Chapter 349 - 324 Preparing to Defect

"This is the Celtic Wanderer, calling for help, we are being pursued by unidentified pirates, calling for help, calling for help...fuck."

Clint Barton, the main person in charge of the Celtic Wanderer, had several employees hired by the Shield Bureau on board.

He had done a big thing, and it was all because he trusted Fury:

He had stolen cargo from a Shield Bureau research vessel.

The goods were sealed in a specially-made container, which had to maintain a constant temperature and pressure, meaning that it needed to be powered at all times and had to be stolen along with the cargo hold.

In his career as an agent, this mission was considered top difficulty.

Unfortunately, although the goods were moved, they left a trail—

[Fury: Clint, there are two frigates leaving the fleet heading your way, run!]

This was the last communication with Fury!

Two Mei Country navy frigates had left their naval base and were heading their way!

The Celtic Wanderer was a small cargo ship, and upon receiving this message, Clint immediately instructed his crew to move the ship, dumping all unnecessary weight, and heading south along the coast at full speed!

This voyage had no satellite support, relying solely on the traditional compass and the barely visible coastline to navigate, which was almost driving the crew insane—

Clint made another round of calls over the radio, then picked up the kettle on the table and waved it.

The kettle was empty, his lips were cracked, they were caught with clues, and they had run off in a hurry without completing their resupply.

"Boss, is someone really coming to meet us?"

The control operator asked weakly from his console.

"Yes," Clint replied without hesitation, pretending to be truthful as he glanced at his watch, "soon."

Bang.

The door to the room was opened, the iron door creaked, and a tired agent walked in: "Boss, we’re almost out of fuel."

His mood plummeted, and Clint nodded...

The next second, the radio cracked to life.

[Hiss—]

[Attention, this is the USN Sentry, calling the Celtic Wanderer.]

[We have been notified by the United Nations peacekeeping forces that you are suspected of stealing important cargo, and we instruct you to reduce speed and stop your vessel immediately.]

[Please comply with this directive, stop and slow down, and wait for further instructions.]

The situation also plummeted, they were already receiving broadcasts from the warships.

The atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing, but Clint didn’t hesitate, picking up his weapon from the table—a carbon fiber composite bow and a quiver filled with various high-tech arrows.

"Fuel room, max out the power."

"But..."

"Max out, we’re only a little bit away from support."

Clint’s tone left no room for doubt, his subordinates slapped their faces to focus, not wasting any more words, and quickly returned to their posts.

Clutching the radio, he asked as he walked: "How far away are the enemies?"

[Radar estimates they are about 60 nautical miles away... We can barely maintain the distance, but we’re almost out of fuel!]

At sea, due to the swaying ships, waves, Earth’s curvature, and weather, visibility is actually quite limited.

Otherwise, military vessels wouldn’t need to be equipped with all sorts of radars.

To compensate for this problem, modern ships are equipped with radars, and the radar used by this civilian cargo vessel is rather ordinary, with an effective detection range of about 80 nautical miles.

In the communications channel, the Mei Country’s warning sounded again, Clint was extremely tense, but the next moment brought new news from the crew!

[Boss! There is a ship approaching from the front!]

Clint was overjoyed!

When approaching head-on, the ships quickly revealed their true natures:

Several boats tens of meters long!

The boats also launched speedboats, like a "low budget aircraft carrier"...

They’re fucking pirates!

Clint was astounded and immediately grabbed the radio and yelled, "Speed up! Break through!"

In the control room, the operator pushed the control stick, and the diesel engine roared, the wake at the stern suddenly intensified!

Pirate captains who sailed the seas all year round instantly realized something was wrong—

They found themselves but didn’t slow down at all!

There are two pirate robbery scenarios: one where the pirates shoot to signal a payoff, then the cargo ship pays for peace.

The other is where the ship’s guards shoot to signal the pirates to fuck off, then the pirates fuck off.

But this was different, this ship was accelerating!

"Ran into an idiot!" the pirate captain on the mother ship ranted and raved, "Damn it, shoot at the deck!"

The pirates boarding the speedboats immediately raised their AK47s and sprayed the ship, bullets ringing as they struck—

Beyond that, Clint could only hear the curses of the black pirates in a jumble.

He took cover behind the ship’s rail: "I really feel sorry for you guys, your luck is too damn bad, fellas."

On the high seas, ships moving in opposite directions are fast!

The pirates were heading straight for the cargo ship, and there were also two frigates chasing behind the cargo ship!

The speedboats turned quickly in an attempt to catch up with the cargo ship, but almost immediately, some alert pirates noticed that the rising and falling waves seemed to be concealing the ships behind them—

That was a...

Warship!

"Stop shooting, stop the damn shooting!!!" One of the deckhands grabbed both the shooter and the one at the helm; the former was dealing with the recoil, the latter with the steering wheel, both giving him a couple of elbows.

Bang!

"Damn it!" He clutched his nose as he climbed up from the ship, with shouts ringing in his ears that someone had been shot.

"Barely grazed by the bullet, but we’ll be riddled with holes if we don’t run now!"

He yanked his companion up by the hair, twisting his head in the direction of the warship!

The waves undulated as a relatively tall frigate appeared intermittently, its turret firing off massive flames and sounds!

Bang!

The radio instantly erupted with terrified voices: "It’s the Mei Country’s warship!"

A 76mm high-explosive bomb instantly hit the pirates’ mothership, passing right through the bow!

Boom!

A wave of flames burst forth on the bow, the ship spinning out of control, capsizing, and pirates screamed as they tumbled off the deck...

Inside the captain’s cabin, the pirate captain let out a piercing scream on the broad communication channel: "The Mei Country is firing at us!"

Boom!

The second shell hit the captain’s cabin directly!

On the military vessel, the captain’s expression remained unchanged.

Firing the cannons is thrilling, but hitting the target is even more thrilling. Still, what’s there to be proud about in shooting pirates?

Furthermore, such actions could lead to international disputes. In fact, he was inwardly reluctant to have been assigned to this mission.

But a soldier’s duty is to obey orders.

"Yeah!" The new recruit at the console pumped his fist, thrilled beyond measure.

The captain glanced at the rookie who lacked ambition, looking to the commander of their current operation.

"Colonel Stevenson, shall we continue to fire? If there’s collateral damage..."

"Don’t worry, the chance of collateral damage isn’t as high as you think."

Colonel Stevenson, who was Tony’s security supervisor Eric, kept a cool expression, inwardly surprised at how effective the fire-control system was.

Both shots hit their mark.

In his hand was a tablet, loaded with the artificial intelligence tailored for this operation.

[Iron Soldier 001: Target estimated to run out of fuel in 30 minutes, recommend boarding to secure the cargo, ensure cargo integrity, and simultaneously test the Iron Soldier’s combat performance.]

"But you are right, collateral damage is not worth the risk." He nodded to the captain and ordered, "Disperse the pirates; we’re ready to deploy the Iron Soldiers."

The captain told the operator, "Use the water cannons to drive them off..."

Before the captain could finish, Eric interrupted, "Use the autocannon."

Whoosh!

Just then, two rockets skimmed across the water at high speed, heading towards the military vessel!

Boom!

Bursts of fire flared up, and everyone felt a slight tremor—

But to be honest, it felt more like a psychological effect because ships at sea rocked much more than this on a regular basis.

Only one of the rockets hit, the other plunged into the sea during flight.

As the fire dissipated, the warship remained untouched.

Those pirates who had "accidentally" lurked near the warship saw the behemoth unscathed and felt a chill in their hearts—

The autocannon quickly swiveled, and it was already trained on them.

The heavy chatter of gunfire mixed with the splashes of water and blood, and soon enough, the sea was stained with black oil and red blood.

With a grim face, the captain turned to the operator controlling the autocannon: "You should have followed my command!"

The operator nodded but exchanged a glance with Eric.

The latter patted the captain’s shoulder, "Focus on the mission, Captain."

...

"The Mei Country is firing at us!"

Screams echoed within the frequency band, and the faces of those aboard the Wakandan patrol boat darkened: they had not expected the Mei Country to dispatch a warship in pursuit of the vessel!

This completely changed the nature of the situation—

Their current vicinity barely qualified as international waters, but if Wakanda’s patrol boat fired on the frigate...

Let alone the question of whether they could win, this was an international incident!

Fortunately, at that moment, the scattered communication was restored once more, and Frank regained the chance to communicate with Lille through the African network.

[Frank: Boss, a Mei Country military vessel is pursuing the target, the pirates got one of their ships blown up, what should we do?]

[Lille: I’ll send you some software, and then I’ll tell you what to do.]

[Lille: Prep for boarding with the speedboat.]

[Frank: To take the cargo away?]

[Lille: I’m talking about an ancient tactic—you’ll be boarding the Mei military’s ship.]

[Lille: Prepare to jump ship.]

Jump ship? Like the pirates of the last century boarding a warship?!

Frank tensed, clutching his weapon, looking towards those waiting for orders, and the Wakandan operator displayed a troubled expression, similarly awaiting directions.

After a moment of thought, he said resolutely, "What’s the big deal with the Mei country folk?"

Everyone nearly blurted out: You’re from the Mei country too!

Frank bowed his head and exited the room, his exoskeleton adjusting to combat mode, making a whirring mechanical noise.

"Approach the signal source with the boats, everyone else follow me."

"Prepare to jump ship."