370: Chapter 368: Finally Found You, Nisshin Maru.
370: Chapter 368: Finally Found You, Nisshin Maru.
After spending several indistinguishable days and nights in the cabin, stepping onto the deck to see the sea and the sun, Gao Yang felt thoroughly refreshed, and the good news from Uriyangko made him feel even better.
Gao Yang, full of spirit and excitedly said, “That’s fantastic!
Where is the Nisshin Maru, and when can we launch an attack?”
Uriyangko responded with a wry smile, “We only know the approximate location of the Nisshin Maru.
According to the latest information we received, we’ve closed in on the vicinity of the Nisshin Maru, but as for when we’ll actually find it, that’s down to luck.”
Ships are always on the move, and the information we get is always several hours behind.
Unless there’s an airplane searching from above, we still have to navigate around randomly.
In the vast ocean, searching for a single ship isn’t easy.
Gao Yang, understanding this, chuckled and said, “I thought the radar had already found a target.
Turns out we only know the approximate location of the Nisshin Maru.”
Uriyangko sighed, “It’s good enough.
Being able to locate the Nisshin Maru so quickly is already quite fast.
Now, I just hope there isn’t a big wave.”
Gao Yang sighed, “Although I know it’s unlikely, I still hope we can find it today.
Hmm, do we know our current position?”
“Don’t know, and who cares where it is?
Right now, I have no mood to think about that.”
Even though all the crew members including Gao Yang had come, they were just there for the ride, with basically nothing for them to do except observe and bear witness.
Although Bruce was with the navy, he mainly served with the Marines.
His understanding of naval combat wasn’t much more than that of Gao Yang and the others, so Bruce was also not much help.
Right now, he was simply doing what a military doctor should do.
While Gao Yang and Uriyangko were chatting, Bruce raised his voice, “Everyone, go eat something, drink some water, replenish your electrolytes.
Days of seasickness and vomiting have left us very weak.
Take the opportunity to eat now while we’re not feeling sick.”
Uriyangko hardly had the strength to walk, so Gao, Glolov, and Bruce, helped Uriyangko slowly to the dining room on the ship.
Though lacking an appetite and without a dedicated chef on the ship—only prepared fast foods—Gao Yang still forced himself to eat quite a lot.
With food in his stomach, and thanks to the emergency food Bruce had prepared that was effective in quickly restoring strength, it wasn’t long after eating that Gao Yang began to feel some energy returning.
The past few days of strong winds and waves had left all crew members with little appetite, but now that the wind and waves had passed, the crew members gradually started coming to the dining room to eat.
Crew members came in small groups, eating and chatting, but they only spoke Russian, so Gao Yang and the others couldn’t understand what was being said.
Only Uriyangko and Glolov could converse with them occasionally.
Finding it dull to eat in the dining room, Gao Yang was thinking about heading back on deck for some fresh air when a sudden broadcast from the captain came through the loudspeakers.
After just a few short sentences, three crew members who were midway through their meal suddenly stood up and ran off.
Glolov also stood up, excitement on his face, “The captain said the radar has detected a large moving target, and it’s moving quickly.
It’s not an iceberg; all hands have been ordered to their posts, full speed ahead.”
Gao Yang asked anxiously, “Did he say how far away it is?”
Uriyangko was even more excited, shouting, “Quick, to the bridge!
Let’s ask the captain ourselves.”
A crowd surrounded Uriyangko as they arrived at the bridge.
Upon seeing Uriyangko, the captain with his white hair smiled broadly, pointed at the radar screen, and began conversing with Uriyangko in a flurry of words.
The captain, a Ukrainian named Pavlovich, was in his sixties.
He had once served as the executive officer on a frigate in the Soviet era’s Black Sea Fleet.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, his ship was quickly decommissioned due to lack of funds, and Pavlovich retired along with his ship.
Although Ukrainian, Pavlovich spoke Russian.
This old man’s most prominent trait was his love for vodka.
No matter the time, he always reeked of alcohol.
However, thankfully, Pavlovich could hold his liquor.
Despite always having a bottle of vodka at hand, taking big swigs now and then, he never appeared drunk and always remained sober.
After a few words, Pavlovich laughed out loud and then grabbed the vodka bottle, guzzling a large swig, looking very happy.
Glolov kept translating the captain’s words, and now he too seemed pleased, “We’ve found a suspicious target.
It was moving quickly, but now it’s almost completely stopped.
It can’t be an iceberg, it definitely is a ship, and it’s a large one.
It’s less than sixty nautical miles away from us.
We’re going at full speed to get there.
If the target doesn’t move, we’ll be able to find it in less than three hours.”
Gao Yang and the others were all excited.
So far, everything was going smoothly.
Now, all they had to do was to see whether the detected target was the Nisshin Maru they were looking for, or, even better, whether the whaling fleet had gathered together.
The Whaling Fleet operated in this manner: three 1,500-ton whaling ships would search and hunt whales at the front, while the factory ship Nisshin Maru followed behind.
Once a whaling ship killed a whale, the carcass would be sent to the Nisshin Maru.
The distance between the Nisshin Maru and the three daughter ships was not fixed; at times it could be more than a dozen nautical miles, and sometimes just a few.
The specific distance depended on the location of the whales being tracked.
Thus, if the fleet was engaged in whaling, the ships might spread far apart from each other.
Gao Yang of course hoped that the ships would all be together so that he could take them down in one fell swoop.
If the whaling ships were scattered far from each other, the moment they realized they were under real attack, it was very likely that some could escape.
Gao Yang’s main target was the Nisshin Maru, but he hoped for a clean sweep, not letting a single whaling ship off the hook.
Therefore, Gao Yang was mentally prepared for the need to wait for the right opportunity to strike.
Having learned the direction of his target, what remained was to wait.
Though there were less than three hours left to get the answer, Gao Yang felt these few hours were more difficult to endure than the past few days.
Li Jinfang was called up from bed, and upon learning that a suspicious target had been discovered, he immediately sprang to his feet full of energy, hopping and jumping onto the deck with Gao Yang and the others.
Six people, each with a binocular in hand, conducted visual searches until finally, a large white ship appeared within their field of vision.
As they drew nearer, it became clear it wasn’t just one ship but at least three or four gathered together.
Despite having spotted the ships, they could not yet confirm whether these vessels were their quarry, the Nisshin Maru.
The Avenger maintained radio silence and headed straight towards the discovered target at top speed.
When the distance to the discovered large ship was less than two kilometers, Gao Yang still couldn’t make out the names on the ships; they were all facing his direction with their bows.
However, Gao Yang was pretty certain that these were the ships he was looking for, the Nisshin Maru.
Gao Yang’s certainty came from seeing at least five ships, among which three were spurting huge jets of water, attacking the other two that were nearly side by side.
Other than whaling ships and anti-whaling protest ships, Gao couldn’t think of any other ships that would do this.
“Everyone off the foredeck, Ram, come to the pilothouse, leave the foredeck.”
Upon hearing Uriyangko’s voice from the intercom, Gao Yang and the others rushed back to the cockpit.
As soon as he saw Gao Yang, Uriyangko waved excitedly and said, “It can’t be wrong, it’s definitely the Nisshin Maru.
Good news is they’re gathered together, but the bad news is it seems the Japanese have witnesses.”
Taking advantage of not being too close yet, Gao Yang said urgently, “I’ve already seen it.
There are other ships here now.
Should we wait for them to leave before making our move?”
Gao Yang had to ask Uriyangko because although he had planned this, the execution lay in the hands of Uriyangko, or rather, Grand Ivan, who also assumed the risks; therefore, he needed to know Uriyangko’s thoughts.
Uriyangko waved his hand decisively and said, “What’s there to wait for?
Who cares who’s around?
If that ship is the Nisshin Maru, then let’s take out the Nisshin Maru right now and head home!”
Captain Pavlovich, who was rarely serious, wore a solemn expression this time and turned to say a few words to Uriyangko.
After shrugging his shoulders, Uriyangko walked over to Gao Yang and whispered, “We can stay here and watch, but it’s better to keep quiet and not disturb the captain.”
Gao Yang and the others stood in a nondisruptive corner, daring not to even breathe too loud.
Immediately, Captain Pavlovich issued two more orders, and after the helmsman repeated his words, the wheel was swiftly turned.
The high-speed Avenger carved a wide arc, maneuvering to the side of the ships that were advancing abreast.
When the ship turned to the side, Gao Yang finally saw the name on the outermost ship – No.
2 Shonan Maru.
Gao Yang’s heart started pounding wildly, and he whispered excitedly, “It’s them, that’s the ship!”
Without slowing down, the Avenger circled around the five entangled ships.
After observing their positions, Captain Pavlovich issued several orders, and the Avenger began to slow down, aiming its bow at the broadside of No.
2 Shonan Maru.
The Avenger and the outermost ship of the entwined fleet, the No.
2 Shonan Maru, were still about three kilometers apart, and the Avenger’s speed continued to decrease.
While the Avenger was slowing down, Pavlovich spoke a few words to Uriyangko, who then gestured and pointed at Gao Yang.
Pavlovich looked at Gao Yang and said in English, tinged with a Russian accent, “You’re the paying boss, so it’s up to you whether we attack right now.
So, can we start the attack?”
Gao Yang swung his arm fiercely and shouted, “Attack, do it now.”(To be continued.
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