Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

Somali waters, late at night.

The Jiaolong stealth speedboat, like a black blade, silently slices through the inky sea. On board, ten fully armed Jiaolong team members stand silently, their black combat uniforms blending into the night.

Long Ying stood at the bow of the boat, his pupils under the night vision goggles reflecting the outline of the distant coastline—the lair of the "Black Shark" pirate gang, a pirate base converted from an abandoned fishing village.

"Three nautical miles from target, shut off the engine and row forward." Long Ying's voice came through bone conduction headphones to each team member.

The miniature electric propeller on the speedboat stopped spinning, and the team members grabbed specially made carbon fiber paddles, paddling the water in perfect unison. The speedboat continued forward like a ghost, with only a very faint sound of water breaking through it.

The miniature drone on the boat quietly took off, transmitting real-time footage back to Dragon Shadow's tactical tablet. On the screen, the layout of the pirate base was clearly visible: four concrete buildings arranged in a triangular pattern, with the largest three-story building brightly lit and the faint sound of loud music emanating from it.

"Building A, third floor, hostage location confirmed." Long Ying zoomed in on the image and saw a figure moving vaguely in front of the iron window of a room on the third floor. "Thermal imaging shows fifteen people, which matches the number of the kidnapped crew members."

"Building B is an armory, Building C is the pirates' dormitory, Building D..." Long Ying paused for a moment, "Building D has four white people, well-equipped, they are not pirates."

In the footage, in a room on the second floor of Building D, four white men in camouflage are organizing their equipment. Their weapons are clearly superior to those of the pirates: carbines, night vision goggles, tactical vests, and satellite communication equipment on the table.

"US special forces," Dragon Claw whispered. "We clashed with them in Africa last time; they had this kind of equipment."

"Perfect." Long Ying's voice was icy. "Take them alive."

The speedboat stopped at a rocky area 500 meters from the shore. Ten people filed into the water and, using the rising tide as cover, silently swam towards the shore.

The landing point was chosen at the foot of a steep cliff. Longzhao took out magnetic climbing gloves from his backpack and was the first to climb the fifteen-meter-high cliff face with his bare hands, lowering the rope. In less than three minutes, all ten people had reached the top of the cliff.

The pirate base's sentries were practically useless—two pirates, clutching AK-47s, were dozing off. Long Ying made a gesture, and his Dragon Fang and Dragon Claws pounced like cheetahs. A flash of cold light from his dagger, and the two pirates collapsed to the ground without even a groan.

"Team A, clear out the outer outposts. Team B, follow me to rescue the hostages," Long Ying assigned the tasks.

The five team members dispersed and disappeared into the night. Dragon Shadow, along with Dragon Claw, Dragon Thorn, and another team member, made their way towards the three-story building where the hostages were being held.

Two pirates guarded the entrance, squatting on the ground smoking. Long Ying took out two tranquilizer darts from his waist, and with a soft click of the miniature crossbow, the two darts accurately struck the two men in the neck. Five seconds later, the two men collapsed to the ground.

"quick."

The four men slipped into the building. Footsteps echoed down the stairs as a pirate hummed a tune and came crashing into Long Ying. Before he could even see the other man's face, he was struck in the side of the neck with a chop to the neck and knocked unconscious.

At the end of the third-floor corridor, the iron gate was tightly locked. On the bench by the entrance, three pirates were playing cards.

"Three against two," Dragon Shadow whispered.

The three attacked almost simultaneously. Dragon Shadow's tranquilizer dart struck one man, Dragon Claw's dagger pierced the throat of the second, and Dragon Thorn's throwing knife embedded itself in the third's brow. The entire process took less than two seconds and was completely silent.

Dragon Claw retrieved the key from the fallen pirate and opened the iron gate.

Inside the room, fifteen Chinese sailors were bound hand and foot and huddled in a corner. Upon seeing the fully armed black figure, they were initially startled, but then, noticing the dragon emblem on the figure's armband, their eyes lit up with ecstatic joy.

"Don't make a sound, we're here to rescue you." Long Ying lowered his voice and quickly cut the ropes. "Can you walk?"

"Yes! Yes!" Captain Li's voice trembled with excitement.

"Stay close to me."

Just then, a gunshot suddenly rang out from downstairs—it was the muffled sound of a silencer, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

"Team B has encountered the enemy," the report came through the headset. "The white guys from Building D have come out; they're well-equipped and have high tactical awareness."

"Hold them off, we'll be there soon." Long Ying turned to the crew, "You all stay in your rooms, lock the doors, and don't open them for anyone."

"Watch out!"

The four men rushed out of the room and headed straight for the direction from which the gunshots were coming.

A fierce firefight was breaking out in the open space in front of Building D. Five members of the Submarine Corps, using concrete pillars and abandoned vehicles for cover, were exchanging fire with four white special forces soldiers. Both sides were using silenced weapons; the only sounds were the muffled thuds of bullets hitting objects and the clatter of spent cartridge cases hitting the ground.

"Crossfire, they're stalling for time." Long Ying saw through the enemy's tactics at a glance. "They're going to call for backup."

Sure enough, at the second-floor window of Building D, a white man was speaking urgently into a satellite phone.

Long Ying took out a palm-sized device from his waist—an electromagnetic pulse generator. He aimed at the second-floor window and pressed the button.

"Sizzle—"

An invisible electromagnetic pulse spread out. The satellite phone on the second floor instantly started smoking, and all the lights in Building D went out.

"Now!" Long Ying ordered.

Ten people charged simultaneously. Dragon Claw rolled close to the wall of Building D and stuck the magnetic bomb against it. With a muffled "boom," a large hole was blasted in the wall.

Amidst the smoke and dust, the four white special forces soldiers reacted swiftly, immediately shifting their position. However, to the members of the Submarine Team, their movements were still too slow.

Long Ying locked onto the officer who had just made the phone call; the officer was retreating towards the basement. He pounced like a cheetah, covering twenty meters in three seconds, and just as the officer was about to close the basement iron door, he plunged his dagger into the crack.

"Bang!"

The iron gate was forced open. The white officer swung an elbow strike, which Long Ying easily blocked, then followed up with a powerful punch to the officer's abdomen. The officer grunted, and before he could react, Long Ying's knee had already slammed into his chin.

"Crack." The sound of bone breaking was clearly audible.

The officer fell to the ground, and Long Ying used plastic handcuffs to tie him up behind his back. He searched the officer's body and found his identification—Major of the US Marine Corps, under the Special Operations Command.

Outside, the gunfire had ceased. The other three white special forces soldiers had all been killed, and the pirates had been wiped out.

"Cleanup complete. Thirty-seven pirates killed, one M country major captured," Longya reported. "No casualties on our side."

Long Ying walked up to the American major, knelt down, and asked in fluent English, "Name? Mission?"

The major spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, "You've gotten yourselves into big trouble. The US won't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Long Ying punched him in the ribs, the force just enough to break a rib without killing it.

"I'll ask again, name? Mission?"

The major, pale with pain, finally spoke: "John Miller... the mission is... to train pirates, hijack Chinese ships... and create trouble..."

"Who gave the order?"

"I can't say..."

Long Ying raised his fist again.

"Wait! I'll tell you!" the major broke down. "It was approved by the CIA... by the Department of Defense... They said... they wanted to teach China a lesson..."

Long Ying stood up and asked the team members beside him, "Did you record it?"

"The whole thing was recorded, including the statement you just made." The team member shook the miniature camera on his helmet.

"Okay. Clean up the scene and take away all valuable intelligence and equipment. Are the hostages safe?"

"Safe, you've been transferred to the speedboat."

"retreat."

At four o'clock in the morning, the "Jiaolong" speedboat, carrying fifteen rescued crew members and prisoners, quietly sailed away from the Somali coast. Behind them, the pirate base was engulfed in flames, and all weapons, equipment, communication devices, and ledgers were reduced to ashes.

On the speedboat, Captain Li held Long Ying's hand, tears streaming down his face: "Thank you... thank you all... I thought I was going to die this time..."

"This is what we should do," Long Ying said calmly. "The country will not abandon any citizen."

"Those pirates..."

"There won't be any more." Long Ying looked at the gradually brightening horizon in the distance. "From now on, no one will dare to touch any of the Dragon Kingdom's ships in this sea area."

At 7:00 AM, the Dragon Kingdom's national television station broadcasts its "Morning News".

The host, his face serious, announced: "We now have an urgent news briefing. Last night, our special forces successfully rescued the cargo ship 'Yuanyang' and its fifteen crew members from pirates in the waters off Somalia, wiping out the entire pirate gang and capturing the M country military personnel who were behind the operation..."

Screen switch.

A manipulated video appeared on the screen—special forces soldiers in black combat uniforms launched a surprise attack in the night, displaying precise shooting and swift kills. The video ended with footage of Major John Miller's confession from the US. Key parts were muted, but the subtitles were clear.

"Mission: Train pirates to hijack Dragon Kingdom ships... teach Dragon Kingdom a lesson..."

The video ends with the fifteen rescued crew members standing on the speedboat, waving tearfully at the camera.

"It has been confirmed that all crew members are safe and sound and are en route home." The host's voice was firm. "Our government reiterates: any act that endangers the safety and rights of our citizens will be resolutely countered. Don't say we didn't warn you!"

The news broadcast occurred during breakfast time.

Jinghua City, an ordinary family.

"Dad! Mom! Look at the news!" the son shouted excitedly.

The family gathered around the television, and when they saw the special forces soldiers descending like gods to rescue the hostages, the father excitedly slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "Good! Well done!"

"This is our army!" The mother wiped away her tears. "Those children...we've finally been rescued..."

The son took out his phone, and social media had exploded:

#Chinese Special Forces Rescue in Somalia#

#Pirates wiped out, M country's mastermind captured#

#ThisIsTrueGreatPowerResponsibility#

The most upvoted comment reads: "I used to always see American soldiers rescuing people around the world in movies, now it's finally our turn! And we're even cooler, tougher, and more satisfying!"

This comment received over a million likes within ten minutes.

A breakfast shop on the Bund in Shanghai.

The news was being rebroadcast on television. When the footage of the US major's confession appeared, a roar erupted from inside the store:

"As expected, it was the US pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"How despicable! They're too scared to confront us directly, so they resort to these underhanded tactics!"

"Good beating! That's exactly what we should do!"

An old man stood up shakily: "My son worked on ships for thirty years. He was once kidnapped by pirates and they only released him after paying a ransom. Back then, the country wasn't as powerful as it is now... Now things are better, now things are better..."

As he spoke, he began to cry.

The Chinese internet was in complete uproar.

All of the top ten trending topics on Weibo are related to this rescue:

#Soma Rescue Scene Video#

#The Submarine Force Makes Its First Public Appearance#

#US country orchestrating pirates#

#China's Strong Counterattack#

Someone edited the video into a short clip, added rousing music, and it went viral on various platforms. In the video, the black figures of the Qianlong team members darted and moved through the night, their precise shooting and perfect teamwork more breathtaking than any action blockbuster.

"This skill, this teamwork—they're definitely among the world's top special forces!"

"Those pirates were killed instantly without even having time to react!"

"Did you see that American major? He looked so pathetic when he was arrested!"

"The country should have done this a long time ago! It needs to be firm when necessary!"

Behind all of this, Lin Zhe stood in the command center, watching the news footage, a slight smile on his lips.

"Sir, the public is very excited after the video was broadcast," Long Qing reported.

"Yeah." Lin Zhe nodded. "Let them have some fun. They've been holding it in for so many years, it's time to vent."

"Have there been any responses from Country R, ​​Country J, and Country X?"

"Not yet. The US has jumped up, saying we violated their sovereignty and illegally crossed the border, demanding the immediate release of the arrested personnel."

"Release them?" Lin Zhe sneered. "Tell him we'll release them—after the military court trial, those who should be executed will be executed, and those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned. As for violating sovereignty? The Somali government has already sent a letter of thanks, thanking us for helping them eliminate the pirate gang, and has also invited us to assist in rebuilding the coast guard."

"Brilliant!" Long Qing laughed. "Now the US has nothing to say."

The clock on the wall points to eight o'clock in the morning.

There's one hour left until the 24-hour ultimatum.

Lin Zhe glanced at the clock, his eyes growing cold.

Somalia is just an appetizer.

The main meal is about to begin.

Those countries that are still watching, still mocking, and still provoking will soon find out—

The Dragon Kingdom's ultimatum is not a bluff.

The bottom line of the Dragon Kingdom cannot be crossed.

The Dragon Kingdom's wrath needs to be extinguished with blood.

Time passed, second by second.

The whole world is waiting.

Waiting for the 24-hour countdown to reach zero.

Waiting for that sleeping dragon to fully awaken.