195: Chapter 195 The Wolves Are Coming! A Death Trap in Malacca!

After leaving the protection of the Chinese fleet, the previously relaxed chatter on the bridge vanished, leaving only the low hum of instruments.

The crew exchanged glances, each understanding what the upcoming voyage entailed.

Everyone on the "digital freedom" knew that since the other side had abandoned the plan of a direct military assault, it meant that more insidious, unscrupulous methods—disguising themselves as pirates to plunder—were about to unfold.

The fleet maintained radio silence as it sailed toward the entrance of the Strait of Malacca.

This narrow waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, was one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and equally notorious for pirate activity.

The day before entering the strait, the sea was calm. Apart from the occasional passing merchant ship, no suspicious targets were visible.

Yet, this excessive calm only made the nerves of those on the "digital freedom" tighter, and the sea breeze blowing across the deck carried a sense of impending slaughter.

Lei Peng had stayed on the bridge for almost twenty-four hours, his eyes bloodshot.

He checked the weapon systems and communication equipment over and over, ensuring every component could react the instant an order was received.

Li Xiang and his technical team had moved their ground station directly to the entrance of the cargo hold.

Three thousand drones were neatly arranged on the shelves, ready to take off at any moment and weave a deadly swarm.

Although Lin Zhou was in Sanya, through Jack's "heimdall" system, all the fleet's data, the vessels' navigational attitudes, and even the real-time audio from the bridge were clearly gathered on the screen in front of him.

"Jack, is there any abnormal activity in the surrounding airspace and waters?" Lin Zhou asked.

"Reporting to the Lord, 'heimdall' has analyzed global commercial satellite data and aviation information. Near the eastern entrance of the Strait of Malacca, it has detected several small private planes engaging in unconventional low-altitude flights over the past twelve hours. At the same time, at least fifteen speedboats not registered in the AIS (Automatic Identification System) have appeared in the area."

Lin Zhou tapped his knuckles rhythmically against the desk.

"They are deploying personnel and equipment. They've already set the trap, just waiting for us to walk into it."

"Yes, Lord. The opposition is acting very professionally. All activities have avoided conventional monitoring routes, using multiple small islands and hidden bays as transit points. If it weren't for 'heimdall' cross-referencing and logically linking the massive amount of data, it would have been extremely difficult to discover these traces."

"Sync the intelligence to Lei Peng," Lin Zhou ordered. "Tell him the number of enemies far exceeds expectations, and they are very patient. He cannot afford the slightest relaxation."

Late that night, the fleet sailed into the eastern entrance of the Strait of Malacca.

On the narrow waterway, the lights of passing ships became dense.

The night merged the ship's hull into the shadows, also hiding unknown dangers within.

"Report! Radar has detected an anomaly! At the three o'clock and nine o'clock positions, a large number of high-speed small targets are rapidly closing in on us from the shadows of the islands on both sides!"

The radar operator's sharp report made everyone on the bridge jump.

On the screen, over a dozen flickering red dots emerged from the radar blind spots, swarming from all directions and quickly forming a huge encirclement.

"They're finally here!" Instead of panicking, Lei Peng stretched his shoulders; his expression didn't look like someone being hunted, but rather someone preparing for a meal.

"Attention all battle stations! Enter combat status!" He grabbed the walkie-talkie, his voice clear and decisive as he issued the order. "RMK-30 weapon stations, disengage safety! Fire control radar, activate! Free target acquisition!"

The motors of the two weapon stations mounted on the deck hummed, the muzzles turned in response, beginning to track the speedboats rushing toward them.

"Drones one through five, take off immediately! Forward reconnaissance! Confirm enemy numbers and armament!"

At the entrance of the cargo hold, Li Xiang personally operated the ground station.

Five modified Matrice 350 RTK drones took off, silently merging into the night and pouncing toward the darkness in the distance.

Soon, high-definition infrared images were transmitted back to the main screen on the bridge.

In the footage, over a dozen speedboats of various shapes were speeding across the sea.

These speedboats had been modified; heavy machine guns were mounted on the bows or sterns, and some even had simple rocket launchers welded on.

The boats were packed with masked militants holding AK47s, all moving with fierce intensity.

"Boss, it's a 'professional team' alright." A technician looked at the image on the screen and snorted. "This equipment is much stronger than those guys in Somalia with harpoons."

"There's a call on the radio channel!" the communications officer reported.

Lei Peng signaled him to connect and turned on the amplifier.

English mixed with a heavy Southeast Asian accent came from the speaker, its tone full of arrogance: "Listen up, the Chinese freighter in front! We are the 'Sons of Freedom' Liberation Front! Stop the ship immediately and accept inspection! Repeat, stop the ship immediately! Otherwise, we will take military action!"

"Sons of Freedom? They sure know how to name themselves." Lei Peng sneered, having no intention of responding.

He picked up the walkie-talkie: "Captain, maintain course and speed! Full speed ahead! Ignore them!"

The other side's toughness exceeded the pirates' expectations.

After calling several times without response, their patience ran out.

"Give them a taste of what we've got! Use the RPGs (Rocket-Propelled Grenades)! Hit their stern! Don't sink the ship for me!" the pirate leader roared over the radio.

On one of the speedboats at the very front, a militant shouldered an RPG and aimed at the rudder of the freighter.

A flash of fire cut through the night sky, leaving an orange-red trail as it headed straight for the freighter.

"Target acquired! Incoming rocket!" The fire control system issued a piercing alarm.

"Intercept!" Lei Peng roared.

The RMK-30 weapon station spat out a dense tongue of fire.

It didn't need manual operation; within a fraction of a second of detecting the threat, the fire control system had automatically completed calculations and targeting.

Two chains of fire composed of tracer rounds wove into a dense fire net in the night sky, covering the incoming warhead head-on.

The next second, the warhead was detonated in mid-air, exploding into a bright fireball.

This scene made all the charging pirates stop what they were doing.

The arrogance and greed that had been on their faces faded, leaving only astonishment.

"What... what is that? They have close-in weapon systems?" The pirate leader's voice changed pitch over the radio.

They never dreamed that a seemingly ordinary container ship would be equipped with a weapon system only found on regular warships!

The intelligence didn't say anything about this!

"Boss! That container ship has a problem! It has artillery on it!"

"Retreat! Retreat quickly! This is a trap!"

The pirate channel immediately descended into chaos.

The speedboat group, which had been aggressive just a moment ago, fell into disarray, each turning their bows to try to escape.

"Want to run?" Lei Peng snorted with contempt. "It's too late."

He pointed at the light dots on the radar screen that were already scattering in flight and issued the order from Lin Zhou.

"Drone swarm, attack! Anti-tank missiles, prepare to fire!"

"Let them understand that if they reach out for my things, they will have to pay the price!"