One can never walk by the river without getting their shoes wet. A year ago, Sakoko and his men were plundering at sea when they set their sights on an American merchant ship.
To their surprise, the merchant ship was armed and managed to capsize their vessel.
Except for Sakoko himself, all his subordinates perished. He was then scooped onto the ship by a fishing net and taken prisoner.
After being held captive for a few days, a man approached him and gave him two choices: death or submission!
For a pirate with no principles, making such a choice was easy, so he chose to join.
He joined Black Ice Security, a renowned American military contractor.
The United States, with its aggressive military policies and constant wars, often finds that many soldiers struggle to reintegrate into normal society after leaving the military.
It is during these times that military contractors, also known as security companies, emerge.
These security companies recruit a large number of retired soldiers. Besides providing services such as escort, security, and bodyguard duties, their significant income source is mercenary work.
In most regions where the US conducts military operations, a large portion of the ground combat is handled by these mercenaries.
They must complete their assigned missions to receive substantial rewards.
Black Ice Security is one of the most famous companies in this sector, boasting tens of thousands of employees, all of whom are battle-hardened veterans.
Furthermore, the company is immensely wealthy and possesses a vast arsenal of advanced weaponry and equipment.
The military strength of this company is such that it could easily defeat the armies of most countries in the world.
In recent years, as the Xiansheng Asteroid has drawn closer to Earth, the spiritual energy on the planet has changed, leading to mutations in some humans.
Black Ice Security has keenly observed this development and is making preparations, recruiting combat personnel with special abilities.
However, due to the presence of the Scepter of God within the United States, Black Ice Security dares not openly compete with them for talent. Thus, they have turned their attention to the vast continent of Africa.
This land is filled with mystery, home to hundreds of millions of people and many enigmatic phenomena.
Over the past few years, they have found dozens of black individuals like Sakoko who possess special abilities.
Notably, most of these individuals' abilities manifest as physical enhancements, granting them a level of physical prowess comparable to wild beasts.
Thus, after joining Black Ice Security, Sakoko underwent a series of rigorous military training. His previous experience as a pirate leader, coupled with his inherent combat aptitude, allowed him to quickly rise to the rank of a minor leader, commanding a squad of over a dozen members and undertaking missions worldwide.
Of course, the majority of their missions were clandestine operations.
For instance, in areas with excellent public safety, devoid of bandits and pirates, the demand for security services would be low.
Sakoko and his subordinates were tasked with acting as pirates and bandits, even engaging in acts of violence, to coerce these populations into hiring security companies for their protection.
A little over half a month ago, Sakoko and his men received an order that required them to return to their old ways and play the role of pirates once more.
However, this time, their objective was not merely to instill fear; it was to destroy their target!
Consequently, Sakoko and his men boarded an amphibious assault ship, which Black Ice Security had purchased ten years prior after it was decommissioned.
These military contractors also require a substantial amount of weaponry and even heavy ordnance; arms dealing is also one of their business ventures!
After sailing for several days, the amphibious assault ship finally spotted its target. They predicted the course of the Oriental Princess and proceeded at full speed to intercept and launch an attack!
When the two ships were still over 30 nautical miles apart, the Black Ice Security personnel noticed the Oriental Princess accelerating, clearly indicating that they had been detected!
The amphibious assault ship suddenly halted, its bow splitting open to the sides, revealing three small boats that surged out from the cargo hold.
Each of these boats was about 10 meters long and about 2 meters wide, equipped with three engines, enabling them to travel at high speeds exceeding 40 knots per hour.
Furthermore, each of these small boats was armed with two small anti-ship missiles.
Although these small anti-ship missiles had a range of only 20 kilometers and required close-range firing, they were deadly weapons for merchant ships.
The commander of the leading small boat was none other than Sakoko. Each of the three small boats carried a crew of six members. Besides the pilot, the others were armed with rifles and rocket launchers.
"Charge, lads, and take them down!
If we can sink that ship directly, we'll get 2 million US dollars.
If we damage it and disable its propulsion, we'll still get at least 1 million US dollars in rewards."
"Charge! For dollars, for women!"
The pirates roared, their desires blinding them.
Meanwhile, on the Oriental Princess, alarms blared incessantly. The bracelets and mobile phones worn by Ling Tian and the others vibrated, instructing them to seek refuge in safer compartments.
In the Oriental Princess's command center, Dongfang Yunying operated a small numeric keypad on the console, entering a sequence of codes.
Immediately thereafter, the entire Oriental Princess underwent a transformation.
Two large containers, positioned on either side of the berths, had their side panels suddenly split open. The inner panels of these containers were made of metal, and upon opening, they formed a phased array radar!
Phased array radar is a standard feature of modern warships, capable of simultaneously searching and locking onto hundreds of airborne targets.
Many navies of small and medium-sized countries lack such equipment, yet this cargo ship possessed it, cleverly concealed within shipping containers.
Subsequently, several other container panels on the deck opened, revealing their hidden devices: several close-in laser cannons, fire control radars, and even a few anti-ship missiles!
This was no mere cargo ship; it was clearly a warship heavily armed like a fire ship!
Captain Dongfang Yunying and First Mate Liu Chunhua stared intently at the radar screen, observing three small dots rapidly separating from the amphibious assault ship and converging on them.
"It's speedboats! They must be planning to use them to impede our advance, and then the amphibious assault ship will launch its attack!"
"Distance, 25 kilometers!"
"Distance, 20 kilometers..."
"Distance, 15 kilometers..."
At this moment, the command center was suddenly engulfed in a cacophony of alarms, with shrill electronic sounds piercing the air!