Great Power Reclamation

Ye Guigen and Yang Chenglong waited in the port city for a week. Not for the colonel to change his mind, but for Iron Hammer.

Bayonet Security's branch was in South Africa. Iron Hammer set off on the same day he received Ye Guigen's call, but the journey was too long, involving both land and air travel, and the equipment clearance procedures were complicated, so it took a full seven days to arrive.

When Iron Hammer arrived, it was evening. Three black bulletproof SUVs drove into the port, kicking up dust. There were no markings on the vehicles, except for a small badge on the front of the vehicle—a pattern of a bayonet and an iron hammer crossed together.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the door opened, and Hammer jumped out of the middle vehicle. He was wearing a black tactical T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, revealing a section of his muscular forearm with the same badge tattooed on the front of the car.

He had worked at Bayonet Security for many years, starting from the grassroots level and working his way up to become the head of the Africa region.

His face wasn't particularly handsome, but it had sharp features, and when he wasn't speaking, he gave off a cold and unapproachable vibe.

Ye Guigen went up to him and said, "Uncle Iron Hammer, you've worked hard."

Without exchanging pleasantries, Hammer went straight to the point and asked, "Where does that colonel live?"

Ye Guigen was taken aback: "You're going to find him?"

Hammer said, "It's not about finding him. It's about paying him a visit. We'll do it tonight."

Ye Guigen wanted to ask what "visit" meant, but seeing the people in the cars behind Tiechui, he swallowed his words.

Six people stood behind him, all dressed in the same black tactical uniforms and fully equipped.

Ye Guigen didn't recognize the names of the equipment, but he recognized their shapes—shapes he had only seen in the news.

That evening, something happened at the colonel's camp. It wasn't a fight, not a shootout; Iron Hammer led four men and drove to the colonel's residence.

They paused at the entrance, exchanged a few words with the guards, and the guards did not stop them but let them pass.

Hammer stayed in the colonel's office for about fifteen minutes, then came out, got into his car, and drove away. There were no gunshots, no arguments, and no slamming of doors from beginning to end.

The next morning, the colonel sent someone to the port with a letter. The letter was addressed to Ye Guigen, written in Spanish, and roughly translated to mean—

You are in charge of handling all port-related matters. I will assist with the government procedures. Please contact me anytime if you need anything in the future.

Ye Guigen finished reading the letter, folded it, put it in his pocket, and then asked Tiechui, "What did you say to him?"

Hammer was inspecting the tires of an SUV without even looking up:

“I didn’t say anything. I just told him that we’d protect this family’s business. He understood.”

Ye Guigen wanted to ask more, but seeing Tiechui squatting there checking the tires, he swallowed his words. Some people do things without needing explanation.

Yang Chenglong stood on the edge of the harbor, holding a rifle brought by the Iron Hammer team, hesitating it in his hand. He had never fired a gun, but he had handled one.

Yang Geyong had taught him that you can't point a gun randomly; if you do, it will go off. Iron Hammer walked over from the SUV, glanced at it, and asked, "Want to try?"

Yang Chenglong lowered his gun: "Is that alright?"

Hammer pulled a pair of earplugs from his pocket and tossed them to him: "Put these on. There's an old oil drum over there, hit that one."

Yang Chenglong took the earplugs and put them on, picked up the rifle, aimed at the waste oil drums in the distance, held his breath, and pulled the trigger.

With a bang, the bullet struck the sand beside the oil drum, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Yang Chenglong lowered his gun and frowned. Iron Hammer stood beside him.
"The muzzle is raised. Lower it a little."

Yang Chenglong picked up his gun and fired another shot. This time, the bullet struck the side of the oil drum, making a crisp metallic clang.

Iron Hammer nodded: "Not bad. With practice, I can improve my accuracy."

Ye Guigen stood at a distance, watching Yang Chenglong practice target shooting under Tie Chui's guidance, without going over. He took out his phone and sent a message to Yang Geyong:
"Grandpa, the hammer has arrived. The matter is resolved."

Yang Geyong replied quickly: "I trust him to handle things. How many people did he bring?"

Ye Guigen replied, "Six."

Yang Geyong replied again, "That's enough. Six are as good as sixty."

On the day the port reopened, the colonel came in person. He didn't go into the office building, but just stood on the dock and watched for a while as the cranes rose and fell and the containers were neatly stacked in the yard.

One of the men from Iron Hammer stood in the shadows not far from him, neither approaching nor leaving, like a silent component of the port's security system.

The colonel watched for a while, then turned and left decisively. Ye Guigen stood at the window of the port's office building, watching the colonel's figure disappear around the corner of the port gate.

Yang Chenglong walked over, his face still showing the excitement he had felt while shooting targets:

"In the end, Iron Hammer's gang is really something. They can enter the colonel's camp like it's their own home."

Ye Guigen didn't turn around: "They're not shopping. They're going to tell the colonel who's in charge here."

He looked out at the calm sea beyond the harbor, where a cargo ship was slowly pulling into its berth. A somewhat faded flag hung on its bow.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Yang Chenglong. Yang Chenglong was still clutching the model rifle in his hand, his knuckles white—not from fear, but from savoring the jolt of the trigger pull that sent a jolt through his fingertips.
"Next time I shoot that oil drum, I'm sure I can hit it on the first try."

Ye Guigen did not refute: "Once you've practiced enough, I'll have Tiechui teach you how to hit moving targets."

Yang Chenglong grinned, revealing a row of white teeth: "It's a deal."

Ye Guigen turned around and continued looking out the window. The cargo ship at the berth was unloading its cargo, the crane boom making a low rumble as it rose and fell.

The port is breathing again; the rhythm of breathing that had been abandoned for so long is slowly returning.

Iron Hammer stood at the edge of the dock, his back to the port office building, the wind blowing the hem of his T-shirt. He stood there like a nail, driven into the hardest spot on this land, unmoved by the wind or buried by the sand.

On the second day after the port resumed operations, a cargo ship from China Ocean Shipping Company docked. It wasn't arranged by Ye Guigen; the shipping company approached them on its own after news of the port's reopening spread.

The captain, a man in his fifties from Fujian surnamed Cai, spoke with a heavy Minnan accent. Standing on the bridge overlooking the dock, he said to the pilot:
"Wasn't this port a deep-water port before? I remember it having a low draft."

The pilot, a newly hired local, answered in somewhat broken English:
"It was just expanded, and now it can draw 15 meters of water."

The captain stepped off the bridge, stomped his feet twice on the dock, then looked up at the newly installed cranes, took out his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it back to the company headquarters.

News travels fast. In this industry, reliable berths are like wells in the desert; any movement will attract a crowd of people.

The men from Iron Hammer didn't go into the office building. They set up a military tent at the port entrance, furnished with cots, folding tables and chairs, and several communication devices, resembling a miniature command center.

Ye Guigen came out of the office building and went over to take a look. The tent was clean and tidy, with everything arranged neatly. Even the sleeping bags were folded with sharp corners, as if they had been measured with a ruler. Tiechui sat on a folding chair with a port map spread out in front of him, marked with entrances and exits, high points, patrol routes, and emergency evacuation routes.

He was drawing lines on the map with a pen when he heard footsteps, but he didn't look up.
"I've finished writing the port's security deployment plan. Take a look."

Ye Guigen took the proposal, didn't look at it, and asked directly, "Are you going to stay?"

Hammer looked up, a hint of surprise on his face for the first time: "Stay? What for?"

Ye Guigen said, "Help me guard these ports."

Tiechui put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Ye Guigen: "I'm only in charge of the business in Africa. You have to oversee all the ports; I can't manage them all."

Ye Guigen said, "Then you'll be in charge of Africa. I'll find people elsewhere for the other ports. This part of Africa is yours."

Iron Hammer was silent for a moment: "Are you sure you want to use bayonet security long-term? It's not cheap."

Ye Guigen said, "Money is not a problem."

That evening, Ye Guigen treated Tie Chui and his team to dinner at a restaurant near the port.

The restaurant is small and run by locals. It serves local specialties, such as grilled fish, grilled lamb, a cassava paste, and a soup that is both sour and spicy.

Yang Chenglong sat next to Tiechui, eating and chatting with him about guns and equipment. Tiechui wasn't much of a talker, but he answered whatever Yang Chenglong asked, and he let Yang Chenglong touch any gun he wanted.

After touching one handful, Yang Chenglong touched another, his eyes shining as if he had found a treasure.

Ye Guigen sat at the other end of the long table, watching Yang Chenglong pester Tiechui with questions. Back in Boston, Tiechui was still that young man in camouflage who followed behind his grandfather.

Now he sits in a foreign port, a thick beard on his chin, easily two meters tall. His Adam's apple bobs as he speaks. Even sitting there, he resembles an iron tower!
Yang Chenglong burst into laughter at Tiechui's words, almost dropping the model in his hand.

Ye Guigen didn't interrupt them. He just took a sip of the hot and sour soup. The sour taste exploded on his tongue, like the echo of a deal that had been left unresolved at the negotiating table being finalized.

Hammer turned his head to glance at the night sky over the distant sea, then looked away:
"Mr. Ye, tomorrow I will take some men to survey all the possible routes in and out of the port. After we've done that, I'll draw up a detailed defense map for you. Once you see the map, you'll have a better understanding of the situation."

Ye Guigen put down his soup bowl: "Okay."

When Yang Chenglong returned to the hotel that evening, he made a video call to Lin Wanwan. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding up his phone. On the screen, Lin Wanwan had her hair down, had just finished showering, and her face was still damp.

Yang Chenglong said, "Wanwan, I handled several real guns today."

Lin Wanwan looked at him for two seconds: "Are you alright?"

Yang Chenglong paused for a moment: "No. I just touched it, I didn't hit it."

Lin Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief: "Then what are you excited about?"

Yang Chenglong said, "You don't understand. The feel of that gun is different; it gives you a sense of security when you hold it."

Lin Wanwan looked at him and remained silent for a while before saying, "Yang Chenglong, be careful over there."

Yang Chenglong said, "I know. With Brother Hammer here, everything will be fine."

Lin Wanwan said, "I'm relieved to have Uncle Iron Hammer here. Just don't cause me any trouble."

Yang Chenglong said, "When have I ever caused trouble?"

Lin Wanwan didn't answer, but just smiled, revealing two shallow dimples.

Looking at the dimples on the screen, Yang Chenglong felt at ease. After hanging up, he placed his phone on the bedside table, turned off the light, and quickly fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Hammer and his men began their patrol. They walked around the perimeter of the port, noting down every passable route.

Ye Guigen stood at the window on the second floor of the office building, watching Iron Hammer's SUV slowly drive on the road outside the port, kicking up a cloud of dust from its rear.

Yang Chenglong pushed open the door and came in, holding a cup of local coffee, which he handed to him:
"Brother Hammer said there are three routes to enter and exit this port. Two routes are for vehicles, and one is for pedestrians only. He has already marked the routes."

Ye Guigen took the coffee: "Did he say which road was the hardest to defend?"

Yang Chenglong said, "I told you. That road that people can only walk on is the hardest to guard. Because people don't need roads."

Ye Guigen tightened his grip on the coffee cup: "What did he say?"

Yang Chenglong said, "He said that people don't need roads, so you should focus on people, not roads."

Ye Guigen nodded: "He is right."

A week later, the port's first batch of profits arrived. The amount wasn't large, but the direction was right.

Moreover, with the deepening of the port, business has improved significantly, especially for large ships, many of which no longer come to visit. Given time, the profits will be considerable.

Ye Guigen sat in his office, looking at the financial report on his computer screen. He neither smiled nor showed any excitement. He simply forwarded it to Ye Feng and Yang Geyong, adding a note:

"The first month. We're on the right track."

Yang Geyong replied faster than Ye Feng: "As long as the direction is right. Don't rush."

Ye Feng replied a little later: "Okay."

Ye Guigen turned off his computer and walked to the window. The lights of the harbor outside blended together in the night, and the cranes had stopped working, standing quietly on the dock like a row of weary watchmen.

A cargo ship is docking, its hull slowly approaching the pier. Mooring lines are being thrown up and secured to bollards—everything is proceeding according to procedure. The port is alive, slowly but surely.

Ye Guigen stood by the window for a long time, watching the cargo ship unload its cargo. Yang Chenglong pushed open the door and came in, holding a fruit knife and a peeled mango.

"It was given to me by Brother Hammer. He said the local mangoes are sweet, so he asked me to bring one for you."

Ye Guigen took the mango, took a bite, and found it to be very sweet, with juice dripping down his chin.

Yang Chenglong stood beside him watching him eat: "Gui Gen, do you think we can finally take a break after we take over the fifth port?"

Ye Guigen finished chewing the mango: "Rest? Let's talk about that after we connect the blue dots on the world map."

Yang Chenglong didn't reply, turned and walked out, his footsteps fading into the distance, like a sentence swallowed back halfway through. (End of Chapter)