If he could solve the problem with money, William really didn't want to kill two familiar faces. After all, in the movies, that guy Yondu was actually pretty likable.
As for Peter Quill's Celestial father, William couldn't care less.
In fact, even if Quill were to die now, his father, Ego, wouldn't even care upon finding out. That Celestial with a screw loose couldn't even count how many of his own children he had killed.
Otherwise, if Yondu hadn't had that last shred of conscience, he wouldn't have taken the risk of being discovered and retaliated against by a Celestial to secretly keep Quill alive.
That was also why William didn't want to kill Yondu unless there were absolutely no other options.
Waving his hand, William stored away the ten large crates, then sat silently on the couch and asked, "If I remember correctly, wasn't Centauri destroyed by the Badoon, right?"
"Y-Yes," Yondu stammered, startled that William even knew such a secret, and instantly became flustered, thinking to himself: who the hell sold me out?
But this was a secret buried deep in his heart—one that even those who'd shared life-and-death bonds with him didn't know.
That made Yondu feel a mix of fear and curiosity about the informant William mentioned.
Just as he was thinking about whether he should directly ask who it was and how William would respond, he heard William speak again in his ear: "So, in your estimate, how much would I need to spend and how many talented people would I need to hire to avenge you? Also, since the Badoon wiped out your homeworld and massacred your people, doesn't that mean our goal is also to exterminate a race and destroy a nation?"
"This... this..." Faced with this question, the same Yondu who moments ago had been full of hatred and fury suddenly started to hesitate.
Completely unlike how a space pirate leader should behave.
"Yondu..." Quill looked at him with worry, seeing the hesitation and conflict all over his face, scared that he might let his hatred get the better of him and actually go as far as to suggest genocide.
"Maybe we should only go after the ones who gave the orders. As for the soldiers and the average Badoon civilians..."
Yondu slumped on the couch and said in a low, heavy voice, "Forget it. Just help me kill the Badoon emperor's whole family. As for the rest, let them be."
"No." William shook his head without even thinking about it. While silently looking down on Yondu for backing off, he also felt relieved—nobody wants to deal with people who have no moral bottom line.
Still, if it had happened to him, William admitted he couldn't be as forgiving as Yondu. If there were blood debts, he wouldn't let a single one of them go.
"I'm only responsible for paying and putting out the bounty. What happens after that has nothing to do with me."
After saying that, he thought again about how unreliable it would be to look for people in the galaxy to do the job. It'd be better to go to Asgard. At least Odin's illegitimate daughter Angela would be a great fit.
Pair her up with Heimdall. One Rainbow Bridge teleport over, target's head off in a flash, and before the bodyguards can react, Angela's already gone with another Rainbow Bridge jump.
That trick alone was probably the reason why no one in the Nine Realms dared to mess with Asgard.
But it'd be even better if Yondu could do it himself.
William pulled out a jade token from his storage space and, right in front of Quill and Yondu, infused it with a self-healing spell, turning it into a self-healing talisman.
He tossed it to Yondu and said, "Here are a thousand of these life-saving magic talismans. With these, can you find someone—or a faction—that can definitely help you get your revenge?"
That easy?
Looking at the jade talisman in his hand, Yondu, now thinking clearly, started reverting to his space pirate ways—seeing everything through the lens of money. He mumbled excitedly, "So this is that magical item?"
Then he looked up and asked, "How effective is this thing when used by Asgardians?"
"Heh," William gave a fake smile and said, "You think if it were useless, Asgardians would be buying it from me in bulk at 200 energy crystals a piece?"
Yondu froze. Realizing he'd just asked a dumb question, he knew full well that neither William nor the Asgardians would ever reveal details like that to him.
"If even the Asgardians, whose physical bodies are among the toughest in the universe, find them useful, then it's not a problem for other races. But..."
He hesitated for a moment before asking painfully, "Do these things really sell for 200 energy crystals each?"
William nodded with a grin. The base price was 100 crystals, but Odin needed them urgently—ten thousand pieces in a month—so he paid double. That's why William claimed they sold for 200 each.
"Damn it. Two hundred energy crystals—that's enough to keep our main ship running at full power for 20 days.
And if we use it more economically, mixing with nuclear and other sources, we could stretch that to almost two months," Quill muttered beside him.
Then he said enviously, "This kind of life-saving enchanted item—probably only a force like Asgard, that's been around who knows how many years, would be willing to give to regular soldiers."
But a thousand talismans meant two hundred thousand energy crystals. At that moment, both Yondu and Quill wished they were magic users. With this exclusive tech, their future would be bright and rich beyond measure.
Just one moment away from cashing in that kind of money, Yondu even had the fleeting thought of retiring early, maybe even skipping revenge altogether.
But moments later, he realized—if he helped William sell these jade talismans, he could probably earn that much in commission in just a year.
Other factions might not be willing to give these to their average soldiers, but those at the top surely wouldn't hesitate to buy one or two as a backup.
Plus, all those capable solo operators or bounty hunting teams also had a strong need for them.
Sell them across the universe—small profits but high volume—and the revenue would be enormous.
Thinking of that, Yondu gave Quill a look, signaling for him to leave the room.
He didn't want his crew, even his adoptive son, to know the specifics of a business negotiation like this.
Used to taking orders and lacking the strength to resist, Quill instinctively wanted to stand up.
But just as he moved, he remembered what Yondu had said earlier about the proxy talisman.
And since William was from London—and he himself was from Earth—Quill hesitated for just half a second before grinning and walking over to the liquor cabinet.
Grabbing a bottle, he came over with a cheerful face and said to William, "Now that everything's settled, shouldn't we celebrate a little?"
"Quill," Yondu stood up and snatched the bottle, waving him off like a fly. "That's enough. You don't need to worry about this anymore. Go check on the ship—see if we need to resupply, or go pick up some food and drinks from Asgard for the rest of the crew."
"No!" Quill cried out with a bitter face. "Those bastards have been talking about eating me since I was a kid.
If it weren't for my quick wits and being their slave since day one, I might not have survived."
After that, Quill stole a subtle glance at William's face. Seeing William frown, he suddenly seemed to find his backing and began whining endlessly, complaining about how Yondu and his crew had abused an Earth kid like him.
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