Somalia is the sea route through which freighters from all over the world enter and leave the Suez Canal, and the social and educational systems have collapsed for many years due to the continuous civil war, and the locals have been practicing piracy since the 20th century.

In order to protect the safety of Chinese merchant ships in Somali waters, the Chinese Navy has implemented an escort plan, in addition to the three basic escort modes of escort, regional escort and ship-accompanying escort, the Chinese Navy escort formation also has three modes of action: support on call, deterrence of pirates, and rescue of ships.

At this time, the ocean-going freighter 'Zhiyuan' has left the port, the tens of thousands of tons of Zhiyuan, is a special semi-submersible ship, the middle concave and convex sides, is specially used to load large mechanical tools, this time it is loaded with a huge windmill, there is a football field-sized platform, the huge windmill fan blades are dozens of meters high, and this freighter is the oil tanker that Yuntian they were ordered to escort with the ship this time.

With the whistle sounding, tens of thousands of tons of cargo ships finally sailed out of the port, riding the wind and waves, heading towards the distant other side of the ocean, carrying the goods of the giant ship, a single trip takes half a month, and as long as the escort arrives, they are considered to have completed the task.

"One person in the front, one in the rear, one on the left and right sides of the ship." After leaving the harbor, as the captain, it has been arranged, as the fireman, Panda and Niu Boyu are responsible for the vigilance work on the left and right, while the night owl is responsible for the observation of the front of the freighter as a sniper, the deputy sniper Tang Xi is responsible for the back, and the big-faced tiger is in the middle to support.

"Yes!" The five people nodded, and immediately executed according to their own area of responsibility, while Yun Tian came to the helmsman's control room, don't look at the small place here, but it is the core of the entire ship.

"I'm glad I hurt you this time." The captain of the Zhiyuan is a man in his fifties, because of his perennial sailing, his skin is dark, and although his face is wrinkled, he is still in good spirits, with a beard and a pipe in his mouth, he has a kind of general's style.

"This is our duty as soldiers." Yun Tian saluted, this was their first time on an escort mission, looking at the gradually disappearing coastline, Yun Tian suddenly became a little excited, I really don't know what kind of encounter will be in the next half a month.

"Hahaha, young man, it looks like you should be on the boat for the first time, don't be so nervous, we often run this line, tell your brothers not to worry, the first three days will be fine." The old captain smiled and patted Yun Tian on the shoulder and said.

"There are a lot of things that need the captain's guidance." Before setting sail, the navy had already communicated with the captain, and this time it was the army special operations team stationed there, so at sea, many things still need to be told by the old captain.

"No problem, I'll familiarize you with this place first." The old captain said with a smile as he hung his pipe.

Zhiyuan, 156 meters long, 32 wide. 2 meters, 10 meters deep, 18,000 tons of carrying capacity, can be regarded as a behemoth, and this time the materials transported are to arrive in Africa to help them complete the wind turbine items, and the front half of the ship is the cargo area, the second half is the control and living area.

The difference between the control area at the back and the platform in front reaches 10 meters, and there are two ladders linked, if you are really attacked, you can remove the ladder to make it difficult for the other party to climb, and the sixteen high-pressure water cannons set up on the side of the ship are the only weapons used as defense.

Although the speed is only 14 knots, Zhiyuan is known as the world's semi-submersible ship "all-round champion" and "Asia's first ship", with a huge carrying capacity and a large loading platform of 32x126 meters, and can dive vertically to a depth of 19 meters at sea.

After a brief understanding of this huge semi-submersible ship, Yun Tian couldn't help but shake his head, he really didn't expect this thing to be so strong, and at the same time, he was even more eager to understand the situation on this vast sea.

Because of the rush of time, when he came, the Zhiyuan was already ready to set sail, and Yuntian, who didn't even have a chance to understand, just read some relevant information on the way here, but the head of the naval fleet told him that the old captain in front of him could be regarded as a living map.

"Come back with your feet, it's time to eat, don't bask outside, it's not too late to be on guard when you enter the high seas, and by the way, I'll tell you about the sea." After the visit, the old captain said to Yun Tian with a smile.

At this time, it was still in the Chinese waters, and the ship was also equipped with a maritime radar, if there was anything that could be dynamic, it would be discovered immediately, so Yuntian called everyone back, while eating, while listening to the story of the old captain, relaxed, they also had a better understanding of this unknown sea.

The most dangerous of the half-month escort mission is the Indian Ocean and the Somali Strait, where piracy activities are very rampant, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Somalia in 1991.

There are four major groups of Somali pirates: the Puntland Guard, which was the first group to engage in organized piracy in Somali waters; National Coastal Volunteer Guardians, who are smaller and mainly raid small boats sailing along the coast; Melka, they use small fishing boats with strong firepower as their main tool of crime, which is characterized by the way of committing crimes; The most powerful group of pirates is called the Somali sailors, who operate as far as 200 nautical miles from the coastline.

Except for these four large gangs, there are basically no pirate groups, after all, if you want to hijack large oil tankers, weapons and speedboats are essential tools, and to obtain these things, in a war-torn country, it is easy to say and complicated.

"And how do you tell a pirate?" The Night Stalker is in charge of the bow position, and as a sniper, he is particularly concerned about this.

"It's simple, it's usually a mother ship to tow a few speedboats, and after confirming the move, the pirates will launch the speedboats to approach at high speed, which is also a common trick of pirates." The captain had met pirates, and as a crew member at sea, he knew this kind of thing.

"And what are their weapons?" Tang Xi asked curiously.

"It's usually AK47, but now there are rocket launchers, and the most powerful Somali sailors have modern global positioning systems and satellite communications." The captain took a puff on his cigarette and said with a smile.

Where there are pirates, there are kidnaps, where there are kidnaps, there are ransoms, where there are ransoms, there are arms dealers, and now pirates are no longer spears and bows.

"The high-pressure water cannon is not enough, if you press a few cannons, how can those pirates dare to come." Niu Boyu on the side couldn't help but say, the sixteen high-pressure water guns are okay to wash the splints, wouldn't it be a joke to drive away the pirates.

"Isn't it a warship with weapons, you will agree to the warships of other countries entering your docks?" Yun Tian glanced at Niu Boyu, what was this guy thinking in his head, if a merchant ship could be equipped with weapons, how could it be allowed to enter the country.

"Well, when I didn't say it." Niu Boyu stuck out his tongue, he didn't think about it so comprehensively.

"Remember our requirements, as long as the other party does not threaten the merchant ship, we must not shoot, even if we encounter, if we can, do not hurt the other party's life, this is iron discipline, we are escorts, not killing." Yun Tian emphasized again.

"That's right, although this pirate is hateful, but it is also because of the turmoil in their entire country, and the warlords have no way to make a living from the people, so they will go astray, after all, not every country can be peaceful, cherish the present." The captain nodded, and although he sometimes hated these pirates, it was clear that it was reasonable for a person to go astray when he did not even have basic living security.

After a meal, the six people had a new understanding of the vast sea, and with the help of advanced shipborne radar, their escort task was much easier, and after dinner, the six people arranged shifts in pairs, and the other four began to rest.

In the sea at night, there is no other sound except the sound of the waves, and the cloudy sky lying in the cabin is a little uncomfortable with the feeling of ups and downs, although it is not seasick, but with the waves up and down, this feeling is a little weird.

"Yuntian, have you slept?" At this moment, Niu Boyu's voice sounded, turned over, and looked at the other side, Niu Boyu was obviously as sleepy as Yun Tian.

"No, what's wrong?" Yuntian also turned around, from the training camp to the present, although it is clinical, but every day when he returns to the dormitory, he is tired and weak, and no one will lie in bed and chat, after all, sleep is too important and too short for them.

"I just want to ask, if I hadn't asked for it, wouldn't you have brought me?" Niu Boyu has been stuffy in his heart for a day, and he finally has the opportunity to ask.

"Of course, you're very vegetable, this time it's the elite squad that is requested, and it's clear that you don't meet it yet." Yun Tian is not shy about it, he doesn't like to lie very much.

"Okay, can you turn a little around when you talk in the future, you can say that you are worried about my safety, don't be so straightforward." Niu Boyu sighed, but he had long been accustomed to Yuntian's straightforward words.

"Only a rookie would make me worry about safety, and I made that clear." Yun Tian smiled, everyone understands this, why bother to turn around.

"Then why did you agree to me again?" Niu Boyu shook his head, it was really not easy to make Yuntian lie.

"Because of the look in your eyes, you are a man now." Yun Tian smiled, he would not forget that at that moment, the expression in the eyes of Niu Boyu, who had always been wide and fat, was so firm, especially his courage, which Yun Tian had never discovered.