217: Chapter 215 You Messed with the Wrong Person 217: Chapter 215 You Messed with the Wrong Person Gao Yang was no stranger to the Skull Gang; he had just dealt with them not long ago.
So, he smiled and said, “The pirates we scared off were the Skull Gang.
Last time we were on this ship, we hadn’t even heard of the Skull Gang’s name, but now, just a few days later, it seems like everyone is talking about them.”
Antoncel looked worried as he said, “Indeed, near Cape Guardafui, suddenly a Skull Gang has emerged.
They won’t let any merchant ship pass without demanding a toll.
Regardless of whether the ship is escorted by armed guards, they don’t attempt to board, only announce that they want to collect a passage fee.
Undoubtedly, if the Skull Gang’s model gets promoted throughout the whole Gulf of Aden, they will unsettle the foundation of maritime security companies.”
Gao Yang laughed heartily, “Don’t worry too much, the Skull Gang’s approach is simply wishful thinking.
The Gulf of Aden’s shipping routes are vast; how much territory does the Skull Gang control?
As long as there are pirates elsewhere, their approach won’t catch on, and merchant ships will still seek escorts.”
Antoncel forced a smile, “I’m afraid their approach really might catch on.
Pirates aren’t having an easy time these days, so it’s quite possible they might collectively change their ways.
Did you know?
The Skull Gang only appeared three days ago, but just yesterday near Bosaso, another armed faction popped up.
They don’t have a name yet, but they’re expelling pirates and demanding tolls, very similar to the Skull Gang.”
Gao Yang was taken aback, “Oh, so whether or not the group at Bosaso is the Skull Gang, the latter’s approach seems likely to catch on quickly.”
Antoncel said with a wry smile, “Exactly, and all maritime security companies are feeling the pressure.
They are discussing amongst themselves, and we might have to change our line of work soon.
I don’t think they can come up with an effective solution.”
Bruce suddenly said, “I don’t think so.
Maybe what’ll disappear quickly are the pirates trying to change.”
Antoncel shrugged, “Maybe, I’m a bit conflicted now.
If the pirates change their style, it might be good news for seamen and shipowners, but not so much for us.”
Gao Yang said gravely, “You mentioned those Brits are up to something big, what are they planning to do?”
Antoncel shook his head, “I’m not sure of the details, but many British companies have already met twice to discuss it.
Sadly, I don’t have the qualifications to join in, but I don’t think they’re likely to launch an attack on the Skull Gang, right?”
Gao Yang chuckled, “If the Skull Gang’s model hasn’t spread, they won’t attack.
But if it really does catch on, then who knows?”
Antoncel looked incredulous, “But they are legitimate companies.
To initiate an attack on pirates, unless they’re out of their minds, they wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.”
Gao Yang smiled and pointed at himself, “Have you forgotten what we do?”
Following a moment of puzzlement, Antoncel said skeptically, “Mercenaries?
You mean, if they can’t do it themselves, they will hire mercenaries to do it for them?”
Gao Yang spread his hands with an air of it goes without saying, “Of course, is that even a question?
When legitimate companies plan to do something illegal, militarily speaking, they either hire mercenaries or pose as mercenaries themselves.
It’s easy to solve, what do you think matters more, international conventions or vested interests?
Don’t forget this is the Gulf of Aden.
International conventions might restrain merchant ships, but for security companies accustomed to solving problems through force, they’re worth jack squat.”
Antoncel said with a conflicted expression, “Then should we join those Brits?
I mean, we also benefit from this.
Do you think we’ll be invited to strike at pirates who don’t want to be pirates anymore?”
Gao Yang said disdainfully, “I can tell you outright, no!
Those Brits hold the lion’s share of interests in the Gulf of Aden, so they should deal with the problems.
And they will never allow people from other countries to intervene.
You just need to keep doing what you’re supposed to do without poking your nose into the dirty deeds behind the scenes.
You aren’t qualified for that either.”
Antoncel shrugged, “Alright then, we’ll just take care of our own business.
We’ll stay out of everything else.
Fellas, we’ve been standing here long enough.
I’m very sorry for delaying your precious rest.
Get back to your cabins and get some sleep.
Around three o’clock tomorrow afternoon, a container ship will arrive here, and you are to escort it.”
Antoncel always managed to get work, and Gao Yang and his team nearly had no downtime, but that was certainly a good thing.
To them, resting on a transit or merchant ship was all the same, and it wasn’t tiresome.
But with more work came much more money to be made.
Gao Yang and his team’s payment model was per trip, with the commission determined by the type of cargo on the commercial ship, generally between thirty and fifty thousand US Dollars.
However, for escort missions for tankers like oil tankers, the money was less, and Gao Yang’s team could only get fifteen thousand per trip, but for container ships, they could earn significantly more, at least twenty-five thousand US Dollars per trip.
The reason for the different commissions for different ships was that for tankers carrying crude oil, even if hijacked by pirates, the cargo would not suffer much loss since the pirates did not have the ports and equipment to offload the crude oil; even if they did manage to do so, they could not sell it.
But it was different for container cargo ships.
If they carried valuable goods that weren’t too bulky, the items on board could be whisked away by swarms of skiffs in an ant-like procession if hijacked by pirates.
Even without a ransom, they could make a killing, so container ships were always a prime target for pirates; if the cargo was small and valuable, the shipowner had to increase the amount of commission for hired armed escorts.
It was because of the difference in the type of cargo ships that the money earned also differed, so upon learning that there would be more work the next day, Gao Yang smiled and said, “I like container ships; looks like we could be getting a bigger share of the money.”
A smile also appeared on Antoncel’s face as he said, “That’s right, and the even better news is that this ship mainly transports home appliances and small machinery, so the commission for this time is eighty thousand US Dollars, guys.”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “Very good, we should find more jobs like this in the future, short in duration and paying well.
Captain, let me ask you a question, are you still satisfied with your current income?”
Antoncel laughed heartily and replied, “Of course I’m satisfied, is there even a need to ask?
My annual salary as a captain was one hundred and twenty thousand US Dollars.
When I gave up that job, I was worried I might regret it, but now, in just half a month, my income has already exceeded sixty thousand US Dollars, and if I include tomorrow’s forty thousand, buddy, I’m earning more in a month now than I used to in a year.”
Antoncel was very pleased with his income, and Gao was rather content with his current earnings too.
Though the money earned from escorting merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden was less compared to what Gao Yang’s team had earned during their time at war in Libya, the advantage was that it was much safer.
While in Misrata, Libya, Gao Yang’s team’s daily commission was ten thousand US Dollars split between four people, and in Tripoli, it was twenty thousand US Dollars split between five people.
Now, basically, the commission for a single mission ranged from fifteen to twenty-five thousand.
Though the commissions seemed comparable, the actual earnings were much less, mainly because of the nature of Gao Yang’s tasks.
Now, they were earning money during the voyage between two transit ships, but the problem was that the distance between the transit ships was quite vast.
There was a transit ship in the westernmost Strait of Mandeb in the Gulf of Aden and in the far east beyond Cape Guardafui.
Gao Yang and his team were currently on one of these transit ships, and the mission they had just completed involved boarding a commercial ship at the Strait of Mandeb and then transferring to another transit ship after reaching Cape Guardafui.
The distance between the two transit ships was considerable, over fifteen hundred kilometers, and the tanker they traveled on was slow, moving at only fifteen knots, about 27.8 kilometers per hour, so it took them over fifty hours, more than two days, to travel from the Strait of Mandeb to Cape Guardafui.
Because a single escort mission required so much time, Gao Yang’s team could only earn a commission of fifteen to twenty-five thousand every two days, and now there were six people sharing it.
In this way, they were earning significantly less than during their days in combat in Libya.
However, the benefit of escort missions was that they were almost risk-free.
Unlike in Tripoli where they were nearly annihilated, there was no such possibility in the Gulf of Aden.
Of course, in the Gulf of Aden, it was also very unlikely to come across a windfall; for instance, in Tripoli, Gao Yang’s team had seized gold bricks, and during the operation to rescue Bob, each of them had been able to split over a million.
Unfortunately, such missions were hit-or-miss, and high reward often entailed extraordinarily high risk.
Therefore, Gao Yang and his team were quite happy to accept low-reward but almost risk-free missions.
Anyway, calculating based on the lowest income, earning a thousand US Dollars a day was far above what the vast majority of people made, and often the amount earned was much more.
If nothing unexpected happened, Gao felt that their days at sea would continue for a long time, but sadly, an accident was about to occur.
While Gao Yang was jovially chatting with Antoncel on their way to their cabins, they encountered five fully armed individuals in the narrow corridor.
If they were up and about at dawn, they could only be heading out for a mission.
Everything had been calm, but just as Gao Yang and his team walked past the five men, a black man yawning and brushing past Gao suddenly stopped and said with a look of surprise, “chinks?
When did this ship get filled with so many chinks?”
Chinks is a derogatory term for Chinese or East Asian people, but it can now be considered to specifically refer to Huaxia People, so regardless of whether the black man knew Gao Yang and his team were Huaxia People, the word was highly offensive.
Gao Yang immediately stopped, looked at the black man almost face-to-face, and said, “N*gger, you’ve messed with the wrong person.” (To be continued.
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