The old captain Antonio stood at the foot of the Mount Jesus, looking up at the statue of the Holy Christ of mercy, and prayed silently.

He is 63 years old and will make his 352nd voyage tomorrow and his last before retirement. If all goes well, he will return from this voyage and hand over the fleet to his capable eldest son, and go to live the peaceful life he has longed for.

Growing up in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Antonio went to sea with his father for the first time at the age of 15. After more than forty years on the ship in the blink of an eye, he was tired. Looking at the Copacabana beach in the distance, the homeless man and the rich man shared the sand, waves and sunshine, the same leisurely, lazy, and self-satisfied, the old captain was full of envy.

Brazilians proudly say that "God spent six days creating the world and seven days creating Rio de Janeiro", a laid-back life that the old captain had dreamed of for decades. But now he can't lift the burden, he has to stand the last shift, for the sake of a family's worry-free life, and for the sake of his old brothers who have grown up in the slums together for decades.

Therefore, when his Chinese friend Shi Yuntian asked him to cooperate, he agreed: "Old friend, I am ready to retire, if it is not for you, I will never go on this trip again, hehe." ”

Tonight, he must rush to Santarém, because tomorrow Zihuan International's cargo will arrive in Santarém via the Panama Canal. This time it was the first mate Santos, the old captain's most trusted subordinate, who led the team. However, on the waterway from Santarém to Manaus, the old captain still had to sit in person, firstly because Manaus was the final destination, and secondly, his old friend Shi Xiaofeng would also arrive with the ship tomorrow, and he must do his best to be a landlord.

The next day, at the floating dock of the city of Santarém along the Amazon River, Antonio and Shi Xiaofeng warmly embraced.

Shi Xiaofeng had been sailing in the Pacific Ocean for a whole month after leaving S City, and if it weren't for the company of Santos, who could speak Chinese, he would have been bored and crazy. Seeing his old friend today, Shi Xiaofeng was in a happy mood and immediately gave a gift - a set of exquisite Jingdezhen porcelain, and the big boss said that Antonio likes Chinese porcelain.

Sure enough, Antonio couldn't put down the gift and thanked him repeatedly. Shi Xiaofeng gave the same gift to Qian Yuping last year, and bought a set before leaving S City, which can be described as a familiar road.

The flotilla immediately set sail and slowly headed for Manaus in the upper reaches of the Amazon River. Antonio was in command of the pilot ship, and Shi Xiaofeng was placed on the middle boat. Antonio is old and sophisticated, saying that Brother Shi is a young talent relied on by the big boss, and he should be in the middle, but in fact, because the ship in the middle is converted from a luxury passenger ship, and the hardware facilities are the best in the entire fleet.

As the guest goes, Shi Xiaofeng got on the ship and lived in a spacious luxury single room. No one on board spoke Chinese or English, and he didn't speak Portuguese, so he stayed in his room all day watching DVDs and fell asleep when he was sleepy.

Antonio stood on the deck of the pilot ship, facing the afterglow of the setting sun, looking at the beautiful rainforest scenery on both sides of the river, and his heart felt relaxed.

Twenty years ago, he shifted his career from the Atlantic to the Amazon. Although most of the area through which it flows is tropical rainforest, the coastal cities are small in population and economically backward, and the shipping industry is not developed, Antonio has almost monopolized the shipping trade for thousands of kilometers in the middle and upper reaches of the Amazon River because of the lack of strong competitors. Over the years, although the profit is not particularly rich, the business stability risk is small, and the most important thing is not to worry about the harassment of pirates.

The basin is low, flat, with its floods and lakes, and it is a maze of things that Antonio is most proud of, knowing exactly where every lake, tributary, and even island is.

Look at the sky and the clouds, tomorrow must be good weather. If nothing else, he will arrive in Manaus tomorrow afternoon, and then his more than 40 years on the water will come to a successful end. Thinking of this, the old captain's heart was full of comfort.

However, the "accident", which never happened, happened at this time.

Santos, the first mate who was supposed to command the fleet for himself, hurriedly walked over, holding a two-way wireless phone in his hand, and said in a panic: "Oh no, captain......"

"What's wrong?" Antonio frowned. The first mate is the son of old Santos, his best friend in the slums, and this is the first time he has seen the first officer panicked.

"Tail Ship Report: Forced onboard by a speedboat, and more than a dozen people on board were all armed!" Santos quickly explained the situation in the briefest of words, despite his panic.

Antonio's first reaction was "pirate". But for twenty years, it had never been heard of pirates interested in the modest profits of this route. As for the gangsters and drug dealers along the coast, they are not very powerful, and they have always remembered to pay protection money, and they have never offended any of the gangsters.

"Did they make a request?" asked Antonio.

"No, they just kept everyone on the tail boat from resisting. Captain, we also have weapons, do you want to fight them?" Santos was young and vigorous after all, and he looked eager to try.

"No, you must not resist! Our people are not trained, the other party is just asking for money, don't provoke them!"

The old captain made a quick decision. The reason why he has been able to sail the Amazon River for 20 years without incident is because of the word "stability", not to mention that he has become more and more cautious as he gets older, and he only seeks peace in everything.

Santos didn't dare not listen, and picked up the walkie-talkie to convey the captain's instructions to the tail boat.

Antonio calmed down quickly, he went to sea at the age of 15, he had never seen any storms and waves, and although he had been operating this route for many years, he still took into account all possible contingencies before each voyage.

"You immediately inform Silva and ask him to send a representative to the pilot ship, and I will negotiate with him personally. Antonio added to Santos, but as soon as the voice fell, he froze, and his eyes fixed on the left side of the ship.

In front of the left, a lake was boiling on the water, and a speedboat was heading towards the pilot ship at a very high speed, and at a cursory glance there were more than a dozen people, all armed with firearms.

"Here, here, too!" exclaimed Santos. I saw a speedboat also approaching quickly in front of me. Most of the people on the two speedboats were armed with AK-47 rifles, a few of them were carrying Colt AR-15 assault rifles, and most shockingly, two of them were carrying a Gatling machine gun known as the "six-barreled Vulcan Cannon" - a heavy weapon with a powerful power rarely used by gangsters.

The old captain, accustomed to strong winds and waves, couldn't help but tremble slightly, and he realized that he was probably in the biggest crisis of his life.

It was too late, too soon, and the militants on the two speedboats had already begun to board the ship. The young sailors on the pilot ship also drew their weapons and rushed to the deck, and a battle was about to break out.

"Put down your gun, put down your gun, and let me do it!" Antonio turned and roared at the sailors, the six-barreled Vulcan cannon making him give up his intention to resist completely.

"Are you Mr. Douglas, or are you Mr. Ferreira's men, and I have friends with them!" said the old captain to the militants who had stepped onto the deck, and the two men in his mouth were the two largest gang leaders in the area.

Why is your lord so nervous about our master, who has been an old neighbor with Mr. Antonio for many years?"

Sven's tone came out of the mouth of a fierce-looking man, and Antonio couldn't help but take a step back. As soon as the man got on board, the rest of the militants gave way and looked respectful, and he was clearly the leader of these people.

"My name is Gogio, and it's a good thing to meet you for the first time!" he held out his hand, trying to show Antonio his cultivation and friendliness. Antonio reluctantly shook his hand, with only fear in his heart.

This person is more than 190 cm tall, burly, with a hooked nose, and a scar running through the entire face from the left eye to the right corner of the mouth, and the image is extremely vicious.

"Your master, what the hell... Who is it?" Antonio struggled to suppress his fear, but his voice trembled.

"My master, the honorable Mr. Choco, must have you heard of it?" said Gogio with a smile. Antonio palpitated for a while and subconsciously looked away. The man's smiling face reminded him of his childhood nightmares, and at the same time, some information quickly flashed through his mind.

Zhuo Ke, the number one drug lord in Rio de Janeiro, is a godfather-level figure in the gangs in southeastern Brazil, controlling tens of thousands of drug dealers, ranking among the top three most wanted criminals in the world by the Brazilian government!

Such a terrifying name, black and white, could have something to do with me?! Antonio shuddered.

Although he lived in the same city as Zhuo Ke, Antonio's cause was not in his sphere of influence, and he never dared to rush to pay tribute because of his prestige, did he offend him?

"Let me be straight, the military police have really moved us this time, even helicopters and armored vehicles...... Mr. Choko, of course, is not afraid of them, but needs a sum of money to buy advanced weapons. Mr. Antonio, as a close neighbor, won't he be unhelpful?" Gogio didn't smile this time, which made his face look much more normal.

The old captain was happy and worried, happy that they really only wanted money and not life, and worried that they were going to fight against the government, so the money they asked for would never be a small amount.

"How much do you want?" already understood the other party's intention, and the old captain was much calmer.

"100 million dollars! As long as Mr. Antonio can come up with it, I promise not to hurt anyone here!" Goggio said.