“Not 300,000!” Zhou Xuan shook his head and said, “It’s 600,000, with a prepayment of 300,000 US dollars!”
Zhou Xuan didn't consult Fu Tianlai, but directly gave Gao Yuzhen a positive answer. In fact, Zhou Xuan didn't even consider what Fu Tianlai would think. He added this money because he wanted to pay this reward himself. 1.8 million US dollars for three people, which is only a little over 12 million RMB. He could afford this money. Besides, what is this money compared to Fu Ying? Kawaguchi thought, "However, Fu Tianlai certainly wouldn't mind that he added extra money." For the Fu family, this extra money was just a drop in the ocean.
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, Fu Tianlai immediately took out checks and signed three checks for 300,000 US dollars on the spot.
Gao Yuzhen suddenly became quick-witted and, without Zhou Xuan calling her, told Brooklyn and Thomas.
These two pounds. People like Gao Yuzhen are far superior; they usually work on the edge of a knife. Zhou Xuan's conditions are actually quite simple for them. They only need to act as guides; whether or not they can rescue the hostage is none of their concern. In their experience, once they get Zhou Xuan to his destination, it's no longer their responsibility. They just need to get away and collect their additional payment from Fu Tian when they return. It's not difficult at all, not as dangerous as imagined. Somali pirates, though fierce, have a purpose and a limited range. As long as the time and place are right, the danger can be greatly reduced.
Brooklyn and Thomas used to work on hostage rescues, only getting paid for rescuing hostages; if they failed, they worked for free. Zhou Xuan's terms were the best they'd ever offered. Did they hire other mercenaries for hostage rescues? Were the two of them just there to guide the way?
However, they increased Zhou Xuan's pay, which made Brooklyn and Thomas very happy. At least Zhou Xuan was the most generous and easy-going employer they had ever encountered!
None of the three had any objections and agreed on the spot. Fu Tianlai also readily paid the check.
Brooklyn and Thomas glanced at the numbers and then put the check in their pockets. They had no doubt about the authenticity of the check. A large conglomerate like the Fu family would never offend assassins like them for such a small amount of money, and the Fu family had always had a good reputation.
Gao Yuzhen's hands trembled slightly; she was genuinely excited. Three hundred thousand US dollars, and Zhou Xuan had casually added another three hundred thousand to their offer!
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and then said, "Miss Gao, could you please tell them again? I want to ask what route the four of us should take, and what route we can use to reach the waters off Somalia the fastest?"
Gao Yuzhen immediately relayed Zhou Xuan's words to Brooklyn and Thomas.
Brooklyn thought for a moment, then immediately began to chatter on and on.
As Gao Yuzhen listened to him, she translated his words verbatim: "The political situation in Somalia is bad and unstable, so it's not suitable to go directly to Somalia. Moreover, people like us would attract a lot of attention if we went there. Many of the pirates in Somalia are local people, or if they aren't, they have close ties with the locals. So we can't go directly to Somalia. If we want to go, we can only go to Somalia's neighboring country, Nairobi in Kenya, first!"
"Kenya is Somalia's close neighbor, which is one reason. The second point is more important because Kenya's national situation is very stable, and the good situation guarantees our safety. After arriving in Nairobi, we can rent a speedboat locally. This is easy to arrange as long as you have money. The locals are familiar with the terrain and are also quite familiar with the activities of pirates. We can ask them to take us to the west side of the Gulf of Aden, where Zhou Xuan can get the information he wants."
Fu Tianlai stood up and paced back and forth in the living room, deep in thought. After nearly two minutes, he looked up at Wang Ban and said, "Wang Cong, immediately notify Ling Hui and tell him to get ready. Also, notify Vice President Fu of the group and have her contact Nairobi, Kenya, in the name of the company to rent an airport so that our plane can use a space. Give us a little more money; it will be easier to get things done once we have our money!"
Zhou An was stunned. He had originally planned to fly to Nairobi, but he didn't expect Fu Tianlai to arrange a private jet to go there and to negotiate the deal directly with the city of Nairobi. After a moment of stunned silence, he realized that his thoughts and experiences were still far behind theirs. Of course, the thoughts of a billionaire like Fu Tianlai would not be the same as his.
I once heard a joke: Two old farmers in ancient times were chatting, imagining the luxurious life of the emperor. One said, "I think the emperor must eat white flour buns to his heart's content every day." The other said, "Not only that, I think the emperor must use a golden hoe when he goes to work in the fields."
Zhou Xuan thought about himself and smiled faintly, guessing that he probably imagined Fu Tianlai's life in the same way as the two farmers.
It was only after Fu Tianlai's power did Zhou Xuan truly witness it!
In less than two hours, all the necessary documents for Zhou Xuan, Gao Yuzhen, Brooklyn, Thomas, and others were prepared and delivered to the Fu residence. The bodyguards also prepared some firearms.
To prevent leaks, after Ko Yu-jung and Brooklyn Thomas agreed, all three were asked to hand over their communication devices, such as cell phones, and then wait together.
At five o'clock in the morning, Fu Tianlai had his bodyguard wake everyone up. Then, accompanied by Fu Tianlai, they boarded a long luxury RV and drove towards the West Side of New York.
Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination, a high-end flying club for the super-rich. Fu Tianlai's private pilot, Ling Hui, had prepared and inspected the aircraft there. The pilot, Ling Hui, was also of East Asian descent, appearing to be in his thirties.
The plane is a small aircraft that can carry more than 20 people. It has 22 seats, each of which is like the first-class seats on a large plane. The seats can be reclined and are quite spacious. There are also folding tables, making it look like a small office.
Fu Tianlai's bodyguards carried several large boxes onto the plane. In the end, besides Zhou Xuan, Gao Yuzhen, Brooklyn, and Thomas, Fu Tianlai and his bodyguards also boarded the plane!
Is Fu Tianlai going to go in person too?
Volume 1, Chapter 178: First Encounter with Pirates
Although Zhou Xuan and Fu Tianlai have cooperated on the rescue efforts, Fu Ying and her parents haven't been rescued yet. Fu Tianlai is extremely worried, and he's also concerned about the potential collapse of the Fu family conglomerate. Therefore, he doesn't feel comfortable discussing anything with Zhou Xuan, especially with outsiders present. Fu Tianlai is a seasoned veteran; he clearly distinguishes between what can and cannot be said.
The plane refueled in Morocco and arrived in Nairobi, Kenya at 1 p.m. the next day.
Because of prior contact and agreement, Fu Tianlai's plane landed at a military airport on the outskirts of Nairobi. At the airport, Fu Tianlai pointed out a medium-sized plane parked there to Zhou Xuan; it was his private jet, capable of carrying 120 people. This time, due to the need, a rescue team consisting of Fu Ying and Li Junjie, along with a group of 20 mercenaries, had been in close contact from four days ago until two days ago, constantly reporting the situation to Fu Tianlai. However, after reaching the sea, they lost contact two days ago, and the fate of Fu Ying and her group of 22 people was now unknown.
In a large hotel in Nairobi, Fu Tianlai, Zhou Xuan, and their companions met with the pilot who had flown with Fu Ying and her group.
The pilot remained in Nairobi to wait for them. But once contact was lost, his communication with Fu Ying's team also ceased, and he could no longer obtain any further information or news from him.
It was the allure of money that led Fu Tianlai and his group to be escorted by three police officers from the Nairobi police department.
Because Nairobi is 450 kilometers from the ocean, it would take nearly five hours to drive there. The three police officers drove two vehicles: a police patrol car and a small container truck. The patrol car could seat eight people. Fu Tianlai and his group of six, plus the police officer driving, made seven people. The other small container truck was driven by two other police officers and contained the luggage that Fu Tianlai had brought.
Around 6 PM, they arrived at the Coastal Province on the edge of Kenya's coastline. Three policemen from Nairobi contacted a speedboat that could carry seven people. Of course, Fu Tianlai's bodyguards paid a large sum of money. The boatman was very experienced, extremely familiar with the waters around Somalia, and knew the pirates' activity range well, but the trip was too dangerous. However, no matter how dangerous it was, it couldn't resist the lure of money. Faced with Fu Tianlai throwing out ten thousand US dollars, they readily agreed.
The group consisted of five people plus the yacht driver, making a total of seven. Brooklyn, Thomas, and Fu Tianlai's bodyguard carried several boxes of luggage onto the speedboat. They then said goodbye to the three men who had brought them there and the police. The yacht driver then started the yacht and slowly sailed away from the harbor.
It wasn't until ten minutes later, after leaving the coastline, that they continued sailing into the vast ocean.
The three men from Brooklyn opened their luggage and took out their weapons. The semi-automatic rifles were more suitable for use at sea due to their longer range. They also had pistols, but those were only for close-range combat. However, they also had two rocket launchers. These were easy to carry, highly lethal, and had a kill range of over 400 meters, with the strongest reaching around 1000 meters.
It also includes a positioning system and diving equipment; it would be foolish to come to sea without diving equipment.
Zhou Xuan was no stranger to diving, and immediately thought of Fu Ying. He couldn't help but feel anxious. Fu Ying and her companions were facing fierce pirates. What worried him even more was that he didn't know where Fu Ying was, whether she was just in danger, or had fallen into the hands of the pirates. On the speedboat, Gao Yu and Xiao Zhen, acting as translators, and Thomas introduced some details about the Somali pirates.
In Somali waters, piracy has increased due to the surge in refugees. The rise in pirate numbers, coupled with the high number of successful kidnappings, has allowed pirate groups to acquire substantial funds and upgrade their equipment. Previously reliant on traditional methods like ropes and machetes, they now utilize speedboats, heavy weaponry, and advanced technologies such as GPS and satellite communications in their hijacking operations, expanding their activities from the Somali coast to the high seas hundreds of kilometers away.
There are over twenty pirate groups operating in Somalia, with four being particularly prominent: First, the "Puntland Guard," the earliest pirate group to operate in Somali waters; second, the "National Coast Volunteer Guardians," a smaller group that primarily plunders small vessels sailing along the coast; third, the "Merka," who use small, well-equipped ships for their operations, making them more agile and swift; and fourth, the "Somali Sailors," the largest pirate group, operating as far as 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
Brooklyn first ruled out the National Coast Guard and Merka, because the Fu's ocean liner was a large cargo ship with a crew of over a hundred. It was not something a small pirate group could hijack.
Therefore, the pirates who hijacked the cargo ship could only be the Puntland Guard and Somali sailors, with the Somali sailors being the most likely. The question now is to figure out which of the two groups the hijackers belong to and how to determine their route. The fact that the ransom demanded did not acknowledge which organization they belonged to presents Zhou Xuan and his team with their first challenge.
However, although the organization that kidnapped Fu Se and his wife was not very clear, Fu Ying and the others did report to Fu Tianlai the location where they last contacted him, which was in the western part of the Gulf of Aden.
Both Brooklyn and Thomas have carried out missions in this area. The pirates operating in this area are Somali sailors, the largest pirate organization. Pirate gangs also have an unspoken rule: they basically each have their own sphere of influence. Fu Ying came here this time and was able to organize a small team of up to twenty elite mercenaries. This is not something that an ordinary pirate organization can handle. In addition, given that this area is within the waters, the reason for losing contact is most likely due to the Somali sailors.
There are also a dozen or so smaller groups that we can basically disregard, as most of them are composed of refugees. In terms of experience, firepower, combat effectiveness, and financial and material resources, none of them could possibly be a match for Fu Ying's organization. Of course, there are other factors at sea, and many non-human factors are unpredictable.
Zhou Xuan immediately decided to head towards the western Gulf of Aden. Fu Tianlai had no objections, but the yacht captain hesitated because the pirates operating in the western Gulf of Aden were Somali sailors, the most powerful and best-equipped pirate organization, with the most advanced weapons, making it the most dangerous.
Fu Tianlai didn't try to persuade him; instead, he took another ten thousand US dollars out of his bag and threw it out.