190: Chapter 190 Deep Sea Hunt

Da Biao stared at the three dark blue electronic cards on the table, his mechanical palm snatching them up in one go.

"Boss, what are these cards for?" Da Biao licked his molars.

Lu Chen picked up the transparent plastic lighter and lit the double happiness cigarette in his mouth.

"Take these on the plane. Once you're in the air, the people arranged by Lone Wolf will teach you how to insert them into the Exoskeleton ports."

Lu Chen exhaled a puff of blue smoke. "Install these, and the Exoskeleton's magnetorheological defense module can operate at full power. It will be able to withstand a direct hit from armor-piercing rounds."

The flesh on Da Biao's face twitched violently. "Understood. I'll pick the brothers who aren't afraid of death."

"You bear the risk of life and death," Lu Chen looked at Da Biao. "If you come back alive, your year-end bonus will be ten times higher. For the brothers who die in battle, Chenguang Factory will support their entire families for three generations."

Da Biao slapped his titanium alloy chest armor heavily, emitting a dull thud. He turned around and strode out of the master control room with heavy steps.

Wu Dong sat in front of the screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "Boss, Zhang Qiang has entered silent status. I've checked the nearby airspace and maritime traffic data. Several unknown interference sources have appeared on the high seas."

Lu Chen leaned back on the worn-out sofa and tapped off the cigarette ash. "Let them interfere. Even if the sky falls, the cargo cannot sink."

Southern Hemisphere. An open-pit amethyst and titanium alloy mixed mining area in Australia.

The scorching sun was overhead. This massive mine pit, which had been shut down for a month due to a strike, was now boiling like a pot of water.

Over thirty thousand heavy machinery operators and miners were working frantically. The roar of the crawler excavators was deafening.

The Black miner Luke was drenched in sweat, shirtless, carrying a bag of high-purity associated ore and throwing it into the back of a heavy truck. He turned his head and roared at an old white man next to him.

"Charlie! Can you move faster? If we don't fill the bottom hold of Ship No. 3 today, our double performance bonus for this week will go down the drain." Luke's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the truck bed.

Charlie wiped his face with the dirty towel draped around his neck. "Luke, take it easy, kid. Do you still want your spine?"

"To hell with that!" Luke retorted loudly. "That Chinese manager from Chenguang Factory just shouted through a megaphone this morning. If we have perfect attendance and full loads this month, everyone gets an extra five hundred dollars in cash. Five hundred dollars! My wife's surgery fee for next month depends on this money."

Charlie spat onto the cracked ground. "These Chinese people are really wealthy. Just after I clocked in this morning, they directly advanced me half a month's base salary. These people do things decisively."

"Enough talk. Get to work." Luke turned around and rushed toward the conveyor belt again.

Outside the duty room at the high point of the mining area, the newly promoted Chinese district manager, Old Zhao, was clutching a megaphone, looking down at the loading and unloading operations below.

A fat man wearing a local customs uniform climbed the stairs, panting, and walked up to Old Zhao.

"Manager Zhao, your loading speed is in violation of regulations." The fat man took out a document. "According to environmental protection laws and import-export regulations, this batch of high-purity titanium alloy ore must be parked at Port No. 2 for forty-eight hours for radiation testing."

Old Zhao turned his head and looked at the customs fat man. "I already submitted the test report from last week. Your superiors have already stamped it."

"This is a new temporary regulation." The customs fat man patted his big belly and rubbed his fingers together. "You know, headquarters is very strict about this kind of strategic material. Unless you use the expedited channel."

Old Zhao saw through the other party's intention at a glance. He didn't reply, turned around, and walked into the duty room. Three seconds later, he walked out carrying a black briefcase, unzipped it, and threw it directly at the fat man's feet.

A whole bag of brand-new US dollar bills scattered on the ground.

The customs fat man's eyes went straight.

"The fee for the expedited channel." Old Zhao raised the megaphone. "I want my hundred-thousand-ton cargo ship to weigh anchor and leave the port immediately. If anyone dares to block it, I'll use this money to buy bullets from local gangs. I'll give them all to you."

The fat man swallowed, immediately squatted on the ground, and stuffed the money back into the bag.

"The paperwork is complete. Chenguang Factory has always been legal and compliant." The fat man stood up and ran downstairs without looking back. "Within ten minutes, the port pilot boat will guide you."

Old Zhao snorted coldly and raised the megaphone toward the port below. "Cargo Ship No. 3 is fully loaded. Seal the hatches and weigh anchor immediately."

The sound of a massive ship's whistle echoed over the port.

A heavy bulk carrier with a displacement of over one hundred thousand tons slowly detached from the berth. On the side of the massive hull, several huge Chinese characters were painted in glaring red paint... Chenguang Factory Asset.

On the other side of the Earth. Wall Street.

Freemasons' deep underground conference room. The air was stifling to the extreme.

On the holographic screen, three glaring red dots were departing from Australian and South American ports, moving at full speed toward Malacca.

Elder No. 1 gripped his scepter with both hands, his finger bones straining. "Where on earth did this group of Chinese people get so much cash? They've bought off all our low-level laborers."

Elder No. 3 sat on the right side of the long table. "These three ships are loaded with precious amethyst raw stones and special metals. As long as this cargo reaches Jiangcheng, Lu Chen's anti-gravity chassis can complete its final assembly."

"We absolutely cannot let this cargo pass through Malacca." Elder No. 5 stood up, his voice distorted by anger. "Our financial strangulation has failed completely. We can't count on the 7th Fleet either. Are we just going to watch them empty out our assets?"

Elder No. 1 looked up at Elder No. 3. "Have you contacted that private army in the Annam island nation?"

Elder No. 3 nodded. "Contacted. They have two decommissioned Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in their possession. Although they are nominally second-hand goods, the fire control systems and anti-aircraft missile matrices on board have all undergone comprehensive upgrades."

"What are the conditions?" Elder No. 1 asked.

"After the deed is done, the ten-year operating rights for three Deepwater Ports in the Asia-Pacific region," Elder No. 3 replied. "Additionally, they require a two hundred million US dollar operational deposit."

"Give it to them." Elder No. 1 did not hesitate at all. "Have them switch to coast guard livery. In the name of combating transnational smuggling and counter-terrorism/non-proliferation, conduct mandatory inspections at the entrance to the Malacca high seas."

Elder No. 5 sneered. "What if that guy surnamed Lu orders his people to force their way through?"

"That would be exactly what I want." Elder No. 1 said expressionlessly. "As long as they dare to refuse to stop the ship, it constitutes violent resistance to law enforcement. Order them to be sunk immediately. The seabed, hundreds of meters deep, is just right to serve as the grave for this batch of amethyst ore."

"Send the coordinate instructions immediately." Elder No. 1 issued the final order. "The interception operation code name is Deep Sea Hunt. Leave no survivors."

Twenty thousand nautical miles away. The Malacca high seas area.

The sea wind howled. Ink-colored waves pounded heavily against the giant ship's waterline.

In the wheelhouse of the "chenguang no. 1" bulk carrier, the lights were dimmed very low.

Captain Zhang Qiang held a cup of instant coffee, his calloused hands resting on the chart table. He stared intently at the coordinate changes on the electronic aerial map.

First Mate Old Li pushed open the heavy metal door and walked in, bringing in a damp, salty, fishy smell.

"Captain, the engine room crew has reported back." Old Li rubbed his hands. "All power compartments are running at full load. Our old bones are about to be shaken apart by the diesel engine's vibrations."

Zhang Qiang took a big gulp of the somewhat cold coffee. "Even if you get shaken apart, you have to hold on for me. There are still two hundred nautical miles ahead to the core shipping lane of Malacca."

Old Li approached the console and lowered his voice. "Old Zhang, we've been in radio silence for forty-eight consecutive hours. We haven't even turned on the international channel distress beacon. The guys below are starting to murmur."

"Murmur about what?" Zhang Qiang glanced at Old Li sideways.

"Everyone knows that the cargo we're carrying is hot." Old Li sighed. "The guys below deck are all gossiping that the amethyst stones we're hauling are worth a seaside villa for just a single piece. Now that we've even turned off the maritime identification code, isn't it obviously telling others that we have a guilty conscience?"

Zhang Qiang slammed the coffee cup in his hand heavily onto the table.

"Guilty conscience, my ass!" Zhang Qiang's voice was loud. "The cargo was bought by Chenguang Factory. We are also legitimate, contract-signed employees of Chenguang Factory. We are traveling on the high seas; no one can control us."

Old Li looked at Zhang Qiang's stubborn eyes and gave a bitter smile. "Old Zhang, we've been old partners for decades. Let me be frank. If we really run into a hard case carrying guns, how many minutes can our dozens of sailors holding wrenches hold out?"

Zhang Qiang turned his head and looked through the bulletproof glass of the wheelhouse at the pitch-black sea in front.

"Old Li, when you signed the papers at the Nanchang toll station, did you ever think about how much your life was worth?" Zhang Qiang asked.

Old Li was stunned for a moment.

"After I signed," Zhang Qiang stared at the sea. "The boss immediately had that manager surnamed Zhou wire half a year's settlement allowance into my wife's card. My wife called me on the satellite phone in the middle of the night, crying the whole time."

Zhang Qiang turned his head back and looked straight into Old Li's eyes.

"The boss treats us like human beings. This money was given with integrity. Our lives must be sold for their worth." Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth and said, "Go tell the guys below. The boss has given the order: no matter what monsters or demons we encounter, do not slow down. Just ram straight into them for me."

Old Li took a deep breath and nodded heavily. "Alright. I'll go to the power compartment and keep watch right now."

Old Li had just walked two steps after turning around.

The main control radar screen in the very center of the bridge suddenly erupted with a burst of glaring red light.

Immediately after, a shrill anti-aircraft alarm tore through the silence of the wheelhouse.

"Alarm! Radar fire control lock detected."

The young radar operator ripped the headset off his head, stood up abruptly, turned to look at Zhang Qiang, his face deathly pale.

"Captain! Two o'clock direction! Two military-grade warships are cutting into our route at high speed!" The radar operator roared. "Speed: thirty-five knots. No response signal. The other party has directly activated their fire control radar."

Zhang Qiang's pupils constricted suddenly.

He took two steps to the bridge console, grabbed the ship-wide general broadcast microphone, and directly pressed the all-channel communication button.

"All hands, pay attention! Enter level-one damage control status immediately!" Zhang Qiang roared into the microphone. "Engine room, push the diesel engine throttle to the limit! Full rudder, turn fifteen degrees to the right! Prepare to withstand impact."

Zhang Qiang hung up the microphone and slammed a palm onto the acceleration lever on the console.

The two red dots on the radar screen were rushing straight toward "chenguang no. 1" in an extremely ferocious manner.