Chapter 971: He Yuzhu's Scheme of Stealing the Beams and Replacing Them with Pillars

He Yuzhu let out a long breath, kicked open the cabin door, and walked in quickly.

For enemies nearby, he moved his mind and collected them directly into his space; for those further away, he raised his hand and fired a shot, knocking them down on the spot.

After clearing these twenty-plus people, He Yuzhu searched their personal belongings and discovered that every person's clothing had a badge pinned to it, engraved with the Chinese character "Mountain".

He Yuzhu instantly had a hunch—this group of people was precisely from the Yamaguchi-gumi.

In the sixties and seventies, he had clashed with this group in Tokyo, and he was all too familiar with their style and temperament.

This group was purely seeking their own deaths; they were clearly a ship transporting contraband, yet they didn't arrange any sentries or patrols along the way. Did they really think no one could board the ship in the vast ocean!

He Yuzhu finished clearing this cabin and headed straight for the cockpit. Walking to the entrance and looking inside, the crew operating the ship had dark skin and were all locals from Southeast Asia.

He Yuzhu didn't say a word, kicked open the cabin door, and fired two shots toward the floor. The bullets bounced off the steel plate several times before finally stopping against the wall.

The several crew members steering the ship inside were instantly scared out of their wits.

Just then, a Japanese man suddenly stood up in the corner. He held a pistol and raised his hand to fire at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu had already noticed this person, easily dodged the bullet by turning sideways, and fired a shot back, blowing the opponent's head off directly.

He Yuzhu looked at the trembling sailors and asked sternly in the simplest English: "You guys, Want live or die?!"

The several Southeast Asian crew members turned pale, their legs went soft, and they nearly knelt on the ground, answering stutteringly: "Live! Live! We want live!"

"If you want to live, steer the ship honestly, do you hear me? No matter what happens outside, you are not to interfere, and don't try to use the radio to contact the outside world by chance!" He Yuzhu shouted.

The dozen or so sailors nodded incessantly like chicks pecking at rice, repeatedly agreeing "Willing, willing," wishing they could tear out their hearts and lungs to show their loyalty.

He Yuzhu immediately took a rope from his space, tied everyone up like zongzi, and threw them on the ground, where they could only stare with wide eyes and pant heavily.

Having tidied up, He Yuzhu walked to the helm, pushed the throttle to the maximum, and then pulled down the anchor handle.

After the iron chains rattled for a while, the ship's hull shuddered violently and then steadied on the sea surface.

He Yuzhu quickly used the system to perform Scanning on the entire ship, from the bottom cabin to the deck, not missing a single inch.

Confirming that there was no one else on the entire ship besides these sailors on the ground, he used signal flags to wave vigorously toward the landing ship in the distance—this was the contact code agreed upon in advance with Captain Sun.

On the bridge of the landing ship opposite, Captain Sun raised his Telescope, saw the signal clearly, and immediately waved his hand to order: "Slowly move closer, control the speed, don't stir up big waves!"

The two ships slowly drew together, mooring ropes were thrown to secure the cargo ship, and the personnel-carrying basket creaked as it slowly descended.

The members of the delegation boarded the cargo ship one by one, their steps unsteady; clearly, they had been very uncomfortable with the bumpy ride on the landing ship.

After He Yuzhu received everyone on board, he immediately pulled Captain Sun and headed straight for the cockpit.

As soon as Captain Sun stepped into the cockpit, he was dumbfounded on the spot: more than a dozen crew members were tied up like zongzi, scattered across the floor, with rags stuffed in their mouths, looking like cargo waiting to be slaughtered. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked in a low voice: "Factory Director He, what... exactly is the situation here?"

He Yuzhu grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth: "Let this group continue to steer the ship, and you take turns keeping watch. Whoever dares to play tricks—" he drew his palm across his neck, "—just send them on their way on the spot."

As soon as he finished speaking, Director Li, who had followed behind, happened to catch a glimpse of the corpse of the Japanese man in the corner who had been shot dead. His stomach churned, and he couldn't help but retch twice while holding onto the door frame.

He Yuzhu quickly spoke to soothe him: "Director Li, don't be afraid. This person tried to ambush me just now; it was purely his own fault. Also, this group is all from the Yamaguchi-gumi, a gang of Japanese, and the ship was loaded with quite a bit of contraband, all of which I threw into the sea to feed the fish."

Of course, he would never reveal that those contraband items had long since been collected into his own space.

Director Li recovered from his discomfort, patted his chest, and urged: "Factory Director He, you must be careful when you are out there alone."

"Rest assured!" He Yuzhu patted his chest, the sound echoing loudly, "This cargo ship will sail normally according to the original route. I will follow behind at about twenty nautical miles in another ship. Once something happens, I can rush over in an instant."

After saying this, he grabbed a Southeast Asian navigator on the ground by the collar and scolded him word by word in English: "Route! No change! Understand?"

The navigator was scared out of his wits, his face ashen, and he answered repeatedly: "Yes sir! Yes sir! We are just hired crew, we don't know those Japanese at all!"

He Yuzhu let go, turned his head, and gestured with his chin toward Captain Sun: "Keep a close eye on them, find someone who is good at English to watch them, and guard against this group playing tricks in secret."

Captain Sun immediately straightened his back: "No problem leaving this to me. I know a little English, and Xiao Li's spoken English is the best! Xiao Li! Xiao Li!"

The co-captain, Xiao Li, immediately stepped out from the crowd, his face full of joy, finally able to be of use: "Factory Director He! I received two years of training in the United Kingdom; I can understand English with a Southeast Asian accent perfectly!"

"Alright, then you are responsible for watching them. Keep a close eye on them, don't allow them to touch the radio privately, and have all outside inquiries answered by you uniformly. By the way, get familiar with the overall condition of this ship," He Yuzhu instructed.

"Rest assured, Factory Director He, I will definitely handle it."

Director Li then walked up and asked: "Then where should our group be settled?"

He Yuzhu replied: "Cabin No. 1 has no cargo stored in it, and it has sufficient food and a batch of weapons stored inside. Director Li, you take everyone and settle down there."

Director Li was still thinking about the supplies on the landing ship and smacked his lips with regret: "It's a pity, there was still quite a bit of food on the landing ship..."

"We can't worry about that right now." He Yuzhu waved his hand, "This ship has sufficient fresh water and living supplies. If supplies run short, we will intercept other ships for replenishment."

Director Li frowned slightly and sighed softly: "Factory Director He, you must take care of your own safety."

He Yuzhu gave him a thumbs-up, then boarded the lifeboat and soon returned to the landing ship.

He Yuzhu's mouth curled into a cold smirk, and he muttered to himself: "Yankees, I'll pull a 'stealing the beams and replacing them with pillars' trick on you in a moment, let's see how you find us!"

He deliberately slowed the landing ship's speed, and once the cargo ship had completely disappeared from view, he directly collected this three-thousand-ton landing ship into his space, switching to pilot a Mark Micro Patrol Boat instead.

He had captured and stored this patrol boat when he was carrying out a mission in the Middle East in his early years.

Driving this patrol boat was much more convenient for maneuvering, and the boat's speed was extremely fast.

With the two ships fifteen nautical miles apart, the reconnaissance aircraft would not determine that both parties belonged to the same group; once an emergency occurred on the cargo ship's side, he could also rush over to provide support quickly.