This is indeed good news. If a rescue is to be carried out, the more hostages there are, the more difficult it will be—that's for sure. Moreover, given the current situation facing the Fu family, if they only rescue Fu Ying's parents, they will undoubtedly face international condemnation, and the Fu family will be in danger of collapse. No matter how much money is spent, they must ransom all the crew members.
However, the deal between the executives and Fu Meng and his wife was not finalized because the price had not been agreed upon. The pirates made a slight concession on the $1 billion price tag, but it was still a staggering $1.05 billion. Johnny used the excuse that the amount of cash was too high and difficult to raise in a short time, while also stalling for time to find out the specific location where Fu Meng and the others were being held. Although the chances were almost gone, the pirates basically believed in Johnny's sincerity.
After all, the deal with the crew was settled, and negotiations take time. I remember once they kidnapped more than 20 hostages from an East Asian oil tanker. The negotiations took seven months, and they eventually got a ransom of $1.8 million. Now they have much more experience and patience, so there's no rush.
Of course, what reassured them most was that, so far, no hostages had been rescued by armed force; this was their confidence. Fu Tianlai added anxiously, "If we can't locate the hostages in the short term and can't rescue them, we'll face a dangerous situation. This danger isn't just for Yingying's parents, but for our entire Fu Group. It's a chain reaction; this incident is the fuse. Once it ignites, then..."
Zhou Xuan was completely unconcerned about the crisis facing the Fu family conglomerate, which was of utmost concern to Fu Tianlai. His biggest worry right now was the safety of Fu Ying's parents. If they couldn't be rescued safely, how could Yingying be happy with him? Perhaps he would never see Fu Ying smiling and happy again. They were Fu Ying's parents, who were also his in-laws!
As long as they are rescued, Zhou Xuan doesn't care whether the Fu family is rich or poor. He has enough money to support his own family and the ability to continue earning money, and that's enough for him.
"Mr. Fu, I propose that we first use this yacht to transport a group of people back to Kenya, and then we can gather a few larger ships and search the other islands to see if we can find the pirates' secret stronghold."
The method Zhou Xuan proposed was actually on everyone's mind, but everyone knew that those who went back first would be better off. Those who stayed behind had no food or water and were constantly at risk of being wiped out by large numbers of pirates. It was a perilous situation.
Because of what happened during the day, their location has been exposed, and the pirates who escaped back may soon gather even more men.
So everyone is considering who should leave and who should stay!
A yacht can only carry a maximum of twelve people, and that's already the case. If it's too overloaded, it might encounter pirates halfway through the journey, which could be fatal if it affects the speed.
Fu Ying's original small team had a total of sixteen people, while Fu Tian came from this side with the yacht driver, making a total of six people, for a total of twenty-two. If they go back to pick up twelve people, then there will definitely be ten people left behind.
Looking around at the people, it was clear from their expressions that none of them wanted to stay.
Although these people are all doing dangerous jobs, when it comes to survival, none of them want to give up. No matter how much money they make, it's all for naught if they don't have the life to enjoy it.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and spoke first: "Old Fu, I have a suggestion. It's definitely impossible for everyone to leave at once. I propose that Old Fu, Yingying, Junjie, Miss Gao, and the yacht driver go first. The remaining seven spots can be decided by them. As for those who stay and those who leave first, let fate decide. Whether you stay or leave, there are risks involved. It all depends on your own perspective!"
When Zhou Xuan proposed this plan, Gao Yuzhen translated it, and everyone basically agreed. The few regular staff members who were leaving were their employers, so it was only right to ensure the safety of their employers first; otherwise, who would they get paid from later?
The other two to leave were a girl and the yacht driver. There's even less to argue about now; for the remaining people, whether they left or stayed depended on luck, so there's no problem with that.
Zhou Xuan had always been a man of few words. But once he voiced this opinion, most people felt more favorably toward him. It was clear that Zhou Xuan wasn't a skilled fighter, unlike them. After all, it wasn't easy for an ordinary person to have such thoughts. Better to live a wretched life than die a good death, right? And how many people aren't afraid of death?
Fu Tianlai remained outwardly calm, but his opinion of Zhou Xuan had indeed changed significantly. At least in the face of life and death, Zhou Xuan hadn't shown any cowardice, and he had prioritized Yingying's safety. In addition, Zhou Xuan had displayed extraordinary abilities in front of him, so Fu Tianlai placed great hope in Zhou Xuan.
Fu Ying immediately said, "Grandpa, you and my cousin go first, I want to stay with Zhou Xuan."
Fu Tianlai and Li Junjie exchanged a glance. They both knew Jian Ying's temper well; she was a woman of her word and would never go back on her word unless Zhou Xuan said he wanted to leave. Fu Tianlai thought to himself that it wouldn't be difficult to get Zhou Xuan to leave first, since he was also considered a member of the Fu family and their main employer to the mercenaries. It would be easy for him to leave first.
But Zhou Xuan really wanted to stay, because after today's fight with the pirates, he estimated that a large number of pirates would come tomorrow. In that case, he might as well surrender and be escorted back to the stronghold by the pirates. This way, he would be very likely to meet Fu Ying's parents. As long as he met them, he would have a chance to rescue them.
Zhou Xuan's confidence stemmed from his ice-based supernatural ability, which Fu Tianlai was the only one who knew about, so some things couldn't be said outright.
There's an old saying: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Volume 1, Chapter 181: Reunion
On the side of the people, apart from the two people on duty at the beach, the remaining two children... were all near the campfire, some sitting and some lying down.
Fu Ying didn't leave, so Fu Tianlai couldn't do anything about it. There was one extra spot left out of the remaining seven. The decision on which seven people would leave hadn't been made yet, so they decided to wait until dawn to decide and give everyone more time to consider.
Around 1 a.m., Johnny called again.
This time, he was asking Fu Tianlai for the detailed address of these people. He told Fu Tianlai that he had already contacted two yachts. They could carry thirty people and were expected to arrive at 5:30 a.m.
Fu Tianlai immediately decided to abandon the search. Once the ship Johnny had contacted arrived, everyone would return together, replenish their equipment, and then come back to search again.
When Fu Tianlai told everyone, they all agreed. At 5:10 a.m., one of the two men on duty returned to report that a boat had arrived.
Fu Tianlai immediately led his men to investigate. It was too dark on the beach, and they couldn't see anything clearly. Their night-vision goggles and other equipment had been lost in the sea, so they could only observe with their naked eyes. About a hundred meters away, they could vaguely make out two pale white boat silhouettes.
As they drew closer, they could be seen as two speedboats, each capable of carrying a dozen or so people. Each boat had three or four people on board, though they were only visible as dark silhouettes.
Fu Tianlai exclaimed happily, "That's right, Johnny's men have arrived!"
One of the mercenaries shouted a few times, and the rest of them lay down, guns at the ready.
Someone on the boat answered in English, saying that they were a contact person sent by Mr. Johnny.
The person could name Johnny and was there at the agreed time. They must be one of Johnny's men, Fu Tianlai thought. Just as he was about to stand up to speak to the newcomer, his bodyguard suddenly pushed him back down into the sand and whispered, "Wait, Mr. Fu, something's not right!"
As the bodyguard spoke, gunshots suddenly rang out all around, flashes of gun muzzle light appeared, and a large area along the beach was filled with figures!
We've been caught in the summer heat!
Fu Tianlai, his bodyguard, and Li Junjie didn't even get up. Then the bright lights came on again, and Fu Tianlai saw that most of his dozen or so men had been killed, and hundreds of armed men surrounded them.
It's obvious they were pirates.
Logically speaking, Fu Tianlai's mercenaries were no ordinary people, but they all suffered a loss because Fu Tianlai knew from his call with Johnny that two speedboats would come to pick them up. And the timing was perfect, so he relaxed his guard. Only when the lights came on did they see fifteen or sixteen speedboats on the beach, but they were all painted black and couldn't be seen in the darkness.
The pirates rushed forward and viciously smashed Fu Tianlai and his men down with the butts of their rifles. Of the dozen or so mercenaries who had emerged, only three or four remained. Including Fu Tianlai, Li Junjie, and Fu Tianlai's bodyguard, a total of seven people were still alive. The pirates then tightly bound them.
At the campfire, only Zhou Xuan, Fu Ying, Gao Yuzhen, the yacht driver, Brooklyn, and Thomas remained. Upon hearing the gunshot, Brooklyn and Thomas immediately drew their guns.
But before they could act, just as they raised their guns, several bursts of sparks shot out from the muzzles of guns behind the large trees, riddling them with bullets.
Zhou Xuan was unarmed and therefore did not receive such treatment, but was immediately attacked by pirates who pointed guns at his head. In addition, the yacht master, Fu Ying, and Gao Yuzhen were also captured by the pirates.
Fu Ying did not resist because she understood that if she did, she might provoke the other pirates to shoot at Zhou Xuan and his men. She estimated that she could completely incapacitate the two pirates who captured her within two seconds, but she was afraid that Zhou Xuan would not have that ability, so she dared not move.
In truth, Zhou Xuan was the most capable of self-defense. Because he was unarmed and his gentle, unassuming appearance would mislead the pirates, he was confident that his icy aura, within a ten-meter radius, could transform all of the dozen or so pirates into gold and devour them, completely erasing them from this world without a trace. But honestly, this was the outcome Zhou Xuan hoped for, not a massacre on his side. Strangely, the pirates arrived at a very opportune time, and it seemed they had thoroughly investigated their weaknesses.
Most of these pirates were local Somali refugees who couldn't understand each other's language, so they chattered amongst themselves. Then they aggressively took Zhou Xuan, Fu Ying, Gao Yuzhen, and the yacht driver away, treating the yacht driver slightly better, since he was also from here and could be easily identified by his appearance.
On the beach, under the bright lights, Xiao Jiantian, Li Junjie, Fu Tianlai's bodyguard, and four mercenaries—a total of seven people—were tightly bound. Fu Ying called out worriedly, "Grandpa!"