The past few meetings.
Vice Admiral Wilson and Tommy, the leader of the weapons R&D department, had been constantly bickering.
Their exchanges had, in essence, reached the point of no return.
As expected.
In another high-level meeting held after several days, the two clashed head-on once more.
General Tommy.
He had been so worried that he couldn't eat or sleep. Not only did he have to work tirelessly to find Meng Hao's whereabouts, but he also had to deal with the global anticipation for the multinational joint military exercise led by the United States.
Already brimming with anger.
He couldn't hold back this time.
"I say, Wilson, have you lost your mind?"
General Tommy directly started shouting.
"A significant reason for Meng Hao's disappearance is your precious son, Colonel Bruce's, dereliction of duty!"
"Had he known earlier that Meng Hao was excavating the dry dock and planning to escape, we wouldn't be in such a passive position."
"I will now apply to Capitol Hill to demand a thorough investigation of your son and hold him accountable!"
Instantly.
Silence fell.
General Tommy's words were clearly half in anger and half in earnest.
Wilson had repeatedly troubled General Tommy, and even a clay Buddha would have its temper flared, let alone the politically influential General Tommy.
Furthermore.
Currently.
The possibility of finding Meng Hao before the window of opportunity closes was slim.
Therefore, it was imperative to prepare for scapegoating.
And William was clearly the best candidate for the scapegoat.
In response to General Tommy's aggressive stance.
Wilson appeared unconcerned.
"Oh really?"
"My son's issue?"
"If you hadn't been trying to pave the way for Bruce, and get my son removed from his position of responsibility at the research center military base, how could Meng Hao have escaped?"
Huh?
Wait?
Listening to Wilson's implication.
It seemed he already knew that Meng Hao had escaped, not for any other reason.
There seemed to be something fishy going on.
"Also, if you want to investigate my son, go ahead. Didn't you transfer him away from the military base, and now he's 'under house arrest' at the domestic research center, tracing the origin of Meng Hao's new energy vehicle?"
This, of course, was another good deed done by General Tommy.
He had dispatched three military helicopters.
To escort William to the U.S. domestic research center to meticulously verify Meng Hao's blueprint for the new energy vehicle.
Wait.
Why was old man Wilson so defiant?
"However."
"Before that."
"Listen to these recordings first!"
"Tommy, you old fox, bullying a junior in private is quite laughable... But my son is right under my nose now. If you try any of your disgusting tactics again, don't even think about it."
Indeed.
General Tommy, in order to make way for Bruce, had used his seniority and rank as a General to place William under house arrest and transfer him.
This was indeed disgusting and utterly classless.
Facing Wilson's reprimand.
Even an old timer like Tommy couldn't help but blush slightly.
However.
All eyes were now fixed on the USB drive in Wilson's hand.
Could it be.
This small USB drive was closely related to Meng Hao's escape?
Soon.
A computer was brought over.
The USB drive was plugged in, and a long audio file played.
Everyone held their breath, listening intently.
Then, their gazes towards General Tommy became increasingly strange.
The audio file was entirely Bruce berating Meng Hao.
No, to be precise, "berating" was no longer an adequate description... It was more accurately described as threatening Meng Hao.
Throughout the entire audio.
Calling Meng Hao names was already quite mild.
As for calling Meng Hao General Tommy's lackey and saying that the United States had given him a way out, those were relatively standard remarks.
But the threats, such as "If Meng Hao doesn't obediently listen to me, there are countless ways to kill you... make your life worse than death... To the United States, you, Meng Hao, are nothing," were simply beyond excessive.
Let alone a scientific expert like Meng Hao, who had backbone and pride.
Even many of the generals present in the military field were enraged after listening to these words.
And this was not the most outrageous part.
In this audio file.
Bruce even clearly revealed General Tommy's schemes and stratagems on how to completely ruin Meng Hao's reputation in Da Xia, how to force Meng Hao to join the United States, how to create a smokescreen in Da Xia, and how to fabricate and write Meng Hao's confession of applying to leave Da Xia.
The audio finished playing.
Wilson let out a cold laugh.
"General Tommy, if you were in Meng Hao's position, would you stay?"
"Meng Hao is a rare national treasure in scientific research, admired globally. Yet your idiotic illegitimate son not only threatened Meng Hao's life but also revealed all your schemes and stratagems. Do you think Meng Hao could remain?"
Thump.
General Tommy, who had been fiercely defiant and glaring, slumped back into his chair.
His face was filled with disbelief.
"This, this cannot be true..."
"It must have been fabricated..."
"Bruce told me he treated Meng Hao with great courtesy..."
Wilson was laughing inwardly.
Whether it was Tommy snatching the joint military exercise command from their navy department, or deliberately bullying the younger generation and causing trouble for his son, the grievances instantly vanished without a trace.
It felt truly satisfying!
Facing General Tommy's disbelief.
Wilson did not hesitate to continue his verbal onslaught.
"I say, Tommy, do you think we are all like you, resorting to fabricating false documents and ruining Meng Hao's reputation with such despicable schemes!"
"If you doubt the authenticity of this audio file, feel free to take it back and conduct voice analysis. See if it's your precious illegitimate son speaking."
"Of course, don't think of destroying the evidence. I've already copied this audio file many times... Now, I'm sending it to the email addresses of all high-ranking officials, including our President!"
Completely dumbfounded, Tommy felt his throat dry.
He wanted to say something.
But in the end, not a single word came out.
Who would have thought.
After all his painstaking efforts to bring Meng Hao to the United States, it was all ruined by this brat Bruce.
Now.
It was no longer a matter of considering his future career.
If Meng Hao could not be found within the time window, and returned to Da Xia after learning the truth, then the reputation of the United States would be ruined.
And the instigators of all these consequences were him and his illegitimate son, who was no better than brain-dead.