Chapter 344 - 341: Covert Probing

While Xu Yingcheng was away inspecting the agricultural base.

To the south, over a hundred kilometers from Hongku Port, a several-thousand-ton fishing boat was trawling the calm waters of the Red Sea.

But at this moment, the dozen or so "fishermen" aboard had no interest in fishing. Instead, they were warily scanning the surrounding sea.

A big-bearded man held a pair of binoculars, watching the distant sea. He paid special attention to the northwest.

"Chelsea, don't be so tense."

The big-bearded man lowered his binoculars and glanced at the rather nonchalant, dark-skinned man. "I have no desire to die here."

"Why did you choose to carry out this mission alone?" The dark-skinned man leaned against the window frame. He appeared lackadaisical, but he was actually keeping a wary eye on another cabin.

The big-bearded Chelsea's brown eyes glinted with cunning. He looked at the dark-skinned man and said, "Kiel, do you know why I only brought you?"

"Why?" the dark-skinned Kiel asked curiously.

"Because you're the one I vetted personally. I don't trust the others."

Kiel was completely baffled. "Didn't the others also go through layers of screening to get in? Why don't you trust them?"

"Because all our recent operations across Africa have failed for inexplicable reasons," Chelsea said, picking up his binoculars again to continue scanning the sea.

Hearing this explanation, Kiel instantly understood. He was no greenhorn; having been in this line of work for over a decade, he was a seasoned veteran.

"You suspect we have a traitor in our midst?"

"It's not a suspicion. I'm certain of it. And that person must be in a fairly important position, otherwise there's no way the Homo Sapiens Company could so precisely counter our every move."

Kiel's expression immediately turned grim. "Then you should report this to headquarters."

"And you think headquarters doesn't have a mole planted by the Homo Sapiens Company?"

"What the hell... Is that even possible? That's insane!" Kiel paled in shock.

But Chelsea's expression was one of certainty. "Headquarters has conducted several internal investigations, but the leaks couldn't be stopped. They even completely changed office locations and upgraded all equipment, but it was useless."

Kiel swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out on his back as his throat went dry. "So you're saying headquarters has a mole planted by the Homo Sapiens Company, too. That's terrifying. No wonder we can never avoid their people on our operations."

"That's why I didn't inform Hodder this time. To avoid another leak."

But Kiel was worried. "Chelsea, this is against regulations."

"Relax. Just because I didn't tell Hodder doesn't mean I didn't tell anyone else."

"Someone else? Isn't there still a risk of a leak?"

Chelsea smiled and shook his head. "This person could never be a spy for the Homo Sapiens Company. Because his surname is Mellon."

"Mellon?" The moment Kiel heard the name, he was instantly relieved.

They were one of the families pulling the strings behind the City of the Summit. Others might turn traitor, but those people would never side with the Homo Sapiens Company.

Chelsea was obviously no fool. Going rogue was met with zero tolerance in any organization.

He was loyal to America, but that didn't mean he had a death wish.

Before this operation, he had already devised a plan. Drawing on his two-plus decades of experience and connections from working at Black Ship, he secretly contacted Pete Mellon, an acquaintance from his past work, and laid out his thoughts.

Pete Mellon was Patriarch Mellon's cousin. He was primarily responsible for international business intelligence analysis and was also one of the heads of the City of the Council's intelligence agency.

It was only with Pete Mellon's backing that Chelsea dared to come to the Red Sea and carry out this mission alone.

For this operation, he had officially filed a report to travel to a small island in the Persian Gulf. He then told his superior, Hodder, that he wanted to test the other high-level executives, asking Hodder to cooperate by issuing several fake missions.

But he had even deceived Hodder. Only he knew the true objective of the mission.

Gazing at the glittering sea in the distance, Chelsea thought to himself, 'I hope it's not one of you.'

The fishing boat continued its approach toward Hongku Port.

About four hours passed. The fishing boat was now less than 34 kilometers from Hongku Port.

"This is it. The distance is perfect."

"Should I get them out?" Kiel drew his pistol.

"Yes."

Kiel opened the iron door of another cabin. Inside were 12 young men with the same skin color as him, but his face showed no trace of pity. Instead, he spoke coldly in English:

"As per our previous agreement, you understand what to do, right?"

"Can you let us talk to our families?" one of the young men, who was missing an ear, asked in a raspy voice.

Kiel shook his head. "No."

Instantly, despair filled all of their faces.

But Kiel completely ignored the despair of these sacrificial pawns. He pressed a remote control in his hand, and the special timers strapped to their bodies began to count down.

At the boat's current speed, it was expected to reach Hongku Port in an hour and a half.

Therefore, the timers were set for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

After letting the men out of the cabin, Chelsea and Kiel quickly jumped into a small speedboat on the side and sped off toward Saudia Arabia, across from the Red Sea Province.

Meanwhile, the 12 young men stared at the securely fastened special life vests, their faces filled with nothing but despair.

The fishing boat's autopilot system continued to guide it toward Hongku Port at the preset course and speed.

「Meanwhile.」

Aboard the Malacca No. 7, docked in Hongku Port, Captain Marvin (Kevin Matt) was in the command room on the island superstructure, discussing local security issues with Susan, the team leader from the Foreign Affairs Division stationed there.

Suddenly, the head of the radar team ran over. "Captain, we've detected a vessel of about 3,000 tons to the southeast, approaching Hongku Port at 12 knots."

Susan's expression remained perfectly calm as she poured herself another cup of black tea.

Marvin ordered, "Continue monitoring."

"Yes, sir."

Marvin turned to Susan. "Team Leader Susan, what are your thoughts?"

Susan waved a dismissive hand. "No need to be alarmed. Wait until it crosses the 12-nautical-mile limit, then we'll send a patrol boat to check it out."

"Very well."

「Half an hour later.」

The fishing boat finally closed to within 12 nautical miles of Hongku Port, which was less than 22 kilometers.

Immediately, a 500-ton gunboat patrol vessel docked in the harbor powered up and sped toward the fishing boat.

About twenty minutes later, the two vessels came into each other's line of sight.

Meanwhile, about 44 kilometers away, Chelsea was watching a live feed from the fishing boat via a satellite phone. When the patrol boat, emblazoned with the Homo Sapiens Defense logo, appeared on screen, a flicker of excitement showed in his eyes.

Soon, the patrol boat began hailing the fishing boat, demanding it stop immediately for an inspection.

In response, Chelsea immediately entered a command.

The fishing boat's engine quickly cut out, and the ashen-faced "fishermen" stood on the deck in their life vests.

A short while later, the patrol boat drew alongside the fishing boat.

Five security officers in exoskeletons jumped onto the fishing boat's deck.

At that exact moment, a crazed glint appeared in Chelsea's eyes as he swiftly pressed the red button.

「A moment later.」

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...

The life vests suddenly exploded, while in the fishing boat's hold, a massive amount of napalm and 15 tons of TNT detonated at the same instant.

The patrol boat, just meters away, was blasted onto its side. Napalm covered the water, erupting into a raging inferno.