Chapter 585
is a bit easier.
This batch of arms is very important to Japan. Although Japan has its own arms factories, its most advanced sniper rifles are not made domestically. The official large-scale purchase of arms by the Japanese government will attract the attention of some countries internationally.
Therefore, Japan ultimately chose to trade with arms dealers and purchase this batch of weapons. Besides their use in military operations, they also needed to be taken to research institutes for development, aiming to expedite the creation of more powerful sniper rifles.
Takeshi Kitano's final words were slightly heavy, yet there was a hint of threat within that heaviness.
If the mission fails, everyone on the fishing boat will perish, and they will be left without any identification.
Understanding the threat in Kitano Takeshi's tone, Tasa Daiya's body trembled slightly.
This mission absolutely cannot fail! Even if it costs him his life, he must get this batch of weapons to the high seas.
"Yes, Kitano-kun, I understand! I will not let you down and will definitely bring this batch of weapons back to see you!"
After ending his call with Takeshi Kitano, Daiya Tasa felt even more uneasy.
With China's navy and aircraft carriers waiting not far from the sea boundary, can I really leave?
Taza Daiya has absolutely no confidence right now.
They can easily make promises.
They're just ordinary fishing boats; if they were to go up against an aircraft carrier, they wouldn't stand a chance!
"Comrade Jiang Nian, we've caught up with the Japanese fishing boat. What's the next step?"
Long Baichuan initially thought Jiang Nian intended to directly seize the Japanese fishing boat, but after catching up, Jiang Nian showed no such intention, which made Long Baichuan even more puzzled.
Could it be that we really want the people from Japan to take this batch of weapons and leave?
Long Baichuan still doesn't know that Jiang Nian has tampered with this batch of weapons, so even if the people from Japan take them back, they won't be able to use them.
However, Jiang Nian did not intend to let anyone else know this secret.
"Contact the aircraft carrier and have them warn the Japanese fishing boats. The maritime border is currently blocked; they are only allowed to enter, not leave!"
After a moment of silence, Jiang Nian gave the order.
It seems we still need to capture the Japanese fishing boat at the last minute.
With that in mind, Long Baichuan quickly went to contact Wang Yijun.
Wang Yijun was speechless when he received the message from Long Baichuan.
In Jiang Nian's view, his aircraft carrier seemed to have only one function: issuing various orders. Complaints aside, the tasks still needed to be done.
An hour and a half before reaching international waters, Tadashi Tadashi also received a notification from the Chinese Navy.
He slammed his fist hard on the wooden board, and Tasa Daiya's eyes turned red.
Just now, he contacted the people sent by Takeshi Kitano to meet him, and they were already waiting on the high seas.
But the prerequisite is that they must leave the borders of China's territorial waters; otherwise, they cannot act rashly.
After all, we can't completely break ties with the Chinese Navy yet.
"Never mind, let's speed up!"
Taza Daiya also gave the order.
"The Japanese fishing boats are speeding up; it seems they're determined to break out."
Long Baichuan noticed the situation on Taza Daiya's side immediately and said to Jiang Nian with a smile.
With aircraft carriers at sea and their own submarines underwater, if they still can't take down a single fishing boat, they might as well give up their jobs in the navy.
"Let him get away. When there's only half an hour left, have the frigate intercept him, but don't use full force. Shoot a hole in the fishing boat so that it sinks just as it reaches the boundary line."
Jiang Nian calmly gave the instructions.
"???" What's going on? Wouldn't it be better to just take over the fishing boat? Why go through all this trouble?
Now, not only was Long Baichuan puzzled, but Wang Yijun, who had also received the information, was also completely bewildered.
Letting the fishing boat sink and then salvaging it would cost a lot of money. Wang Yijun didn't believe Jiang Nian hadn't thought of this, so what exactly was he planning to do?
Before Wang Yijun had time to think, Taza Daiya's fishing boat was speeding forward.
"Stop the fishing boat ahead! Stop the fishing boat ahead!"
The loudspeaker blared. They were now at the border of Chinese waters, and in the distance, an ordinary fishing boat flying the Chinese flag was speeding towards them.
As per protocol, the aircraft carrier issued a warning.
Meanwhile, the frigate has set sail to intercept the fishing boat.
Taza Daiya was also startled when he saw the escort ship depart.
However, at this moment, worry and fear were no longer sufficient to describe his feelings. The fishing boat continued to move forward at increased speed.
"Fishing boat ahead, stop immediately! This is international waters. If you insist on continuing, you will be a traitor to China and will be sunk!"
The warnings continued to be issued.
Tadashi Taiya paid no heed. He had already spotted the ships that would come to meet them.
With just a little more effort, we can break through.
With a loud "boom," the missile struck the stern of the fishing boat.
"Taza-kun, our ship has been hit!"
The operator hurriedly reported to Daiya Tasaka.
The stern was hit, slowing the boat down. More importantly, water began to take on the hull, and it seemed unlikely to hold out much longer.
At this point, Taiya Taza didn't even bother to check the situation at the stern: "Never mind, keep going! Hold on for another ten minutes, and we'll be out of there. The waiting boats are waiting for us; even if this fishing boat sinks, it doesn't matter!"
Taza Daiya hardened his heart and said decisively.
There was no turning back at this point. If they didn't continue, the Chinese navy would discover the weapons on the fishing boats, and they would be doomed. If they continued, they might still have a chance to survive.
Wang Yijun kept a close eye on the fishing boat. Although the stern had been hit, the water was entering very slowly. At this rate, the other party could still escape to international waters.
Tadashi saw the ships waiting to meet them on the high seas, and Wang Yijun and his men could see them clearly as well. How could they possibly let him escape so easily?
So the attack order was issued again.
Warnings echoed repeatedly across the sea. Now that the other side had made its choice, this fishing boat was a traitor to them. And traitors deserve no mercy.
"Taza-kun, the hull has been hit and is taking on a lot of water. I'm afraid it won't last more than a few minutes!"
Because of the flooding, the fishing boat had slowed down to an extremely slow speed. If it weren't for the large amount of munitions it was carrying, Tadashi would have abandoned ship long ago.
Now, they have no choice but to keep moving forward. They must run as far forward as they can.
In any case, once they reach international waters, the Chinese navy can no longer continue its attacks.
On Takeshi Kitano's side, the video link was connected to the ship that was picking up Daiya Taza, allowing him to watch the situation on Taza's side in real time.
"Kitano-kun, Taza-kun's fishing boat has been hit, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for it to reach the high seas."
Honda Io looked ahead with a serious expression and spoke to Kitano Takeshi in a heavy tone.
The fishing boat was hit repeatedly, and with the added weight of its full load of munitions, it was virtually impossible for it to break free.
"Baka! Honda-kun, I'm ordering you to send men to support Taza-kun immediately! It doesn't matter if people die, but those weapons must be brought back to me!"
Takeshi Kitano's voice this time was filled with ruthlessness and determination. The deaths were irrelevant; the real problem was if the Chinese military took this batch of weapons back, Japan would suffer a huge loss.
After weighing the pros and cons, Takeshi Kitano made the decision without hesitation.
Honda Io's face instantly darkened.
This is basically making his men risk their lives to drag that fishing boat back.
Honda Io wanted to refuse, but Kitano Takeshi was the one in charge, and Honda Io dared not disobey his orders for the time being.
"Understood, I'll arrange it right away."
After ending his call with Takeshi Kitano, Io Honda immediately arranged for people to board a yacht and head towards the waters off China.
The yacht was equipped with long ropes. There was too much munitions to move them, so they had to use ropes to tow the fishing boats back.
At the very least, once in international waters, even if a fishing boat sinks, it's relatively easy to salvage. At least, China has no right to interfere.
This blatant rescue operation thoroughly enraged Wang Yijun.
"Beat them! Make sure you take them down!"
His tone was extremely harsh. These people from Japan were simply going too far. Even disguising themselves as pirates wouldn't work!
The frigate continued its attacks on fishing boats and yachts.
After barely managing to throw the rope onto the fishing boat, everyone on the yacht, except for the one who was driving, died.
After changing direction and waiting for the people on the fishing boat to hastily tie up the ropes, the yacht rushed towards the high seas at top speed.
Wang Yijun squinted, his anger burning, but he didn't forget Jiang Nian's instructions—the fishing boat had to sink near the border.
The person steering the yacht was shot in the head. Although the yacht was still moving forward, it had already lost control and skidded. Due to inertia, it plunged headfirst into the open sea.
The fishing boat was already half-sunk. Tadashi Tadashi stood on the deck; he was already at the border, and the Chinese navy could no longer attack him.
Just as half of the fishing boat entered international waters, the last shell hit the stern.
The ship could no longer hold on, accelerated its descent, and eventually sank to the bottom of the sea.
Standing on his own boat, Honda Io looked gloomy. He could clearly see that, because the stern sank first, Tasa Daiya's fishing boat had sunk in Chinese waters!
With a sharp flick of his sleeve, Honda Io turned and went into the cabin to call Kitano Takeshi and report.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, what are we doing? Are we really just going to wait like this?"
Long Baichuan couldn't understand it at all. Jiang Nian had already sunk the fishing boats from the Sakura Kingdom, so what were they doing here?
Is it really just to protect a fishing boat?
"Wait."
Jiang Nian remained calm, uttered only one word, and then closed his eyes to rest.
"Wait? Wait for what?"
Long Baichuan wanted to ask more, but seeing Jiang Nian's expression, he had no intention of paying any more attention to him.
Suppressing his doubts, Long Baichuan realized that besides waiting, there seemed to be nothing else he could do.
The moment the fishing boat sank to the bottom of the sea, the instinct for survival allowed the people on board to float to the surface using their swimming skills.
Even though the mission failed, Honda Io still sent people to rescue them all.
At this moment, the Chinese frigates also arrived at the edge of the sea area.
"This fishing boat must not be salvaged at this time. Our Chinese maritime territory will not tolerate any insolence!"
A solemn and serious voice echoed from the loudspeaker.
The frigate stood there imposingly, forcing Honda Io to refrain from making any move.
After confirming that there were no survivors on the fishing boat, Wang Yijun sent a message to Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian opened her eyes immediately when her phone vibrated.
"Go to where the fishing boat sank."
Jiang Nian's tone was very serious.
Long Baichuan and his men immediately acted on Jiang Nian's instructions.
Soon, the submarine quietly came to a stop next to the fishing boat.
"Confirm the location of the fishing boats. Are they all within Chinese waters?"
Jiang Nian's order was given and a reply came quickly.
"Half of the boat is in international waters, and the other half is in our waters," Long Baichuan said, frowning. The part of the fishing boat in international waters is not their responsibility for salvage.
"Accelerate the submarine and ram it sideways into those reefs!"
Jiang Nian gave this order only after carefully observing the seabed topography.
With a rumbling sound coming from the seabed, the reef, along with a large area of coral, tilted towards the fishing boat.
The seawater pressure was immense; even with such a huge weight crashing down, it only managed to move the fishing boat less than five meters to the side.
"Most of the shipwreck is in our waters, only the bow, about two meters long, is in international waters!"
The people who reported the news this time all sounded excited.
"We're leaving, heading back to base."
Jiang Nian nodded, very satisfied with the result, and then gave the final order.
Long Baichuan took clear photos of the underwater conditions and sent them to Wang Yijun.
Wang Yijun burst into laughter.
Now, even if Japan tries to use the excuse of international waters to salvage the shipwreck, it probably won't work.
At worst, we can just give them the two meters of space at the bow of the boat.
The majority of the cargo on the fishing boat is in the hold; the small area at the bow, which belongs to international waters, is not enough to catch even a single box.
"Baka! You all deserve to die!"
Takeshi Kitano was furious and smashed everything he could get his hands on to pieces.
"Honda-kun, what were my orders? We're already on the edge of Chinese waters, and you still managed to fail? What are you all good for? You're all useless!"
Takeshi Kitano flew into a rage and started cursing at Io Honda on the other end of the video.
"Kitano-kun, actually... after the fishing boat sank, most of the area was in international waters, so we had every reason to salvage it. You know, weapons are completely ruined if they stay in water for too long..."
Taiya Taza, who had been huddled to the side, stepped forward, his face full of grief, his clothes soaking wet and still wet, looking pitiful.
Upon hearing what Daiya Taza said, Takeshi Kitano was originally prepared to give him a good scolding, since it was because of him that things had gone wrong.
But seeing Tadashi Daiya's pitiful state, and comparing him to Honda Io standing next to him, Kitano Takeshi became even angrier at Honda Io.
He had already told Honda Io to arrange for someone to meet Tasaka Taiya. If he had sent someone sooner, would things have turned out this awkward situation?
Arms is something Japan absolutely cannot afford to give up. Now, if, as Daiya Tasa said, half of the fishing boats are sunk in international waters, things will be much easier. (End of Chapter)