Chapter 385: Chapter 385
"But we are also in great danger. If Old Yang’s side gets exposed, we’ll have to withstand the pressure. If they don’t get exposed, we at least need to take the fleet through Kolusa, only turning back when they realize something’s wrong, by which time it will be too late."
Yang Yang’s plan was to swipe the supplies from 23 cargo ships in one go. These ships carried millions of tons of goods, accounting for two-thirds of the supplies for the two forces. As for the future of the cargo ships and their commodities like slaves, oil, and other mineral resources, food was of more critical immediate importance to Huaxia.
The millions of tons of supplies could feed fifty million people in Huaxia for half a year, and with frugality, even for a year. It could be said that this haul could resolve Huaxia’s current life-and-death crisis.
Of course, they were not capable of swiping everything right now. Yang Yang had pinched their sore spot by leaving some supplies for them. If everything had been swiped, the two forces would have chased them to the ends of the earth to reclaim those supplies. But now, with about twenty ships’ worth of supplies remaining, they still had to ensure the safety of these goods, inevitably restricting their actions.
Brother Fa looked at his watch and said, "We’re about to reach Kolusa. Keep your spirits up!"
Everyone was quite tense. After all, this battle signified whether their first task in the United States could be successful. Lingling constantly wiped her sniper rifle and adjusted her night-vision goggles. Ah Huang sat on the ground, fidgeting anxiously. Monkey meticulously maintained his weapons, and Tan Ke was doing push-ups.
Only Jing Shu, barely noticeable, squatted in a corner solving the Magic Cube. She had been in the United States for just over ten days, and her space was about to fill up. She needed to upgrade soon and gather more supplies; after all, even in the resource-rich United States, countless people would starve daily from now on.
The Captain steered their cargo ship, slowly increasing the distance from the one ahead. Due to the Canal’s limited width, only one cargo ship could pass at a time, so they only needed to follow the ship ahead.
Everyone stood up, anxiously watching the cargo ships in front as they moved slowly. The ships ahead grew more distant, eventually exiting through a branch of the Canal, while their Captain continued steering their ship forward!
Jing Shu’s heart pounded. From here, the fleet behind them would head to Austin for refuge, while Yang Yang, with his 23 ships, successfully headed towards Williams. If they weren’t detected en route, people would be waiting to meet them upon arrival!
"Good, we’ve succeeded in the first step." Brother Fa took a deep breath. "These foreigners, always lazy, keep their ships on autopilot, just following the one ahead. If nothing goes wrong, no one should notice us by the time we reach Austin."
Of course, that was if nothing went wrong.
Ships No. 1 to No. 23 successfully headed towards Williams. Ship No. 24 also successfully led the ships behind it, continuing towards the original planned destination. At this moment, the Nobles were still busy. As leaders of the Slave Kingdom, they were also gathering these over two hundred Nobles, preparing for a party. The purpose was to plan the upcoming trip to Austin and discuss important matters like the distribution of supplies.
However, in the Noble District, two Nobles had met a tragic death, stirring up chaos. Whether it was premeditated murder or infighting was still under investigation. Of course, the property of these two individuals also sparked a series of disputes. Pei Qi’s brother, George, stated he wanted to inherit all of his sister’s property. However, the Nobles from the Underground black market already had fixed arrangements for how any individual’s property would be divided among them.
But before they could settle on a result, they discovered that all of Pei Qi’s valuable possessions had been swiped. Only some wine and broken jewelry remained; even the Diamond, known as the energy stone, was gone. Now, everyone’s focus shifted to the murderer, and the two guards at the door were also unwittingly dragged into this maelstrom.
The cargo ship moved slowly, and Jing Shu’s tense heart gradually relaxed. This audacious, ghost-like act—who else but them would dare to do it? Neither the captains nor the crew could have ever imagined that in such a peaceful situation, with no pirates shouting and killing, someone could split an entire fleet of cargo ships down the middle.
Everyone thought it was simple: just follow the ship in front, a common practice in their line of work. The leading ship surely wouldn’t navigate incorrectly; it had to know the way. Even if it did make a mistake, it was the leading ship’s responsibility.
Once, in a marathon, because the first runner took the wrong path, everyone following also ran the wrong way, only realizing it at the finish line. Only one person ran the correct route and thus came in first.
So, this herd mentality is not unique to Huaxia. Under major circumstances, people often overlook many things.
However, just as everyone was slowly letting out a sigh of relief, the voice from Ship 23 came over the intercom.
"Ship 23 calling Ship 24! Ship 24, this is Ship 23! Why can’t we see your ship?"
The voice from Ship 23 crackled over the ship’s intercom. This was a major drawback of the internet-based intercoms. Probably no one would have guessed they were already on different courses.
Little Black quietly translated. All eyes turned to Brother Fa. Whether they would be exposed or manage to deceive their way through depended on Brother Fa’s performance.
Brother Fa cleared his throat. "Oh, damn! I didn’t expect to be discovered. Alright, I admit it’s my fault. There’s a slave uprising on Ship 24. Someone has breached the hull. I need to slow down and stop for a while to control these damned slaves and repair the ship."
"Haha, brother, you’re going to be fined! Good luck. We’re moving ahead."
Everyone exhaled in relief. To make the excuse believable, Jing Shu and the others indeed had to make their act real, secretly executing all over a dozen crew members on their cargo ship.
"Ship 23 calling Ship 24! Brother, haven’t you caught up yet? Why are you getting farther away? Oh god, I have a bad feeling about today’s route. Who turned on the navigation?"
"Oh my God, this isn’t the way to Austin! Damn it, what’s going on?" Before the sentence was finished, the intercom cut out. The captains of the other ships seemed to realize the situation and began to investigate.
"We’re about to be exposed," Brother Fa said, smoking a cigarette and blowing out smoke rings.
Tan Ke frowned. "Then what do we do? How do we handle this?" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel•fire.net
"We can only sacrifice you guys to buy some time and attract some fire." Brother Fa pulled the red alarm lever. Instantly, a piercing alarm shrieked throughout the Canal. "Oh damn, Ship 24 has been taken over! Help! Pirates have hijacked Ship 24!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Brother Fa, in a self-directed ploy, pushed the ship to top speed. Under his control, the cargo ship shot off like a race car, disappearing with a BUZZING sound. It was as if he were challenging them: "Come on, throw all your firepower at me!"