Power and Wealth

On the sea.

The pirate boat and the Navy vessel had entered a standoff.

The pirates had brought out the hostages, and the Chinese Navy did not dare to do anything. The Colonel raised his hand, and the soldiers stopped firing. They pointed their guns up, and they looked terrible. They looked at the hostages on the cargo ship and pirate boat. These pirates had hijacked another Chinese ship while waiting for ransom.

After a while, the pirate captain signaled to a speedboat, and the pirates sped towards the Chinese Navy vessel.

Fifty meters….

Thirty meters….

Ten meters….

The Navy vessel did not open fire on the pirates, and they sent a representative to the bow.

The pirates started shouting at the Navy representative in a foreign language.

That representative should be an interpreter as he could understand and converse with those two pirates. He said something to the pirates.

The pirates laughed as if they had heard a joke. They continued to talk to that representative.

Not far away.

Cargo ship's deck.

The cargo ship crew saw what was happening and whispered to their captain, Niu Dazhao. The Navy was their last hope.

"Captain, they are negotiating."

"I think they are negotiating for the release of the hostages abducted a few days ago."

"I think so. Look at the boat. There's Chinese onboard."

"They are ruthless and have killed many people. What's the point of talking to those bastards?!"

"Do you think we can be saved? My wife is still waiting for me at home. What will happen to my wife and child if I die here?"

"Don't be anxious. Our Navy will not give up on us."

"That's right. Nothing will happen to us. Those pirates are no match for our great Navy."

The crew were worried and were trying to comfort each other.

When the crew was talking, the pirates behind them took a few steps back and pointed their guns at the back of their heads. "!# #!$!$."

The crew did not understand what the pirates were saying, but they knew the pirates wanted them to stop talking.

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A timid crew member felt the gun behind his head, and his legs gave way. He fell on his ass and could not get up.

The pirates kicked that crew member and laughed.

Dong Xuebing, who was standing at the end of the line, eyes were glued to Little Qianqian on the main pirate boat. That boat was less than two hundred meters away, and he could not rescue her. His hands were tied behind him, and he remained still. He looked at that boat, getting closer slowly. The pirate captain should plan to group up with the pirates on the cargo ship. This was great news to Dong Xuebing, and he waited patiently.

The negotiations between the Navy and the pirates had ended.

The pirates did not leave and waited on their speedboat.

The Colonel and a few Officers were talking to the interpreter seriously.

The interpreter said. "They only want the ransom and will not accept any conditions."

An Officer said. "How can they hijack a cargo ship in front of us?!"

The interpreter sighed. "Don't even think of reasoning with these pirates. They will not listen. They will kill the hostages if they don't get the ransom."

The Colonel asked. "What else did they say?"

The interpreter replied. "They want us to give them the ransom first, and they will continue to talk to us."

The Colonel's eyes turned cold as he looked at those pirates. "Will they release the hostages when we pay the ransom?"

The interpreter nodded. "That's what they say, but they want us to give the ransom first."

An Officer frowned. "Commander, we cannot trust them. They also said they would release the hostages after we paid the ransom. But they dragged the release for months."

The Colonel thought for a few seconds before saying. "Give it to them."

"Commander…." An Officer disagreed with the Colonel's decision.

The Colonel looked towards the main pirate ship. "Look at that pirate ship. That baby was only a few months old, and she looked weak. She will not last much longer."

"But these pirates…."

"Stop. We must bring back the hostages as soon as possible."

"Yes, Sir."

"Send someone to deliver the ransom. Be alert!"

"I understand."

A while later, a lifeboat with a heavy bag was lowered onto the water from the Navy vessel. That bag contained the gold bars demanded by the pirates. Two soldiers boarded the lifeboat and sailed towards the pirate's speedboat.

The pirates were wary. "#@@#$."

The interpreter shouted from the Navy vessel. "They want you all to open the bag first."

A soldier put aside his gun and unzipped the bag. It was filled with shiny gold bars.

The two pirates immediately move their speedboat closer.

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The soldiers gave them the bag.

The pirates cheered excitedly, and the speedboat returned to the main pirate boat. They carried the bag onto the boat, and the pirate captain checked the bag. He smiled and nodded.

The only condition the Navy wanted was the release of the hostages immediately, as there was a baby among them. This was the higher-up's instruction. They cannot repeat the same mistake as letting the pirates leave without releasing the hostages. The Navy vessel shouted over the loudspeakers. "#@% #@$."

Dong Xuebing and the cargo ship crew heard it and knew the Navy demanded the pirates release the hostages.

Niu Dazhao and his crew's eyes were filled with hope, and they were excited.

To everyone's horror, the pirates ignored the Navy vessel. They continued celebrating, and the captain talked to a few of his men. The pirates nodded, and the captain smirked.

All the pirates stopped celebrating suddenly and started to sail away without releasing the hostages. Those pirates onboard the cargo ship followed.

The Colonel's face changed.

All the soldiers were furious.

Bang… Bang… bang…. Warning shots were fired above the pirate boat and cargo ship, and the Navy vessel went after them. The speedboats were fast, but the main pirate boat was much slower than the Navy vessel.

The pirate captain waved his hand, and the boat stopped.

The Colonel shouted, and the interpreter repeated it over the loudspeakers. He was demanding the release of the hostages.

Release?

The pirate captain sneered. He had never planned to release anyone. What if the Navy vessel starts to fire at them after he releases the hostages? His rundown boat could not stand against the Navy vessel's strong firepower. He had abducted Chinese shipping crew members several times since last year, and the Government was willing to pay the ransom for the safety of the hostages. They got greedy and felt the Navy would not dare to do anything to them. They were not afraid of the Chinese Navy and needed money for weapons. This transaction was only the appetizer.

The pirate captain signaled to his men, and a pirate started to shout into a loudhailer.

The interpreter's face changed, and he said to the Colonel. "They asked us to back off, or they would kill the hostages."

The Colonel was looking terrible. "Are they not going to release the hostages?"

The interpreter was also mad. "They are not releasing and wanted more. They demanded ten times the amount we gave them for that cargo ship's crew."

"Outrageous!" The Colonel was furious.

The few Officers and soldiers were also raging.

The interpreter continued. "They said those crews are newly caught and cannot be included in this deal. They also demanded ten times more ransom if we wanted them to release the three hostages, the baby, and this ship's crew. They asked us to go back to prepare the new ransom."

The pirates were going back on their words!

They had promised to release the hostages after receiving the ransom. Now, they increased their demand to ten times and did not release any hostages.

Everyone was disgusted by the pirates.

We did not care about the goods you robbed or the people you killed. We paid the ransom because of the hostages, and you all don't honor your words.

The Colonel immediately gave the order.

The cannons on the Navy vessel moved and pointed at the pirates. The soldiers onboard raised their guns, and the vessel sped up to block the pirates' escape route.

The pirates saw it and raised their guns in retaliation. But their guns were pointing at the hostages.

The pirate captain laughed at the Navy vessel and knew the Navy would not fire at them because of the hostages.