Chapter 126 To The Bitter End with The Pirates
The voice of the man on the phone was very loud. Even Ma Rongtao, who was standing on the side, opened his eyes in a suspicious manner and listened.
"Somalian pirates?" Chen Fan quickly let the idea wander around in his mind.
Is it April Fool’s today?
"Oh," Chen Fan said in his joking tone, "Hello, Mr. Pirate. Although I’m very reluctant, I have to say that I’m actually President Trump, so you’ve made the wrong call."
There was no sound on the other line for five to six seconds, then a string of familiar voices suddenly were heard.
"Boss, I’m Ren Jiang. This morning at 8:45, our ship in the Gulf of Aden was hijacked at thirty-seven nautical miles north of Gandala. The culprits arrived in three armed speed boats, carrying rockets and submachine guns. Then, we were loaded into the boat and brought to a small town in Gandara, Somalia..."
Captain Ren Jiang had yet to complete what he was saying, when the voice on the other end of the phone was replaced by a strangely accented male voice.
"How’s this? Do you believe me now? If you have doubts, tell me your email address. I’m going to send a series of astonishing photos to you. You have one day to consider our offer, six days to raise the funds, then ten days to get us the money. If we receive no money before this period of time lapses, we’ll kill them all!"
The voice continued to list demands. "Right, we’ll also only accept US dollars, or gold of the same value. So, please replace 50 million into those two things! You may call this number at any time, and the we’ll send our special personnel to serve you!"
Beep...beep...beep...
Realizing that they had hung up, Chen Fan finally hung up the phone, too, with a heavy heart.
Somalian pirates?
Hearing what Captain Ren Jiang had just said, Chen Fan now believed. On the way to the Arabic Kingdom, they had to pass through the Gulf of Aden and then enter the Red Sea. And, that place had long been listed by the United Nations as the most dangerous sea area in the world! Just last year, more than 100 freighters were hijacked by pirates there, and the various combined economic losses that resulted reached more than 24 billion USD!
When Chen Fan’s ship initiated its voyage, he had already applied to the local maritime department to prepare for the confluence of the escort warship "Zhongshan" in the sea area. He had also taken precautions to follow the large forces to cross the dangerous sea area, but he never thought that the ship would be hijacked by pirates!
"Chen, Chen," Ma Rongtao gently pushed Chen Fan’s arm, pulling him back from his chaotic thoughts.
"The phone call just now..." Ma Rongtao hesitated a moment, then said gently, "after the meeting, come home with me and we’ll discuss it."
"Ok," Chen Fan said. Whether it was by paying a ransom or anything else, they had to get their men back as soon as possible.
The leader on the stage spoke for more than 20 minutes. Finally, after he drank two sips of tea, the meeting was dismissed. After they left, Ma Rongtao let Chen Fan follow his car, and the driver went straight to his villa at the foot of the green hill.
It was a luxurious two-story villa, with a large swimming pool, a parking garage, and lush green landscaping. After they both got out of their cars, Ma Rongtao led Chen Fan directly through the magnificent hall to the reading room on the second floor.
"Chen, how do you plan to deal with this matter?" Ma Rongtao gently closed the door and approached Chen Fan, tapping his shoulder. "To tell you the truth, I was hijacked by a freighter two years ago. A group known as Mekar asked for 10 million USD from me. After three days of negotiations, the price was lowered to eight million. When the price was fixed, I immediately sent people with the cash that very night."
"Uncle Ma has also encountered this? How did you keep it from becoming public knowledge on the outside?" Chen Fan asked.
"I didn’t dare to tell anyone about it, because once the government is made aware of it, they will certainly reject the idea of paying the ransom. They always try instead to find ways to send people for a rescue mission."
Ma Rongtao took the opportunity to sit next to Chen Fan, then continued. "Did you know about the notorious robbery last year? The one involving the Ukrainian national arms? Thirty-three main battle tanks, thousands of tons of ammunition. Finally, the Ukrainian government sent helicopters to throw the huge load of ransom onto the boats."
"Yeah!" Chen Fan nodded. Even when a national government’s arms and ships were taken, they still had to pay! Uncle Ma, lend me your computer for a moment."
Chen Fan took out his mobile phone and dialed the serial number again.
"Hello?"
"I want to determine the health of my crew. If they are safe, I promise to deliver the ransom to you within ten days," announced Chen Fan. He then reported a list of email addresses. "You can send the photos now, I’m right next to the computer."
"Ok, we like to deal with people who are as straightforward as you. Everyone is a businessman, and we understand that peace leads to prosperity. During this period, we guarantee that they are not eating worse than the ship’s crew."
Five minutes after they had already hung up, Chen Fan’s inbox prompted a new email notification.
Beep beep beep.
It was the incoming promised photo, which was very clear. In a big, empty house, Captain Ren Jiang sat in the middle of a group of about thirty familiar faces, all neatly dressed, with no bruises. But, everyone’s faces were full of confusion and bewilderment. There were seven men standing over the group, holding AKs and wearing camouflage uniforms and plaid hoods.
"The pirates are very disciplined. Although so many cargo ships had been hijacked in these few years, only two hostages were killed, and that was only when they confronted the army. So, you can rest assured about their safety," the man on the phone said.
Ma Rongtao patted Chen Fan’s shoulder. "If you decide to raise money to redeem these people, then you must act quickly. The government must be informed of this after a certain period of time. At that time, this matter will then escalate, becoming an official national issue. Then, through diplomatic means, pressure will be placed on Somalia..."
Ma Rongtao did not complete his sentence, but Chen Fan instinctively understood that, if that pressure was effective, the Ukrainian government wouldn’t send any money at the end of the day.
"Right, Uncle Ma, can you lend me 30 million? I will mortgage my finest field-yellow stones." Chen Fan had come to Ma Rongtao, not to listen to his advice, but for money!
Now, Chen Fan’s card had only 29 million in cash on it. He was ready to borrow another 30 million, and the remaining 9 million would have to be tackled by sudden circumstances!
Regarding how to solve this problem, Chen Fan already had it all planned, as the ransom must be paid!
After all, personnel’s safety is the first priority!
But after paying the ransom and redeeming the ship and the people...
Somalian pirates?
I’ve gotta commit another crime on sea, right?
When the time comes, upon seeing any pirate ship, I’ll immediately rush to sink it with my Electric Eel, patrolling 24/7!
After all, aren’t they blackmailing 50 million from me?!
I wouldn’t demand much, maybe five hundred million would be enough. Otherwise, we’ll see who wins this battle!
"If you mortgage your field-yellow stones, and the field-yellow stones are with me, aren’t you trying to make me anxious?"
Ma Rongtao then smiled and said, "A mere three million! You don’t have to worry too much. This group of pirates has been committing crimes for so many years, yet their credibility is still there. Just have your dinner here, then go with me to the company. Then, I’ll exchange it for US dollars for you. As for the rest of the money, I’ll keep waiting for it until you have a surplus in your account."
"Yep!"
Chen Fan nodded. Of course, the sooner the better. The ship had been prepared by the Maritime Safety Administration.
There was not much on the table, but the dishes were exquisite. There were only three people sitting at the table, including Ma Rongtao and his daughter. As for his wife, she had returned to her family two days ago.
"Ruoxi, this is your brother Chen Fan, who previously worked on the case of your mother’s arm! We should thank the parrot beak of the king squid that he sent!" Ma Rongtao said to a teenage girl sitting on his left.
"Hi brother Chen Fan!" Ma Ruoxi stretched out her slender hair that was scattered on her forehead, then greeted him sweetly.
"Hello!"
Chen Fan’s thoughts were heavy, so he just forced a smile on his face, directly ignoring the powerful lethality that was being emitted from Ma Ruoxi’s sweet smile.
"Chen, make yourself at home! Don’t be restrained!"
Ma Rongtao picked up a glass filled with red wine and gently placed the glass in front of Chen Fan. Chen Fan didn’t say anything, but smiled slightly and raised the wine glass, finishing the liquid in one gulp. He then used the white napkin next to him to rub his mouth.
"Dad, I want to drink, too!" Having just reached puberty, with big eyes and a sharp chin, the little beauty, Ma Ruoxi, always wanted to imitate the actions of the adults.
"Okay, two cups to your brother Chen Fan!" Ma Rongtao gave her a glass, filled one-third of the way with wine.
At 7:30, after dinner, Ma Rongtao took Chen Fan to the Tianxing Shipping Group office building, got him a cup of tea, then turned and left. Chen Fan had not finished drinking his tea, when Ma Rongtao led two employees into the office.
"This is 7.4 million US dollars, which, when converted into RMB, is exactly 50 million!"
Ma Rongtao opened the box that the two employees had left on the table, then touched the green banknotes that were placed within it. He said, "It’s more complicated to exchange a large number of dollars. I have ready-made one’s here. You can use this first. When you’re rich, you may then repay me."
"Thank you Uncle Chen, I’ll return the money to you as soon as possible!" Chen Fan stood up and took out a blank sheet of paper, then wrote a debt note and added a bit of interest.
"Oh," Ma Rongtao shook his head, as he received the debt note. "I asked the staff to help bring it down for you. You have to do this as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would definitely whiten your hair, if the time drags on for too long."
"Well, Uncle Ma, I’ll leave first." Chen Fan nodded, then followed the two staff members out.
When he arrived home at 8:30, Chen Fan dialled Xia Qingqing’s number directly.
"Hey, Mr. Chen? Is there any problem with the yacht?"
"The yacht is very good. No problem at all." Chen Fan sat on the sofa. "I wanted to request your help in customizing one thing. It’s urgent, so please get it done as soon as possible."
"What do you want to order?" Xia Qingqing asked in confusion.
"A two-meter-long, fully-sealed speedboat model. It should be able to withstand a water pressure of 200 meters deep. The sinking and floating system do not need to be made, and the same goes for the power system. As long as there’s a rough appearance to it."
"Sealed speedboat? What kind of water tank door do you want to design? If it’s a valve type, it’s more difficult. After all, the water pressure is 200 meters deep."
"Whatever you like. I just want you to do as fast as you can. If possible, I hope you could inform the workers to start the work now," said Chen Fan.
"No problem. If you just want water pressure resistance, we would use a steel plate of a higher strength. Now, if we start immediately, it will take about seven or eight hours."
"Okay. When it’s done, just load it up and send it over. I’m in desperate need of it." Chen Fan gave him an address, then hung up.
Turning on the computer, Chen Fan then calculated the distance from the location told to him by Ren Jiang to Zhongyun. The Gulf of Aden was 6,000 nautical miles from Zhongyun. If the ship sailed at 60 knots, that would be a hundred hours. That meant that the shortest possible arrival time would be in six days, accounting for the shortest possible breaks for the electric eel.
Six days...
Lying in bed, Chen Fan forced himself to fall asleep, considering that there wouldn’t be much time for rest in the next few days. At five in the morning, Chen Fan was awakened by a phone call.
The call was placed by a middle-aged man, saying he was an employee of the Zhongtian Shipyard. "Your customized items have been delivered to the designated location. Do you want to collect them now?"
Hanging up the phone, Chen Fan immediately got up from the bed. Without even thinking of showering, he drove to the seaside dock.
As it was only five in the morning, there were barely any other cars on the road. As such, it took a mere 20 minutes for him to get to the beach. The delivery was a green Cummins pickup truck, with three people in the carriage and two people in the cab!
"Carry it to the front of the dock!" Chen Fan tossed a cigarette to each of them and pointed to the concrete pier in front of the dock.
"Okay!"
These blue-collar workers were so happy at the sight of cigarettes, they grinned instantly. After carefully pinching them behind their ears, they transported the gray-and-white iron boat to the designated place.
When the people walked away, Chen Fan took out two large boxes, filled with US dollars, from the trunk. He then came to the iron boat.
The waterproof door could fit one person through it. Chen Fan stuffed multiple stacks of banknotes into it, then turned the door valve hard. When the valve was turned to its limit, he pushed it with both hands, causing it to drop from the platform into the sea.
Splash!
Clapping his hands, Chen Fan quickly got into the car and transferred his consciousness to the Electric Eel. He then controlled the Electric Eel to seize the boat with its front claws. It took a few swings for it to reach the deep sea, and then, with a 30-meter spear, it was sent to the southwest direction at maximum speed.
You Somalian pirates...
While Chen Fan controlled the moving Electric Eel, he grit his teeth, thinking to himself...
Once my employees are out of danger, I’ll get you yet!
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)