Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 421 - 272: The Boot Clan Takes the Field (Double-Length)

Chapter 421: Chapter 272: The Boot Clan Takes the Field (Double-Length)

After listening, Chen Wei quickly made arrangements, "An Zai and I will support them and clear the cabin as fast as possible. Lao Bai, take the pirate leader to the cockpit!"

"Roger that!"

"Roger that!"

After assigning the tasks, Chen Wei hurried to the cabin.

Twenty minutes later, they finished checking the rooms in the cabin and arrived directly beneath the bridge.

Here, the massive engine occupies most of the space, its roar numbing the eardrums, while the scorching exhaust pipes emit heat waves mixed with the pungent smell of engine oil and diesel.

Moreover, this engine room has many nooks where people can hide, making it difficult to search.

Chen Wei picked up the walkie-talkie and explained the situation outside to the captain hiding on the lower deck, asking them to come out and assist in the search.

Initially, the captain was skeptical, suspecting that Chen Wei and his team were held hostage by pirates trying to deceive them into coming out until Chen Wei personally reached the lower deck, after which the captain opened the fire door and stepped out.

"Oh! My God! You guys must be superheroes!" The captain excitedly moved in to give Chen Wei a bear hug.

Chen Wei, slightly put off by the smell from the captain’s armpit, quickly raised his hand to stop him.

"I need you to send a few people to the engine room to assist my team in the search; we need to wipe out the pirates on board completely."

"The rest will follow me to the deck to handle the pirates outside."

The captain hurriedly nodded, "No problem, I’ll arrange it right now!"

More than half an hour later, the deck was piled up with pirate bodies, roughly four or fifty at a glance.

There were also a dozen or so wounded captives, all kneeling on the deck with their heads bowed.

Pointing his gun at the mountain of corpses, Chen Wei directed his words at the pirate leader, "I will ask you some questions next. If you don’t cooperate, you’ll join them."

The leader shuddered, clutching his bleeding ear as cold sweat continuously dripped down his cheeks.

He glanced at the pile of corpses, fully aware that this was no mere threat.

With dozens of corpses, these people had proven their ruthlessness, and the excruciating pain in his ear reminded him that the outcome of non-compliance would be even worse.

"What’s the purpose of hijacking the ship?" Chen Wei took a step closer, the barrel nearly pressing against the leader’s forehead. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The leader trembled as he replied, "Don’t... know... Someone hired us to hijack this ship and take it to our territory."

"Who hired you?" Chen Wei continued to press.

The leader’s Adam’s apple swayed violently, evading Chen Wei’s gaze, "Don’t... know exactly... only contacted through an intermediary!"

Concerned Chen Wei would be dissatisfied with his answer, the leader quickly added, "They offered a total of twenty million USD! They’ve already paid five million upfront! I can wire the five million to your account right now!"

Chen Wei pushed the gun forward, causing the leader’s head to slam against the deck with a "thud," making him wince in pain without daring to make a sound.

"Call the intermediary. Use whatever means necessary; I need to know who the employer is." With that said, he handed over a satellite phone.

The leader shivered uncontrollably, clumsily taking the phone, dialing a number quickly.

Upon connection, an exchange with the intermediary ensued, who, unsurprisingly, refused to disclose any employer information.

Only after explaining the situation and threatening the intermediary’s family did the intermediary finally yield.

"It’s someone from China, name unknown, the money was transferred through a company in London."

Seeing no more information could be obtained, Chen Wei grudgingly gave up temporarily, calling for a speedboat and sending them all off the ship, including the bodies.

After dealing with the pirates, Chen Wei asked the captain to have people clean the bloodstains on the deck and in the cabin.

He also disabled the ship’s Starlink network to prevent any premature disclosure of the incidents onboard, avoiding unnecessary trouble.

After care of these matters, he took the satellite phone into a room and called Qi Yun to brief him on the situation.

Upon hearing, Qi Yun was also somewhat surprised; the adversary’s actions clearly targeted that batch of artifacts.

If the pirates aimed for other cargo or weaponry onboard, deploying so many forces wouldn’t be necessary; a regular heist involved four or five speedboats at most.

Deploying so many forces indicates they are aware of Chen Wei’s team’s presence on the ship.

Knowing Chen Wei’s team seized that batch of artifacts and could track their whereabouts accurately, who would that be?

Ji Liyang?

Does he possess such capabilities?

Considering Chen Wei’s team had been out of London for nearly three days, it’s remarkable the adversary pinpointed them on the cargo ship in the Red Sea - an extraordinary feat.

Besides Ji Liyang, who else could it be?

After pondering for a few seconds, Qi Yun checked his watch for time, then took out his phone to ring Brother Chen in Shanghai.

"Brother Chen, I’m sorry for disturbing your rest so late."

"Haha, not at all, not at all. I’m just finishing some work myself." Brother Chen’s tone was polite, showing no slightest trace of annoyance.

"Good." Late at night, Qi Yun offered little small talk and curtly asked, "Brother Chen, have you heard anything about Ji Liyang lately?"

"Ji Liyang, huh? He was temporarily detained by the municipal bureau recently and might spend some time in the detention center. As for how he’s sentenced later, it depends on the evidence from the prosecution." Brother Chen assumed Qi Yun’s dissatisfaction lingered, hence elaborated thoroughly.

Qi Yun paused upon hearing this; Ji Liyang already detained?

Then who hired the pirates?

"Alright, got it. I won’t intrude on you, Brother Chen. I didn’t mean to ask much, just checking in."

"Haha, sure, I’ll update you if anything new surfaces."

"Good, thanks, Brother Chen. I’ll treat you to a meal next time I visit Shanghai."

...

Elsewhere, in a London apartment.

A middle-aged man furiously threw his phone to the ground, not satisfied even after stomping it several times.

"Worthless! All damned worthless!"

The man’s name was Lu Zhijie, Ji Liyang’s trusted ally in the shadows, executing most of Ji Liyang’s illicit business.

Despite Ji Liyang’s downfall, why does he remain steadfastly loyal instead of taking the money and fleeing?

Their love story must be mentioned...

It was a late autumn in Chengdu...

After venting his rage, Lu Zhijie lit a slender cigarette, forcing himself to calm down and consider other ways to reclaim the batch.

Even the infamous Somali pirates had failed, leaving him with no alternatives.

The sea is unlike land, with fewer capable factions for such an endeavor, aside from rogue pirates, official militaries won’t assist in such matters.

After chain-smoking five or six cigarettes, Lu Zhijie leaned back in his chair, letting out a long sigh.

He was out of options and could only try to win the Boot Clan’s forgiveness and request their direct intervention.

Yet, agreeing to this means the batch and any further dealings with Ji Liyang will be severed, with no share of the remaining payment.

And this was still considered the best outcome!

Furthermore, the best outcome hinges on the Boot Clan retrieving the batch.

If the Boot Clan fails to acquire the batch eventually, their fury might very well end up on Lu Zhijie and Ji Liyang instead.

Lu Zhijie extinguished the cigarette butt, picked up another phone from the desk, and dialed James’s number...

Elsewhere, in a Kensington Palace Gardens estate.

James, expressionless, hung up the phone, took a moment to ponder, then dialed a number for a family councilor.

"Alina, the agreed artifacts have been snatched. You know the significance of these artifacts pertaining to our family’s roots in Wales..."

"The artifacts are currently on a cargo ship in the Red Sea. I need you to contact someone in the naval staff headquarters and request to send a warship..."