June 18, 2014, 3:32 AM
Location: Above the Indian Ocean
Vehicle: HU-16 Albatross
Zhang Jie at this moment was completely different from Zhang Jie seven days ago; he had firm eyes, sharp gaze, and scars on his face left by special training.
But his entire spirit had undergone an earth-shattering change compared to before. If the old him was more like an assassin hiding in the shadows, then at this moment he was like a soldier ready for battle at any time.
At this moment, the HU-16 Albatross they were riding was a modified transport plane. Listening to the sound of the propellers outside the cabin, Zhang Jie's heart inexplicably calmed down.
"Hey, rookie, nervous?"
Caesar, sitting opposite Zhang Jie, teased.
"Get lost, fuck!" Zhang Jie unhesitatingly gave Caesar the middle finger.
"Hahahaha! The rookie can fight back now."
Christmas, Yin Yang, Ross, and Jensen in the cabin all burst into laughter. Caesar looked at Zhang Jie innocently, "Come on, bro. You weren't like this when you first arrived."
Zhang Jie rolled his eyes directly, "When I first arrived, I didn't know you were so shameless!"
"Oh no!" Caesar clutched his heart, making an expression of 'my love has left me'.
Christmas, standing by, couldn't help but punch him.
"Alright, quiet down."
At this moment, Ross began to explain his plan, "Listen, our mission this time is to rescue the hostages on the freighter. We must ensure their safety and make sure the pirates don't harm them."
Subsequently, Ross pulled out a nautical chart, marking the location of the hijacked freighter. He then casually pointed to an area outside the freighter.
"To avoid being discovered, we will parachute 500 meters from the hijacked freighter and then dive to board the ship, understood?"
Everyone nodded, including Zhang Jie, who had already trained for parachuting.
So, for him, there was no pressure.
If he felt no pressure, others would feel even less. Everyone agreed and began checking their equipment.
To facilitate his movement, Zhang Jie equipped himself with two glock 17s; he just loved glocks.
Four standard magazines and two extended magazines.
And four daggers.
On his back was a Benelli M4.
However, the first thing they did was check their equipment, then they took out waterproof bags and wrapped all their gear, because the parachuting they were about to do would involve landing directly in seawater, and these guns couldn't withstand such abuse.
After preparations were complete, Rod's voice came from the cabin, "Guys, we've reached the designated location, get ready to go."
After the few people in the cabin exchanged glances, Ross went to the rear, clenched his right fist, and directly slammed it on the cabin door switch. Soon, the door slowly opened.
A fierce wind immediately poured in through the door. Fortunately, there was nothing special in the cabin. Ross then glanced at everyone before jumping directly out of the plane.
Following him were Christmas, Yin Yang, Caesar, and Jensen.
Zhang Jie was the last to jump out of the plane. Then, at about 100 meters above the sea, they opened their parachutes.
As the group successively fell into the sea, they quickly pulled the release button of their parachute packs to quickly separate the parachutes from themselves.
The hijacked freighter had remained stationary, which was why they dared to operate this way.
A distance of 500 meters was not too far, but not exactly close either, yet the group, relying on their exceptional physical fitness, still swam to the vicinity of the ship.
Zhang Jie had been clever during the descent; he landed a little closer to the freighter, saving a lot of energy.
The Indian Ocean swells rose and fell like black silk, and the salty sea breeze carried the smell of diesel.
Zhang Jie's dive watch showed a depth of 2 meters, and his eardrums throbbed slightly from the water pressure. Through the murky seawater, he could see the halo of light cast by Christmas's tactical flashlight on the ship's hull.
"Go."
Ross's voice came through the bone conduction headset, mixed with static.
Six dark figures, like sharks, approached the freighter's rusty anchor chain.
Jensen's respirator mask was covered in condensation. He gripped a protrusion on the anchor chain with one hand, and with the other, he pulled an HK45CT from his leg holster; it was a bit difficult to operate through the waterproof bag.
Christmas was the first to flip onto the deck, his tactical boot grinding half a circle on the wet iron plate, confirming no vibration sensors.
His glock18's slide was pulled back and chambered, the firing pin ready.
"Two o'clock, sentry."
Yin Yang's voice was very soft.
The Somali pirate sentry leaned against a container, his AKM's stock resting against his thigh, lighting a cigarette with a lighter.
As Jensen's dagger pierced upward through his jaw, the flame just illuminated his startled pupils. The blade precisely severed his medulla oblongata, leaving no time for even a spasm.
"Clear."
Jensen shook the blood off his knife, and the body was dragged into the shadows by Caesar.
Zhang Jie's gaze swept across the deck: three containers were arranged in a 'pin' shape, and the sound of pirates' footsteps came from the port side. Ross held up three fingers, indicating a three-person patrol.
Christmas suddenly darted out from the shadows, covering the last pirate's mouth with his left hand and slashing horizontally with a knife in his right. Blood from the carotid artery sprayed onto the container with a soft 'hiss'.
"Silencers aren't foolproof."
Ross's .45ACP follow-up shots pierced the foreheads of the other two, the sound of the casings falling into the sea swallowed by the swells.
The light tubes in the lower hold passage flickered, and the stench of decaying fuel mixed with the smell of sweat. Caesar's AA-12 rested on his shoulder; the FRAG-12 rounds' fragmentation charge was enough to blast a human body into minced meat.
"Two behind the door."
Jensen's SCAR-H, with an under-barrel grenade launcher, whispered, pressing against the hatch.
Yin Yang suddenly kicked open the electrical box. The moment darkness fell, Caesar's shotgun blasted open the iron door.
Zhang Jie's glock 17's burst shots hit the first pirate's throat, and the second shot blew his brains out.
"Tsk."
Christmas's throwing knife impaled the second pirate's eye socket, the 'X'-shaped blood groove on the hilt tripling the bleeding speed.
The hostages were locked in the fuel pump control room, the iron door reinforced with steel bars. Zhang Jie knelt, inserting thin sheets of C4 into the door crack.
"Fire in the hole!"
The blast wave ripped off the door frame. Ross was the first to rush in. Three European crew members huddled in a corner, one of them with a bleeding bandage on his thigh. The wound had turned green, and the smell of gangrene assailed them.
"Medical kit!"
Zhang Jie tore open a morphine syringe, and the moment the needle pierced the crewman's femoral artery, the ship suddenly tilted violently.
"Pursuit boats!"
Yin Yang saw four speedboats approaching from the porthole; the RPG gunners had already shouldered their launchers.
Jensen's SCAR-H was braced on the window frame. A 7.62mm armor-piercing round penetrated the first gunner's chest, carving a small hole in the speedboat's engine.
Christmas's AT4 rocket launcher, meanwhile, blew the remaining three boats into fireballs, the white light of burning aluminum and magnesium illuminating the shrapnel grazes on his face.
The remaining few quickly cleared all obstacles, rushing towards where the hostages were gathered.
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