"I sincerely hope that your strength is as sharp as your tongue. And let me say this first; we pirates dislike scoundrels who talk big and make empty promises."
"Whoa...your Chinese is quite good, huh? You even know how to use the word "scoundrel?" Chen Fan laughed and tugged his ear with one hand. "You really think that you're al-Qaida terrorists and can launch terrorist attacks at my side?"
"Your cargo is called Ocean Storm Marine, huh?" The other end of the phone did not wait for Chen Fan to reply. "Although our strength is not able to penetrate into your country, and it's also not very possible for us to send someone to assassinate you... but every lion has his own territory. Your country is your territory, and likewise, under the enlightenment of the great Muhammad, there are still many of our warriors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As long as your ship is close to the shore, I guarantee that they will forever lose the right to leave this place. You're pulled up on the shore of Jeza Port in Yanbu City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the information that I got when your crewmen were kidnapped."
"Very good, excellent!" Chen Fan suddenly laughed, and his laughter was extremely joyous. "You know what? What you've just said has gone beyond my bottom line. So, I've decided to adjust the compensation. I'm asking from you...500 million USD. Although this amount might be a little painful for you, you're still able to handle it. But...within this period, your indirect loss may go up to 10 million USD!"
"Let time test our agreement then!"
Erigavo was a coastal town that stood by the sea. Compared to its surroundings, it enjoyed prosperity that was almost abnormal. Luxury cars drove past from time to time on the spacious concrete roads. The people of Zhongyun, who were used to seeing nice cars would look at these cars with admiration, but no one in this town was even phased by them.
At the center of the town was a conical building cast with white marble. Inside its main hall, Abadi was sitting on the leopard skin lounger, with two long, cream-colored elephant tusks that were crisscrossed on the Sikkim wall behind him.
"Akers, leave for Jeza Port in Saudi's Yanbu City tonight. Wait for that "Ocean Storm Marine" to arrive, and kill everyone on it immediately!" Abadi waved his hand furiously.
"Yes, chief!" A man in a black suit beside him bowed and quickly pushed open the gold gilded door decorated with agate.
After the man left, Abadi stood up angrily and walked toward the office on the right. According to his subordinates, there were no vessels at all on the surface of the sea, or any flying objects either. The only possibility was an underwater attack. However, the thing that puzzled him was that his subordinates reported that the two ships did not look like they were attacked by torpedos because the wreckage did not have any sign of having been bombed. It looked more like they had been hit by a submarine or torpedo.
Could the other party really have the ability to mobilize a submarine? Abadi definitely did not believe this. Only nuclear-powered submarines could cruise their way here. There was no way conventional submarines could run for 6,000 nautical miles. Even Obama's son-in-law would not have the ability to make the government take such a big risk by sending a submarine to attack the ship. Moreover, if the other party really had such power, their ship wouldn't even have been hijacked.
So what connections did the other party have? Some member from a powerful family who bribed the armies of the surrounding war-torn countries, and then got them to send the submarine to attack? Abadi pondered over this for a while.
...
At the same time, Chen Fan quickly dialed the number of the ocean-going ship.
"Hello, boss!" Ren Jiang's voice came from the phone.
"How much longer before you guys reach Saudi Arabia?" Chen Fan took a breath before asking.
"We can reach there tomorrow around noon if nothing goes wrong."
"Um, there's no need for you to go there anymore. Follow the escort fleet closely until they turn back. Leave the Gulf of Aden area and sail toward Zhongyun!" Chen Fan kept pinching his nose bridge as he sat on the chair. He believed that Abadi wasn't making an empty threat. In fact, things had come to the point where both parties could not co-exist, and one side had to collapse.
They kidnapped Chen Fan's employees and cargo ship, and extorted a 50 million RMB ransom. There was no way Chen Fan could take this lying down. However, this wasn't the case in the eyes of the pirates. They felt that it was entirely justified for them to blackmail Chen Fan. But Chen Fan actually retaliated and sunk two of their pirate ships. As the world's largest pirate organization, how were they supposed to face the world? There was no way they could hold their heads up high in front of the other pirates if they did not take revenge.
"Why, boss? We'll be able to reach there tomorrow. Wouldn't we be wasting a lot of money on the fuel if we turn back now?" Ren Jiang was totally confused.
"It's the decision of the traders here. They said that the Saudis went back on their word, but they would still be paying the agreed transportation fees."
"Oh, alright. I'll just follow behind the escort fleet then." Ren Jiang readily agreed as long as it wasn't a wasted trip.
After contacting Ren Jiang, Chen Fan heaved a sigh and then dialed the number of the coal merchant. After hearing Chen Fan say that they were turning back halfway, the merchant immediately blew his top and uttered a lot of nonsense; like liquidated damages, reputation, and losses, which made Chen Fan all confused and disoriented.
"Damn it, my ship got hijacked by those as*hole pirates transporting your crappy goods, and I even lost 50 million of ransom." Chen Fan exploded with anger. "F*ck them...they called me again shortly after I gave the ransom money and said that they were going to Saudi to kill my crewmen. What the f*ck do you want me to do? Get my men to risk their lives to deliver your goods?"
"Ah...ah…" The other end of the phone suddenly went silent and regained its signal only after half a minute. "Bro Chen, Bro Chen...cool down, cool down first…"
"It's my fault, it's all my fault, alright?" Well...let's not talk about the liquidated damages, h-how about you get your ship to Sri Lanka, I-I'll change over the goods from there and get another ship to deliver them...what do you think?""
"Up to you, do whatever you wish!" Chen Fan tossed and turned on the bed, feeling anger pent-up inside him. Abadi actually dared to threaten to kill his thirty employees to vent his hatred?
You wanna vent your hatred? Then I'll make you cry first!
"Abadi!" Chen Fan sat up and said each word with emphasis. "Tonight, I am going to let you experience your most unforgettable night!"
...
The dark sky, like endless sand, covered the ocean like a veil. On the pier's watchtower, Boly was focused on turning the powerful searchlight and inspecting the ocean ahead. Since joining the pirate organization the previous month, he immediately went from being penniless and without even having a house, to being surrounded by numerous matchmakers. They all wanted to introduce girls to him, and the girls were getting prettier!
"Pirate...it's my childhood dream…" Boly mumbled as he inspected the surface of the ocean.
"Eh?" Boly suddenly stopped turning the searchlight and rubbed his eyes hard. When he slowly started moving the searchlight again, it locked in on the 500-ton pirate ship equipped with the latest rocket launcher.
"How is this possible? There's no one on that ship!"
Bang! The blue pirate ship broke off from the arm thick rope that was connected to the pier, and then quickly sailed a great distance away.
"What's going on?" Boly was scared out of his wits. Could a hostage have gotten onto the ship and tried to escape with it?
In just ten seconds, the blue pirate ship disappeared from the range of the searchlight, and Boly didn't even have the chance to set up a machine gun to fire.
"Officer, something bad happened! Some hostages hijacked the pirate ship and escaped!" Boly shouted madly into the interphone.
"What? Why didn't you keep watch over them?" An angry roar came from the phone.
Five minutes later, a man in camouflage clothing charged into Abadi's residence and woke him up from his sleep.
...
Latitude 12.05 north, longitude 47.52 east, local time 2AM.
On USA's guided missile destroyer, Igren.
Brock, the radar technician, was drinking coffee as he sat in front of the radar screen monitor looking despondent. He felt that cruising in the Gulf of Aden to escort warships was extremely redundant. Other than throwing their weight around all day to the passing warships to show their country's power, there was no other pleasure.
What about the pirates? Come on! Brock scoffed. The strength of the United States was enough to make the whole world shake at the same time. Other than a few illiterate, indigenous people who hijacked a ship last year, the other pirates, who at least had a little good judgment, could only salute with their eyes when they saw the American flag flying.
Despite complaining, Brock did not forget his duties, as he stared at the radar screen and drank his coffee. The radar system on the guided missile destroyer was the most advanced equipment in the United States and also the world. It could even capture a whale jumping to the water surface.
"Buddy, any new discovery?" The active sonar monitor technician beside him patted his shoulder and yawned. "I've finished my coffee, can I borrow yours?"
"In the drawer, get it yourself."
"There are only seven ships sailing within the vicinity of ten nautical miles." Brock spread out his hands. "You're having a good time. The active sonar system has shut down for more than a month, and you don't have to stare at the screen all the time."
The active sonar monitor technician sighed and grumbled, "But I still gotta be on duty, I'm not any better than you."
Beep beep beep. Suddenly, a shrill alarm sound came from the radar intelligence monitoring system. The screen showed a small green dot which was sailing slowly beside the warship. It suddenly increased its speed and charged toward the direction of the warship.
"Oh my God, what is this fellow doing?" Brock stared at the data on the screen in disbelief. According to the radar monitoring, the green dot would hit the left side of the warship in fifty seconds at its current speed.
"Combat duty, combat duty!" Brock shouted at the call receiver in front. "At fifteen degrees off the port, a ship which was sailing normally, suddenly increased speed and sailed toward the warship. Please be prepared, please be prepared!"
"Roger, roger!"
Swish swish swish!
Seven ultra-high-power automatic searchlights shone at the blue pirate ship at once.
"Alert, alert! The vessel in front, stop immediately, stop immediately!" The roaring sound of the horn came from the surface of the sea. The blue clipper ship continued on its way, charging toward the warship. Also, the eight rocket launchers at its bow came into the view of the searchlights.
Dah dah dah dah dah!
With the electric motor turning, two GAU-12 Vulcan Gatling guns, which were fitted together with five artillery shells and able to fire five-thousand 25mm artillery shells per minute, turned madly. The artillery shells shot out from the barrels, creating brilliant tracks in the dark sky which converged into a fiery dragon clearly visible to the naked eye. With the anger of the god of death, it hit toward the blue pirate ship with rage.
Bang bang bang! There were numerous flames on the surface on the pirate ship. All kinds of debris sputtered out. With a thunderous roar, the pirate ship which was loaded with five tons of fuel erupted with a flash of brilliant fireworks before sinking into the sea fifteen meters away from the warship.
Ten seconds after the pirate ship sank, the powerful intelligence system and identification system of the United States displayed their amazing efficiency. In less than ten minutes, after scanning and contrasting with the photographs of the various registered pirate ships, the identity of the ship's owner was determined.
...
"Have you found out which hostage escaped?" Abadi sat on the chair in the office, shouting angrily at the subordinate beside him.
"Leader, we've already counted all the holding cells one by one, and there was no hostage who escaped."
"Don't tell me it's the locals?" Abadi grabbed the handle of the chair.
"Unlikely. We deployed eleven patrols around the pier. It's impossible for ordinary residents to get around the patrols."
"Get those in charge of the patrols here!"
"Yes!" The black man in a suit and leather shoes took a bow before leaving.
Ringg! Ringgg!
"Hello." Abadi grabbed the phone on the office desk. Those who knew this number were mostly powerful organizations, hence Abadi calmed himself down and quickly answered the phone.
"Hello, Abadi!"
"I'm Colonel Nenheim Baird, deputy commander of the operational headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Please give me a reasonable explanation for what happened at sea just now."
"I sincerely hope that your strength is as sharp as your tongue. And let me say this first; we pirates dislike scoundrels who talk big and make empty promises."
"Whoa...your Chinese is quite good, huh? You even know how to use the word "scoundrel?" Chen Fan laughed and tugged his ear with one hand. "You really think that you're al-Qaida terrorists and can launch terrorist attacks at my side?"
"Your cargo is called Ocean Storm Marine, huh?" The other end of the phone did not wait for Chen Fan to reply. "Although our strength is not able to penetrate into your country, and it's also not very possible for us to send someone to assassinate you... but every lion has his own territory. Your country is your territory, and likewise, under the enlightenment of the great Muhammad, there are still many of our warriors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As long as your ship is close to the shore, I guarantee that they will forever lose the right to leave this place. You're pulled up on the shore of Jeza Port in Yanbu City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the information that I got when your crewmen were kidnapped."
"Very good, excellent!" Chen Fan suddenly laughed, and his laughter was extremely joyous. "You know what? What you've just said has gone beyond my bottom line. So, I've decided to adjust the compensation. I'm asking from you...500 million USD. Although this amount might be a little painful for you, you're still able to handle it. But...within this period, your indirect loss may go up to 10 million USD!"
"Let time test our agreement then!"
Erigavo was a coastal town that stood by the sea. Compared to its surroundings, it enjoyed prosperity that was almost abnormal. Luxury cars drove past from time to time on the spacious concrete roads. The people of Zhongyun, who were used to seeing nice cars would look at these cars with admiration, but no one in this town was even phased by them.
At the center of the town was a conical building cast with white marble. Inside its main hall, Abadi was sitting on the leopard skin lounger, with two long, cream-colored elephant tusks that were crisscrossed on the Sikkim wall behind him.
"Akers, leave for Jeza Port in Saudi's Yanbu City tonight. Wait for that "Ocean Storm Marine" to arrive, and kill everyone on it immediately!" Abadi waved his hand furiously.
"Yes, chief!" A man in a black suit beside him bowed and quickly pushed open the gold gilded door decorated with agate.
After the man left, Abadi stood up angrily and walked toward the office on the right. According to his subordinates, there were no vessels at all on the surface of the sea, or any flying objects either. The only possibility was an underwater attack. However, the thing that puzzled him was that his subordinates reported that the two ships did not look like they were attacked by torpedos because the wreckage did not have any sign of having been bombed. It looked more like they had been hit by a submarine or torpedo.
Could the other party really have the ability to mobilize a submarine? Abadi definitely did not believe this. Only nuclear-powered submarines could cruise their way here. There was no way conventional submarines could run for 6,000 nautical miles. Even Obama's son-in-law would not have the ability to make the government take such a big risk by sending a submarine to attack the ship. Moreover, if the other party really had such power, their ship wouldn't even have been hijacked.
So what connections did the other party have? Some member from a powerful family who bribed the armies of the surrounding war-torn countries, and then got them to send the submarine to attack? Abadi pondered over this for a while.
...
At the same time, Chen Fan quickly dialed the number of the ocean-going ship.
"Hello, boss!" Ren Jiang's voice came from the phone.
"How much longer before you guys reach Saudi Arabia?" Chen Fan took a breath before asking.
"We can reach there tomorrow around noon if nothing goes wrong."
"Um, there's no need for you to go there anymore. Follow the escort fleet closely until they turn back. Leave the Gulf of Aden area and sail toward Zhongyun!" Chen Fan kept pinching his nose bridge as he sat on the chair. He believed that Abadi wasn't making an empty threat. In fact, things had come to the point where both parties could not co-exist, and one side had to collapse.
They kidnapped Chen Fan's employees and cargo ship, and extorted a 50 million RMB ransom. There was no way Chen Fan could take this lying down. However, this wasn't the case in the eyes of the pirates. They felt that it was entirely justified for them to blackmail Chen Fan. But Chen Fan actually retaliated and sunk two of their pirate ships. As the world's largest pirate organization, how were they supposed to face the world? There was no way they could hold their heads up high in front of the other pirates if they did not take revenge.
"Why, boss? We'll be able to reach there tomorrow. Wouldn't we be wasting a lot of money on the fuel if we turn back now?" Ren Jiang was totally confused.
"It's the decision of the traders here. They said that the Saudis went back on their word, but they would still be paying the agreed transportation fees."
"Oh, alright. I'll just follow behind the escort fleet then." Ren Jiang readily agreed as long as it wasn't a wasted trip.
After contacting Ren Jiang, Chen Fan heaved a sigh and then dialed the number of the coal merchant. After hearing Chen Fan say that they were turning back halfway, the merchant immediately blew his top and uttered a lot of nonsense; like liquidated damages, reputation, and losses, which made Chen Fan all confused and disoriented.
"Damn it, my ship got hijacked by those as*hole pirates transporting your crappy goods, and I even lost 50 million of ransom." Chen Fan exploded with anger. "F*ck them...they called me again shortly after I gave the ransom money and said that they were going to Saudi to kill my crewmen. What the f*ck do you want me to do? Get my men to risk their lives to deliver your goods?"
"Ah...ah…" The other end of the phone suddenly went silent and regained its signal only after half a minute. "Bro Chen, Bro Chen...cool down, cool down first…"
"It's my fault, it's all my fault, alright?" Well...let's not talk about the liquidated damages, h-how about you get your ship to Sri Lanka, I-I'll change over the goods from there and get another ship to deliver them...what do you think?""
"Up to you, do whatever you wish!" Chen Fan tossed and turned on the bed, feeling anger pent-up inside him. Abadi actually dared to threaten to kill his thirty employees to vent his hatred?
You wanna vent your hatred? Then I'll make you cry first!
"Abadi!" Chen Fan sat up and said each word with emphasis. "Tonight, I am going to let you experience your most unforgettable night!"
...
The dark sky, like endless sand, covered the ocean like a veil. On the pier's watchtower, Boly was focused on turning the powerful searchlight and inspecting the ocean ahead. Since joining the pirate organization the previous month, he immediately went from being penniless and without even having a house, to being surrounded by numerous matchmakers. They all wanted to introduce girls to him, and the girls were getting prettier!
"Pirate...it's my childhood dream…" Boly mumbled as he inspected the surface of the ocean.
"Eh?" Boly suddenly stopped turning the searchlight and rubbed his eyes hard. When he slowly started moving the searchlight again, it locked in on the 500-ton pirate ship equipped with the latest rocket launcher.
"How is this possible? There's no one on that ship!"
Bang! The blue pirate ship broke off from the arm thick rope that was connected to the pier, and then quickly sailed a great distance away.
"What's going on?" Boly was scared out of his wits. Could a hostage have gotten onto the ship and tried to escape with it?
In just ten seconds, the blue pirate ship disappeared from the range of the searchlight, and Boly didn't even have the chance to set up a machine gun to fire.
"Officer, something bad happened! Some hostages hijacked the pirate ship and escaped!" Boly shouted madly into the interphone.
"What? Why didn't you keep watch over them?" An angry roar came from the phone.
Five minutes later, a man in camouflage clothing charged into Abadi's residence and woke him up from his sleep.
...
Latitude 12.05 north, longitude 47.52 east, local time 2AM.
On USA's guided missile destroyer, Igren.
Brock, the radar technician, was drinking coffee as he sat in front of the radar screen monitor looking despondent. He felt that cruising in the Gulf of Aden to escort warships was extremely redundant. Other than throwing their weight around all day to the passing warships to show their country's power, there was no other pleasure.
What about the pirates? Come on! Brock scoffed. The strength of the United States was enough to make the whole world shake at the same time. Other than a few illiterate, indigenous people who hijacked a ship last year, the other pirates, who at least had a little good judgment, could only salute with their eyes when they saw the American flag flying.
Despite complaining, Brock did not forget his duties, as he stared at the radar screen and drank his coffee. The radar system on the guided missile destroyer was the most advanced equipment in the United States and also the world. It could even capture a whale jumping to the water surface.
"Buddy, any new discovery?" The active sonar monitor technician beside him patted his shoulder and yawned. "I've finished my coffee, can I borrow yours?"
"In the drawer, get it yourself."
"There are only seven ships sailing within the vicinity of ten nautical miles." Brock spread out his hands. "You're having a good time. The active sonar system has shut down for more than a month, and you don't have to stare at the screen all the time."
The active sonar monitor technician sighed and grumbled, "But I still gotta be on duty, I'm not any better than you."
Beep beep beep. Suddenly, a shrill alarm sound came from the radar intelligence monitoring system. The screen showed a small green dot which was sailing slowly beside the warship. It suddenly increased its speed and charged toward the direction of the warship.
"Oh my God, what is this fellow doing?" Brock stared at the data on the screen in disbelief. According to the radar monitoring, the green dot would hit the left side of the warship in fifty seconds at its current speed.
"Combat duty, combat duty!" Brock shouted at the call receiver in front. "At fifteen degrees off the port, a ship which was sailing normally, suddenly increased speed and sailed toward the warship. Please be prepared, please be prepared!"
"Roger, roger!"
Swish swish swish!
Seven ultra-high-power automatic searchlights shone at the blue pirate ship at once.
"Alert, alert! The vessel in front, stop immediately, stop immediately!" The roaring sound of the horn came from the surface of the sea. The blue clipper ship continued on its way, charging toward the warship. Also, the eight rocket launchers at its bow came into the view of the searchlights.
Dah dah dah dah dah!
With the electric motor turning, two GAU-12 Vulcan Gatling guns, which were fitted together with five artillery shells and able to fire five-thousand 25mm artillery shells per minute, turned madly. The artillery shells shot out from the barrels, creating brilliant tracks in the dark sky which converged into a fiery dragon clearly visible to the naked eye. With the anger of the god of death, it hit toward the blue pirate ship with rage.
Bang bang bang! There were numerous flames on the surface on the pirate ship. All kinds of debris sputtered out. With a thunderous roar, the pirate ship which was loaded with five tons of fuel erupted with a flash of brilliant fireworks before sinking into the sea fifteen meters away from the warship.
Ten seconds after the pirate ship sank, the powerful intelligence system and identification system of the United States displayed their amazing efficiency. In less than ten minutes, after scanning and contrasting with the photographs of the various registered pirate ships, the identity of the ship's owner was determined.
...
"Have you found out which hostage escaped?" Abadi sat on the chair in the office, shouting angrily at the subordinate beside him.
"Leader, we've already counted all the holding cells one by one, and there was no hostage who escaped."
"Don't tell me it's the locals?" Abadi grabbed the handle of the chair.
"Unlikely. We deployed eleven patrols around the pier. It's impossible for ordinary residents to get around the patrols."
"Get those in charge of the patrols here!"
"Yes!" The black man in a suit and leather shoes took a bow before leaving.
Ringg! Ringgg!
"Hello." Abadi grabbed the phone on the office desk. Those who knew this number were mostly powerful organizations, hence Abadi calmed himself down and quickly answered the phone.
"Hello, Abadi!"
"I'm Colonel Nenheim Baird, deputy commander of the operational headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Please give me a reasonable explanation for what happened at sea just now."
