Soldiers' Assault: Veteran Special Agents and New Recruits

Chapter 388 The Mysterious Antaishan

The members of the Yanlong team brainstormed and expressed their opinions, conducting extensive case deductions based on only a pitifully small amount of intelligence.

Captain Zhang Xuebing summarized the discussion and immediately made targeted deployments.

To ensure that any injuries sustained during the rescue operation would receive timely medical treatment, the medical team on the Yangzhou warship activated its highest-level combat readiness medical services.

Various medical first aid kits were prepared in advance.

Including but not limited to simple splints, large and small bandages, absorbent cotton, tourniquets, etc.

They also simulated the possible encounters with pirates and the crew situation of the An Tai Shan on the sand table, and discussed the best response plan.

This is an extremely time-consuming and energy-intensive process, but it is also a very necessary one.

Only by making thorough preparations in advance can we maximize our combat effectiveness during operations.

the next day.

early morning.

Before dawn, the Yangzhou had already reached the vicinity of its target.

From the perspective of the Yangzhou, the An Taishan, with a gross tonnage of over 50,000 tons, looks like a giant beast lying on the sea.

There was not a single light, not a single sound; it was as silent as a ghost ship.

The Yangzhou approached the Antaishan from its bow and, under the cover of darkness, used infrared detection to reconnoiter and search the cargo ship and the surrounding waters.

Captain Zhang had originally planned to send a helicopter to approach the cargo ship for close-range reconnaissance.

However, Jackie Chan stopped him!

Assuming there are still pirates on board, they are likely unaware that a warship is approaching, and their vigilance is at its lowest.

This is a great opportunity to sneak onto the ship.

Special operations emphasize infiltration and taking the initiative, which requires taking advantage of moments when the enemy is off guard.

Sending helicopters for close reconnaissance would alert the pirates and do more harm than good.

Furthermore, Jackie Chan not only referred to the helicopter taking off, but also to the warship turning off all its lights and approaching the An Tai Shan in complete silence.

After shutting down all the engines on the ship at 20 nautical miles, we relied on inertia to glide across.

After the Yangzhou's momentum dissipated, the Yanlong team used kayaks to glide over and quietly boarded the ship to conduct reconnaissance.

Searching by personnel aboard the ship is more effective than any remote search method.

Once the Yanlong team has completed its landing on the target, the Yangzhou's reconnaissance efforts will be much more effective, serving to alert the enemy without hindering the Yanlong team's landing and rescue operation.

Once the rescue team has successfully boarded the ship and alerted the pirates, knowing their location is better than searching blindly.

Captain Zhang listened to Jackie Chan's advice.

After all, Jackie Chan is a highly respected "expert," and the main force in this assessment has a rank and position equivalent to that of a ship's captain.

In addition, Jackie Chan is only in his twenties, while Captain Zhang is already in his thirties.

Captain Zhang has to admit that Jackie Chan is so young and accomplished.

With Captain Zhang relaying a new round of orders, the Yangzhou officially entered combat readiness, with all units in position and ready for action.

The warship stalled its engines twenty nautical miles away and glided for a full seventeen nautical miles by inertia.

The warships had not completely stopped yet, but their speed was already very slow.

The six members of the Flame Dragon Team, who had been prepared in advance, approached the area by paddling in a rubber boat, led by their captain Jackie Chan.

Only Cheng Cai and Shi Dafan did not board the rubber boat.

As the team's sniper, spotter, and medic, their role in the assault on the ship was far less significant than providing vision and crucial fire support to the team from the rear.

A helicopter will take off later; that's the "tool" they should ride in.

Of the six people who set off in the rubber boat, the others were all equipped with very standard gear, either Type 95 rifles or squad automatic weapons.

Only Jackie Chan remains as perverted as ever.

Even though he was limited by the small interior of the ship and couldn't bring his own Type 89 heavy machine gun, he still brought the Type 87 automatic grenade launcher as his main weapon.

Even in the confined space of a ship, a 35mm grenade remains a game-changer.

If pirates were to encounter Jackie Chan, they would probably have a hard time finding a complete corpse.

The distance of three nautical miles took nearly twenty minutes to paddle, which is neither fast nor slow.

By the time the kayak approached the An Tai Shan, the darkness had faded, and a hazy glow began to envelop the earth.

Jackie Chan did not spot any pirates outside the cargo ship through visual inspection.

"superior!"

Jackie Chan slashed forward with his palm like a knife, decisively issuing a tactical signal.

Zhuang Yan took out the grappling hook gun he had brought and fired a shot at the ship's side, which was about ten meters high. The hook with the rope flew up with a whoosh.

A crisp "ding" sounded.

The hook flew up and snagged on the railing. With the reaction force, it circled twice and finally hooked onto a main railing that was at least five centimeters thick.

Zhuang Yan grabbed the rope and tugged at it to tighten it, while also testing whether the rope was properly secured.

After confirming that the triangular hook above the rope was secure, Zhuang Yan turned to look in Jackie Chan's direction and received a tactical instruction from Jackie Chan, who gave him a thumbs-up.

Zhuang Yan immediately slung the gun over his back, gripped the rope tightly with both hands, and braced his legs against the hull of the boat.

Using his ingrained wall-climbing skills, he steadily climbed up with coordinated hand and foot movements, without any accidents occurring throughout the entire process.

When I reached the top, I didn't go up immediately, but first I peeked out and observed the deck around me.

After confirming the situation and terrain on both sides of the deck and finding no enemies, Zhuang Yan grabbed the railing, climbed over, and reached the deck.

Once on deck, I immediately took out my gun, aimed it to the right to provide cover for my teammates.

At the same time, extend your right hand and point your thumb downwards.

Although both sides need to be guarded, when he is alone, Zhuang Yan can only judge the dangerous side by himself.

The right-hand deck leads to the bridge and wheelhouse, which is clearly the most dangerous direction.

Upon receiving the signal, the other members of the Yanlong team began climbing onto the ship one by one in the order of the boarding combat formation. The second one to go up was assault soldier Xu Sanduo.

The assault team is always at the forefront of the formation.

The Yanlong team successfully approached the Antaishan and began boarding the ship one after another, without any pirates appearing to disturb them.

Seeing that the situation was going well, the Yangzhou ship also began to carry out synchronized operations as planned.

First, a helicopter was dispatched to conduct an aerial reconnaissance of the cargo ship, using infrared thermal imaging to perform an overhead scan.

They found nothing on the deck; not a single person was seen.

There were no pirate ships in the surrounding area for several nautical miles, as if it had become an isolated island, standing there all alone.

Without confirming the situation of the pirates, the Yangzhou then fired stun grenades into the air above the cargo ship.

"Three airburst rounds ready, fire."

As the order was given on the ship, three airburst shells were fired from the serial guns.

In the early hours of this morning, when everything was coming back to life, the sound of three air-to-ground explosions boomed loudly and could be heard clearly even several nautical miles away.

If there were still pirates on board, there would definitely be a reaction at this point.

After waiting for several minutes without receiving a response, Captain Zhang ordered the helicopter to make a three-language announcement in Somali, Arabic, and English.

We warned the pirates to surrender and give up resistance, otherwise our warships would launch a powerful attack.

however.

The An Tai Shan remained deathly silent.

No crew members ran out to seek help, no pirates came out to resist, and there was no sound or reaction whatsoever.

Based on this series of events, Captain Zhang determined that the pirates had most likely already left.

Order the rescue operation to begin!

The six members of the Flame Dragon Team sneaked over first and were already in position on the bow deck. After receiving orders, they immediately moved towards the stern.

The bridge and all entrances to the ship are at the stern, which is the core of the entire ship and also where pirates might be located.

The six members of the Flame Dragon Team advanced from the starboard side of the ship in a fully defensive formation.

Since it was uncertain whether there were still pirates on the ship, every corner of the ship needed to be searched to prevent enemies from appearing behind.

The bridge of the An Tai Shan has seven decks, each with corresponding cabins.

This greatly increases the workload of the investigation!

To expedite the search, Jackie Chan divided the team into two three-person groups to conduct a search of the bridge under the cover of the helicopter.

The two teams worked together very well and searched very quickly.

During the search and investigation, the team members saw some shocking scenes, which made them somewhat worried about the safety of the crew.

The bridge had many bullet holes, and there was a lot of debris on the ladders above.

It is clear that the crew members tried to block the stairs with debris to stop the pirates from going up.

Meanwhile, numerous burn marks can be seen at the staircases on the second and third floors.

It doesn't look like it was burned by pirates; it's more like the crew deliberately poured fuel on the stairs to prevent the pirates from climbing up.

The result is quite obvious!

The pirates with guns had an overwhelming advantage. They opened fire on the crew, leaving numerous bullet holes, and the crew quickly gave up resistance.

The fuel spilled onto the iron staircase and flowed everywhere, unable to gather into a pile, and burned very quickly.

It didn't last long either, and soon lost its effectiveness.

but.

The deliberate act of pouring oil onto the stairs to create a burning barrier was very effective, at least buying the crew a significant amount of time to evacuate to the lower deck.

Neither Jackie Chan's team nor Wu Zhe's team found any bloodstains on the bridge.

No bloodstains left means no bullets were fired and no crew members were injured.

Jackie Chan reported the situation to the Yangzhou and learned that the crew members were most likely unharmed. The captain and political commissar were very excited.

They realized that the possibility of a perfect rescue was extremely high!

Jackie Chan led a team to the top floor and entered the bridge where the ship was controlled.

It's even more chaotic inside than outside, with gunshot marks everywhere. The glass on the door and the glass in front of it are all shattered.

All the instruments and equipment in the wheelhouse, as well as the control levers, were smashed.

Were these acts of violence committed by the pirates in a fit of rage, or were they acts of sabotage carried out by the captain in self-defense before leaving?

There is currently no way to determine Jackie Chan's status.

However, Jackie Chan was certain of one thing: the pirates were still on the ship and hadn't left.

As for why the sound of helicopters, airbursts, and shouts were heard, but there was no other movement throughout, it remains unknown.

Pirates could still harm hostages at any time, and may already be doing so.

Whether the armed rescue will succeed remains to be seen.

If the crew has been taken hostage by pirates, there are certainly ways to rescue them, but a perfect rescue would be extremely difficult.

Deaths and injuries may be unavoidable!

Moreover, the ship's structure is extremely complex, with a lower deck, a ship's cabin, a bridge, and a cargo hold, totaling over 10,000 square meters, comparable to searching an entire building.

No one knows how many pirates there are or where they are hiding.

As long as the pirates hold hostages in their hands, they will be emboldened and may hide in any corner at any time to launch a sneak attack on the rescuers.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

Although the members of the Flame Dragon Team are all highly skilled, they are not all like those with X-ray vision. They are completely helpless when they are shot by a sniper.

Now we have no idea where the pirates are or where the crew members are hiding.

The Flame Dragon team is under a lot of pressure!

However, no matter how much pressure the Yanlong team was under, their mission was to rescue the crew members. This was a mission entrusted to them by the country, and they had to go no matter how dangerous it was.

Since we can't see where it is, let's keep searching, even if we have to search the entire ship.

Finding no pirates or crew on the bridge, the Flame Dragon team met at the entrance to the ship's cabin and began searching inside.

As soon as Jackie Chan entered, he smelled a burnt smell, as well as the stench of burning sulfur compounds.

"Is there a fire inside the ship's cabin?"

The thought popped into Jackie Chan's mind, and his expression became serious.

A fire in a narrow passageway will cause smoke to swirl and become trapped, obstructing breathing and posing a significant danger.

Zhuang Yan and the others also realized the same problem, and their expressions became extremely serious.

As the Flame Dragon team ventured deeper into the ship's cabin, the smoke grew increasingly thick, from wisps of smoke at the beginning to a pungent, choking fumes.

If we continue deeper into this situation, the smoke will definitely get thicker and thicker.

Jackie Chan had no choice but to order the entire team to wear gas masks.

Simultaneously, using a thermal imaging scope, they continued their search and investigation in the thick smoke, and increased vigilance by slowing down their search speed.

There's nothing we can do about it!

The environment was far too harsh, and the enemy had far too much room to launch a sneak attack.

To prevent any mishaps, Jackie Chan had to consider the safety of his brothers and bring them all back with him when the time came.

As for the longer search time required as a result, there's nothing that can be done about it.

The premise of a rescue is to ensure one's own safety, and then do everything possible to rescue others. We will never engage in the kind of melodramatic plot where lives are exchanged for each other.

This is Jackie Chan's bottom line!

Every special forces soldier is extremely valuable, having been trained with a great deal of financial and material resources; how can they be easily sacrificed?

(End of this chapter)