Chapter 584
Reaching the High Seas with All Their Might
The quality of this batch of goods far exceeded his expectations, and he could almost imagine what kind of reward he would receive after bringing the goods back.
Wang Ba grasped his hand: "Tian Zuo-kun, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. I look forward to dealing with you again next time."
Japan is known for its swift and decisive payments, and Wang Ba would never pass up a business opportunity.
While his men were busy moving goods, Tadashi Taiya and Wang Ba stood by, watching everything with smiles on their faces.
Although it was at sea, the people that Tasaya brought were all from the Japanese military and had received proper training, so they were very quick and efficient at moving things.
Before long, all the weapons were moved to Daiya Tasa's fishing boat.
"Mr. Wang, I'll take my leave now. I look forward to our next collaboration!"
Before leaving, Taza didn't forget to say goodbye to Wang Ba—he was determined to cling to this powerful figure.
Wang Ba smiled and nodded, watching Taza Daiya's fishing boat gradually disappear into the distance.
Tadashi was in a hurry to leave, and the fishing boat sped off, disappearing from Wang Ba's sight in no time.
Just as Wang Ba turned around to rest for a while, something cold pressed against the back of his head.
Having spent most of his life in the arms trade, Wang Ba could guess with his toes what was on his head.
"Wang Dahu, what do you mean by this?"
The two bodyguards who were standing behind him just now were Wang Dahu's. No one but Wang Dahu would dare to harm him.
Wang Ba couldn't understand why Wang Dahu would turn against him at this time. There were only three people on the ship, including Wang Dahu himself; the rest were all Wang Ba's men.
With such a disparity in strength between the two sides, isn't Wang Dahu just courting death?
"Brother, I'm sorry. I wasn't the one who hit you, so I can't make the decision."
Wang Dahu walked past Wang Ba with a dejected look on his face and stood in front of him, looking guilty.
As for how much of this guilt was genuine and how much was feigned, only Wang Dahu himself knew.
"what?"
Wang Ba didn't quite understand.
However, he didn't need to understand anymore—Jiang Nian had already walked up to him.
"Wang Ba, it's been a long time."
At this moment, Jiang Nian had completely removed the disguise from her face, revealing her true appearance.
When Wang Ba fled, he happened to see Jiang Nian's face.
"It's you! You, you're from the military!"
Wang Ba's heart sank suddenly.
In that one glance, he etched Jiang Nian's image into his mind. Several times he dreamed of Jiang Nian, only in his dreams Jiang Nian was a defeated opponent lying at his feet.
"Wang Dahu, you actually colluded with people in the military!"
Jiang Nian was working for Wang Dahu, which means Wang Dahu knew Jiang Nian's background from the beginning. It was all a trap, and he foolishly walked right into it.
Wang Ba glared fiercely at Wang Dahu, his eyes filled with hatred.
He never imagined that the one who would stab him in the back would be his own younger brother.
Wang Dahu kept his head down and remained silent.
Erhu and the others stood to the side, and seeing Wang Ba fall into Jiang Nian's hands, none of them dared to make a move.
Upon hearing Wang Ba say that Jiang Nian was a member of the military, the hands of several people involuntarily trembled.
This is at sea; the military must have a backup plan. Do you think these people can escape?
“Wang Ba, what’s with all this talk about flirting? That’s a really unpleasant thing to say. Wang Dahu was originally the captain of the criminal investigation team. It’s only natural that he’s switched sides and joined our side. But you, running a military factory in secret, doing business with Japan, selling weapons to them—do you think that’s right?”
Jiang Nian chuckled and asked with a straight face.
Hearing this, Wang Ba suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter: "You're from the military, so there's nothing to say to you. I admit defeat. But you ask me if I did the right thing? Whether it's right or wrong is up to you to decide. I don't think I did anything wrong. I sell things, and if people want to buy them, I sell them. Do you expect me to care what the buyers do with the things they buy? Sorry, I'm just a businessman; I don't have the time to care what people do with their goods."
Wang Ba thought Jiang Nian was a bit naive.
They actually asked him if he did it right?
Is there any such thing as absolute black and white in this world?
They've become arms dealers and drug lords, who cares about this anymore? It's not like they're just bored and have nothing better to do!
Wang Ba knew perfectly well that if he fell into the hands of the military, he would definitely not have a good outcome.
Based on what he did, calling him utterly heinous would be too lenient.
"Heh, to become a powerful and domineering figure like Wang Ba, you certainly have a sharp tongue. But I'm not stupid. Since I've arranged this whole thing, I must have planned it all out long ago. Do you think that by deliberately trapping the Japanese people who were doing business with you in Chinese waters, they could just run away so easily?"
Jiang Nian sneered. He was just wasting time asking these questions.
Upon hearing the system notification that Wu Tianxue's ship was not far away, Jiang Nian's hand trembled, and with lightning speed, he pulled out a pill and stuffed it directly into Wang Ba's mouth.
Standing behind Wang Ba, He Chenguang couldn't see what Jiang Nian had done at all.
The pill melted in his mouth, and before Wang Ba could even react, he had already swallowed it along with his saliva.
"What, what did you give me to eat?"
Wang Ba stared at Jiang Nian with wide, terrified eyes. He wasn't afraid of being shot, but the unknown fear made his whole body tremble involuntarily.
"Shh!"
Jiang Nian raised her index finger to her lips, lightly signaling Wang Ba to shut up.
"From this moment on, your life belongs to me."
Jiang Nian wasn't discussing this with Wang Ba; he was simply informing him of a fact.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, Wu Tianxue is here to report for duty!"
Looking at Jiang Nian's nonchalant demeanor, Wang Ba felt a chill run down his spine.
What exactly is this person trying to do?
Before he could figure it out, a sudden alarm sounded on the sea.
Even with He Chenguang pointing a gun at his head from behind, Wang Ba still instinctively turned his head to look in the direction from which the alarm was coming.
It's a maritime patrol team!
Upon receiving the notification, Wu Tianxue rushed towards Jiang Nian at top speed.
He had never met Jiang Nian before, but Long Baichuan and the others had mentioned him countless times. He had only caught a glimpse of Jiang Nian from afar on the fishing boat and hadn't really seen what he looked like. So Wu Tianxue was practically running at full speed towards the fishing boat where Jiang Nian was.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, Wu Tianxue is here to report for duty!"
On the patrol vessel, Wu Tianxue stood ramrod straight, shouted loudly towards Jiang Nian, and gave a proper military salute. Jiang Nian returned the salute, signaling him to bring the ship closer.
Using the planks on the deck, Wu Tianxue jumped directly onto the fishing boat.
The moment Wang Ba saw the patrol team appear, he knew he couldn't escape.
However, what he was more curious about at the moment was Jiang Nian's identity—judging from Wu Tianxue's attitude towards Jiang Nian, this person was definitely not just an ordinary special forces soldier.
"The deal with Japan is done. Transfer the cash on the ship to the patrol vessel first. Wang Ba and Wang Dahu will go with you. As for the rest of the people, you can send someone else to escort them back with you on this fishing boat. He Chenguang will stay behind to assist you. I have some other matters to attend to, so I won't be going back with you."
After giving his instructions in a few words, Jiang Nian directly assigned tasks to the Wu Tian School.
Wu Tianxue was stunned when he heard that Jiang Nian wasn't going back with him.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, aren't you coming with us? Should I take you to get on your business first?"
Wu Tianxue received orders that Comrade Jiang Nian's safety was of paramount importance and that he must not be allowed to act alone.
Besides, Jiang Nian is all alone on this vast ocean, how can he possibly feel at ease!
"Take some people to move the cash first. Someone will come to pick me up in a little while, so don't worry about it."
Jiang Nian was fully aware of Wu Tianxue's concerns.
He's gotten used to it now—to go on a mission, he has to overcome numerous obstacles and deal with layers of concern. But these people don't seem to realize that he single-handedly took down a group of special forces soldiers; why would he need their protection?
Wu Tianxue was stunned for a moment.
On this vast sea, someone is coming to pick up Jiang Nian? How come he didn't hear a thing?
He instructed his men to move things and, while helping He Chenguang to subdue all those people, Wu Tianxue stood beside Jiang Nian, waiting with him—he wanted to see who was really coming to pick up Jiang Nian.
No sooner had the people from the Sakura Kingdom left than Jiang Nian sent a message to Long Baichuan. At that moment, Long Baichuan was directing the submarine to surface rapidly.
Jiang Nian didn't expect that Wu Tianxue would be the first to arrive.
While staring at the water alongside Jiang Nian, Wu Tianxue wondered to himself, "What's so interesting about this sea that Jiang Nian is staring at it so intently? Do researchers think differently from ordinary people?"
Just as I was thinking this to myself, the waves on the sea suddenly surged.
The outline of the submarine gradually became clearer and appeared before Wu Tianxue's eyes.
Thinking back to the sudden phone call from Long Baichuan earlier—could it be that the Dragon Shark Squadron came to pick up Comrade Jiang Nian?
Wu Tianxue's doubts did not last long.
Because the submarine has completely surfaced.
The hatch opened, and Long Baichuan appeared before the group.
"It really was you!"
Upon seeing Long Baichuan, Wu Tianxue practically spat out those words through gritted teeth.
"How dare you say that? I kindly called to inform you, and you just hung up on me without even giving me a chance to speak. Humph, you deserve it!"
Long Baichuan retorted irritably.
He still harbored resentment about the time his call to Wu Tianxue was hung up on.
Mentioning this made Wu Tianxue feel a little guilty. He had been too hasty; who would have thought that Long Baichuan would call to talk about this?
He was on official business; checking the fishing boats at sea was part of his job. Being interrupted while working would make anyone angry!
Regardless of the circumstances, Wu Tianxue was indeed in the wrong, and he had nothing to say about it.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, let's go first. Time waits for no one. That fishing boat from Japan is still within our surveillance range, and it's moving quite fast. We need to catch up with it immediately."
Long Baichuan ignored Wu Tianxue and spoke seriously to Jiang Nian.
This is the real business they need to get on with.
After receiving Jiang Nian's notification, Long Baichuan was a little confused about what he was going to do.
Why go through all this trouble, trading with the Japanese while simultaneously trying to shoot down their fishing boats? Wouldn't it be better to just take them down when they enter Chinese waters?
However, Long Baichuan didn't show any of his doubts. He followed his duty as a soldier and his superiors' orders, asking no questions and thinking no more, just doing as instructed.
"Captain Wu, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. The rest is up to you. Take Wang Ba and Wang Dahu back and lock them up for now; I have some questions to ask them later."
Long Baichuan's reminder came at just the right time. Jiang Nian also knew that he absolutely could not let the Japanese fishing boats get away, otherwise all his efforts would be in vain.
Since they've already broken in and taken so much weaponry, they should at least leave behind some souvenirs, shouldn't they?
Wu Tianxue had no objection to Jiang Nian's arrangements.
Just kidding, with the Dragon Shark Squadron personally protecting him, Jiang Nian will definitely be fine.
Besides, that's just an ordinary fishing boat from Japan. Even if it's loaded with weapons, it can't withstand a single missile from a submarine!
Even now, Wu Tianxue still believes that Jiang Nian intends to work with Long Baichuan to completely destroy that Japanese fishing boat.
After dealing with Wu Tianxue's matter, Jiang Nian went straight onto the submarine.
Upon entering the control room, Jiang Nian saw familiar faces from the Dragon Shark Squadron.
After greeting Jiang Xiaoyu and the others, Jiang Nian gave his first order: chase the Japanese fishing boat at full speed.
On the other hand, after obtaining the weapons, Taza Daiya was rushing towards the edge of the Chinese sea area.
Although they weren't searched when they entered Chinese waters before, there wasn't anything suspicious on the fishing boat then. Now it's different; if the Chinese maritime patrol team discovers so much weaponry, it'll be disastrous.
Therefore, Tadashi Tadashi also gave the order: run towards international waters at all costs. As long as he is out of Chinese territorial waters, even if the Chinese side discovers something is wrong, they cannot come to international waters to arrest him. Only then will he be truly safe.
At the same time, Tadashi also contacted his superior, Takeshi Kitano, immediately.
After Daiya Tasa entered Chinese waters, Takeshi Kitano stopped enjoying himself. He sat in his office, anxiously waiting for news from Tasa.
This transaction is extremely important; there can be absolutely no mistakes.
Allowing Tadashi Tasaki to conduct transactions within the waters of China was an extremely risky decision for Takeshi Kitano, but he had no other choice at the time.
All that's left is to wait for news from Daiya Tasa.
"Kitano-kun, the deal is done. I've received the weapons and am rushing to international waters. Just in case, I request assistance!"
Although the journey has been smooth so far and the Chinese navy has not detected them, anything can happen. They are now not far from the high seas, and in three hours at most, Taza Daiya will be able to break out of Chinese waters and enter the high seas.
For some reason, Daiya Tasa felt a strange unease, so he asked Takeshi Kitano for help.
At the very least, if an accident really happens, even if he desperately tries to reach international waters, the fishing boat won't last long and a rescue will be necessary.
"Taza-kun, I've arranged for someone to meet you on the high seas. No matter what happens, you must do everything in your power to reach the high seas, or you understand the consequences." (End of Chapter)