The peak of pirate raids and even hijackings in the Gulf of Aden occurred a few years ago, and there have been few large-scale hijacking incidents in the last two years.
The main reason is that the internal conflict in Somalia has been alleviated with international aid, and the intervention of naval forces from various countries has also reduced the occurrence of such incidents.
Many large international cargo ships are equipped with their own armed guards and avoid dangerous waters, which greatly reduces the room for pirates to operate.
Many old pirate groups have been quiet for a while, or have gone to some sea areas to rob small boats.
Its rampant nature is far less than in previous years.
Therefore, some people even believe that Somali pirates have disappeared under the joint strikes of navies from various countries.
Yang Dawei's decision to let his two cargo ships sail alone instead of waiting for the domestic escort fleet was also due to this general environment.
However, as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms says, the world will eventually unite after a long period of division and eventually divide after a long period of unity. Somalia may be a small place, but its level of chaos is among the highest in the world.
Recently, a large-scale upheaval broke out within the company, resulting in many people losing their jobs.
So the old pirate gang gathered a large group of young people, preparing to pull off a few more big heists.
In places like this, there are more guns than people, and if someone really wants to do evil, the so-called local government simply can't control them.
Yang Dawei's two cargo ships, unarmed and without guards, ran right into the line of fire of the new pirate forces.
This incident sparked heated discussions on news websites, revealing the background of the people on the hijacked ship and the reasons behind the hijacking.
There are some things that Yang Dawei himself overlooked, but they were written in great detail in the news, and it's unclear whether there was any fabrication involved.
...
Hobio, a coastal town 400 kilometers north of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
This place has once again become a gathering place for emerging pirate forces.
Abdullah Hassan is currently the largest pirate leader here, with a pirate gang of nearly 300 men, consisting of former local fishermen and armed men who have returned to their hometowns.
They also call themselves the "Coast Guard".
The two large oil tankers were the pirate gang's biggest recent haul; such large ships usually come with a ransom.
They were asking for an outrageous $8 million, and they would accept even if it was reduced to $2 million.
Several pirates carrying AKs walked past the courtyard of a dilapidated mud house.
The ship was holding 36 crew members from two cargo ships. Apart from two Vietnamese, the rest were Chinese.
It has been almost two weeks since they were kidnapped, and two days since Yang Dawei made the phone call to Wu You.
"Why..."
The ship's chief engineer sighed again.
Will the company and the boss who shipped the goods pay the ransom?
The same question has been raised countless times.
"Definitely."
One of the captains answered the question.
"But I heard that there are still several houses over there with dozens of Southeast Asian fishermen who have been kidnapped and have been held captive for two years."
"That's because their country doesn't care about them. We are Chinese, so we have nothing to be afraid of."
One of the crew members gave a response that seemed to be both comforting to others and to themselves.
"But there were Chinese among those fishermen who were arrested..."
Another crew member expressed his opinion with some uncertainty.
"The two ships and the fuel on them are worth far more than the ransom. We'll definitely be released. As for the others, we don't care."
The other captain wanted to end this oppressive conversation.
"In comparison, we need to maintain an optimistic attitude and the necessary physical strength. These pirates only give each of us one liter of water a day, so let's not waste our energy talking."
Rumble~
Thunder rumbled from outside.
"Thunder! Thunder! It's going to rain!" a crew member shouted happily.
The people inside the room also started tidying up the bottles and jars around them.
When it rains, there's rainwater, enough to drink to one's heart's content.
The combination of approaching evening and thick rain clouds.
The sky quickly darkened, and the wind grew stronger; clearly, this was no ordinary rain.
...
A dozen or so strange creatures, which looked somewhat like praying mantises but were only one size smaller than an adult, had already landed on some of the rooftops of this dilapidated town.
Their wings are transparent and tough, their two thick forelimbs have sharp blades, and their body color blends almost into the roof when they land on it, even their body temperature is the same.
Wu You stood atop Ao Guang's head, looking down at the low-rise buildings below.
The silver creatures could clearly see and smell which buildings below contained people and whether they had weapons.
The main goal this time is to capture people, alive. I don't want to bring this bunch of burdens across the ocean, so after careful consideration, Wu You came in person.
A dozen or so mimicking mantises were the main force in this capture operation; the relatively mild wind and rain were merely to block possible satellite imagery.
...
Looking at the sky that was about to rain, the armed pirates scattered throughout the town walked towards the houses in groups.
A team of five people walked into an alley.
The leader felt something move on the wall in front of him and wanted to turn around and ask the people behind him.
But when he turned around, there was no one there. Realizing something was wrong, he tried to fire a shot.
With a soft "whoosh," the arm holding the gun flew off along with the gun.
"Ah... ooh..."
He didn't even have time to scream in pain.
With his throat severed, the gushing blood soaked his entire trachea, leaving him only able to make "woo-woo" sounds.
The mantis reflected the fear and struggle of the young black man in its compound eyes. It grabbed him and flew up, but before it could even reach the air, it blurred and disappeared into thin air along with the man it was holding.
"37..."
Wu You withdrew his hand, used the water sphere that had gathered above Ao Guang's head to wash his blood-stained right hand, and then spoke to the mantis demon beside him.
"Try not to break any limbs, as the potential of incomplete material may be reduced."
...
This night was destined to be a sleepless one for some of the original inhabitants of the town of Hobbio.
This highly efficient and bloody looting continued for half an hour.
The torrential rain that had been accumulating in the clouds finally poured down.
A sudden surge of wind, mixed with the rain, reduced visibility in the town to less than 5 meters.
"Da da da da da..."
The sound of an AK rifle came from the second floor of a house in the center of town. Before a magazine of bullets was even fired, the shooting stopped.
Abdullah Hassan and the other two leaders, sweating profusely, stared in terror at the monsters in front of them.
Beside them were several terrifying monsters that looked like giant praying mantises.
The closest creature was a lion-faced monster resembling one from mythology.
Just now, it ignored the barrage of bullets and walked over, twisting three AKs into a pretzel shape.
The three prayed to God in their hearts, perhaps because they had come too close to the moral (or human) evil (one of the two great evils in Islamic doctrine, referring to human sin and moral sin).
Has God finally sent a messenger to punish him?
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