50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 266 A Disappointing Reunion

Fogo Island is a volcanic island with the largest volcano in the Cape Verde Islands, which is 2829 meters above sea level.

It is located 60 kilometers east of Bulawa Island, where the submarine base is located.

It only took Sun Zhiwei 30 minutes to drive from Bulawa Island by speedboat.

He turned off the speedboat engine and floated there waiting. About an hour and a half later, a fishing boat came from the direction of the capital, Playa.

Sun Zhiwei immediately started the speedboat's engine and watched the approaching fishing boat from a distance.

Only when he saw a middle-aged man in a standard gray Zhongshan suit at the bow of the ship did his vigilance ease considerably.

Soon the fishing boats also spotted his speedboat and moved toward him.

Sun Zhiwei stood in the driver's seat, his hands never leaving the steering wheel. Only when he saw the fishing boat approaching did he loudly ask in English, "Where are you from?"

"Santiago Island, young man, where are you from?"

"I'm not from around here. Are you going tuna fishing?"

"I don't have that skill; I'll be happy if I can catch some ordinary fish."

"My name is George. Is this your own ship?"

"No, this is a fishing boat we rented at the dock. The boat owner brought us here." Upon hearing that there were other people on the fishing boat, Sun Zhiwei immediately knew what to do.

"I'm going tuna fishing, any friends interested in coming with me?"

The middle-aged man in the Zhongshan suit turned around and spoke a few words to the people behind him before turning back to Sun Zhiwei and saying, "My companions and I are very interested. There are four of us. Can we come together?"

"Sure, my speedboat can hold six people. But what about the fishing boat you rented?"

"It's alright, the boat owner can earn the same amount of money without having to travel all day, so he's happy to do it."

"Then you can get on the boat. The tuna's migration route is still in the open sea."

Soon, four people disembarked from the fishing boat, including the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier and three young men.

All four were dressed identically: full Zhongshan suits. Apart from the middle-aged man, the three young men were one tall, one short, and one bald.

After the fishing boats had gone some distance, Sun Zhiwei joked with them in Chinese, "Hey guys, aren't you afraid of getting heatstroke on such a hot day?"

"You'll get used to it." The middle-aged man was alright, but the three young people were already covered in sweat.

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, the three of them couldn't help but roll their eyes behind his back.

Sun Zhiwei laughed heartily: "I am 'Di Ting', what should I call you?"

He had just confirmed the contact's code name and the code word in the telegram, and now that everything matched, he took the initiative to give the code name, but still did not say his own name.

"I'm 'Swordfish' and my surname is Luo. These three are all driving experts: the tall one is Xiao Liu, the short one is Dongzi, and the bald one is Dahai," the middle-aged man introduced himself.

"Comrade 'Diting', our superiors sent us to meet up with you. What is our mission? Can you tell us now?"

"You only sent three people?" Sun Zhiwei was disappointed; he had expected a whole driving team to come.

Such a large H-submarine requires a basic crew of more than a dozen people to operate. With only three people, even if they are all elites, what good are they?

He had been piloting the submarine alone for so many days, essentially gambling with his life, betting that he wouldn't encounter any problems he couldn't handle. Even so, he almost ran into other submarines.

However, since they were already there, he couldn't say anything more.

“Four. I’m an expert in hydrology and navigation. They said they received the latest submarine intelligence and sent us to assist you.” “How many days did it take you to get here?”

"It took a day to gather everyone together, then four days of continuous flights and transfers, and finally a day to take a ship from Dakar, Senegal. It took a total of six days."

"We only arrived last night, and we thought we would miss the deadline."

After hearing their story of how they got here, Sun Zhiwei knew that waiting for more people to come was basically hopeless.

He took a deep breath, glanced at the four of them again, and said, "We'll deal with the mission later. Let's get you your equipment changed first."

"Everyone, get ready. We're heading to Fogo Island pier." He waited until all four were seated before turning the speedboat around.

Because they hadn't practiced speedboats much before, their turning skills were a bit rusty, which was immediately noticed by the four men.

Dongzi, who was shorter, volunteered, "I'm the driver, so why don't I drive?"

"Really? That's great, Brother Dongzi. The speedboat is yours now. We'll head to the small port in the southwest; they sell equipment there."

At this point, the middle-aged man hesitated and said, "The country gave each of us a clothing allowance of 600 yuan, but we've already spent 500 yuan."

That means if you're going to buy clothes, remember to control your spending and try to get them for under 100 yuan.

"Don't worry about that, it's necessary for the mission, it doesn't need to be paid out of the clothing allowance." Sun Zhiwei's words dispelled their concerns.

He was aware of the plight of those who went abroad, which is why no one objected when he asked students to hand over their scholarships during their studies abroad.

The short driver was much more skilled at driving the speedboat; even on unfamiliar vessels he had never seen before, he drove with smooth and fluid movements.

Soon, the speedboat docked at the Fogo Island pier. After paying the parking fee, Sun Zhiwei led them to a water sports equipment shop on the edge of the pier.

Based on the four people's body types, he bought two sets of summer clothes for each of them, both short-sleeved shirts and shorts.

Then they bought four more sets of diving equipment, spending several thousand dollars, which made the group of people very nervous.

Sun Zhiwei ignored these things; they were necessities. Without diving equipment, they couldn't get into the submarine dock.

He then had the four men carry their equipment and follow him. He had already asked the shopkeeper for directions; there was a barbecue restaurant nearby, and he hadn't eaten yet.

He noticed that the four of them had also left home early in the morning after receiving the telegram, and probably hadn't eaten.

It was almost noon, and all that was left on the 'Memphis' was raw meat in the cold storage and compressed biscuits.

He's been eating like this for a week now. He's finally made it ashore, so he deserves a good meal to improve his diet.

So he decided to eat before setting off.

This is a foreign-style all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant. The store is not very big, but there are still quite a few customers, which shows that the business is good.

Sun Zhiwei led the four people into the barbecue restaurant. The interior was tastefully decorated, with air conditioning on, and a large amount of food was piled up like a small mountain, making the group stare wide-eyed.

Sun Zhiwei paid at the counter first, and then said to the four people:

"This barbecue restaurant charges per person, so it's the same price no matter how much or how little you eat. Guys, eat as much as you want, we have to make sure we get our money's worth."

The four people, who were initially a little apprehensive, immediately felt completely at ease upon hearing this.

When it comes to appetite, they've never been afraid of anyone since they joined the army. They just eat as much as they can; eating too little would be a loss.

(End of this chapter)