Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

"Charge! Break through this path!"

Zhao Ruilong strode to the control panel and yelled at the second mate who was steering the ship.

"I've paid a hundred million toll! We're getting out of this area today, no matter what! Once we're twelve nautical miles out to international waters, they absolutely won't dare fire! Accelerate and ram them!"

He reached out and pulled the accelerator valve.

The bodyguard next to him reacted quickly, grabbing his waist and pulling him backward.

"Brother Long, that won't do! That's an active-duty destroyer up ahead! Its draft and tonnage completely overwhelm ours! If we ram it, we'll all be fish food!"

Sweating profusely, the captain scrambled to the outside of the control panel and slammed his hand heavily on a row of red brake buttons.

This dilapidated cargo ship is barely passable for smuggling, but going head-to-head with regular naval vessels is pure suicide.

The braking system was forcibly activated. The heavy propellers pushed against the current, churning up large white waves on the sea surface. The 10,000-ton cargo ship slid forward a distance due to inertia before its speed decreased, and it came to a stop on the sea, swaying.

The captain snatched the radio microphone and quickly switched to an international public channel.

"This is the Neptune! We surrender! Engines shut down, all personnel stand by! Please, do not fire!"

A seasoned veteran who had been operating in this gray-market route for decades finally backed down.

Zhao Ruilong grabbed the red metal fire extinguisher next to him and was about to smash it down on the captain's back.

Several crew members rushed forward and desperately seized the fire extinguisher. Chaos erupted in the cockpit; no one wanted to be buried with this spoiled brat.

On the flight deck of the destroyer ahead, two anti-submarine helicopters roared to life. Their massive propellers cut through the night wind, skimming the sea surface as they circled over and hovered steadily above the cargo ship's foredeck.

The downdraft was extremely strong. Abandoned cables and oil drums on the deck were whipped around by the wind. Blinding beams of searchlight shone from the destroyer, illuminating the cargo ship.

As soon as Zhao Ruilong stepped out of the cockpit's iron door, he was thrown to the ground by the wind pressure. He crashed heavily onto the metal grille, too weak to even stand up, and could only desperately protect his head and face.

The expensive suit was rubbed against the deck and became covered in black engine oil.

The helicopter dropped more than a dozen tactical rappelling ropes.

Fully armed special operations team members, wearing night-vision helmets, rappelled down at breakneck speed. Their multi-terrain camouflage uniforms blended into the night.

In less than ten seconds, the team had secured all passageways on the deck. Assault rifles were aimed at every blind spot. Infrared laser designators drew red lines on the sea surface.

There was no verbal negotiation.

The three teams advanced towards the area below the bridge.

Relying on the gun strapped to his back, one of Zhao Ruilong's bodyguards reached behind him. His hand had just touched the gun handle...

The special forces soldier strode forward and struck the bodyguard in the face with the butt of his rifle.

His nasal bone was fractured. Immediately following was a tactical knee strike to the abdomen, leaving the bodyguard curled up on the ground, unable to utter a sound of pain. His pistol fell to the deck and was kicked away by a special forces soldier.

Lying on the oil-stained deck, Zhao Ruilong tried to get up by supporting himself with his hands on the ground.

A large hand grabbed the back of his shirt collar, while the other hand pressed down on the back of his head and slammed him down.

The untrained body slammed into the dented steel plate. His cheek rubbed back and forth, drawing blood.

His left arm was pinned down by a special forces soldier's knee against his shoulder blade, his arm bent backward and locked behind his back. Another soldier moved in sync, dissipating the force on his right arm and pinning him down tightly.

He's always been a powerful figure, he's never suffered like this before.

"Let go! Which war zone are you from? Who gave you these orders? I know your superiors! Name your price, I'll transfer the money right away!"

Even with his face pressed against the steel plate, Zhao Ruilong continued to shout loudly. He was convinced that money could solve everything.

The senior officer leading the team approached, his boots clicking as they slid across the deck. His amphibious assault uniform smelled of sea salt.

"Spend money on the special forces."

The officer bent down, grabbed the man's hair with his right hand, and lifted his mud-covered face. With his left hand, he swung his arm in a circular motion, fingers together, and delivered a slap across the face.

Snapped!

The sound of flesh being pounded drowned out the roar of the helicopter.

His head tilted to the right. A soft popping sound came from his jaw. Two bloody molars, along with saliva, flew two meters away and landed on the base of the railing. His left cheek was swollen and red, with a raised five-finger mark.

The slap left him with ringing ears. His usual sense of superiority vanished completely.

"Get special operations equipment."

The officer released his grip, letting him smash it back onto the deck.

Two team members crouched down and removed the alloy handcuffs and heavy leg irons from his lower back. The metal straps encircled his ankles, and the locks closed. The interlocking handcuffs then bound his hands behind his back, cutting off any possibility of resistance.

Two soldiers grabbed his arms and dragged him up from the ground. His legs dragged on the ground, leaving watermarks.

He was roughly pushed into a temporary cabin on the first floor of the cargo ship.

The voltage of the light bulbs on the top of the cabin is unstable.

The officer unzipped his tactical vest and retrieved a rugged tablet. He tapped out low-level access commands, establishing a top-secret video communication connection via a dedicated satellite link channel.

The screen was turned upside down and shoved directly in front of Zhao Ruilong's bloodied and mangled face.

The network signal is connected, and the high-definition screen lights up.

On the screen, Shen Zhong sat at the main control console of the Luzhou Armed Forces Department command center. His pine-green uniform was perfectly wrinkle-free. The gold stars on his epaulets reflected the light.

This condescending attitude sent a chill down Zhao Ruilong's spine.

"General Shen, you're quite the show-off." Spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, Zhao Ruilong spoke with a stiff neck. "You intercepted me in these waters? Aren't you afraid your entire military region will be sued in the International Court of Justice tomorrow? I'm just a businessman on a sea voyage! I haven't broken any military laws!"

"Investigating the business."

He shifted to a more casual sitting posture, his heavy fingers rhythmically tapping the table. The tapping sound created a strong sense of pressure.

"Zhao Ruilong. At 10:17 PM tonight, you used a backup satellite phone to contact an overseas gang via an encrypted frequency, instructing them to kidnap Gao Xiaofeng and her son at gunpoint."

He picked up a red document from the table and solemnly read it aloud.

"At 10:51 PM, Gao Yuliang, under your coercion, used his personal authority to force the border defense brigade to illegally cede the waterway exit. The military intercepted and deciphered the transfer routes of huge sums of illicit funds and money laundering ledgers."

A timeline accurate to the minute. Every word shattered Zhao Ruilong's hopes.

The military's intelligence capabilities allowed them to uncover all his weaknesses in just a few hours. Even the process of issuing orders was monitored.

The tide is gone.

With nowhere to retreat, a ruthless urge arose within him. He decided to take someone down with him.

"So what if you're accurate!" Laughter came from his mouth.

"Shen Zhong, don't think you've got this in the bag! Every one of my brothers in Hong Kong is a ruthless criminal! Gao Xiaofeng is still in my hands! She's Gao Yuliang's darling!"

"If I'm out of contact for more than half an hour, those guys will kill me!"

"Let's see how Gao Yuliang deals with you then."