Chapter 795: Sneaking Aboard

He Yuzhu drove for another two-plus hours, and the car slowly approached Basra Port.

Because he was driving a Babylon military vehicle, the journey was surprisingly smooth, without even a single person stopping them for inspection.

As they neared the port, He Yuzhu had the few men take off their military uniforms and change into their own clothes; afterwards, he had them get out of the car, and he drove the vehicle directly into an abandoned shed, where He Yuzhu, seeing no one around, put it straight into his space.

The five men slowly snuck into Basra Port.

At this time, the port's inspections were not particularly strict; people were coming and going on the pier, with porters, sailors, and peddlers all mixed together, and no one paid any attention to their Oriental faces.

He Yuzhu's original plan was to get a patrol boat to take the people to Singapore, and from there, transfer to a plane back to China.

But after scanning the port, his eyes suddenly lit up—docked by the pier was actually a COSCO cargo ship, with familiar Chinese characters painted on the stern and faint blue smoke still rising from the funnel.

He thought about going over to talk to the people on the ship to see if he could bring the men aboard openly, but after pondering it, he felt it was unlikely.

Forget it, why would they take that risk? It was safer to sneak them on.

He Yuzhu called the four men to a secluded corner, took a stack of US dollars from his bosom, and said, "This money was seized from those soldiers; two thousand for each of you, take it well. Go back and live your lives properly; it's about to get unstable around here."

Lao Qiao took the money and glanced at it, his eyes immediately narrowing into slits, and he laughed until the flesh on his face bunched up: "Good heavens, those soldiers carried this much money?"

He Yuzhu said with a smile, "There were seventeen soldiers, isn't it normal for them to carry some money? They were the Revolutionary Guard, the President's personal troops."

Liu Xiaoqiang stuffed the money into his pocket and, with a cheeky grin, gave a thumbs-up: "Big Pig, you're really a stand-up guy."

"Still using that nickname!" He Yuzhu raised his leg and kicked him, sending him stumbling.

Liu Xiaoqiang wasn't annoyed; he patted the dirt off his backside, leaned in again, and asked with a grin: "Are you coming with us?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "I want to join the mercenaries here; the war is about to start anyway, maybe I can make a big fortune."

Gao Dayong got anxious the moment he heard this: "You, are you tired of living? Risking your life just for that bit of money?"

He Yuzhu's gaze darkened as he said, "I didn't get my fill of killing foreign devils on the Korean War battlefield, so my hands are itching this time, and I want to come out to blow off some steam."

Lao Qiao shook his head repeatedly, his face full of worry: "Dazhu, let's go back together. In this war-torn place, if something happens to you, what will your family do?"

He Yuzhu laughed: "I know my limits. You all saw it with your own eyes; last night I took out seventeen special forces soldiers by myself. Do you think ordinary people can hurt me?"

Liu Xiaoqiang's eyes went round: "You killed that many people by yourself?"

Lao Qiao's expression tightened, and he lowered his voice: "Dazhu, they lost so many people, will they suspect us? We left our names at the agency. If they track us back to our country and take us away... what, what should we do?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu couldn't help but take another look at Lao Qiao. This old man, who looked spineless, actually had a more meticulous mind than anyone. He thought for a moment and said sternly: "Lao Qiao, you're right to remind me. After you go back, sneak ashore and don't let anyone catch you. Write letters to your families explaining the situation, and after a period of time, have the person in your family who can handle things best call the agency and demand the people back. Make a huge scene. In a few years, who will remember to look for you?"

Lao Qiao pondered for a while before slowly nodding.

He knew clearly in his heart that the four of them could not clear their names no matter what—they had buried those two soldiers with their own hands, and regardless of the reason, their hands were stained with blood; there was no turning back from this path.

He Yuzhu continued: "I originally thought about hijacking a boat to run away, but then I saw a Chinese ship in the port, which is the safest place for you to hide. I'll arrange for you to be in the cargo hold; no one checks there usually, and I'll prepare food and drink for you."

Lao Qiao worried again: "The journey will take at least half a month, where will we get that much water and food?"

"With me here, I'll definitely be able to get it on board." He Yuzhu patted his shoulder, his tone brooking no argument.

He Yuzhu first had the four men eat and wait in a small restaurant, while he himself slipped into the port when no one was looking.

He crept near the COSCO cargo ship and discovered quite a few crew members on deck washing the cargo hold, with several men holding brushes and cursing the heat as they worked.

He patiently waited until dark, when the crew had dispersed and the lights on the pier had grown sparse, before sneaking onto the ship without a sound.

After some scouting, he set his sights on a utility room next to the main cargo hold.

It was piled with ropes, paint buckets, spare canvas, and other miscellaneous items, and there was even a vent on the ceiling for air.

He Yuzhu decided on the spot to hide them there. He pulled things out from his space—cases of compressed biscuits, canned goods, large barrels of fresh water, and even dehydrated vegetables, piling up half the room with all sorts of supplies, enough for four people to eat for forty or fifty days.

He also pulled a simple portable toilet out of his space and placed it in the corner; next to it was a porthole, so waste could be dumped directly into the sea, preventing the room from becoming foul-smelling.

After making the arrangements, he lowered a rope from the ship's side and quietly paddled back to the shore in a kayak.

The port's patrols had long since relaxed, and no one noticed him at all.

Small boats like this were not rare near the pier; locals often paddled back and forth to scavenge for things or trade for smuggled goods with the sailors on the ships.

When He Yuzhu returned to the small restaurant, the four men were already sitting there anxiously.

He led them to a quiet corner by the shore, where the kayak was moored on the water, its dark shape almost blending into the night.

"One by one, get on, and don't make a sound."

Except for Lao Qiao, the others climbed up the rope in a few quick movements.

Lao Qiao got halfway up and hung there, his arms shaking like a sieve, unable to go up or down.

He Yuzhu had no choice; he threw out a rope, had Gao Dayong tie it securely from above, climbed halfway up himself, and carried Lao Qiao the rest of the way.

When the men were led into the utility room, they were all stunned.

It was not only piled full of food and drink, but even a toilet had been prepared, and a space large enough for people to lie down had been cleared near the porthole.

He Yuzhu did not leave the ship immediately, but waited for it to weigh anchor.

Early the next morning, the large ship began loading cargo.

This time they were transporting urea. On the pier, the conveyor belt rumbled non-stop, with bags of urea flowing out of the warehouse like a stream; workers stacked them onto pallets, and cranes lifted them into the cargo hold one pallet at a time.

The smell in the cargo hold was very pungent, and He Yuzhu secretly rejoiced that he had found a utility room; if they had hidden in the main cargo hold, the smell alone would have choked them to death.

Loading the cargo took two full days and nights; on the morning of the third day, the cargo hold covers were sealed tight, the ropes were cast off, and the large ship slowly weighed anchor.

The utility room was in a remote location and almost no one came by, and even if someone did, they wouldn't be afraid, because He Yuzhu had found several sets of crew uniforms in another warehouse and had them each put one on; in the pitch-black room, even if someone pushed the door open, they wouldn't be able to tell who was who.

Among the four, Liu Xiaoqiang was the sharpest.

Whenever He Yuzhu went out to scout the situation, he basically took him along.

The kid had a quick mind, and in two days he had figured out the entire structure of the ship—where to hide, where it was easy to run into crew members, and how to get off the ship at the end—all of which he kept in his mind.

In the end, He Yuzhu even left them an extra kayak and repeatedly urged them that if something happened and they didn't have time to hide, they should just launch the boat and jump into the sea.

Three days later, the large ship sailed out of the Arab River and entered the Persian Gulf, and the seawater suddenly became deep blue and vast.