Chapter 412

The Cassia family was also very powerful in Yalan.

Any wealthy person could rally a large group of people to follow them in Yalan, whether it was for legitimate business, mining, or other things.

Or for illegitimate business, like selling girls abroad, or hiring a large number of gunmen to acquire wealth through illegal means.

As long as you have money, there will always be people who will work with you.

Most of the time, for Federation people, they can’t experience that kind of desperate poverty.

The kind of poverty where one glance at your life makes you suffocate.

For the current Federation people, the so-called “extreme poverty” is nothing more than begging on the streets. This is the limit of poverty they can recognize.

Most of the time, they are either stealing or begging, often lying under the sun on the roadside to pass their leisure time.

Or at night, a group of street-brother friends would gather around a burning oil drum filled with flammable materials for warmth, or for a barbecue.

No need to work, the government has relief from time to time. Besides getting sick which might be a problem, there is nothing in their lives that they need to worry about.

Why the fuck does that sound somewhat desirable?

But in Yalan, poverty is a kind of despair.

There are no government subsidies, and begging is unlikely to get you any money. Everyone’s life is hard. Who would tighten their own belt to give you some change?

All good virtues stem from the satisfaction of material wealth. Only when you have money will people’s kindness be stimulated.

No money, no everything, and you might even be caught and sent to the mines, or to a rubber plantation or some other place to be exploited and oppressed, and finally die in a stinking ditch.

The girls are willing to pay any price to leave this country, or to get a stable job.

The boys are the same.

So as long as you have money, in these countries of Yalan, you can play the role of God.

Just like Rick at this moment. With just one phone call, more than a hundred gunmen had gathered at the docks.

Some of them were local gang members themselves, some were ordinary people who came to make up the numbers. What was surprising was that there were even police and even soldiers among them.

They also wanted to leave this terrible region, to go to the Federation to enjoy the good life there. Who wouldn’t yearn for a developed country?

The crowded cabin was filled with the smell of sweat, stinky feet, and a sour smell. It would take them a whole day to reach the Federation, but that was already very fast.

It was quiet in the cabin. Everyone was praying, and also looking forward. A new life was about to unfold before them.

They had all heard some rumors, for example, that some selected gunmen would “disappear” during a mission after arriving in the Federation, and the Cassia family would not go to great lengths to find them.

Most of the time, when a person disappeared, they would just assume the person was dead and would not bother anymore. This was a way for them to escape the Cassia family and embrace a new life.

However, after they got a little more familiar with life in the Federation, they might not think so anymore. Although the Federation did not let a person fall into desperate poverty…

But the inconvenience caused by having no money was even more troublesome than in Yalan.

In Yalan, if you’re hungry, you can go and catch some small animals. But in a big city, besides rats, you can’t find any small animals you can catch.

The bumpy sea waves were like the cradle of memory. The rising and falling waves made the people in the cabin drowsy.

As they got closer and closer to the Federation, the atmosphere on the boat also became a little tense.

They certainly did not want to encounter the coast guard.

The smuggling boat turned off all its lights and slowed down a bit, so that the ship could sail “silently” on the sea.

In the dark of night, it was difficult for people to spot these unlit boats with the naked eye. They would merge with the dark sky and the sea.

In the darkness, pairs of eyes shot out a brilliant light of hope for a better future!

A half-asleep gunman in the cabin suddenly opened his eyes. He seemed to have heard some other sound.

He wasn’t sure if it was his illusion, but he just had this feeling. And at this very moment, the whole boat suddenly fell silent.

Some other more sensitive people also noticed that something was wrong. Just as they were wondering what was happening, the hatch of the cabin was lifted, and a dark head poked in. “Don’t make a sound. Whoever makes a sound, I’ll kill them.”

He didn’t say why, just gave the order. The cabin was still very quiet.

Actually, the coast guard had appeared.

On the sea in the distance, two armed boats were moving together at a distance. It didn’t look like a routine patrol.

The captain of the smuggling boat immediately turned off the engine. Although it was highly likely that the sound of the engine would be covered by the sound of the waves, maybe they had some talented people over there.

Two searchlight beams were constantly sweeping across the sea surface. Suddenly, a color slightly different from the sea attracted the observer’s attention. Soon, the light beams were focused on the smuggling boat.

The captain of the smuggling boat cursed a few times, restarted the engine and pushed the throttle to the maximum.

Organizing smuggling would result in a fine and imprisonment. The captain didn’t want to go to jail; he just wanted to make money.

“The boat ahead, stop immediately… repeat, the boat ahead, stop immediately for inspection.”

“We are the Likalai State Coast Guard of the Federation. You have entered Federation waters. Please stop your boat immediately for inspection…”

Hearing the hail, the captain of the smuggling boat directly ran all the engines at full capacity, which also made the boat more bumpy. The people in the cabin let out cries of alarm in the darkness.

In this pitch-black environment, facing an unknown danger from the outside world would give people a very fearful feeling.

Although many of these people were prepared to kill or be killed, at this moment, they were like those girls, anxious and nervous to the point of wanting to shit and piss.

McCock picked up the walkie-talkie. “Fire, repeat, you are cleared to fire.”

The sound of the machine cannon rang out. The tracer bullets not only guided the direction of the warheads but also left beautiful streaks of light on the sea surface.

It was fleeting.

The smuggling boats were all converted from large fishing boats and simply couldn’t withstand the machine cannon fire. The painful wails and desperate screams of the people in the cabin, like a symphony composed by a demon, made the captain frantically want to escape into the distance.

But the gap between the two sides was simply too great. Its speed became slower and slower, and finally, it stopped on the sea surface.

The two armed boats quickly caught up. The machine cannon bullets were fired at the boat as if they were free. Soon, it was broken in half.

Whether it was the smuggled gunmen in the cabin or the sailors hidden on the deck, at this moment, they all began to struggle to survive.

The huge searchlight illuminated this patch of sea. McCock, with a cigarette in his mouth and a rifle in his hand, came to the edge of the deck.

He pulled the bolt, aimed at a person struggling in the sea, and pulled the trigger.

With a swish, the bullet hit the unlucky bastard. He let out a scream, thrashed up some bigger splashes, and then began to sink into the water.

The smell of blood attracted the predators in the surrounding waters. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless feast.

Only when there were no more living people to be seen on the sea surface did the two boats begin to return.

As for guilt, there was certainly some, but for the sake of the money, and for the sake of their long-standing cooperation, they were still willing to help with this small matter.

Some people might be a little uneasy at this moment. The killing just now had produced some other negative emotions in their hearts.

But some people were so excited they couldn’t stop talking. This killing made them feel a kind of pleasure of ruling over the fate of others, of deciding their lives.

At five in the morning, the five buses arranged by Rick were already parked at the designated spot on the street. This was some distance from the port, but a relatively easy place to come ashore.

The places that were easy to come ashore were the key areas of the coast guard’s patrol. On the contrary, the places that were not easy to come ashore were relatively less strictly checked.

Gunmen are not cargo; if thrown into the water, they will be carried away by the waves.

They would use launchers to fire several ropes connected to the fishing boat, and then the gunmen would grab the ropes and wade over, come to the bottom of the cliff, and then climb up the ropes.

There were no patrols here, and it was relatively safe. They had already received several groups of people here.

The wind by the sea was strong. The person in charge of the pickup was originally sitting in the car, smoking and chatting with the person next to him. But as time went on and the sky grew brighter, he couldn’t sit still anymore and got out of the car.

The sea was still the same sea, without any shadow of a fishing boat. His expression also became exceptionally serious.

Until seven o’clock, there was still no sight of any boat. He knew that something must have happened.

He directly drove a car and left first. He had to tell Rick this news. Rick had already made relevant plans and preparations. If something happened to this batch of gunmen, then many plans would have to be rearranged.

Rick immediately called the people on the Yalan side, his tone very unfriendly. “Why haven’t the people I want appeared before me?”

The person on the other end of the receiver had considered many possibilities for Rick calling him, but he had never thought of this. After two or three seconds, he reacted, “How should I know?”

“They set off before dawn yesterday. According to the time, they should have arrived long ago. Did something happen on the way?”

Rick was very annoyed after hearing this. “I’m about to use these people to do a big thing, and you fucking tell me something happened on the way?”

“Do you know that because of your accident, I have to fucking change the whole plan?”

“Fuck!”

The person on the other end was also a little annoyed. “I said, I arranged people for you. What else can I deceive you about in this matter?”

“Didn’t the previous batches all arrive on your side at the agreed time?”

“You must also know how complicated the situation on the sea is. Maybe they encountered a storm at night, or were hit by a whale or something. It’s all possible.”

“I’ll immediately arrange another batch of people to go over. Cool down. A few days late won’t be a problem.”

Rick was silent for a moment. “I hope this is the last time.”

The person on the other end immediately guaranteed, “No problem, I promise, this is the last time…”

Seeing that Rick was no longer cursing, he breathed a sigh of relief. After re-arranging the time, he hung up the phone and walked directly out of the office.

The few people who were chatting and drinking coffee at the next table immediately stood up and walked to his side.

He had an unhappy look on his face. “That damn fishmonger didn’t deliver on time. I don’t know if he dumped our goods into the sea halfway. In short, he’s made me very unhappy now.”

“Throw his family into the sea. I want people to know what the price of disobedience is.”

“And then find a new fishmonger, and recruit another hundred and thirty or fifty gunmen to send to our old friend.”

After giving his instructions, he returned to his office, cursing. And his subordinates also started to work.

In less than an hour, a family of more than ten people was tied to large stones and thrown into the bay.

Many people on the shore saw this scene, but no one went to the police or anything. These things were very common here.

Sometimes the police couldn’t solve these troubles and would instead become more troublesome.

And many people in the police station were either members of these gangs or had been bought by them. If you didn’t want to cause trouble for yourself and your family, it was best to do nothing.

This is Yalan. Under the scorching tropical sun, there is a bottomless iciness.

Not far away, people were already signing up to go to the Federation to make a living and were looking forward to a new life.

At 7:15, Lance made a phone call to Alberto. Then Alberto contacted Sarif. Now they all knew that Rick’s gunmen had sunk into the sea.

From Sarif’s somewhat gleeful voice, Lance could feel that he was going to cause trouble for Rick.

If Rick’s gunmen couldn’t come over, it meant that in the short term, it would be difficult for him to launch an effective counterattack against Sarif and their new alliance. In a confrontation, if you don’t have the ability to counterattack, even if it’s only temporary, the situation will be very passive.

At this time, he still didn’t know, or rather, he couldn’t imagine at all, that this was not an accident, but a premeditated “beginning.”

In September, the Federation professional baseball super league had entered a critical moment. Some media claimed that more than seventy percent of the people were following the games.

Besides the gambling dogs who used the competition to place bets, most people were still very keen on these sports events.

Young people wearing Sailing Team baseball caps could be seen everywhere on the street. This year, the Sailing Team had no problem entering the playoffs. Everyone had performed very well, and David’s performance was particularly outstanding.

This year, the owner of the Sailing Team had spent a lot of money to bring in last year’s league best pitcher. The transfer fee was as high as one point seven five million, and his salary was as high as nine hundred thousand a year.

His performance in the games was also very outstanding, leading the team to lead the entire Eastern Conference.

According to the current situation, if they could continue to win, and defeat the second-ranked team, they could enter the playoffs as the regular season champions.

Among them, the value and role of the ace pitcher was very obvious, and this also made the people of Golden Port look forward to the performance of the Sailing Team even more.

As one of the richest cities on the east coast, Golden Port had multiple baseball stadiums. The Sailing Team would be hosting the fourth-ranked Aliens from Vanpumos in the Eastern Conference.

Three days before the game started, there were already many more fans on the street. Some Aliens fans from Vanpumos also appeared on the streets in groups.

In these few days, there were also some minor frictions between the fans.

The quality of most fans was still good, but there were always some young people who were prone to conflict over a few words.

Compared to the citizens’ or the team’s fans’ desire for the game, the police system, on the contrary, hoped that all this could end as soon as possible.

Fortunately, after today’s game was over, everything would return to normal.

“Don’t run around these few days,” Rick said to his son very solemnly. “It’s not safe outside now.”

But obviously, his son did not listen to his words, especially since he had been confined at home recently and couldn’t stand it anymore.

He was also a loyal fan of the Sailing Team. He had a room dedicated to displaying some baseball-related memorabilia.

Inside, there were many collectibles related to the Sailing Team, the signed jerseys, hats, gloves, and bats of those Hall of Fame players, and the Eastern Conference championship trophy—

It was said that the trophy in the Sailing Team’s clubhouse was a fake, and his was the real one.

Among these prizes, only one important thing was missing, and that was the playoff championship trophy.

The purpose of the Sailing Team’s manager bringing in an ace pitcher was not just to aim for the playoff championship, but also to satisfy the demands of the rich in Golden Port.

They had been watching the games for so many years. Although they often made it to the playoffs, they had never won a championship trophy. This was too much of a disservice to their support for the Sailing Team.

So under heavy pressure, the owner had spent a huge sum of money to get an ace pitcher.

If the Sailing Team could win the playoff championship this year, then he guaranteed that that trophy would be placed in his memorabilia room.

Everyone believed that they had a great hope of winning the championship, so he naturally hoped even more to go to the scene to watch, rather than stay by the radio and listen to the announcer’s fast-paced reporting, which was not exciting at all.

Seeing that his son didn’t seem to be listening, Rick could only tell him to get lost, and then told his deputy to send people to keep an eye on him.

He had several sons. Besides this one, the others were all illegitimate.

As the leader of a family, having a few lovers and a few illegitimate children was the most normal thing.

It was just that compared to those illegitimate children, this legitimate son obviously held a higher position in his heart.

And those illegitimate children could not inherit the Cassia family. If an illegitimate son became the heir, the family would definitely have big problems.

Returning to his room, he picked up the phone and whispered with some people he had arranged to meet. The baseball game would start at 3:30 this afternoon. They had already arranged to watch the game in his VIP box.

He had a box that was rented year-round. Most rich people actually had this habit of watching games in a box. They were not willing to squeeze in with those muddy-legged commoners.

Today, they would bring girls and fine wine with them to celebrate the upcoming victory.

He had also promised his friends that he would call David and the new ace pitcher into the room to have fun with them.

(End of chapter)

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