"Keep a close eye on this direction. We won't go to the Philippines, but if Abu Sayyaf comes to us willingly, we'll make sure they don't leave alive this time."
"Yes, boss!"
After the morning meeting ended, Xia Yu went back to her room to catch up on sleep.
Because the system couldn't achieve 70% completeness, the remaining spare time for the next few days was used to print 155mm grenades.
However, he couldn't waste the time before returning home. He left the Musashi's fragments on the seabed in the non-routing area of the Natuna Sea to free up a berth, and then went to the waters off Palawan Island.
The heavy cruiser Atago was sunk there by a US Navy submarine, and the popularity of the lead ship of the Kaohsiung-class was soared because the sea rats stole the low-background radiation steel from the Kaohsiung.
Many marine exploration companies gathered in the Strait of Malacca to deploy remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to assess the damage to the warship wreckage.
Xia Yu had no choice but to abandon the Kaohsiung and choose the Atago, the second ship, which was more difficult to salvage.
The Nautilus's dive was completed in just one extra night shift, despite it being a heavy cruiser several sizes smaller than a battleship.
[Project: Atago (Heavy Cruiser)]
Completeness: 82.5% (Ready for repair)
It wasn't hit in the face by torpedo bombers, but after being hit by four torpedoes from a submarine, it capsized and sank in just 20 minutes, so the wreckage of the Atago is still in a very good condition.
The Kaohsiung was captured and scuttled by the British. It was severely damaged during the capture and many of its subsystems were dismantled. Xia Yu estimates that it is only 70% or more intact.
It seems that the result of this change of target is quite good, and the time required for preparation can be reduced.
"Get ready!"
Xia Yu directly chose to prepare for the repairs.
[Estimated remaining man-hours for preparation: 134.7]
It will take less than six days, but with the addition of the 5,000 tons of wreckage to be replaced (based on 50% displacement), it can be completed within two weeks.
"Boss, those sea rats are really ruthless. They've stolen the entire Yuhei."
"We haven't even been back on the Jihuo ship for two days, and the incident happened in Malacca," Zhao Yanshou said, scrolling through his phone.
According to a report by the media in Kazuki Prefecture, the wreckage of the Japanese Navy heavy cruiser Haguro, which sank during World War II, was illegally salvaged and disappeared without a trace, just like the HMS Prince of Wales.
After reading the entire report, Xia Yu thought about it carefully and realized it made sense. With so many marine exploration companies gathered in Malacca, shouldn't they take advantage of such good conditions to organize a "pilgrimage to the holy land"?
I checked out Yuhei's account and found nothing. This is definitely going to make the news.
“Scrap steel costs more than $300 a ton, and low-background radiation steel costs tens of thousands of dollars a ton. And since it sank so shallowly, the salvage cost can be kept to a minimum. If it were me, I would also choose them.”
Xia Yu explained the economics to Lao Zhao: the only way to obtain large quantities of this non-radioactive steel was through shipwrecks built before the end of World War II, so even though the price was not as high as silver, it was still much higher than copper.
From this perspective, starting a shipwreck salvage company with the help of Wurkan's team could be quite profitable.
Because the system can mass-print low-background-radiation steel, it's difficult to explain the origin of the products without establishing a related enterprise.
However, this material is mainly used for scientific research, and the entire industry is not very large. If Xia Yu were to pursue this, the annual revenue would only be five or six hundred million US dollars at most.
"That's true. It's not worth it to salvage those deep-sunken ones. Only people can go out of the cabin to work in shallow water."
Old Zhao also expressed his agreement.
He was just playing around and never expected that his boss was the fake rat in the news, but the real sea weasel.
Xia Yu didn't hold back when scolding the sea rats, after all, they were the ones who were destroying the wreckage of those warships, while he was giving these cultural relics that represented a period of history a new life.
Yes, we collect them purely for personal enjoyment; we don't sell them.
Later, when they established a shipwreck salvage company, they prioritized salvaging sunken merchant ships. For warships, they only considered salvaging Japanese ships, since the Japanese had not yet paid off their debts, so they would use the wreckage of warships as collateral!
"By the way, how's the situation at sea lately?"
Xia Yu stated that the warships would be salvaged, and the pirates would be eradicated.
"The Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation Agreement on Anti-Piracy and Armed Hijacking Information Sharing Center has confirmed that a large ship disguised as a fishing boat by Abu Sayyaf has left the Philippines and is heading towards the Natuna Sea. It seems they are serious about this."
Only when the advance troops have paved the way can the main force officially set out.
"Fishing boats are a favorite of pirates. They wander aimlessly and don't follow fixed routes. As long as they don't run into the coast guard and get on board for inspection, there's no danger at all."
After Xia Yu finished speaking, he got up and went to the porthole. In his field of vision, there were two fishing boats at work, with trawls catching fish and shrimp in the sea.
A couple of days ago, when he was commuting by helicopter, he even encountered fishing boats that were using explosives to catch fish.
In Xiayu, fishermen would throw a few grenades into the lake or river to catch a few kilograms of fish for themselves. The homemade bombs they threw contained more explosives than anti-tank mines. If they encountered a school of fish, they could catch hundreds of kilograms of fish with just one bomb.
The problem is that there are divers filming underwater among the fish.
Just this month, a fishing boat in Malaya dropped a "torpedo," and two Chinese tourists who were diving in Southeast Asia floated ashore.
You can dodge bullets in the water, but an underwater explosion is game over.
The boatman on the fishing boat was arrested by the Malay police, but the diver lost his life forever.
So when Xia Yu encounters these kinds of fishermen who use explosives to scare them, he aims at the sea directly in front of the fishing boats and fires a burst of machine gun fire to teach these guys a lesson, since even if they are caught, they will only be sentenced to two years in prison.
He couldn't actually attack the fishermen, but he could strike at the pirate gangs that disguised themselves as fishermen.
But how do they find their target among the vast number of fishing boats?
"Closing the net"
Under the command of the kidnapped captain, a group of pirates, who had changed from rainforest trousers to fishermen's shorts, were fishing.
Some of them were working diligently, while others were observing the merchant ships coming and going on the waterway and gathering various intelligence.
The number of merchant ships passing through this waterway connecting Eurasia was extraordinary. They were like mice that had fallen into a rice jar, but before they could have a good meal, they had to do all the preparations.
After all, this is overseas. If something goes wrong, we're completely finished.
Moreover, because they are too far from the Philippines, they cannot carry out the business of extracting oil from tankers for secondary sale. They can only resort to the old, classic method of kidnapping hostages to extort ransom.
In the past few years, the success rate of doing this was very high, but later the number of people who could be kidnapped became fewer and fewer. The Philippine government also refused to pay the ransom, trying to weaken the organization by jeopardizing their financial resources.
Abusayev then decided to try a different approach and find work in Natuna.
There's no other way; merchant ships have to pass through the Strait of Malacca, and luxury yachts also have to use this route.
Kidnapping merchant ship crew members and extorting ship owners has a chance of failure, but extorting wealthy people who can afford yachts is almost always successful.
“The yacht, their target is very likely the yacht.” At the same time, on the Jihuo ship, Xia Yu had a flash of inspiration and revealed his deduction.
The organization has repeatedly attacked luxury yachts passing along the Philippine coast, and the German hostage Kant, who was beheaded by them, was taken from his yacht.
But wealthy people aren't stupid. When they're out in Southeast Asian waters, they stay away from the Philippines, which means Abu Sayyaf has lost business right at his doorstep and has to travel far away.
Of course, such heinous events also spurred the determination of Kuo County to combat piracy.
The timing of Jihuo Defense's promotion of its maritime business was very precise, which is why they were able to reach an agreement so quickly.
"Therefore, when they have luxury yachts, they prioritize them, while merchant ships are a backup option."
Old Zhao followed Xia Yu's line of thought and analyzed.
"That's right. Most yachts have low freeboards and are equipped with water decks as standard, making it very easy to board them. This is the best solution for them. Establishing temporary bases on islands in the Natuna Sea, or even within Malay territory, makes it easier for them to carry out kidnappings and extortions."
Xia Yu continued to add.
It seems he really was a detective in his past life, or rather, how does a PMC company boss who can't solve cases fight pirates?
The four Resilient-class destroyers in the county can't even wipe out a few pirate gangs in a year. Can a single ship from Jihuo Defense really make all the pirate gangs rush to their doom?
It's impossible. We must use our wisdom to find these pirates on the vast ocean. It will be too late to rush there after something happens.
"In that case, boss, do we need to monitor all the yachts along the coast of Malay?"
Old Zhao asked Xia Yu.
Having a direction makes things much easier, unlike before when we could only do patrols.
“Monitoring is one aspect, but more importantly, we must take the initiative. I will borrow a luxury yacht to lure them out of their hiding place.”
Passive waiting is not Xia Yu's style; they must take the initiative on the battlefield.
He doesn't own a yacht himself, so he has to borrow one from a friend.
As for which friend it was, Xia Yu immediately pictured Ha Mandan's face covered in stubble.
There's no other reason; the other party's yacht is a warship, and its self-defense capabilities are beyond question.
Secondly, Old Ha's love for pirates is so deep that he absolutely couldn't resist this opportunity to play dumb and take advantage of the situation.
Xia Yu immediately left the cockpit, went to the flight deck, and dialed the other party's number.
"Your Highness Hamandan, it's been a long time since we last contacted each other. How have you been lately?"
After the call was answered, Xia Yu greeted him.
"It's alright, just a bit boring. Have you delivered the F-14s you promised the Americans? I can't wait to show them off."
Bored, Old Ha immediately asked about the tomcat.
Xia Yu had promised him that this year he would take him to show off and fly, shooting down the evil Su Xiu MiG-28 escorting Tu-95 bombers carrying nuclear bombs.
However, the delivery of F-14Ds to the US was delayed, and his wife was pregnant with their second child, so most of their business had to be postponed, including the trial operation of the promised Haman.
"...Your Highness, the simulated air combat must be postponed, but I have a real combat opportunity here. Would you like to seize it?"
After explaining his difficulties, Xia Yu changed the subject and seduced the other party.
"I love real combat the most. Tell me more about it, and I'll definitely help you out."
Old Ha, who had been feeling listless in the air-conditioned room, suddenly perked up.
He was unwilling to attend royal events, and unwilling to buy tickets to or watch team matches; only fighting could make him clearly feel that he was still alive.
"The Asian branch of Jihuo Defense is cracking down on piracy in Southeast Asian waters. Not to mention the small fry they've taken down, do you know about Abu Sayyaf? They've shifted their focus to piracy, and recently they've even fled the Philippines, preparing to attack yachts and kidnap wealthy businessmen in the Natuna Sea and along the coast of Malay."
Xia Yu explained his situation to Ha Mandan, and now it was up to them to see if the other party had the guts.
"So you're planning to have me play this wealthy businessman?"
Old Ha's breathing became rapid.
"Yes, so buddy, are you in?"
"Of course I'd like to. I'll leave tonight and arrive in three days. Is that enough time?"
Ha Mandan didn't hesitate at all, only worried that she wouldn't be able to make it in time.
The sea route from Abu Dhabi to Kui County is over 2,000 nautical miles. Even if his Yas is traveling at a top speed of over 30 knots day and night, it would still take him three days to arrive.
"There's still time. Absayev is more patient than I thought. They are very careful in choosing their targets, and it will be at least a week before they select a target to carry out the kidnapping."
Xia Yu quickly comforted Lao Ha.
Small-time pirates need to increase their income through repeated crimes, but large organizations like Abu Sayyaf can make enough money from a single operation to last for months, so there's no need to rush.
"I see. I'll get there within four days. We can discuss the rest when we meet."
After Old Ha finished speaking, he hung up the phone and then made several more calls, notifying the dock to resupply the Yas with fuel, food, fresh water, and most importantly, ammunition.
He removed his headscarf and robe, then put on a camouflage uniform, followed by a bulletproof vest and helmet.
"Splash splash"
The roar of the propellers came from outside the window; it was the helicopter that had come to pick him up.
Xia Yu found it hard to imagine how swift Lao Ha's actions were, but the long-awaited YAS arrived in Kuo County on the third day and reached the Natuna Sea on the fourth day, where it met up with the Ji Huo at sea.
"Your company's dock landing ship looks really good. Not to mention its powerful firepower, the dock can carry both tanks and landing craft. It's so versatile."
Old Ha, looking travel-worn, toured the entire boat with Xia Yu as he led the way, and said with a hint of envy.
He knows his stuff. Dock landing ships are designed for multiple functions and are not as sensitive as amphibious assault ships. They are high-end for fighting pirates.
If it were him, he might get tired of the YAS in a couple of years and buy a smaller tank landing ship to modify himself!
According to the navy's ranking system, it would be amphibious assault ships > dock landing ships > tank landing ships, but we're not individual players, so a smaller platform is more fun to modify.
If it weren't for the need to take into account a certain amount of transport capacity, tank landing ships for fire defense would be quite good. However, since the branch offices are all located in Singapore, there's no need to not use the readily available Endurance-class ships and instead opt for tank landing ships as a downgrade.
"Well, combating piracy is just one of the services our branch undertakes. We can also handle disaster relief, special transportation, evacuation of citizens during wartime, and armed intervention orders outsourced by international organizations such as the United Nations and the Philippine Alliance."
Xia Yu explained to Lao Ha.
While the Focus Fire's capabilities are indeed somewhat excessive for fighting pirates alone, they also have other businesses.
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