231: Chapter 229 Joy from Heaven 231: Chapter 229 Joy from Heaven Gao Yang felt annoyed but also somewhat proud, because their team had never failed in a hostage rescue operation, achieving complete success every time, which was enough to make anyone proud.
That’s because hostage rescue, among all types of combat, is arguably the most difficult: you have to neutralize the enemy while ensuring the safety of the hostages.
Many long-established and professionally trained special forces units can’t guarantee a flawless record in hostage situations, yet Gao Yang’s makeshift team, which had never undergone professional rescue training, had managed to do just that twice already.
If there was anything different about this rescue mission compared to the previous ones, it was that Gao Yang did not need to push himself into a desperate situation this time.
The reason was simple: the previous two times were to save his friends, but this time it was to save strangers, and they were the kind of strangers whose rescue was optional.
Having one’s own crew betray and nearly kill someone is reason enough for Gao Yang to make a substantial claim against Fernando’s company without it being considered excessive.
However, for the sake of the Maritime Security Company he was about to establish, and for the sake of the weapons and equipment that had been stolen by the pirates, Gao Yang didn’t mind trying to exercise a bit of professional ethics.
Farah’s ship had a satellite phone; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to contact the land after setting out to sea, due to the distance being too far.
Fernando used Farah’s satellite phone to contact his shipping company and gave them a detailed briefing of the situation.
However, Fernando’s accusation that the chief mate John had colluded with the pirates was meaningless without evidence.
But Fernando didn’t get any useful help from his company.
The nearest warship was five hundred and fifty nautical miles away from the Cloldylin.
By the time the warship arrived, the Cloldylin would have already entered Somali territorial waters.
Thus, the warship didn’t even consider attempting a rescue.
Fernando’s company was either going to have to pay ransom, or they would have to rely on Gao Yang and his team for the rescue.
However, it wasn’t until past six in the morning that Glolov and his three men gradually woke up.
Once everyone was awake, Gao Yang immediately summoned everyone to discuss how to carry out the rescue mission.
“Our landing will definitely be during the daytime, so we can’t ensure surprise, and we need to race against time.
So my plan is to switch to the speedboats when we reach a spot where our fuel is sufficient to reach the shore, and then disembark a few kilometers away from the village where the pirates are gathered, before trying to approach.”
After Gao Yang finished speaking with a serious face, Bruce shook his head and said, “Even if we disembark far from the village, we can’t guarantee we won’t encounter other people.
I think we still can’t ensure the surprise element in launching an attack.”
After pondering for a moment, Glolov said, “Unless we can wait until nightfall to possibly launch a surprise raid; otherwise, we can only attack forcefully.
But I don’t think we have any chance of success, and even though we don’t have night vision goggles, attacking at night would at least ensure surprise.
If there’s a danger of being surrounded, we would still have the chance to escape.”
Gao Yang gave a wry smile and said, “The problem is that once the crew members are brought ashore, they’re unlikely to be kept in a seaside fishing village.
They’ll be transferred to a nearby city, so if we delay too long, there will be no need to launch a raid anymore.”
Cui Bo, his face full of anger, said, “I don’t care about rescuing the crew; after all, it’s not our fault.
I just want to get my pistol back, so just leaving that fishing boat behind is okay with me.”
Gao Yang glared at Cui Bo and said, “Do you think that after the crew members are taken away, our guns would be left behind?
That’s a joke.”
Li Jinfang shook his head in frustration and said, “This is a tough situation, Brother Yang.
Just be straightforward, are we going to rescue those crew members at all costs, or are we going to play it by ear?”
“Do you even have to ask?
Of course, we play it by ear.
If we can fight, we fight; if not, we retreat.
Risking our lives to save a bunch of strangers?
Do you think I’m foolish?”
Li Jinfang nodded and said, “Just asking.
Now I understand.
If we’re going to play it by ear, then it’s easy.
We go up and see the situation.
If we can rescue, we fight; if not, we withdraw quickly.
I don’t believe those skinny pirates can trap us.
Even if we can’t get it done, it’s just a matter of losing some money.
Equipment can be bought again; there’s no need to fight to the death.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “That’s settled then.
We’ll land using the speedboat while the fishing boat waits at sea.
If we can fight, we’ll fight; if we can’t, we’ll withdraw.
We can’t leave just Antoncel and Fernando on the boat.
Test Tube, you stay on the ship and keep an eye on our prisoners, ready to support us at any moment.”
After he finished speaking, Gao Yang stood up and said, “Our firepower isn’t strong.
Rabbit and I will provide cover.
The three of you can only use AK47s.
Go check the guns now, fire a few rounds to test them, and see if they can actually be used.”
Gao Yang’s concerns were not unfounded.
Although the AR Gun Family was synonymous with reliability, the three rifles on the ship were in such a dilapidated state that, covered in rust, it was impossible to even tell where they were made.
The same was true for the ammunition, which was the kind that Glolov had said to throw away whenever you saw it because the labels were all in Arabic.
It looked like a difficult battle ahead, dealing with battered guns and shoddy bullets.
The shotgun Gao Yang relied on was on another boat, which essentially cost him his position as a fire support gunner, and none of the three, including Li Jinfang, were fit for the role of a sniper.
As a result, Frey, who wasn’t well-suited to being a fire support gunner either, reluctantly took on the task.
The pirates’ maintenance of their weapons was also unknown.
Glolov and the others had disassembled the rifles just to check them, only to be dumbfounded by the thick layers of filth accumulated in the barrels and chambers.
Gao Yang finally witnessed just how dirt-tolerant the AK Gun Family was.
Had they been from the AR Gun Family, they would never have allowed such an accumulation of filth because their rifles would have exploded long before it got to that point.
While everyone was busily cleaning the guns with rags, the satellite phone suddenly rang again.
Farah looked at the caller ID and said with a tense expression, “It’s a call from my boss.”
Gao Yang tensed up and immediately ordered, “Answer the call, but you know what you should say.
If you dare to pull any tricks, I guarantee that I can kill you before we die.”
Farah nodded repeatedly and then answered the call.
After speaking in Somali for a brief period, Farah hung up with a strange expression and said, “My boss wanted to speak with someone on this ship.
I told my boss he was busy, so my boss didn’t speak to him.
I didn’t mention that they are all dead.
My boss asked where we are now, and he told me the engine on the other ship broke down.
They’ve been trying to fix it for over an hour with no success.
Now, my boss wants our ship to meet up with that one and tow them back.”
It was a stroke of luck, a true gift from heaven.
Gao Yang, delighted, patted Farah on the shoulder and excitedly said, “Very good, very good, you did very well.
As long as you didn’t play any tricks, I promise not to kill you this time.
I’ll even give you a sum of money at the end.
Now, go tell our captain the new heading.”
Gao Yang finally heard some good news, but that singular piece of good news could immediately turn all the disadvantages around.
The ship transporting the crew had eight pirates on board.
Compared to a battle on land facing more than two hundred enemies, confronting a pirate ship with only eight adversaries at sea substantially lowered the difficulty.
The fishing boat raced towards the pirate ship’s anchored location at top speed, but after about an hour of high-speed travel, static crackled from the walkie-talkie next to Gao Yang, followed by Somali words he could not understand.
Without waiting for Gao Yang to ask, Farah proactively said, “It’s from the people on the other ship, calling us.
Our walkie-talkie’s maximum communication range is around thirty nautical miles, so we are now quite close.
At our current speed, we’ll arrive in about an hour and a half.
If we switch to the speedboat, it will only take half an hour.”
Gao Yang nodded and replied, “Good, tell them we are on our way and to just wait a little longer.” (To be continued.
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