Chapter 1004: Struggle on the Sea

Above the sea surface, two Mi-8s crashed into the sea one after another, their burning wreckage rolling continuously in the waves, slowly spreading along with the oil slick.

Lao Ma was still clutching that empty Stinger Missile launcher, stunned and frozen in place.

This type of equipment is a one-time-use device; once fired, it is completely scrapped and can no longer be reloaded with ammunition.

"It, it worked!"

Seeing He Yuzhu walk over, Lao Ma suddenly snapped back to his senses, shouting loudly, gasping for air, his forehead covered in a dense layer of cold sweat.

"Don't get too happy too soon. Our Stinger is used up; if we run into pursuers again, we'll be in trouble. Hurry up and keep moving!"

He Yuzhu rushed into the cockpit, took the helm from Sun Bing, and pushed the throttle to the max.

The engine of this 330-ton modified patrol boat roared, and like an arrow released from a bow, it sped toward the open sea.

He had a premonition that the pursuers would not give up just like that, so he immediately gave instructions: "Lao Ma, go down to the bottom hold and search around to see if there are any weapons left on the boat. I haven't had time to check carefully."

In reality, He Yuzhu had already stored several improved old-fashioned rocket launchers in his space.

This type of weapon is not as agile as a Stinger Missile, but its advantage is that the launcher can be reloaded and it has been fitted with a simple infrared aiming component.

Lao Ma set off immediately, walking quickly toward the bottom hold.

Sun Bing stood to the side, worried: "Mr. Zhou, the place where we shot down the helicopters is too close to the coastline; I'm afraid pursuers will arrive very soon."

He Yuzhu looked up at the sky in the east, which was gradually turning white: "A little more effort and we can reach the high seas. Under the banner of an M Country cooperative team, we can intimidate various armed forces to some extent, so there's no need to panic too much."

Sun Bing thought for a moment: "Should we try to contact the Chamber of Commerce delegation?"

He Yuzhu shook his head lightly: "It is a blessing enough that they can protect themselves; they have no strength left to come and support us."

Before the words had even faded, Lao Ma ran up from the bottom hold, his face full of excitement.

"Mr. Zhou, heaven is truly helping us! There are our domestically produced 69 Cloud Type III Rocket Launchers in the bottom hold! I've handled this type of equipment before, I didn't expect to run into it here. It looks like they've even been modified with an automatic aiming system! Where do you think they got these weapons?"

"They must be our export goods; perhaps they were sold to some big buyer in the Middle East, who then privately resold them to Africa. In this world of ours, wherever there is war, weapons flow there," He Yuzhu said in a deep voice.

Vice President Sun said happily: "It's great that Lao Ma knows how to use this weapon. Are there many rockets?"

"Quite a few, at least fifty rounds, enough to fight a small battle!" Lao Ma slapped his thigh, "Everyone, I just saw that there is also an automatic turret on this boat, and there are shells stored on it, but unfortunately, I don't know how to operate it."

He Yuzhu curled the corner of his mouth and pointed to a small display screen on the dashboard: "I've studied it; this turret should be equipped with an automatic aiming system. If I'm not mistaken, this is the joystick to operate the turret..."

Lao Ma was full of amazement: "That's great! You can fire without getting on the turret. These M Country-made weapons are truly advanced."

He Yuzhu secretly scoffed to himself: This set of equipment was entirely modified by my own hands and has nothing to do with M Country. But this couldn't be said out loud.

Just as the group was discussing how to load the shells, two black shadows suddenly appeared on the distant sea level, approaching them rapidly in a pincer formation, and the dull roar of motors drifted over with the sea breeze.

He Yuzhu raised his telescope to look, his expression tightening: "If I'm not mistaken, these are Youth Party Army patrol boats. They aren't large in tonnage, maybe a few dozen tons, with a Heavy Machine Gun mounted on the bow and over twenty people on deck. They are clearly overloaded, but in their eyes, there is no such thing as overloading. These people are packed on the deck, all holding AK47s."

"Lao Ma, go into the turret and get the Rocket Launcher ready to attack when the opportunity arises!" He Yuzhu looked at Sun Bing and the others and said loudly: "Everyone, retreat into the turret! It has armored protection!"

The people on the boat quickly went up to the deck and entered the turret.

He Yuzhu had already aimed the cannon at one of the boats.

The two patrol boats drove fast, quickly forming a pincer formation, sealing off the forward route of He Yuzhu's patrol boat from both the left and the right.

Their onboard loudspeakers kept blaring harsh, stiff Somali, ordering the patrol boat to stop immediately and accept a boarding search.

Sun Bing replied from the turret: "Mr. Zhou, they are demanding to board and inspect, saying there are terrorists on our boat who shot down their aircraft!"

He Yuzhu's eyes were cold, thinking, are these Africans stupid? If a boat dared to shoot down an aircraft, wouldn't it also be able to shoot them?

He shouted into the intercom: "Lao Ma, hit the cockpit of the boat on the left; that boat has no protection."

"Got it, I've already started aiming." After Lao Ma finished speaking, he steadily shouldered the 69 Cloud Type III Rocket Launcher, "I'm familiar with handling this thing. Don't worry, Mr. Zhou, I guarantee I'll cripple them!"

The two speedboats kept closing the distance. When the two sides were about one kilometer apart, the lead patrol boat made the first move.

Heavy Machine Gun bullets whistled through the air, hitting the steel plates of the hull hard, sparking a string of blinding flashes.

He Yuzhu had already locked onto the target but had held off on firing.

His own patrol boat was naturally not worth mentioning compared to a regular Warship, but placed along the coast of Somalia, it was far larger and sturdier than the small speedboats of less than a hundred tons.

He deliberately endured and did not counterattack first, not wanting the people with him to think he was bloodthirsty, intending to create a situation of passive self-defense.

When the machine gun fire from both boats poured over, He Yuzhu no longer waited.

He controlled the turret to lock the cannon steadily onto the cockpit of the lead speedboat on the right and decisively pressed the fire button.

"Boom—!"

A violent explosion rang out; the cockpit of that patrol boat was instantly blown to pieces, and the pilot inside died on the spot.

Almost at the same time, Lao Ma pulled the trigger of the Rocket Launcher.

"Boom!"

The Rocket hit the windshield of the other speedboat's cockpit precisely, and this patrol boat immediately lost its ability to maneuver.

However, the militants on the two speedboats were very fierce; even though the cockpits were destroyed, they still relied on the remaining positions of the hull to continue firing with the Heavy Machine Guns.

Bullets dinged and clattered against the ship's side, the harsh sound ringing incessantly.

Lao Ma quickly reloaded the next Rocket and continued to attack.

He Yuzhu was worried that the enemy's bullets would shatter the glass of his own cockpit, so he slammed the helm to complete a drift and tail-flick, while simultaneously turning the turret to continue pouring fire at the two damaged patrol boats.

Lao Ma also did not stop at all, firing Rocket after Rocket, most of which hit the enemy's deck, and the number of surviving militants on the boats became fewer and fewer.

He Yuzhu did not want to remain in a stalemate for long and continued to control the turret to fire repeatedly.

After dozens of shells were dropped in turns, the two Youth Party patrol boats finally lost their ability to move completely.

He estimated that even if there were survivors on the boats, they would no longer have the strength to fight.

"Mr. Zhou, let's hurry and withdraw!" Sun Bing advised loudly, "Ammunition is limited; we can't consume it endlessly here."

He Yuzhu nodded slightly, controlled the patrol boat to go full throttle, and sped toward the high seas.

But just when they thought they had escaped the enemy's encirclement, three more hundred-ton armed patrol boats were seen rushing toward them in the distance.

He Yuzhu cursed: "It's never-ending, damn it!"