn't experienced it themselves. What William White achieved was already quite impressive.
What he didn't tell her was that the world was simply too dangerous. Putting all your eggs in one basket made them easy to ruin altogether.
This wasn't him being picky; his company had a clear rule that employees in the same position couldn't fly on the same flight. In fact, many large institutions had similar policies. What if a plane went down? Wouldn't that wipe out an entire company? Who would take on that risk?
Of course, while this rule applied to the entire company, in practice it only limited some high executives. Technical personnel faced no such strict restrictions. The bottom line was simple: it was best not to share a flight, but sometimes, it couldn't be avoided.
"Don't worry, master. I arranged the security for the young master and the little one myself."
"Okay, Fulton. Just be more cautious in Hong Kong. The management level over there is really concerning. There had been few kidnappings of the rich before."
"Don't worry, master. Everyone around them is from our side. Although the gangs in Hong Kong can be troublesome, with Tanner and the others around, no one would dare to cause trouble."
"All right, have Tanner prepare another backup plan. These years have been troublesome. These guys, if they're still not cleaning up, I really wonder what they're waiting for."
[T/N: With the currest situation, the MC sent away his oldest son, Tommy, to Hong Kong, and sent rest of the family to Shanghai. I was not sure whether to remove this part or not. If there are no dependent changes in later chapters, I may come back and remove this part of the text.]
...
William's plans had not been overly ostentatious, although a few people had caught wind of them. As for how to interpret it, that was up to them.
The idea of not putting all your eggs in one basket was easy to understand. But leaving the U.S. would signify something entirely different.
To a group of old-timers, this kid seemed bent on playing with fire. The thought was that maybe it was better to resolve this quickly. Just look at how the economic conflicts had spiraled to this extent!
"Sir, we've got a situation!"
"What's up, Andy?"
"Well, the CIA and Citibank's servers have been hacked. A lot of depositors can't get their cash, and the scene is total chaos."
"Ha! Look at that, retaliation is here! You don't operate by the rules, so why should anyone else follow the game?"
"It's not our problem; just strengthen the defenses. Well, it looks like the old-timers' Christmas plans are shot."
...
Meanwhile, chaos reigned at Citibank's headquarters. Although they anticipated a retaliation, they never expected it to come in such an extreme manner.
"Damn it, when will we be back online?"
"Sir, the attack is coming from within the system, and IT is investigating."
"From within? How is that even possible?"
"Sir, it's true. The server has been rebooted, but the issue remains unresolved."
"Damn it! What era does he think we're living in? Is he planning on sending me a couple of bullets too?"
...
Some people were like that; when they neglected all rules, they thought it was their prerogative.
William White didn't care about the ruckus in New York. Apart from contemplating having more kids, he truly didn't have any other ambitions.
"You want me to deal with your mess? Just wait till I get you sorted out. Bullets? Please, if needed, I can always go buy a couple of big weapons from the Russians."
...
"Alan, what's going on? Is there a bank run at Citibank? Are we on the brink of war?"
"Paul, the computers attacking their servers are from within the company. Also, the IP address attacking the CIA servers came from Citibank."
"Is it him?"
"Can't say for sure, but there won't be any evidence. Still, choosing this timing..."
The two big shots at the Federal Reserve were also struggling. Paul Volcker, although retired, still had significant influence. Truth be told, he didn't want to deal with this mess. It was originally Citibank that started this trouble. I told you to take responsibility, and you're just ignoring me!
"Paul, it's not just you vacationing; I'm in Miami too. The worst part is that there's still tomorrow, and then our holiday is over."
"Alan, you've missed the point. This situation is actually good; it's reminding you that cybersecurity is paramount. Look at that; their defenses were indeed high, and their offense was equally sharp. This signal is very clear: the game isn't fair, and others don't even care. As long as there wasn't a gas explosion at Citibank, it was already a win in my book. If you ask me..."
"Cough, cough, uh, you spoke too soon. There's a window at Citibank Tower smoking, and it's being covered live by NBC."
"Holy crap, how deep does this grudge go? That's extreme!"
"Paul, if I'm correct, it could be a gas explosion."
"That CEO? He should resign and take the blame. Let's keep some dignity here; what era are we in?"
"Okay, I'll inform them." Although Greenspan said this, he was secretly laughing. What dignity was left in this? If this kept escalating, were they planning to duel?
William White was considered a foolish young man. After this incident, all the old-timers concluded the same thing. Beneath his humble exterior lay a monster ready to devour those he chose.
Sigh. William, enjoying the sun on Lanai, also felt a little down. He considered himself a rule-abiding player, but if they aimed to cheat, he was more than happy to take advantage of that.
*****
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