American TV Writer

In reality, Richard Castle wasn't worried at all. Not only had he already handed over the design and production blueprints of the drones to Northrop Grumman for technical verification, but the plans for the "Jericho" missile were also safely stored in his incredibly enhanced memory, courtesy of the system. All he needed to do was visit Northrop's high-end lab on the East Coast and, using the blueprints in his head, he could easily recreate the designs.

After all, his role was simply that of a designer. Once the blueprints were proven feasible, the manufacturing process wasn't his responsibility.

What's more important was that his drone designs were originally intended for the military in the Marvel universe, created by Stark Industries. The two drones he had now were only small due to the limited production equipment at his disposal. The ones on his design blueprints were much larger than the ones the little guy was currently playing with so enthusiastically.

The two embedded turbofan engines, identical to those used in the Marvel universe's S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet, were particularly impressive. Fortunately, Northrop Grumman had the resources to handle it. Even though Castle's use of turbofan engines seemed unusual, the company that built the F-14 Tomcat, a plane Castle still admired, had a well-earned reputation.

Just think about it—Northrop Grumman built the F-14 Tomcat, an automated variable-sweep wing fighter in the 1970s, and developed stress-wave riveting technology for aircraft bodies. Their technical capabilities were extraordinary!

It's said that the F-14 Tomcat was replaced on U.S. Navy carriers by the F-18 Hornet, not because the F-18 was better, but because the cost of maintaining the F-14 was too high, even for the deep-pocketed U.S. Navy!

But it certainly wasn't because the F-18 was superior to the F-14!

Just think of the 1986 movie *Top Gun*—wasn't it the F-14 that Tom Cruise piloted to fame?

After verifying that Castle's design could maximize the drone's stealth capabilities and even outperform their flagship product, the Global Hawk, in speed, Northrop Grumman was overjoyed and quickly pushed Castle to create a full-scale prototype.

With three months left until the Air Force's next-generation drone bidding process in March, they urged Castle to build a complete prototype to test. While the two small drones could verify some flight dynamics and aerodynamics, it was more practical to test a full-size prototype as soon as possible.

That was the main reason Castle had come to the little guy's place today. Lately, the kid had been flying those two drones all over New York, becoming a rather skilled pilot. With his talent in computer programming, Castle decided to make the little guy his assistant. Not only would this give the kid some credibility by associating him with a major arms company, but it would also give Castle peace of mind.

In a luxurious white tent amidst the hot North African desert, Sean was sitting with a middle-aged man dressed as a Bedouin, leisurely chatting. This Bedouin-dressed man was none other than the Elder, the actual controller of the infamous High Table!

Who would have thought that the secret ruler of the High Table, a behemoth in the underground world, was a Bedouin recluse living in the desert? Seated in an opulently decorated chair, the man smiled at his old friend Sean and teased, "Like father, like son. I never imagined your son would be as troublesome as you!"

"Just look at him. Ever since you reconnected in Paris, he's been non-stop—first, humiliating Santino D'Antonio of the D'Antonio family, then stirring up trouble in America. I heard he was involved in the incident in Rio de Janeiro, and now he's clashing with a New York senator and has even blown up that pompous old Sloan's base! Sean, it looks like you've found your successor, haven't you?"

Sean, usually tough as nails, looked exasperated when his son came up. "I have no idea why he's been acting so wildly these past six months. Especially after he got together with that policewoman—he's been causing even more trouble.

"I just got word that he's now a small shareholder in Northrop Grumman because of a drone design he created! Even though his shares are minimal, he's managed to link up with America's third-largest arms company. I was already having headaches from his past stunts, and now he's in bed with an arms giant. Who knows what will happen next? Sigh..."

The Elder, who had known Sean for decades, had never seen him this worried. Amused, but also impressed by Richard's boldness, the Elder, a man who valued swift vengeance, found Castle's no-nonsense approach quite appealing. He reassured Sean, "I think your son's doing great. His methods ensure that anyone thinking of targeting him will know the consequences are severe. Plus, he's now a shareholder in Northrop Grumman—you know what kind of backing that company has, right? What are you worried about?"

Sean sighed helplessly. "I'm afraid the kid's going to get himself killed one day…"

The Elder couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Castle, oblivious to his father's concerns, suddenly had an idea on how to deal with the treasure he'd salvaged from Vincent's submarine. Why not let his father handle it? After all, there was no way his dad would rip off his own son, right?

Feeling unburdened, Castle was chatting happily with Moz at the little guy's house when he suddenly received a notification from his long-silent system.

"Host has completed the mission to help Kate Beckett seek revenge. You now have four accumulated random rewards, which you can claim at any time. You can also exchange two random rewards for one specified skill reward."

After delivering the message, the system went back into hibernation, but the news stunned Castle mid-conversation.

Moz noticed the change in Castle's expression and asked if something was wrong.

Castle gestured that everything was fine and quickly called Beckett, wondering why the system had suddenly declared that he'd completed her revenge mission.

After a brief conversation with Beckett, Castle learned that last night at the 12th Precinct, Vulcan Simmons, who had been laundering money for Senator William Bracken through drug trafficking, had finally caved under immense pressure. He struck a deal with the police and the district attorney, exchanging his testimony about Bracken's illicit dealings for a reduced sentence.

Just a moment ago, Beckett and Esposito had also obtained solid evidence against Bracken from his hitman, Nick Coonan. Beckett was now rushing back to the precinct with plans to request an arrest warrant for Bracken from a New York judge.

At this point, it was only a matter of time before Senator Bracken would be removed from office and face charges. Hence, Castle's system had notified him that Beckett's revenge mission was complete. With all the rewards he had previously accumulated from assisting Beckett, Castle now had four unclaimed random skill rewards, which could be traded for two specific skills if he wanted. This was fantastic news!

However, now wasn't the time to explore which skills to exchange. Moz was still sitting in front of him, and they were at the little guy's house. He could wait until later tonight when he was home to figure it out.

But good news should be shared, so after hanging up the phone, Castle didn't hesitate to tell Moz and the little guy about Senator Bracken's imminent downfall and likely arrest by the NYPD and the Department of Justice.

The little guy didn't seem to care much—he was more interested in maintaining his drones in the garage. However, Moz was floored by the news. After all, Bracken was a sitting New York senator, and Castle had managed to take him down through his meddling?

Rick's ability to cause chaos was truly astonishing!

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