Darkstone Code

Chapter 673 - 0670 Ransom

Conni is an ordinary sailor. His sister is the mistress of a supervisor at a shipping company. This kind of thing isn’t very honorable, and no one would voluntarily boast about it.

But he also got a decent job because of it. At least it’s a legitimate job that allows him to have a stable income so his family doesn’t have to eat relief food every day.

Originally, it was a very normal task. The company wanted to send a shipload of cargo across the strait, and according to the normal route, they’d return to the Federation by the third day at most.

However, after setting sail, the first mate privately revealed that they might have to stay an extra two days, mainly to help the local tourism industry.

Since the laws of the Gafura homeland recognize solicitation as a legitimate occupation, this law extended to the Concession, legalizing solicitation in the Amelia Region.

Temporarily disregarding the chaotic situation inland, the stability of the port areas is still guaranteed, which has made the coastal ports of Amelia exceptionally prosperous, with a thriving tourism industry.

Just spending a little money allows you not only to experience the exotic style of Amelia but also to find a local guide to learn about geography.

"Three days fifty bucks, anytime!"

The entire ship was in jubilation because of this. For the crew, it was one of the few perks. Every time they reached a new place, they’d leave behind a piece of their genetic material, making an extraordinary contribution to global integration.

By noon, the ship was already near the middle of the strait. Everyone had traveled this route before, and there was no risk; the maritime climate hadn’t changed much either, which led everyone to become complacent.

It was somewhat like crossing a road; who would think that crossing a road could cause trouble?

After one in the afternoon, everyone was sleepy. The sun shining on the deck raised the temperature of the ship’s body, making the temperature and humidity very comfortable. Most of the idle crew members had already returned to the cabin.

Like Conni, who changed into pajamas and lay on the bed. Accompanied by the swaying of the ship, the not-too-intense sunlight shone through the glass cabin window onto half of his face, letting him quickly sink into sleep.

Until...

He was awakened by being struck with a gunstock.

Suddenly awakened, Conni propped himself up like a drowning person, only to be struck again with a gunstock, causing stars to appear in his eyes.

There was sound gradually in his ears: someone was shouting in panic, someone was roaring, someone was begging for mercy, and even gunshots could be heard.

The sunlight outside the cabin window was no longer so warm, conveying a piercing coldness. His brain went almost blank, with no subjective awareness, as he headed to the deck under the pirates’ demands.

Yes, pirates, terrifying pirates!

In this era, pirates are definitely the most troublesome presence on the seas because there are no particularly reliable early detection devices, and pirates often attempt raids using small boats with camouflage colors. If you don’t notice the pirates approaching, it’s basically hard for any commercial ship to escape a calamity.

This time as well, a speedboat followed from behind, boarded the deck from the side, and then this scene unfolded.

Conni squatted barefoot on the scorching deck in his pajamas, clutching his hands behind his head, constantly moving his feet. With the deck having baked in the sun all afternoon, it could slowly cook an egg, and he suspected his feet were almost cooked.

Soon, all crew members were herded together. The captain stood sideways with a stern face, along with the first mate. Around them were pirates holding guns, occasionally raising their weapons to strike those sailors who lifted their heads.

"Sorry to inform you, this is bad news. You’ve been hijacked..." Suddenly, a voice came from the captain’s cabin, sounding a bit strange, not like a Federation accent or a Gafura accent. It’s hard to say exactly where it’s from; it sounds somewhat like all places but not exactly like any place.

Almost all the languages worldwide use the standard pronunciation of the international lingua franca as their basis, adding some locally characteristic pronunciations or unique vocabulary on top.

Trying to simply use accent to discern where someone is from isn’t an easy task. At least among the accents you know, there’s one with such a pronunciation.

Conni kept spitting on the deck. He’d been hit twice, but the deck was simply too hot. He could only spit to moisten it.

For him, if he really encountered unreasonable bandits who killed indiscriminately, resisting or complying wouldn’t matter much. He just wanted to be slightly more comfortable now.

"Who the hell do you look down on?" A robber suddenly struck Conni’s shoulder with a gunstock, glaring at him.

The latter looked terrified—who the hell would I dare look down on?

He really wanted to say this, but rationality told him it was best to stay silent.

The robber pointed his gun at him, "Be careful. If I catch you spitting while the leader is speaking, I’ll throw you into the sea."

After a bewildering strike, Conni calmed down, although his soles were still slightly pained from the heat. At least he could stand now.

"... We have no intention of taking anyone’s life, our goal is just ransom, money, understand?"

"Can someone tell me how much this ship’s cargo is worth?"

A robber standing in front of the crowd whispered a few words to the captain, who didn’t seem very cooperative, then received a few punches, which made him hunched over in pain and finally speak.

Conni, crouching below, thought the captain was foolish. In the end, he’d cave in, so why make himself suffer?

This is where Conni differs from the captain. Does the captain really not know he’d cave in eventually?

No, he knows. He’s more aware than anyone of the consequences of non-cooperation, yet he still acted this way because he needed to gamble, to hedge, to have something to fall back on.

These robbers boarded without harming anyone. Just like they said, their goal is the ransom and they don’t want to hurt the innocent. This means their chances of leaving alive are high, so the captain could go along with it, and strive for some future benefits.

When the company pays the ransom or otherwise, as long as they leave, his image of resisting but failing against the pirates will be publicized. Coupled with some of his subsequent maneuvering, at least he won’t lose his job.

Capitalists can indeed be cold-blooded at times, but sometimes they also need to protect their image, especially those listed companies. Ordinary shareholders may appear weak and easily exploited, but when united under certain circumstances, they can also pose a problem.

"Very good, I will respect your rights, and I hope you can respect us too." After making a gesture to the robbers on the deck, the pirate leader seemed to have figured out some situations.

Under the coordination of the pirates, the cargo ship started again, but this time their destination was no longer Amelia, but a place unknown to them.

On the third day, when the situation in the Federation began to brew, the cargo ship docked outside a small island, and the crew were transferred to the island where they saw the pirate leader, a bearded man.

When he spoke there was an inexplicable smoky aura, "Friends, I hope you can cooperate just like the past few days we’ve spent together, no one got hurt!"

He instructed the crew to kneel in a row, with the captain, bruised and battered, holding a piece of paper in front of a video camera, "I am the captain of... ship, our vessel was hijacked by pirates about four hours after departing the port, and we currently don’t know where we are."

"The opposing party demands the company pays sixteen million in ransom for the redemption of these cargo and the ship, as well as all crew members."

"You have seventy-two hours, after seventy-two hours the cargo on the ship and we will sink to the bottom of the sea..."

...

"What do you think?" The President asked as he sat in the lounge of the President’s Mansion, watching a television.

The room was filled with people, Security Committee members, Military Intelligence Bureau members, Ministry of Defense members, as well as people from the shipping company and engine manufacturing company.

The video tape arrived yesterday, but it wasn’t sent directly to the President’s Mansion, instead it was sent in batches to all the television stations.

Some TV stations might still be deliberating over the impact and the direction issues, but when one station dared to air it, very soon everyone in the Federation knew.

This is definitely the first time in Federation history!

Previously, there were also merchant ships raided by pirates, but most of them simply robbed the goods and killed people, no one ever proactively demanded ransom.

This behavior... the person who devised this plan should go see a brain specialist, didn’t they consider how they’d escape after getting the money?

Because of this, the President, the cabinet members, and everyone else found it novel, followed by tension and responsibility.

"Gentlemen, any good recommendations?" The President looked at the people filling the room, "Do we pay this ransom or refuse their demands?"

As soon as he finished, Mr. Truman coughed, "Sorry, I’ll interrupt for a moment..." He walked up to the President and bent down, softly whispering in his ear, "People won’t want to see a President who randomly abandons citizens’ lives, and their demands aren’t impossible, it’s just money..."

Upon hearing this, the President was startled, realizing that this matter never truly had a choice from the start. Normally, it would be fine, but the damn election is coming soon.

If word spread now that the President spared the pirates to help capitalists save ransom, leading to the death of the crew, even if he could be elected, re-election would be nearly impossible.

People are indeed like this, expecting everyone to be rational when it doesn’t involve their interests.

But as soon as developments have a clear interest relationship with them, people hope everyone will consider them more.

He turned and patted Mr. Truman’s arm, a hint of relief in his eyes, "Good thing you reminded me..."