America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 337 Solo!

On the littoral combat ship.

The sergeant major rushed over again and reported the situation to the chief commander: "Reporting to the commander, news has come from their cargo ship."

"What did they say?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"They refused to dock and insisted on crossing the current route. They also said that if we dared to obstruct them and offend the Gulf Group, we would have to bear the consequences ourselves," the sergeant said.

The leader was furious upon hearing this. "A tiny drug cartel dares to be more arrogant than the Mexican Navy? Who does he think he is? Daring to bark like a madman at my doorstep! If I don't break all his teeth today, Sig will take his surname from now on!"

"Full speed ahead!!"

Zhang Ailun immediately gave the order. "I want to see how they're going to make me bear the consequences!"

The Grand Master's equipment inventory includes warships, destroyers, attack aircraft, and fighter jet fragments.

I hope you have it too.

If not, I guarantee you'll suffer a terrible death!

"Understood!" The sergeant immediately carried out the order.

The littoral combat ship accelerated towards the cargo ship's area, with the two ships less than 100 kilometers apart. One continued westward toward the west coast, passing Jehovah Island, while the other headed toward the other's location, heading in opposite directions.

Soon the two sides were less than 30 nautical miles (about 55 kilometers) apart and could see each other.

The head of the Gulf Group was still processing documents when he heard his subordinate rushing over to report the news. He calmly asked, "Are the ships from Jehovah Island here? What do they want? To intercept our cargo? Do they think they're the US military? Or are they even more rampant Caribbean pirates?"

"Boss, there's a littoral combat ship coming from the other side! And three supply ships too," the underling said hurriedly.

"What?! A littoral combat ship? How did this thing end up here? Did they report our location information to the Navy?" Upon hearing this, the person in charge slammed his fist on the table and stood up, unable to contain his shock.

He hurriedly followed his younger brother to the cargo ship's deck to take a look.

When the person in charge saw the warship through the binoculars, accompanied by three supply ships, marching towards them with great fanfare, the person felt a sudden wave of despair wash over them, as if the sky had fallen.

Oh no!! It's the US military!!

They quickly summoned the Gulf Group's strategist from the ship and asked, "Did we not pay enough? Why are there warships here? Are we our target?"

"There are no problems with the intelligence; the only potential issue is Jehovah Island," the Gulf Group's accounting strategist pondered.

"Who is the new owner of Jehovah Island?" the person in charge asked.

"Detailed information was not found. All that is known is that the island's owner is named Humbert Juan King, and he owns a charitable foundation, a waste recycling company, and a bar. However, there are underground sources claiming that they also seem to be involved in the arms trade in private. They have previously provided weapons support to the Tijuana authorities and dealt with some drug cartels there. If they have good relations with the military base, they do seem to be qualified to purchase large-caliber firepower weapons."

The strategist honestly replied, "If the situation is indeed true, then they are definitely not as simple as we imagine. This warship should belong to them."

The person in charge caught his breath and couldn't help but burst into a tirade: "What would they do with a private island buying destroyers and warships? Are they going to rebel? Dominate the seas? Did those shipyards really sell them to them? Are they that short of money?"

"Can we contact their people immediately and tell them that we were wrong in our attitude before, that we were bad, and that we can pay them a toll to apply for passage through the waters off Jehovah Island? This time, we are delivering goods to the west coast, and there absolutely cannot be any mistakes!" The person in charge was extremely nervous.

Who would have thought that everything would be fine until the other side suddenly pulled out a littoral combat ship and zoomed in face to face!

We came straight for them!

Their goal is definitely not just to intimidate with force; they might even want to devour them, people and goods.

The Gulf Cartel is indeed a well-known drug cartel internationally, but no matter how arrogant they are, they are only arrogant in South America and Mexico. The weapons and equipment they have are at most rifles and mortars, and at most some armored vehicles and helicopters.

This thing works well in Mexico, but outside of Mexico, nobody will give them any face, and they can't afford to offend some official organizations outside of Mexico.

The owners of Jehovah Island even have warships; no matter how tough they are, they can't really be tough.

Isn't this bullying honest people?

It's obvious they're coming for them!

"I'll give it a try." The strategist wiped his sweat. They were so arrogant just now, and now that they were about to meet, it was not so easy for them to suddenly back down and try to smooth things over.

He immediately led a group to send a friendly signal.

The chief sergeant stood on the lookout tower, his binoculars revealing the Mexican cargo ship. The sergeant reported the latest news to him, and upon learning that the other side wanted to back down, he couldn't help but sneer: "Weren't they so tough just now? Why are they suddenly backing down? I still prefer their defiant side!"

"Ignore them. Just get the boat there! I want to see who's talking so arrogantly! Don't they have rocket launchers? Don't they have dozens of gunmen? Come on!! Let's have a one-on-one!!"

Zhang Ailun issued the order.

The sergeant immediately began mobilizing the entire force, and the littoral combat ship increased its speed instead of decreasing. The distance between the two sides closed again, now less than 20 kilometers.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." The person in charge was sweating profusely, slamming his fist on the table. He said angrily, "What do we do? They won't give us a chance to compromise! What exactly do those people want?"

"We're drug dealers. They're probably trying to get our $35 million shipment for free." The strategist was also on edge.

The gunmen on deck were even more nervous. Many of them were seeing a real warship for the first time, and it was nothing like the ones in the movies. This thing was so big and so long—could a person destroy it?

They've practically blatantly confronted us, showing off their power.

The person in charge was forced into a corner. Drug dealers can only bully ordinary civilians. They absolutely cannot afford to offend a large arms dealer like the leader who has no martial ethics. They are also afraid that the other party will provide their local resistance army with weapons at a 1% discount in a fit of anger.

What self-destructing drones, what Black Hawk helicopters, what Gazelle fighters, what fighter jets? Beating them to a pulp, leaving them covered in bumps and bruises, is the least of our worries.

Although drug cartels are very rich, they can't spend their ill-gotten gains without laundering them, and no one will sell them legitimate weapons. What can they do?

Left with no other choice, they could only raise the white flag, order the driver to stop the ship on the spot, and obediently lead the crew to the deck to prepare to welcome the captain to inspect the cargo ship.

"Where did you strangers come from? So unruly! Don't you know this is our Jehovah Island's private waters? Why didn't you respond immediately when we called you?"

Before long, they were less than a kilometer apart, gazing at each other from afar. Zhang Ailun picked up his pager and launched a soul-searching interrogation through the loudspeaker.

"Not strangers, but acquaintances! We are the shipping team from the Gulf Group, and we used to frequently transport goods to the West Coast via this route. Mr. Kim, we were just thinking of giving you a visit," the person in charge shouted through the pager, forcing himself to speak.

"Bullshit! Put down your weapons and stop your ships for inspection. If there are any prohibited items, we will report them to the relevant authorities for confiscation. Don't even think about taking any drastic measures, or we will destroy your cargo ships!" Zhang Ailun said expressionlessly.

The person in charge lamented and hurriedly pleaded, "Mr. Jin, we are willing to pay you a toll. Every time we pass through your sea area, we will pay you a fee. We sincerely want to cooperate with you!"

"Who the hell do you think you are? Cooperating with me? Aren't you just Mexican drug dealers? Even if I, Juankin, am depraved, I would never cooperate with a bunch of bastards!"

The helmsman, cursing and swearing, didn't bother with any more words. He ordered his men to set up 30mm naval guns and aim them at their cargo ships. "You guys better survive this round first. Ready..."

"No! No! We surrender! We surrender!!" The person in charge felt a chill run down his spine and his scalp tingled. He quickly raised his hands.

The gunmen nearby also changed their tune, throwing their guns to the ground and raising white flags, shouting, "We surrender! We surrender!!"

AK47? Rocket launcher? What use would they have for those things?

A distance of 1 kilometer, who the hell could possibly hit that?

A single shot from the enemy's naval guns could easily pierce through both the crew and the ship.

On the vast ocean, far from any village or shop, the only transit point nearby is Jehovah Island. It takes five or six hours to get from there to the nearest coastline. We can't outrun them, and we can't fight them. In the end, whatever the leader says goes.

Unless they are willing to cut off this shipping route and network that brings in billions of dollars in profits every year and find another maritime smuggling route, they will lose half of their economic resources.

They're utterly beasts!!

To come here in a littoral combat ship to rob and extort money, that's really something.

"I don't think you need to waste your breath on me. Only those who are lucky enough will be able to stand at the end and talk to me," Zhang Ailun gave the order directly.

"fire!!"

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!

The 30mm cannon spewed out 200 rounds per minute, leaving a dense array of gun holes on the cargo ship 1 kilometer away.

The person in charge was terrified and before he could run back, he was smashed to pieces.

The gunmen immediately dropped to the ground, covered their heads, and fled in panic, crying and begging for mercy.

The gunmen on the supply ship were secretly astonished by what they saw. Who invented this thing? It's so brutal. Luckily, they surrendered quickly! Otherwise, they would have been blown to bits too.

After a volley of fire, the ammunition magazine was emptied. Smoke began to rise from the muzzles of the 30mm naval guns.

Seeing the cargo ship silent and with at least a dozen dead or wounded, Zhang Ailun coughed lightly, picked up his pager, and shouted loudly, "Is anyone still breathing? Speak up!!"

"Yes! Yes!! Stop shooting! Stop shooting! We surrender! There are $3500 million worth of goods on this cargo ship! They're all yours!" The strategist, seeing the person in charge being beaten to a pulp, was also horrified and hurriedly begged.

"Throw all your weapons on the deck. If even one person hides, you'll all die here!!" Zhang Ailun warned.

"They're all here!!" the strategist immediately responded, and the gunmen next to him threw their guns out in a rush.

When the leader saw that the survivors had handed over all their weapons, he immediately ordered the Black Hawk helicopters to take off and fly towards the enemy.

The soldiers also boarded speedboats and quickly approached the cargo ship, boarding it and thoroughly inspecting it inside and out. They completely took control of the smuggling vessel and, after confirming its safety, signaled to the leader.

Zhang Ailun also ordered the littoral combat ship to approach and set up a bridge between the two ships, allowing the group to successfully board the cargo ship.

"Are you in charge of this ship?" Zhang Ailun looked at the crew members who were squatting together with their hands on their heads, and the strategist among them who had answered.

"Mr. Jin, hello, I'm the accountant for this cargo ship, responsible for recording the profits and prices of exported goods." The strategist quickly said with a smile, "The person in charge was unfortunately shot and killed just now."

"You just said your ship has 30 million worth of cargo? Take me to see it," Zhang Ailun ordered.

"Please follow me." The cunning strategist led the group to the warehouse with trepidation.

Guided by their accomplice, Zhang Ailun and his group arrived at the cargo hold and saw the goods piled up inside. Opening the large and small packages, they found mostly corn and potatoes. But beneath these goods lay a significant amount of imported South American products.

With the other party's cooperation, they easily found places that customs couldn't inspect. They even found drugs hidden in plastic bags inside corn and potatoes.

"Boss, what should we do with so many drugs? Throw them into the sea?" Boketu was somewhat surprised, as it was the first time he had ever seen so much stock.

Zhang Ailun pondered, "Throwing this stuff into the sea would pollute the ecosystem too much. The fish would be all high on it, and this area is our Jehovah Island's waters. The fish we catch will all be contaminated, and eating them could easily affect our health. Let's put these away for now; I guess our friends might find them useful."

He immediately took out his phone and notified Inspector Lei Luo.

Zhang Ailun: I have a shipment of drugs here, and dozens of drug dealers from the Gulf Cartel. Are you interested?

Inspector Lei Luo: Where did you get this from?

Zhang Ailun: I have a private island in the waters between Mexico and California. People from the Gulf Cartel passed by and wanted to transport this shipment to a port on the West Coast, but I seized it. There were about $3500 million worth of goods on the ship, and I also captured dozens of drug dealers. It might be useful to you.

Inspector Lei Luo was overjoyed: "This is incredibly useful! Mr. Jin! I truly don't know how to thank you enough. This is all thanks to you!!"

Zhang Ailun: Come to my island and take them away. I'll send you the island's location. I don't really need them. Give me half of the prize money.

Inspector Lei Luo: OK.

After putting away his phone and checking the cargo ship again, finding nothing else, Zhang Ailun prepared to return to the littoral combat ship to order the ship to set sail and return to Jehovah Island.

"Mr. Jin, we've delivered the goods to your island. Could you let us leave? We can even give up the ship!" the strategist hurriedly said.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, because someone will take good care of you for me," Zhang Ailun said.

Before the other party could even catch their breath, he smiled and said, "Those are old friends of the Narcotics Bureau; you should be quite familiar with them."

"..." The strategist's lips twitched.

She wanted to say something more, but was afraid of being shot dead by the muscular man next to her, so she could only comfort herself that at least she had escaped with her life.

Back on the littoral combat ship, Zhang Ailun ordered the sergeant to set sail, mobilized the soldiers to start the ship, and led the four captured ships back to the island in triumph.