Chapter 417

419. Chapter 413: People Gone and the Competition

The Casia family also holds significant power in Xiang Yalan.

Anyone with money can rally a large group of people in Xiang Yalan to work for them, whether it's for legitimate business, mining, or other things.

Or perhaps for illegitimate business, such as trafficking girls abroad, or hiring large numbers of gunmen to acquire wealth through illegal means.

As long as you have money, there will always be people willing to work with you.

Most of the time, for the people of the Federation, they cannot comprehend that kind of desperate poverty!

The kind of poverty where one glance at life is suffocating!

For the current people of the Federation, the so-called "extreme poverty" is nothing more than begging on the street; that is the limit of poverty they can recognize.

Most of the time, they are either stealing things or begging, often lying in the sun by the roadside to pass their leisure time.

Or perhaps at night, a group of street-friend brothers huddle around an oil drum filled with flammable materials to keep warm or have a barbecue.

They don't need to work, the government provides relief from time to time, and apart from the possibility of getting sick being a trouble, there is nothing in their lives that requires them to toil.

Why the hell does that sound like something people would even yearn for?

But in Xiang Yalan, poverty is a kind of despair.

The government has no subsidies, and begging won't get you any money either; everyone's life is hard to endure, so who would tighten their belts to give you some pocket change?

All good and beautiful virtues stem from the satisfaction of material wealth; only when people have money will their kindness be stimulated.

Without money, you have nothing, and you might even be caught and sent to a mine, or to a place like a rubber plantation to be exploited and oppressed, eventually dying in a ditch.

Girls are willing to pay any price to leave this country or get a stable job.

Boys are the same.

So as long as you have money, in these countries of Xiang Yalan, you can play the role of God.

Just like Rick at this moment; with just one phone call, over a hundred gunmen gathered at the pier.

Some of them are local gang members, while others are ordinary people just making up the numbers; what is surprising is that there are even police and soldiers among them.

They also want to leave this terrible region and go to the Federation to enjoy the beauty there; who wouldn't yearn for a developed country?

The crowded cabin is filled with the smell of sweat, foot odor, and the stench of rot; they need a whole day to reach the Federation, but this is already very fast.

The cabin is quiet, everyone is praying and looking forward to it, and a new life is about to unfold slowly before them.

They have all heard some rumors, for example, that certain selected gunmen "disappeared" during missions after arriving in the Federation, and the Casia family wouldn't go to great lengths to find them.

Most of the time, when people go missing, they just assume they are dead and don't bother anymore; this is a way for them to escape the Casia family and embrace a new life.

However, after they become a little more familiar with life in the Federation, they might not think so; although the Federation doesn't make a person poor to the point of despair.

But the inconvenience caused by having no money is even more troublesome than in Xiang Yalan.

In Xiang Yalan, if you are hungry, you can catch some small animals, but in a big city, apart from rats, you can't find any small animals you can catch.

The bumpy waves are like a cradle in memory, and the rising and falling spray makes the people in the cabin drowsy.

As they get closer and closer to the Federation, the atmosphere on the ship becomes slightly more tense.

They certainly don't want to encounter the Coast Guard.

The smuggling ship turned off all lighting equipment and slowed down its speed a little, so that the ship could sail "silently" on the sea.

In the dead of night, it is difficult for people to discover these unlit ships with the naked eye; they blend into the dark sky and sea.

In the darkness, a brilliance for a beautiful future burst forth from pairs of eyes!

A half-asleep gunman in the cabin suddenly opened his eyes; he seemed to hear some other sounds.

He wasn't sure if it was his hallucination, but he just had that feeling, and it was at this moment that the whole ship suddenly went quiet.

There were also some other more sensitive people who noticed something was wrong; just when they were still wondering what had happened, the cabin hatch was lifted, and a dark head poked in, "Don't make a sound; whoever makes a sound, I'll kill them."

He didn't say why, just gave the order, and the cabin remained very quiet.

In fact, the Coast Guard had appeared.

On the distant sea, two armed ships were moving together at a distance, and it didn't look like a routine patrol.

The captain of the smuggling ship immediately stopped the engine; although the sound of the engine was very likely to be covered by the sound of the waves on the sea, maybe they had someone with talent on their side.

The beams of two searchlights kept sweeping across the sea; suddenly, a color slightly different from the sea attracted the observer's attention, and soon the light beam focused on the smuggling ship.

The captain of the smuggling ship cursed a few times, restarted the engine, and pushed the power to the maximum.

Organizing smuggling is punishable by fines and imprisonment; the captain didn't want to go to jail, he just wanted to make money.

"The ship ahead, stop immediately... I repeat, the ship ahead, stop immediately for inspection."

"We are the Federation Likai State Coast Guard; you have entered Federation waters, please stop the ship immediately for inspection..."

Hearing the call, the captain of the smuggling ship directly pushed all engines to full load, which also made the ship bumpier, and the people in the cabin let out exclamations in the dark!

In this pitch-black environment, facing the unknown dangers occurring outside, it gives people a very fearful feeling!

Even though many of these people were prepared to kill or be killed, at this moment, they were just like those girls, restless and nervous to the point of wanting to shit and piss!

Maikeke picked up the walkie-talkie, "Fire, I repeat, you can fire."

The tongtongtongtong sound of the machine cannon rang out, and the tracer bullets not only guided the direction of the warheads but also left beautiful lines of light on the sea.

Fleeting in an instant.

Smuggling ships are all converted from large fishing boats and cannot withstand the fire of machine cannons at all; the painful wails and desperate screams of the people in the cabin were like a movement composed by the devil, making the captain frantically want to escape into the distance.

But the gap between the two sides was too great; its speed became slower and slower, slower and slower, and finally, it stopped on the sea.

The two armed ships quickly caught up, and machine cannon bullets swept toward the ship like they were free; soon, it was broken in half.

Whether it was the smuggling gunmen in the cabin or the sailors hidden on the deck, they all began to struggle for survival at this time.

The huge searchlight illuminated this patch of sea, and Maikeke, with a cigarette in his mouth and a rifle in his hand, came to the edge of the deck.

He pulled the bolt, aimed at the people struggling in the sea, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the unlucky guy with a xiu sound; he let out a scream, splashed up some larger water, and began to sink into the water.

The smell of blood attracted predators in the surrounding waters; tonight is destined to be a sleepless feast!

When no more living people could be seen on the surrounding sea, the two ships began to return.

If you talk about guilt, there certainly is some, but for the sake of that money, and for the sake of everyone always cooperating, they were still willing to help with this small favor.

Some people might be a little uneasy at this time; the killing just now caused some other negative emotions in their hearts.

But there were also people who talked excitedly and non-stop; this kind of killing made them feel a pleasure of ruling others' destinies and deciding others' lives!

At five o'clock in the morning, the five buses arranged by Rick had already parked at the street location; this place is a distance from the port, but it is a place where it is relatively easy to dock.

Those places that are easy to dock are the key points for the Coast Guard to patrol, while those places that are not easy to dock are relatively less strictly checked.

Gunmen are not cargo; if you throw them into the water, they will drift away with the waves.

They will fire a few ropes connected to the fishing boat through a launcher, and then those gunmen will grab the ropes and wade over, come to the bottom of the cliff, and then climb up along the ropes.

There is no patrol team patrolling here, it is relatively safe, and they have already picked up several batches of people here.

The wind by the sea is very strong; the person meeting them was originally sitting in the car smoking and chatting with the people around him, but as time became more and more wrong and the sky around became brighter, he couldn't sit still anymore and got out of the car.

The sea is still that sea, without any shadow of a fishing boat, and his expression became exceptionally serious.

Until seven o'clock, there was still no shadow of any ship, and he knew that something must have gone wrong.

He drove a car away first; he had to tell Rick this news. Rick had already made relevant plans and preparations before; if this batch of gunmen had an accident, then many plans would have to be rearranged.

Rick called the people in Xiang Yalan immediately, his tone very unkind, "Why didn't the people I wanted appear before me?"

The person on the other side of the receiver considered many possibilities for Rick calling him, but he never thought of this one. Two or three seconds later, he reacted, "How would I know?"

"They set off before dawn yesterday. According to the time, they should have arrived long ago. Did something happen on the way?"

Rick was very annoyed, "I'm going to use these people to do a big thing right away, and you're telling me that something happened on the way?"

"Do you know that because of this accident of yours, I have to change the whole plan?"

"Fuck!"

The person on the other side was also a little annoyed, "I said, I arranged people for you. What else could I deceive you about in this kind of thing?"

"Didn't the previous batches of people arrive at your place at the agreed time?"

"You must also know how complicated the situation at sea is. Maybe they encountered a storm at night, or were hit by a whale or something; these are all possible."

"I will arrange another batch of people for you immediately. Calm down; it won't be a problem if it's a few days late."

Rick was silent for a while, "I hope this is the last time!"

The person on the other side immediately guaranteed, "No problem, I guarantee, this is the last time..."

Seeing that Rick stopped cursing, he breathed a sigh of relief, hung up the phone after re-agreeing on the time, and walked directly out of the office.

Several people chatting and drinking coffee at the table next to him stood up immediately and walked to his side.

His face was full of unhappiness, "That damn fishmonger didn't deliver the goods on time. I don't know if he dumped our cargo into the sea halfway; anyway, he makes me very unhappy now!"

"Throw his family into the sea; I want people to know what the price of disobedience is!"

"Then go find a new fishmonger, recruit another 130 or 150 gunmen, and send them to our old friend!"

After he finished giving instructions, he returned to the office cursing, and his subordinates also began to work.

In less than an hour, a family of more than ten people was tied to large stones and thrown into the bay.

Many people on the shore saw this scene, but no one went to report it to the police or anything; these things are very common here.

Sometimes the police can't solve these troubles, and instead, it will become even more troublesome.

And there are many people in the police station who are members of these gangs, or have been bought by them; if you don't want to find trouble for yourself and your family, it's best not to do anything.

This is Xiang Yalan; under the hot tropical sun, it is an unfathomable coldness.

Not far away, people have already started signing up to go to the Federation to venture and look forward to a new life.

At 7:15, Lanse made a phone call to Alberto, and then Alberto contacted Salifu; now they all know that Rick's gunmen sank into the sea.

From the slightly gleeful voice of Salifu, Lanse could feel that he was going to trouble Rick.

Rick's gunmen couldn't come over, which meant that in the short term, it would be difficult for him to launch an effective counterattack against Salifu and their new alliance; in a confrontation, if there is no counterattack capability, even if it is only temporary, the situation will be very passive.

At this time, he didn't know, or rather, he couldn't imagine at all, that this was not an accident, but a premeditated "beginning"!

In September, the Federation Professional Baseball Super League has entered a critical moment, and some media claim that over 70% of people are paying attention to the games.

Apart from those gamblers who use the matches to place bets, most people are still very keen on these sports events.

Young people wearing Sailboat Team baseball caps can be seen everywhere on the street; there is no big problem for the Sailboat Team to enter the playoffs this year, everyone is performing very well, and Dai Wei's performance is particularly outstanding!

This year, the owner of the Sailboat Team spent a lot of money to introduce last year's league best pitcher, the transfer fee alone reached 1.75 million, and as for his salary, it is as high as 900,000 a year.

In the games, his performance is also very outstanding, leading the team to lead the entire Eastern Division.

According to the current situation, if they can continue to win games and defeat the second-ranked team, they can enter the playoffs as the regular season champions.

Among them, the value and role of the ace pitcher are very obvious, and this also makes the people of New Jincheng look forward to the performance of the Sailboat Team even more.

As one of the wealthiest cities on the East Coast, New Jincheng has multiple baseball stadiums, and the Sailboat Team will face the fourth-ranked Alien Team in the Eastern Division at home.

Three days before the game, there were already many fans on the street, and some Alien Team fans from Fanpumausi also appeared on the road in groups.

In the past few days, there have been some small frictions among the fans.

The quality of most fans is still good, but there are always some young people who are prone to conflicts because of a few words.

Compared to the citizens' or team fans' desire for the game, the police system hopes that all this will end as soon as possible.

Fortunately, after today's game ends, everything will return to normal.

"Don't run around these days," Rick looked at his son and said very solemnly, "It's not safe outside now."

However, it was obvious that his son didn't take his words to heart, especially since he had been locked at home for this period of time, and he really couldn't stand it!

He is also a loyal fan of the Sailboat Team, and he has a room dedicated to displaying some baseball-related exhibits.

Inside, there are many collectibles related to the Sailboat Team, signed jerseys of Hall of Fame players, hats, gloves, and bats, as well as the Eastern Division championship trophy—

It is said that the trophy in the Sailboat Team club is fake, and his is the real one.

Among these prizes, only one important thing is missing, and that is the playoff championship trophy!

The purpose of the Sailboat Team manager introducing the ace pitcher is not only to impact the playoff championship but also to meet the requirements of the wealthy in New Jincheng.

They have watched games for so many years, and although they have often entered the playoffs, they have never won a championship trophy; this is too unfair to their support for the Sailboat Team.

So, under heavy pressure, the owner spent a lot of money to get an ace pitcher.

If the Sailboat Team can win the playoff championship this year, then he guarantees that the trophy will definitely be placed in his display room!

Everyone thinks they have a good chance of winning the championship, so he naturally hopes to watch it on the spot, rather than guarding the radio and listening to the announcer blabbering and blabbering about the fast broadcast, which is not exciting at all!

Seeing that his son didn't seem to listen, Rick could only tell him to get lost, and then told his deputy to send someone to keep an eye on him.

He has several sons; apart from this one, the others are illegitimate children.

As the leader of the family, having a few lovers and a few illegitimate children is simply the most normal thing.

It's just that compared to those illegitimate children, this legitimate son obviously has a higher status in his heart.

And those illegitimate children cannot inherit the Casia family; if an illegitimate child becomes the heir, the family will definitely have big problems!

Returning to his room, he picked up the phone and whispered for a while with other people who had made an appointment; the baseball game started at 3:30 this afternoon, and they had already made an appointment to watch the game in his VIP box.

He has a box that he has booked all year round; most wealthy people actually have this habit of watching games in boxes, and they certainly don't want to squeeze together with those mud-legged people.

Today, they will bring girls and fine wine to celebrate the upcoming victory.

He also promised his friends that he would call Dai Wei and the new ace pitcher to the room to have fun with them.