69novels Chapter 21 What I feared most came to pass; I actually ran into it!
Chapter 21 What I feared most came to pass; I actually ran into it!
"Ah Hao, I've inquired around, and no one has seen any warships in the surrounding waters recently."
When Boss Huo saw Zhang Guohao return, he called Zhang Guohao to his side and whispered something to him. Boss Huo's mood improved because of this news, and a smile returned to his face.
Looking at Boss Huo's expression, Zhang Guohao echoed him with a few words, but he didn't share Boss Huo's thoughts. Although he didn't know much about Boss Huo's deeds in his previous life, it seemed that in some reports about roadside stalls, this guy had indeed been bombed by warships.
Thinking of this, Zhang Guohao became even more nervous. After setting sail, he kept his eyes on the sea, being extremely cautious, afraid that he might encounter something today.
As fate would have it, the route that Boss Huo chose to take today happened to be the eastern side of Hong Kong Island. From a distance, Cheung Kwok-ho could see a large ship slowly sailing towards them from the east!
"Boss Huo, something's wrong. We've really run into trouble this time!"
While instructing the old captain Guo Dagui to change course, Zhang Guohao spoke to Boss Huo over the communicator.
"What? You mean you ran into that thing?"
Mr. Huo's previously cheerful expression on his ship suddenly froze.
"Yes, I see the cannon barrel."
Zhang Guohao said in a low voice, "What I fear most has come to pass. If this really happens, I'll have to risk my life again."
Unfortunately, the ship only has ordinary machine guns, while the other side is a warship. How are we supposed to fight?
"Turn, accelerate, full speed ahead, full speed ahead!"
Boss Huo shouted hoarsely into the communicator, hoping to speed up the escape from this area.
Fortunately, the warship was quite large, and Zhang Guohao spotted it from a great distance, much farther than when he encountered the number gang members and pirates before.
At this distance, if you run desperately, I don't know if you can get within range of the inland coastal defense artillery while being shelled.
While urging the captain to speed up, Boss Huo found a small radio and sent a telegram to Manager Zhao, requesting that Manager Zhao find a way to provide assistance.
Manager Zhao has considerable influence; the other side values Hong Kong Island as a window and hopes to use it to accomplish more.
We must also find ways to protect people like Boss Huo who offer help.
All five ships changed course, deviating from their intended route, and headed straight for the nearest land.
"Oh, I've found these little mice."
On the warship assigned to the mission, a major general, holding binoculars, stared at Boss Huo's fleet and sneered.
"Open fire! Let them see what a warship is like. Do they think they can get away?"
The major general spoke to his adjutant.
"yes!"
The adjutant saluted and went to give the orders.
Soon, the naval guns opened fire!
"Whoosh!"
"boom!"
"Whoosh!"
"boom!"
"Whoosh!"
"boom!"
Three shells landed around Boss Huo's fleet in quick succession, creating splashes of water. Zhang Guohao, who had just arrived at the stern, was about to check if the warships had caught up.
As a result, the warships showed no martial spirit and opened fire directly!
Zhang Guohao was drenched to the bone.
"Pah! Pah! Pah! Damn it, Lao Guo, hurry up! If you're any slower, we'll be hit by artillery shells!"
As Zhang Guohao spat out seawater, he ran quickly back to the cabin and shouted to Guo Dagui.
"I know, we're already going the fastest, leaving the boss behind. Hao, check if there's anything worthless on the ship, throw some away if you can. We've loaded it too full, it's slowing us down!"
Guo Dagui shouted to Zhang Guohao. At this moment, it became clear that Guo Dagui was a true veteran of the sea. Even after being bombarded by the ship's cannons, his hands firmly gripped the rudder, and the ship sailed fast and steadily, completely unaffected by the cannon fire.
"I understand, I'll get on it right away!"
Zhang Guohao walked out of the cabin and called out to Ai Wu and the others, telling them to quickly throw down some useless things.
Unfortunately, at this distance, machine guns are not very useful, otherwise Zhang Guohao would definitely have fired a burst at the other side!
The people on the ship behaved rather poorly. When they suddenly noticed that a warship was approaching, they all panicked and didn't know what to do.
Fortunately, Zhang Guohao stepped forward and directed everyone to do what they were supposed to do; otherwise, it would have been chaotic, and some people would have even started praying to the heavens for the protection of the goddess Mazu.
While Boss Huo's fleet was fleeing in disarray, the warships behind did not increase their speed, maintaining a distance within firing range, firing and pursuing at the same time.
"General, should we increase the speed? This distance is simply too close; our naval guns might not be able to hit the target 100% of the time!"
Seeing that more than a dozen shells had failed to sink a cargo ship, the adjutant couldn't help but make a suggestion.
"You little brat, you really want to risk your life against these warships? Don't you know where we are? We're too close to the mainland. If we attract their attention, how are we going to escape?"
"Maintaining this distance allows us to fight or leave as we please; taking care of ourselves is the most important thing!"
"There aren't any powerful warships over there, but their coastal defense artillery and air force are not to be underestimated. Even with their old planes, we have to be careful."
"Besides, this message came from the Security Bureau. We've come all this way, enduring the sea breeze every day, and we won't see our wives and kids for days. Let's just leave it at that and get back as soon as possible!"
"That bastard secret service, they just give us a word and we're their thugs? What kind of world is this?!"
The major general whispered to his adjutant, "With this ship, and him being a major general, if they chase too hard and something happens to the ship, who knows what kind of life he'll face!"
A general without real power is no better than a dog on the street.
On the island, there are still many ordinary soldiers who can't even get married!
Incidentally, the major general also cursed the people from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, saying that these people were creating a climate of fear and unease. The major general was only able to take on this job because he was afraid of being framed.
The warships chased after Boss Huo's fleet like a cat teasing a mouse, which terrified Boss Huo and his men.
Back in mainland China, Manager Zhao, upon receiving the telegram, also hurriedly went to see his superiors.
Soon, the limited number of local ships and aircraft were dispatched and rushed towards Boss Huo's fleet.
The continuous gunfire from the naval guns kept Zhang Guohao and the others still, so they found a safe place to squat down.
Everything that needed to be thrown away was thrown off the ship, but the ship's speed didn't increase much. After all, the ship was loaded with too much cargo, and they couldn't just throw it away.
Some of the crew members prayed to Mazu, some to Guan Yu, and others to Wong Tai Sin; their beliefs were quite diverse.
Everyone prayed that the ship would go faster; between life and death, time was so unbearable.
The two slowest ships were inevitably hit by the shells. One ship had a large hole torn in its hull, and the other had a section of its hull snapped off. On both ships, the crew members were desperately trying to save lives.