The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

Yang Xia pondered for a moment and replied, "No need to wait for the navy, let's take control of the cargo hold first. You take twenty elite sailors and approach quietly in a small boat. I'll meet you on the ship. Remember, be quick and try not to alert the other crew members, especially John and his first mate."

After sending the message, Yang Xia took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and headed towards John's cabin. He needed to stall John and buy time for Meng Yin's operation.

Reaching John's cabin door, Yang Xia gently knocked: "Captain, I have something important to report to you."

"Come in."

John's voice came from inside the cabin.

Yang Xia pushed open the door and walked in, seeing John sitting at the table, staring blankly at a nautical chart. He walked up to him and said in a pretentious manner, "Captain, the patrolling sailors just said they found a suspicious small boat at the stern, about a mile away from us. We don't know if it's a pirate ship."

Upon hearing this, John's expression immediately turned serious. He stood up, walked to the window, picked up his binoculars, and looked towards the stern: "Where is it? I can't see it?"

"They might be hiding behind our ship's shadow."

Yang Xia deliberately pointed towards the stern of the ship, "The sailors said that the ship is moving very fast and looks like it's spying on our movements. Do you think we should send a few men over to check it out?"

John frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "No need. This is a critical time, and we can't afford to scatter our manpower. Just have the sailors be extra vigilant. As long as we guard our ship well, the pirates won't dare to come near easily."

"But……"

Yang Xia wanted to continue persuading and stall for time, but then he heard hurried footsteps outside the cabin. Immediately afterward, the first mate rushed in, shouting, "Captain! Something terrible has happened! There's been an accident in the cargo hold!"

John's expression changed, and he turned around abruptly: "What happened? Tell me slowly!"

The adjutant, panting heavily, said, "Several sailors just said they saw people approaching the cargo hold in small boats. They looked like members of the Yan Kingdom's fleet! They're trying to steal the cargo!"

John's gaze immediately fell on Yang Xia, his eyes filled with suspicion: "You just said there were pirates, are they from Yan Kingdom? Did you already know they were going to make a move?"

Yang Xia's heart tightened; he knew Meng Yin's operation might have been discovered. But he quickly calmed down and feigned innocence, saying, "Captain, how would I know? When the sailors reported it just now, I thought it really was pirates. How dare the people of Yan be so bold as to come and rob our cargo?"

John no longer doubted him, but instead sternly ordered his adjutant, "Quickly! Take everyone to the cargo hold. We cannot let the Yan people steal the goods! Also, notify all crew members to pick up their weapons and prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

The adjutant responded and ran out.

John picked up his sword from the table and strode toward the door, reminding Yang Xia before he left, "You come with me and assist me in command!"

Yang Xia was secretly delighted. This way, he could take the opportunity to get closer to the cargo hold and coordinate with Meng Yin's operation. He quickly nodded, "Yes, Captain!"

Following John to the cargo hold door, Yang Xia saw a dozen crew members armed and confronting the sailors led by Meng Yin. Meng Yin and his men had already taken control of the soldiers at the cargo hold door and were preparing to enter the cargo hold.

"Stop! How dare you steal our goods? Aren't you afraid of starting a war between our two countries?"

John shouted sharply, pointing his sword at Mengyin.

Meng Yin sneered, "Captain John, stop pretending! What exactly are you planning to do by secretly transporting large quantities of firearms, ammunition, and phosphorus bombs? If these weapons were to enter Yan Kingdom's territory, countless people would suffer. Today, we are here to intercept these weapons and hand them over to the Yan Kingdom's court for disposal!"

John's expression changed; he hadn't expected Yan Guo to already know the truth about the goods. He gritted his teeth and said, "Since you know, then I have nothing more to say. If you want to steal the goods, you'll have to get past me first!"

After saying that, he brandished his sword and charged toward Mengyin.

Meng Yin was prepared and immediately drew his long sword from his waist to meet the attack. Seeing this, the sailors on both sides also joined in, and the cabin immediately descended into chaos.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yang Xia retreated to the side and quietly approached the cargo hold door. He gave Meng Yin a wink, signaling him to take control of the cargo hold as soon as possible. Meng Yin understood and, while fighting John, ordered his men, "Quick! Go in and take control of the cargo hold. Inventory all the weapons inside. Don't let anyone near!"

Several sailors immediately rushed into the cargo hold and began to inventory the weapons. John, seeing this, was extremely anxious and tried to stop them, but he was tightly entangled by Meng Yin and could not break free.

Just then, a series of urgent horn calls sounded in the distance. Yang Xia looked up and saw that the Yan Kingdom's naval fleet was approaching! More than a dozen warships were sailing towards them, their sails fluttering the Yan Kingdom's flag, exuding an imposing aura.

John's face turned deathly pale when he saw the fleet. He knew it was all over; further resistance was futile. His sword clanged.

He fell to the ground with a thud and collapsed helplessly.

Meng Yin stepped forward, pointing his knife at John: "Captain John, you've lost. We will take all these weapons back to Yan and hand them over to the court. You and your crew will also come with us to be interrogated by the Yan court."

John didn't resist, but just lowered his head and muttered to himself, "It's over, everything is over..."

Yang Xia walked to Meng Yin's side and said with a smile, "Alright, Meng Yin, the mission is complete. Next, we need to take these weapons and John and the others back to Yan Kingdom and hand them over to the imperial court for disposal."

Meng Yin nodded, his eyes filled with excitement: "It's all thanks to you, sir, that we were able to intercept these weapons so easily. Without your help on the ship, we wouldn't have been able to do it so smoothly."

Yang Xia waved his hand: "This is the result of everyone's joint efforts. Alright, let's not waste any more time. Quickly load the weapons onto the navy's warships and we'll return to Yan Kingdom as soon as possible."

As he spoke, a sly smile appeared on Yang Xia's face, and a plan began to form in his mind.

The core of this plan is to exploit the Nebula Nation's extreme emphasis on goods to create the illusion of "cargo damage."

The illusion was meant to disrupt John's composure and create an opportunity for the subsequent interception of weapons. Yang Xia knew very well that this batch of firearms, ammunition, and phosphorus bombs was of paramount importance to the Nebula Kingdom. Once John suspected something was wrong with the cargo, he would inevitably lower his guard and focus all his attention on it—and that would be the perfect opportunity for the Yan Kingdom's fleet to make its move.

Having made up his mind, Yang Xia immediately adjusted his demeanor, letting go of the "cunning" look on his face.

Being "anxious"

He deliberately quickened his pace, even stumbling slightly, to make himself appear as if he had rushed to deliver a message. The sea breeze on the deck ruffled his clothes and disheveled his hair—a perfect image of someone "discovering an emergency and eager to report."

John stood beneath the lookout tower on the deck, his hands behind his back, staring intently at the distant Yan fleet. His brow was furrowed, his eyes filled with vigilance—ever since Yang Xia's fleet suddenly went dark last night, he had been restless, sensing that the other side was plotting something. His lieutenant stood beside him, barely daring to breathe, afraid of disturbing his thoughts.

"Captain John! Something terrible has happened!"

Yang Xia's voice, deliberately amplified with panic, came from the other side of the deck.

John turned around at the sound and saw "Louis".

He came running over, panting, his face instantly darkening: "What's the panic? Is the sky falling down?"

He hated his men panicking in the face of trouble, especially during such a critical time, as any panic could affect the morale of the entire fleet.

Yang Xia ran up to John, bent over and panting heavily, his hands on his knees. He deliberately paused for a few seconds before speaking, his tone full of urgency: "Captain, I just did a routine inspection of the cargo hold and found a serious problem! The tarpaulins covering the cargo... are leaking oil! I checked several places, and I can see oil seeping from the seams of the tarpaulins. If this continues, the cargo inside will definitely get damp and damaged!"

As he spoke, he held out his hand, his fingers still damp with a little bit of engine oil he had prepared beforehand—something he had found in his toolbox in the ship's corridor and had deliberately rubbed onto his hands to increase the "oil seepage."

Credibility.

John's pupils contracted sharply, and his impatience was instantly replaced by shock. He strode forward, grabbed Yang Xia's wrist, stared at the machine oil on his fingers, and said in a trembling voice, "What did you say? Oil seeping through the tarpaulin? How is that possible!"

It should be noted that these tarpaulins were specially made by the Nebula Kingdom to prevent moisture. They were made of tough material and had excellent waterproof properties. He had personally inspected them before setting off, and every single tarpaulin was intact. How could they suddenly leak oil?
"I also think it's impossible!"

Yang Xia immediately followed up on his words, her face showing disbelief.

With a look on his face, he said, "We checked everything carefully before we set off, and the tarpaulins were all intact. But just now when I went to the cargo hold, as soon as I lifted the top tarpaulin, I saw oil stains on the wooden crates underneath! I even touched them, and the oil was seeping out from inside the tarpaulin, not splashed on from the outside!"

He deliberately emphasized "it wasn't splashed on from the outside."

These few words are simply to rule out "accidental contamination".

John suspected that the problem lay with the tarpaulin itself—and if the tarpaulin was damaged, the safety of the goods would be directly threatened.

John's brow furrowed even more as he stared into Yang Xia's eyes, trying to find a "lie" within them.

There were no signs of it. But Yang Xia had already perfected his facial expression management; his eyes only showed "anxiety."

His expression of "concern" was flawless. Even so, John remained somewhat skeptical. He knew the importance of this shipment and knew it couldn't be ruined by "Louis."

He panicked easily with just one sentence.

Are you sure you looked carefully?

John's tone was skeptical. "Could you have seen wrong? Or was the oil on the tarpaulin accidentally rubbed on during the previous moving?"

"Absolutely not!"

Yang Xia immediately raised his voice, his tone so firm it sounded like he was swearing, "I deliberately squatted there for almost fifteen minutes and even lifted a corner of the tarpaulin. The walls of the wooden crates inside were already stained with oil! And it wasn't just one crate; I checked three adjacent ones, and they all had the same condition! Captain, how could I dare to lie about something like this? If there really is a problem with the cargo, I wouldn't have enough heads to lose!"

He deliberately used the word "beheading".

Bringing it out was meant to hit John's sore spot—John knew better than anyone that if the goods were damaged, not only "Louis," but he himself would also be held accountable.

Even so, John still didn't believe him immediately. He pondered for a moment, his expression still serious: "No, I'm not reassured just by listening to you. Go back to the cargo hold right now and check it carefully again. Examine every piece of tarpaulin and every wooden crate to confirm whether it's really leaking oil, how large the area is, and whether it has seeped into the cargo!"

He paused, then his tone became more stern: "Remember, don't miss a single detail! If you dare to make a mistake due to carelessness, or deliberately exaggerate the situation to disrupt morale, I'll be the first to punish you!"

Yang Xia was secretly delighted—John had indeed taken the bait. On the surface, however, he feigned "grievance and nervousness."

He straightened up quickly and gave an awkward salute: "Yes, Captain! I'll go back and check right away, I promise I'll look closer than a needle, and there won't be any mistakes!"

Having said that, he turned and ran towards the cargo hold, even faster than he had come, deliberately bumping into a passing sailor while shouting, "Excuse me! Urgent!" He emphasized the word "urgent."

The image must be carried through to the end.

Looking at "Louis"

John's face remained grave as he hurried away. He turned to his adjutant and said, "You come with me to the cargo hold door and wait. Report to me immediately after Louis has finished his inspection."

"Yes, Captain."

The adjutant quickly responded.

As the two men reached the cargo hold door, they heard "Louis" coming from inside.

The voices—one moment saying, "Why is there oil seeping here too?", the next, "Oh no, the oil stains on this wooden box are even heavier!"—were filled with a palpable sense of panic.

John's brow furrowed deeper, and his heart sank. His first mate whispered, "Captain, judging by Louis's reaction, something might really be wrong... Should we go in and check?"

John shook his head: "Wait a bit longer, let him finish his inspection first. If it's really an oil leak, going in now won't do any good, and might even damage the scene. We need to figure out the situation first."

Even so, his fingers had already begun to unconsciously rub the sword at his waist—a habitual action he took when nervous.

Meanwhile, inside the cargo hold, Yang Xia was using the pretext of "inspection" to...

Under the guise of [something], he secretly carried out the second step of his plan. He didn't actually go to "confirm the oil leak," but instead pulled a small razor blade from his pocket—the one he had previously concealed; the blade was thin, yet exceptionally sharp. He walked to a wooden crate, quickly lifted the tarpaulin, and used the blade to make a small cut on the inside of the tarpaulin. Then he poured a little engine oil from a nearby oil can into it, replaced the tarpaulin, and gently pressed it down, allowing the oil to slowly seep out through the cut, leaving a noticeable oil stain on the wooden crate. (End of Chapter)