The pelican carrying William and Alpha flew beneath the massive hull of the fire spirit, appearing incredibly small.
The pilot flew the pelican into the hangar in the belly of the fire spirit and, under the guidance of the Ground Crew Personnel, slowly landed at the designated spot.
Inside the pelican's cabin, William saw the hatch gradually opening before him, so he took a Bluetooth headset from his suit pocket and put it on his left ear.
Afterward, William, with his hands in his trouser pockets, led Alpha into the extremely spacious and brightly lit hangar.
It could be seen that the place was divided into several levels.
Compact F-Xs were hung on the launch racks on both sides, while the massive pelicans and B-65s were parked at designated locations on each deck.
On the deck, there were also yellow-painted tractors, as well as various main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles modified by Umbrella.
Besides these, Ground Crew Personnel wearing yellow, white, or red helmets and multi-pocket vests were assisting pilots or drivers in tuning the fighter jets and combat vehicles.
There were also Marines wearing mechanical skeletons, with gray-black individual armor and the red-and-white Umbrella logo on their armbands, who were conducting routine patrols.
There were also Marines wearing only shorts and short-sleeved shirts, doing running training on the deck or gathering in groups to chat and tell dirty jokes.
As the main force of the Fleet, the Marines had 'moved in' to the various warships half a month in advance to familiarize themselves with the environment.
Of course, the elites, the Helljumpers, could not be missing.
The Paratroopers' casual clothes were pitch black, distinct from the gray-painted Marines, and they wore armbands with burning skulls, all carrying an arrogant demeanor.
They were the two thousand elites carefully selected from fifty thousand Marines.
In terms of combat power, they were superior to the UBCS and on par with the USS not wearing bio-armor; more importantly, the Paratroopers were all battle fanatics and madmen.
Looking at his own Soldiers and weapons, a sense of satisfaction welled up in William, and he nodded involuntarily.
Immediately after, he and the Alphas, including Hank, took the orbital train to the Bridge of the fire spirit.
Inside the carriage, William, sitting by the door, looked at the flashing lights outside the window and said calmly:
"Serana, how is the World's reaction now?"
"Boss." Serana's voice came from the headset:
"The number of people signing up for the colonization plan has exceeded ten thousand and continues to increase. Forums on the internet are also tending to speculate on what kind of weapons our Fleet has."
"As for the most intense reaction among the leaders of various governments, it is Mr. George Walker, the President of the United States."
"I overheard him just now ordering the U.S. CIA to obtain the company's anti-gravity technology and the design blueprints for ships like the fire spirit."
"Hmm, that's expected. Does President Walker's order contain the phrase 'at all costs'?" William asked.
"Not really." Serana suppressed a smile and said:
"He said to steal the data while trying as much as possible not to be detected, and if we detect them, to cancel the operation immediately, so as not to antagonize us."
"It seems the deterrent power of the Fleet has made the United States willing to play second fiddle."
"Hehe." William chuckled slightly and shook his head:
"It's not easy to make the United States willing. Serana, I want to know if the CIA were to go all out, would it be possible for them to breach Umbrella's firewall?"
"Before I or Cortana came into existence, the CIA might have been able to do it, but now..."
"I can only say that in my view, the CIA's methods are as overreaching as an ant trying to bite through a titanium alloy armor plate; they pose no threat."
"It is already benevolent of me not to have actively paralyzed the internal network of the US Government."
Although Serana's tone was somewhat disdainful, she still said seriously: "However, I will not let my guard down. I have already updated the company's internal network defenses."
"I am re-investigating the background information of employees to confirm that there are no moles in the company."
"Hmm, you did very well." William nodded with satisfaction.
Even if the opponent does not pose a threat, it is still necessary to take them seriously; being arrogant will only lead to self-destruction.
Next, William instructed Serana on matters that needed attention.
Such as drafting some cooperation plans, etc., to soothe the tense atmosphere of various countries; after all, win-win is the only way to create the future.
Within a few minutes, William and the others got off the train, transferred to an elevator to reach the top of the fire spirit, and then traveled through the wide corridor deck.
They finally arrived at the destination of this trip—the Bridge.
"Swish—" As the automatic doors opened, the Marines stationed inside the Bridge shouted: "Boss on the Bridge!"
Hearing the guard's reminder, everyone stopped their work and saluted William in unison.
"Alright, at ease." William revealed his usual kind face again and said.
"Yes." The crew members, having received the order, lowered their arms and continued preparing for the Fleet to successfully ascend into low Earth orbit.
When William passed the console in the center of the Bridge, he saw his subordinate, Captain James Carter, and Mike, who was in charge of the Fleet's ground combat personnel.
Carter's appearance was similar to the one in the game, with gray hair and beard, and he was older than Mike beside him.
His back was straight, and his eyes were sharp.
As for William's 'father' Andre and Halsey, neither of them boarded the fire spirit to participate in the first jump operation.
Andre still needed to be responsible for the containment operation on Earth.
Halsey stayed on Minos Island to preside over the final stage of the 'God-Making' project.
William walked past everyone. Standing behind the giant porthole with the 'best view' on the Bridge, he turned his back to Carter and ordered: "Captain, take us into space."
"Yes." Carter and the crew immediately executed their boss's order.
William looked out the window and found that the technology building and plaza below were gradually 'disappearing', replaced by layers of clouds.
The 'best view' mentioned earlier was perfectly embodied before William, as if he were truly roaming among the sea of clouds, and his mood became incredibly relaxed.
The ascent of the fire spirit did not stop. It quickly passed through the troposphere, stratosphere, and reached outer space, and then to the limit of two thousand meters in low Earth orbit.
At this moment, William, looking at the Azure planet 'under his feet', could not help but be intoxicated by it.
Humanity's yearning for the sky has never stopped.
Especially being able to overlook Earth in his lifetime, William felt a great sense of satisfaction in life, but he was not willing to stop here.
Immediately, with his hands behind his back, he looked up at the deep Universe and shouted to everyone: "Everyone, it is time for us, Umbrella, to set a new record. Prepare to execute the jump teleportation!"
"Yes!"
"Coordinates confirmed, positioned in low Mars orbit!"
"Jump engine starting... Startup complete!"
"All indicators are green, jump authorized!"
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