Travel through Hong Kong variety shows, starting with unlocking all kinds of beauties.

……

Ivan Tanzai's eyelids twitched upon hearing this.

He scrutinized the young man before him, and after a long pause, finally spoke: "What are your requirements?"

"Escort them out of the Turkish Straits," Lei Yaoyang said slowly.

Ivan Tanzai stared at Lei Yaoyang for a long time, so long that Han Bin felt a little uncomfortable and reached for his cigarette case.

"Escort them out of the Turkish Straits..." Ivan Tanzai repeated the sentence, his voice very low, as if afraid that the wind and snow outside the wall would hear it.

He suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with helplessness.

"Young man, do you know what the Varyag needs most right now?"

Lei Yaoyang remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"What it lacks most is a heart that can propel it forward. Right now, it's just an empty shell." Ivan Tanzai walked to the window, his back to the two men.

"The main unit is not installed, the servo motor is not installed, and even the most basic power system is empty."

So it was a massive iron lump weighing over 60,000 tons that had to be dragged out of Nikolayev, across the entire Black Sea, and then through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits…”

He turned around, a strange light in his gray eyes: "And the Turks won't let us through easily."

The narrowest part of the strait is only a little over 700 meters wide, while the Varyag's hull is more than 30 meters wide, and the total width of the towing fleet will exceed 50 meters.

The US could easily block Turkey by giving it a pretext about shipping lane safety.

Han Bin frowned: "So you mean this can't be done?"

"Can't it be done?" Ivan Tan shook his head. "I said it's difficult, not impossible. It requires some 'greasing the wheels'."

He walked to the table and held up two fingers: "Turkish Maritime Authority, two million US dollars."

The cost of escorting ships across the strait is three million US dollars.

Including the spare tugboats from Greece, it costs one million US dollars.

"I'll offer eight million, and the extra two million can be considered as a reward for the general's hard work." Lei Yaoyang looked at Ivan Tancai and made an eight-character gesture with his hand.

Ivan Tanzai paused for a second, a smile blooming on his face before he quickly hid it, and then held up his third finger: "There's one more thing."

Turkey will demand a seaworthiness certificate from an international classification society, citing significant safety hazards associated with unpowered vessels passing through the strait. This certificate…”

"I'll give you another two million," Lei Yaoyang interrupted him.

Ivan Tanzai raised an eyebrow and said nothing more.

He hadn't expected this Asian to be so generous.

She was so generous that she couldn't refuse these requests.

"One last question." Ivan Tanzai retracted his fingers, sat back in his chair, and his gaze sharpened. "After the ship is towed out of the Turkish Straits, where will it go?"

The room became quiet.

The wind outside the window lashed against the glass, making a dull thud.

In the distance, the ice on the Dnieper River gleamed a cold white under the dark gray sky.

Lei Yaoyang looked at Ivan Tanzai and slowly said, "You don't need to know."

"I need it." Ivan Tanzai's tone hardened. "My men need to go with the ship for you to get out of Turkey. I have to be responsible for my men."

"What will happen to my people if the ship is seized or the crew arrested halfway through the journey?"

Han Bin tried to smooth things over, saying, "General, these things..."

"Brother Bin." Lei Yaoyang raised his hand to interrupt him, looking directly into Ivan Tanzai's eyes, "The ship will first sail through the Mediterranean, rounding the Cape of Good Hope. After we arrive in Singapore, I'll tell you the next step."

Ivan Tanzai squinted: "Go around Africa? That's twice the distance."

"Yes." Lei Yaoyang said calmly, "The Suez Canal is too narrow and easy to block. Although going around the Cape of Good Hope is far, it's all international waters along the way, and nobody can interfere."

Ivan Tanzai pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Alright. But there's one thing I need to make clear—once the ship leaves the Bosphorus, I'm no longer responsible for it. I'm only responsible for getting it out of Turkey; the rest of the journey is up to you."

"Can."

Ivan Tanzai stood up, straightened his uniform, took two steps toward the door, and suddenly stopped.

He didn't turn around, but simply said, "Young man, I don't know who's behind you, and I don't want to know. But there's one thing..."

"Bring him this ship; it represents ten years of hard work by tens of thousands of workers in Nikolayev. It shouldn't be rotting in the dock."

After saying that, the door opened and closed again, and Ivan Tanzai left.

Only Lei Yaoyang and Han Bin remained in the room.

Han Bin let out a long breath, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag: "Fifty million US dollars for the blueprints, thirty million US dollars for the ship, plus the ten million just for bribes, all that adds up to almost a hundred million US dollars. Master Bao's patriotism is truly ingrained..."

He shook his head, it was hard to tell whether it was out of emotion or heartache.

Lei Yaoyang carefully put the documents on the table into his briefcase.

"Brother Bin, why do you think Master Bao insists on having this ship?"

Han Bin, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "I've known him for so many years, and everything he's done seems crazy, but looking back, not a single step he's taken has been in vain."

He paused, flicked his cigarette ash, and said, "Perhaps this ship is a seed he planted for the future."

Lei Yaoyang didn't say anything more, picked up his briefcase and walked to the window.

The wind and snow intensified.

In the distance, towards the Black Sea Shipyard, the outline of the Varyag could be faintly seen against the gray and white sky.

Like a sleeping behemoth about to be awakened.

The price to awaken it is one hundred million US dollars, the lives of a group of people, and a sea route that spans half the globe.

Lei Yaoyang took out his satellite phone and dialed Dong Tianbao's number.

The phone rang only once before I answered it.

"Master Bao".

"Has an agreement been reached?"

"It's settled. The auction will be held in a week, and Ivan Tanzania will go through the formalities."

Our men are already keeping watch outside the shipyard. Feng Yuxiu and Xiao Zhuang are taking turns on guard duty, Fang Zheng and Yi Ping'an are responsible for monitoring the port, and Thor is leading his men to guard the hotel.

"Have you received the drawings and data?"

"Ivan Tanzai promised to take us to the shipyard archives the day before the auction to check everything. Everything is there."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Dong Tianbao's voice came through, with a hint of barely perceptible laughter: "Yaoyang, it's cold where you are, wear more clothes."

"Um."

"Oh, right," Dong Tianbao suddenly added, "After you come back, don't go back to Helan. Leave that place to Jin Feng and the others."

"Okay, Master Bao."

"Aren't you going to ask why?" Dong Tianbao asked casually.

Lei Yaoyang knew perfectly well that everything Bao Ye did was for the sake of his country and its people.

He came back for his own safety.

"Brother Bao, we're both smart men, there's no point in talking about this."

"Okay, what do you want? Plus, I'll owe you a favor."

"What favors do I need to do for you, big brother? Just prepare a villa and buy me a piano as a token of my appreciation," Lei Yaoyang said with a smile.

"If that's how you put it, then you have to listen to me as your older brother. Favors are valid, so you can't refuse." Dong Tianbao continued with a smile, "I heard you play the piano very well. I'll wait for you to come back and play for me!"

……