The panoramic view's perspective told Ling Yun that the backpack contained cutting-edge waterproof electronic equipment whose specific purpose he couldn't understand, as well as life-saving bottles, compressed food, and some miniature steel tools that were likely intended for use in the field. This outfit was exactly the standard attire of a special forces member of the Marine Corps of a developed country; just one set of high-end combat uniform would fetch over $500,000 on the black market.
However, special forces from an official country would never sail on such an oddly shaped yet powerful armed warship. Moreover, this area is far from the territory of any country, and there are very few patrol ships patrolling here 24 hours a day. The ferry has been sailing for almost ten hours, always traveling at top speed. This means that encountering a fully armed black ship in this deserted sea area is very likely an unfortunate encounter with pirates.
"It's pirates," Xiaorou said softly, her senses extending a little further. The two of them could clearly see the scene on the pirate ship. There were about fifty people on board. Apart from the fully armed pirates, the leading pirates at the front were all dressed in casual clothes, which seemed out of place with the pirates behind them. Standing at the front of the deck was a muscular, fat white man wearing a red T-shirt and white pants. His chestnut hair was constantly blowing in the sea breeze. He was holding a high-powered military binocular and looking in the direction of the ferry. Beside him was a towering black man in combat uniform with a cold and ruthless expression, always holding an AK47.
"Is this what pirates really look like?" Ling Yun was a little surprised. His impression of pirates came almost entirely from novels and movies. They should all be fierce-looking, dark-skinned, burly men in black clothes, wearing black headscarves, carrying broad-bladed machetes, wearing leather boots and dirty, open-sleeved clothes, desperately charging and shouting under the rising skull and crossbones flag behind them.
"You're thinking of medieval pirates. It's the 21st century now. Pirates need to keep up with the times. If you can buy these high-end items on the black market, why not use them? Do you really want to charge into battle?" Xiaorou saw right through him and gave him a cute, playful glare.
"Looks like we're in for some bad luck," Ling Yun said slowly. "Before we set sail, Lao Yu said the chances of encountering pirates were slim. How come we've already hit the jackpot in less than ten hours at sea?"
"If anyone should be afraid, it's them. What are you afraid of?" Xiao Rou rolled her eyes at him again. "At worst, we'll just steal the pirate ship. I'm already tired of this crappy ship being so slow. If it were twice as fast, we could get to America sooner. By the way, you can speak English, right?" She teased Ling Yun with a half-smile.
"I can, but there are still some difficulties in the conversation," Ling Yun said honestly. He had only studied English for a short time in his senior year of high school, and with his superpower, he had grasped the essence of English in a very short time. In fact, language is not a barrier for people with superpowers. Even if Ling Yun didn't know any English, he could still understand and speak the other person's language through the fluctuation of his mental energy field. It was just a matter of getting familiar with it.
Chaotic and heavy footsteps and screams echoed from the cockpit and passenger cabin, interspersed with the loud shouts and frantic cries of the thugs. It was clear that Lao Yu had spotted the pirate ship and was quickly ordering his men to take their positions for a final stand.
In the cockpit, Lao Yu and Fatty's hearts sank to the bottom. It was exactly what they feared. Before setting sail, they had prayed that they would not encounter shipwrecks or pirates. Unexpectedly, before they even encountered a shipwreck, they encountered a group of heavily armed sea bandits!
This was even less likely than being hit by a meteor. Old Yu had been out at sea for several years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a ferocious-looking pirate ship. Although orders were issued in a continuous stream and the henchmen were all in position with all sorts of submachine guns, all the resistance was in vain.
Old Yu's heart sank when he saw the pirate ship's cannons through his binoculars. One shot could sink his dilapidated ferry. However, pirate ships usually looted every ship they encountered before stopping, so they wouldn't waste their cannonballs for no reason. This was the main reason why the ferry hadn't been bombarded even though it was within the pirate ship's firing range. Nevertheless, the pirate ship's cannons were already set up, the dark muzzles were focused, and the cannonballs were ready to fire, ready to blast the dilapidated little steamer across the way at any moment.
Despite knowing he was doomed, Lao Yu gritted his teeth and steered the ferry at top speed. He planned to put up a final desperate fight only when escape was impossible. He had encountered pirate ships once or twice before, but those pirate ships were far slower than the smuggling boat. With his superb driving skills, Lao Yu could easily leave those pirate ships behind.
But now, even just looking at the pirate ship's upgraded hull, Lao Yu knew that shaking off the pirates was merely a fantasy. All he could do now was stall for time, until he was completely exhausted before engaging the pirates. Surrendering or begging for their forgiveness was worse than jumping overboard. Pirates were always simple and ruthless: hand over your money, then kill and dispose of the bodies. Aside from young, attractive women who might be kept as pathetic sex toys, everyone else was doomed.
So rather than being killed by pirates, it's better to die a glorious death. At worst, he could sink his own ship, leaving the pirates with nothing but a stain on their reputation. Old Yu thought through gritted teeth.
He suddenly sensed something and involuntarily looked towards the cabin of the two mysterious guests. Due to the panic and shouts of the thugs, even the many stowaways knew what had happened and began to clamor in fear. In fact, the pirate ship was already very close to the stowaway boat. As long as the cabin door was opened, the huge black pirate ship could be clearly seen with the naked eye.
But there was no sound from inside the cabin. Those two distinguished guests, whom they couldn't afford to offend, couldn't possibly have missed the commotion outside, yet they didn't react at all. What did that mean? Old Yu couldn't figure it out, but suddenly, as if he had a trump card, he calmed down, as if even if the sky were to fall, someone would be there to support him.
Every stowaway's heart tightened instantly. Although the smugglers were ruthless, at least they wouldn't indiscriminately kill stowaways. But pirates were different. After being robbed clean, they would be tragically killed and their bodies dumped at sea. This immediately plunged every stowaway into an almost uncontrollable panic. Some even began to scream hysterically. No matter how loudly the thugs roared to suppress them, it was to no avail. Faced with a life-or-death situation, everyone suddenly became a stranger, walking on the edge of violence and madness.
The pirate ship drew closer and closer, soon closing in to within a hundred meters of the smuggling vessel. A flag embroidered with a skull and a broadsword slowly rose from the pirate ship. Pirates had used this flag since ancient times, and it had even evolved into a symbol of their spirit.
A voice, broadcast through a loudspeaker, resounded across the sea for hundreds of meters around. It was in Chinese: "Lay down your weapons, surrender, and we can guarantee your safety as long as you hand over your money."
If you disregard the second half of the sentence, hearing that deep, magnetic baritone voice, the people on the smuggling ship would almost believe they were death row inmates on the high seas, and the pirate ship was a righteous tracking organization. Of course, apart from a few clueless stowaways, no one believed the pirates' lies about surrendering. Lay down your weapons—how could you guarantee your safety? That's a joke; they could just kill you at will. Therefore, the ferry, besides continuing to circle at full speed, completely ignored the surrender pleas from the pirate ship.
With a deafening bang, a cannon shot rang in the ears of everyone on the ferry. A massive shell hurtled into the sea less than twenty meters to the right of the ferry, instantly creating towering waves that crashed against the deck and cabins like a torrential downpour. Most people were drenched, the seawater churning violently under the force of the gunpowder. The ferry began to rock violently. Except for experienced sailors who managed to grab onto the side of the ship to steady themselves, most screamed and swayed with the vessel. Many thought it was going to capsize, their cries bordering on tears.
Old Yu stood calmly in front of the compass in the cockpit, intently swaying it left and right. The pirate ship's demonstrative cannon fire actually reassured him slightly. This meant that the pirates did not want to destroy their prey before they had obtained anything. Otherwise, at such close range, even a novice could accurately hit the ship with cannonballs. Although the ferry was a medium-sized ferry and had been reinforced later, it was still too vulnerable to be destroyed by powerful cannons.
There was no other way at the moment. Lao Yu could only hope to stall until nightfall and use his familiarity with the area to lure the pirate ship into the devilish waters full of reefs. Although doing so might cause his own ferry to run aground and sink, it was better than being caught up by the pirates and then slaughtered.
Through the seawater-stained plexiglass, Lao Yu looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, but there were still at least several hours before nightfall and the treacherous, reef-filled waters. Whether they could survive that time was entirely up to fate. He could only do his best and leave the rest to destiny. Thinking this, Lao Yu couldn't help but glance again at the cabin whose door remained closed. No matter how violently the ship rocked, there wasn't a sound from inside, not even a single question. This was illogical. Lao Yu even had the illusion that Ling Yun and Xiao Rou had sprouted wings and flown away, and that there was no one in the cabin at all.
The pirates continued their pointless attempts to persuade them to surrender, but the persuasion soon ceased. They realized that this ferry was not as inexperienced and easy to deal with as other cargo ships. Often, the sight of a heavily armed pirate ship on the sea would terrify the sailors of both merchant and cargo ships, causing them to quickly raise the white flag and surrender under threat. Of course, an even more tragic fate awaited them, but once disarmed, it was too late for regrets.
Even the bolder ferries that turned tail and ran upon seeing pirate ships often lost their nerve after a few cannon shots, surrendering obediently and repeating the tragic fate of the previous type of ships.
But today, the white captain on the pirate ship was somewhat surprised. After failing to persuade them to surrender, the pirates' dilapidated ferry did not stop its escape attempt despite the cannon fire. Instead, it accelerated towards the deep sea. This meant that the people on the ferry had rich maritime experience and were definitely not rookies. The captain was a very adventurous person who knew how to understand people's psychology. He knew that the pirates would not destroy the ship before they got anything, and he used this to buy time. He seemed to be a pretty formidable character.
The pirate leader thought silently, then turned to a junior officer and shouted in English, "Speed up! Don't wait until dark. Intercept them ahead. Hundreds of nautical miles ahead, there's a reef area. Their goal is to lure us there. Don't fall for their trap. Also, activate the infrared snipers and kill all the thugs on deck who aren't stowaways."
Chapter 283 Sniping
No matter how noisy it was outside, Ling Yun didn't pay attention to it. The panoramic view was always on, focusing on the energy aura left behind by the nameless powerhouse. Although the ferry was forced to change direction several times, its general direction remained unchanged, and it was always on a parallel track with the energy channel. Fortunately, this was at sea where no one could see, so the energy aura could be clearly preserved. If it were in a city, the noisy atmosphere of people would easily drown out this energy aura, and it would be impossible to find it again.
Xiao Rou gently rested her head in his arms, her beautiful eyes, like pools of clear water, half-open and half-closed, enjoying a rare moment of rest. Although the cabin was violently rocking with the ferry due to the rapid movement and the threat of shelling, the two people sitting on the iron bed remained as if they were sitting on a stable mattress, completely unaffected by the swaying.
The three-dimensional image was already closed, but in Xiaorou's half-open eyes, images of the sea surface flashed by like skipping frames. These were images perceived by the silver dove, which could directly generate images of the outside world in her mind through the connection of an invisible spiritual stance. In a sense, this strange technique was close to a panoramic view, but a panoramic view had no blind spots and had the function of energy detection. Obviously, the two were not comparable in this respect.
The cabin wasn't very well sealed. The side walls of the cabin were simply welded together, and seawater could easily seep in when hit by waves. However, Xiaorou had already set up an isolation barrier in advance. She added a sealing function to the barrier, and as soon as the seawater rushed in through the gaps, it was immediately forced back by the barrier.
"It seems this old Yu is quite capable, managing to evade the pirates' pursuit for so long." Ling Yun slowly withdrew his gaze, and the panoramic view began to shrink, once again focusing on the chase between the two.
"Should we help them out? After all, this chase is wasting our time." Xiao Rou leaned on his shoulder and asked lazily. Suddenly, she flicked her slender, soft hand, and a faint silver light shone through the round window of the plexiglass, colliding in mid-air with the cannon fire fired by the pirate ship again.
"Let's wait and see. If we can avoid taking action, we should. I have a feeling something's not right. Maybe there are others lurking among these people. This voyage isn't as simple as we think," Ling Yun said calmly, watching as Xiao Rou's telekinetic attack intercepted the cannonball in mid-air, causing a loud explosion. Thick red smoke and flames burst out in the air, and countless fragments of the cannonball scattered like locusts. Most of them fell into the sea, while a few spun towards the ferry and landed heavily on the thick wooden roof of the passenger cabin with a clang, causing another wave of panic.
An unexpected gasp rang out from the pirate ship. The gunner, who had just fired the cannonball, stared in astonishment at the flames and smoke that had just dissipated in the air. In his calculations, the cannonball should have landed about fifteen meters to the right of the smuggling vessel.
As instructed by the pirate leader, the cannon fire was to become increasingly threatening, with the aim of crushing the enemy's hopes and, ideally, forcing them to stop and surrender. Therefore, after each shot was fired, experienced gunners had to readjust the cannon's mount and focus, and then fire again based on the enemy's speed and direction. At the same time, they had to make the impact area as large as possible; otherwise, a single shot could easily reduce the entire enemy ship to ashes, which was definitely not the result the pirates wanted.
Cannonballs and tracking ships must be included in the pirates' budget. Since they are a private organization, no country or government provides them with free funding. Therefore, they must be frugal with every penny. Whatever they spend, they still have to rob back from the ferry. If the effort and reward are not proportional, then the robbery will fail. As pirates, they actually understand the importance of spending money wisely.
The gunner had been in this line of work for over a decade. With his extensive experience, he had successfully completed numerous missions of bombardment without ever making a blunder that would sink the ship. However, he was still taken aback when he saw a shell explode in mid-air, even though he had calculated the damage. After a thorough inspection, he discovered that the cannon's firing rate and the line of fire were not at fault. The problem must have been with the shell itself. Perhaps he had accidentally picked up a dud. The gunner thought to himself, shook his head, and quickly and skillfully loaded the next shell.
The white pirate captain lowered his military binoculars, which he had been constantly scanning, and looked at the smuggling boats that were clearly visible to the naked eye, swaying gently. He shook his head and said, "Kai, it seems we've encountered an experienced captain this time. It will take some effort to catch up with them. They've already caused us to lose four Italian-made high-explosive shells. We must recoup that loss from them." As he spoke, he stretched out his large, hairy hand and clenched his fist tightly.
"Adams, I feel something's not right." The black leader, who had maintained a blank expression while holding an AK47, moved his thick lips slightly. "I think we shouldn't pursue them any further. Let's turn around and find our next prey. This ferry carrying stowaways gives me a very bad feeling. We've just equipped our soldiers; we should look for a vessel with more value to rob. This ship looks dilapidated; it shouldn't be worth much."
Adams glanced at him dismissively, pulled a flat tin box from his T-shirt pocket, gently opened it, took out an exquisite pure silver Cuban cigar, and puffed on it, saying, "Kay, you're being too cautious. That wrecked ship is neither as fast nor as well-armed as us. Apart from possibly having a captain who knows his seas, do you think those few beat-up guns that can't even shoot fifty meters can hold their own against us? These stowaways may be dressed in rags, but since they're smuggling themselves, they must be carrying some money. Of course, our main targets are the smugglers; most of the money will be on them. As for the women, let the brothers enjoy them. Hopefully, we'll find a decent one at sea this time. God, I haven't been with a woman for months."
Kay, the black man, sighed deeply and shrugged: "Maybe you're right. We're pirates, and our lives are always on the edge of a knife. But there's an old Chinese saying: 'Better safe than sorry.' Even if we have the upper hand, we still need to be careful."
Adams exhaled a pale yellow smoke ring, patted Kai's strong, broad shoulder, and laughed heartily: "Kai, with you as my second-in-command, I'm having a much more comfortable time as a pirate. If any girls catch your eye this time, I'll let you enjoy them first, how about that? But you're like a stallion, don't kill that girl in one go like last time."
Kai, looking somewhat bored, muttered to himself while looking at the AK47, "Those Asian girls are too weak. They can't handle it after just one time. They can't compare to us black people. We're as strong as cows. It's just that we're too ugly. We're not interested in playing with them."
As the two men were talking, two fully armed pirates, panting, carried a solid wooden platform past them and placed it heavily on the deck at the bow of the ship, where there was a clear view. Then, another pirate came over carrying a large pile of scaffolding-like tools and began assembling the scaffolding on the high wooden platform.
“Kay, you’re an arms expert, take a look at this thing. I just bought it from the black market for $100,000. Not bad, right?” Adams proudly took another puff of his cigar, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and walked with Kay to the table, watching the pirate skillfully assemble the stainless steel bracket of a sniper rifle.
Kai whistled and stretched out his large, dark, and rough hand to stroke the long gun barrel that was not yet assembled: "Not bad, a super-enhanced Barrett, and an electronic sniper scope. Even a newbie who has never touched a gun can take down a bird at a distance of 100 meters. With it, we can wipe out all those damn Chinese. Why didn't you take it out sooner?"