Chapter 970: Running into Acquaintances

Just as He Yuzhu stepped into the wheelhouse, Bureau Chief Zhang grabbed his arm and asked, "Factory Director He, you've swatted down two planes, but our position is now completely exposed! If the enemy sends a High-altitude Reconnaissance Plane to scan the sea, where are we supposed to hide?"

He Yuzhu raised his eyelids, pondered for a moment, and said, "Don't panic. We'll turn back and head toward South America. Once we run into a proper cargo ship, you all get on board. I'll keep this old landing ship drifting nearby to draw all their firepower away."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Li shook his head like a rattle-drum: "No, no, this is too dangerous. You acting as a target alone—isn't that just throwing your life away?"

He Yuzhu's tone was flat, yet it carried an air that brooked no negotiation: "Section Chief Li, given the current situation, there's no other way out for us. If we don't do this, no one will make it back in one piece."

Section Chief Li turned his head and asked Captain Sun: "Lao Sun, tell me the truth, the Big Ocean is so vast, can the M Country people's planes really spot our single ship?"

Captain Sun nodded, his expression grave: "To be honest, what Factory Director He just said isn't even the worst of it. They don't just have satellites circling in the sky; they have specialized reconnaissance planes skimming the sea surface to search. However... the good news is, I checked the supplies in the hold; the fuel, fresh water, and dry rations are well-stocked, so we won't have any problem holding out for a while."

Bureau Chief Zhang's brows were locked tight; he leaned in and lowered his voice: "Factory Director He, what exactly is your plan? Don't keep things hidden; give us the bottom line."

He Yuzhu put his hands behind his back and said relaxedly: "My meaning is, we take advantage of the night to follow the shipping lanes, catch a suitable cargo ship, and hijack it; you all get on that. I'll pilot this landing ship alone, trailing ten or so nautical miles behind you. When the M Country planes come to bomb, I'll lure them over to bomb this empty one. Once they sink it, they'll consider their mission accomplished. In the vast ocean, they can't possibly check every single ship, right? Your cargo ship might just be able to slip through."

Section Chief Li slapped his thigh, his eyes brightening: "That's not a bad idea! But then again, you taking on such a huge risk alone—my heart doesn't feel settled."

He Yuzhu laughed and patted Section Chief Li on the shoulder: "I appreciate your concern, but I'll tell you the truth—the person who can take my life, He Yuzhu, hasn't been born yet."

Captain Sun took over the conversation from the side and earnestly added a few professional analyses: "Actually, the M Military's surveillance network isn't an impenetrable wall. Satellite passes have time intervals; after one scan, they have to wait quite a while before coming back around, leaving a window of about ten hours in between. Furthermore, the coverage of reconnaissance planes is limited; there are plenty of blind spots on the Big Ocean. As long as we keep this LST's electromagnetic signals completely cut off and choose to travel when the wind is high and the waves are rough, the possibility of being spotted can be reduced quite a bit."

After listening, He Yuzhu shook his head: "I've thought about the route you mentioned, but the drawbacks are too great. We'd only crawl out a little over a hundred kilometers in a whole night; dragging our feet like that, we won't last many days before we're caught."

Captain Sun pondered for a moment and nodded: "Looking at it that way, Factory Director He's method is indeed more reliable."

Section Chief Li deliberated for a while longer and asked hesitantly: "But the problem is, where are we going to find a ship to hijack? If we happen to intercept a ship just running legitimate transport and end up causing a ship full of innocent people to lose their lives, this matter..."

He Yuzhu waved his hand, the corner of his mouth curling slightly: "You don't need to lift a finger; I'll handle it all. You just wait to board the ship."

Section Chief Li took a deep breath and finally made up his mind: "Fine! We'll do as Factory Director He says! But don't kill people indiscriminately!"

He Yuzhu nodded.

The ship soon made a sharp turn on the sea surface, changed direction, and headed toward the South American shipping route.

In the dead of night, Major George knocked on General William's door with hurried footsteps.

"Come in." William's voice was thick with exhaustion.

George pushed the door open, stood there hesitating for several seconds, and then bit the bullet: "General, John's two F16s... confirmed crashed. Search and rescue planes have already reached that sea area, but so far, they haven't recovered a single person."

Before he could finish, William slammed the table, making the cup jump high, and sprang up from his chair: "Two useless pieces of trash who can't get anything done! I equipped them with the most advanced Fighter Jets, and they actually got swatted down by an old, falling-apart wreck using anti-aircraft guns? If this gets out, where will I put my old face!"

He panted heavily, the veins on his neck bulging, and glared at George: "Did you or did you not pursue that group? They've taken out four of our Fighter Jets back-to-back; I'm telling you, if I don't vent this anger, I won't be able to sleep at night!"

George hurriedly replied: "General, they've already been dispatched—five F16s, plus one P3 reconnaissance plane, all on the way."

William gritted his teeth and swung his fist: "Bomb them! Bomb them all to death! Not a single one can be left!"

Major George added another sentence: "Additionally, news has come from the General's side; the main Warship will soon head to that area to encircle and annihilate that ship. Don't worry, they won't be able to run."

"Good! I'll wait for your good news!" William said.

He Yuzhu was driving this landing ship so hard it was almost smoking, and he hadn't gone very far in five hours, but fortunately, he was heading back, so it wasn't easy for the M Military to discover him.

Just as He Yuzhu was getting anxious, a cargo ship of at least 50,000 tons appeared on the horizon ahead, flying a Panamanian flag on its mast, sailing toward them at a leisurely pace.

He Yuzhu squinted, the corner of his mouth curling up on the spot, and turned to Captain Sun: "You keep the helm steady, don't worry about anything else, I'm going over to clean those people up."

Captain Sun was stunned and hurriedly asked: "Shouldn't we use the cannons to give them a few shots first? Wouldn't it be safer to intercept them before taking action?"

He Yuzhu waved his hand without even raising his eyelids: "In a moment, I'll slip into the sea and board their ship, clean out the people inside one by one, and then our own people can go up and take over. Once I succeed, I'll give you a signal; when you see it, bring the ship over."

Bureau Chief Zhang listened from the side and grimaced: "This... will it work? There are great white sharks in the sea, aren't you afraid?"

He Yuzhu smiled without replying, turned around, pushed open the door of the wheelhouse, and walked out.

Captain Sun stared at his retreating back and couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "Factory Director He... is truly an extraordinary person."

He Yuzhu said he was jumping into the sea, but the moment his body touched the water, he vanished—he had directly used his Space-Time Shuttle ability, and in the blink of an eye, he had slipped into the cabin of that cargo ship.

This trick was effective, but the price was steep; one trip burned through two tons of gold, making his teeth ache with heartache.

But once he got on the ship and took a look, his brows shot up.

This ship wasn't a legitimate Panamanian vessel at all; the cabin was filled with Yamaguchi-gumi markings, and the flag outside was purely to fool people.

He turned on the system Scanning and took a look—good heavens—on the surface, it was all rusted, broken machinery, but inside the machinery shells, it was stuffed with contraband.

Scanning further in, the hold for timber also had tricks; the cores of the logs were hollowed out, hiding nothing but handguns, stacked neatly one by one.

The cabin next door was even more bizarre, hung with large amounts of rare animal furs—tiger skin, mink skin, ivory—whatever was valuable, it was like a small black-market warehouse.

When the innermost small dark cabin was opened, there were over a dozen large crates inside; he opened one to look, and it was filled with gold.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat—this time he had really struck it lucky.

Without a word, he first collected all the gold into his space, then stuffed all those animal furs in as well.

As for the drugs, he didn't waste them either, thinking he could sponsor them to a pharmaceutical factory as raw materials later, which could be considered recycling waste.

After cleaning things up, he crept along the corridor toward the wheelhouse in the front; when he passed a large cabin room, his footsteps paused.

Inside, over twenty people were all awake, sitting around a table, shirtless, drinking and playing finger-guessing games, humming off-key tunes.

Every one of them had colorful tattoos exposed, and some were missing a joint of a finger, which they displayed openly on the table.

He Yuzhu leaned in for a look and knew exactly who they were—Yamaguchi-gumi, old acquaintances.

He had previously wondered, if this ship were full of honest, hard-working sailors, he might feel a bit guilty if he just slaughtered them without a word.

But these bastards right now—drugs, arms, furs, gold—every single thing they did crossed the red line, and they were that notorious Yamaguchi-gumi bunch, so there was no need to be polite.