When Captain Edmond returned to the deck, the battle had already ended.
Seeing the corpses and bloodstains on the deck and in the cabins, Edmond felt his legs go weak.
He had heard that Song Heping was a fierce man, but that was only hearsay.
The job of transporting the SA-9 missile system was contracted by an international smuggling group connected through Ferrari.
The "Man Tianxing" was merely the ship that took the job.
Before making contact, the smuggling group had naturally investigated Song Heping's background.
After all, in this line of work, you have to know your employer; otherwise, you might not even know how you died.
After checking, the boss on the smuggling group's side was reassured and told Edmond that the owner of the defense company was a tough guy and advised him to take on the business without worry.
Initially, Edmond was apprehensive.
Because they had to pass through Aden Bay, and they were transporting sensitive items like missile systems, he couldn't help but worry about safety.
Naturally, Song Heping couldn't disclose to him that the transaction was actually backed by the US Army, so generally speaking, it was quite safe.
When the pirates first appeared, Edmond was indeed grumbling internally, even resenting Song Heping for not bringing more people.
Now, seeing the dying Sali at Song Heping's feet, and the dozens of pirates dead on his own cargo ship, he was thoroughly convinced.
"What about those speedboats?"
Edmond looked over the side of the ship with some concern, trying to find the pirates' speedboats.
Song Heping said, "Everyone died. I threw a few hand grenades, and they were all blown up. Don't know where they drifted off to."
After that, he added, "Edmond, have the crew clean up the corpses and throw them into the sea, then wipe the deck clean, otherwise it's going to stink soon."
"Okay…"
Edmond nodded repeatedly.
"I'll take care of it right away."
While Edmond went with the crew to clean up the corpses, Jiang Feng moved closer and asked, "What should we do with this guy?"
As he spoke, he nodded toward Sali, who lay on the deck.
Song Heping said, "I promised to let him go."
"Let him go?" Jiang Feng looked perplexed. "Just like that?"
Song Heping nodded, "Yes. Let him go."
Jiang Feng glanced at the dark sea, shrouded in pitch blackness, and wondered, "How?"
Song Heping walked over, grabbed a lifebuoy, then came back and put it around Sali, "I said I wouldn't kill you, that I'd let you go. I keep my word."
Sali immediately realized what was about to happen and pleaded in terror, "No, please don't do this. You could take me to the Aden Port and hand me over to the local police... I'll cooperate fully... I beg you, throwing me into the sea like this... I'll die..."
In fact, for pirates, especially wounded ones, even if they were delivered to nearby coastal countries, it wouldn't be of much use.
Usually, the local governments did not want to deal with these guys.
Lock them up...
Then you have to feed them, right?
It would be a burden.
Besides, once you start, all the pirates would be sent there. Who would want to foot the bill for such troublesome matters?
According to past international practices, pirates are usually dealt with by their country of origin, typically through extradition.
The problem is, Somalia isn't a normal country. Trying to notify their government for extradition, you wouldn't even know who to inform.
Given these practical issues, usually, when pirates are captured, they are just released; no one wants to handle such a thankless hot potato.
Sali's wishful thinking was clanging loudly.
He knew that if he fell into the hands of the Yemeni government, he would at least save his life, surely not dying.
The problem was, Song Heping couldn't let him live.
Sali actually miscalculated. He thought that revealing the inside story behind him would spare his life, but the truth was Song Heping became more determined to get rid of Sali after hearing this information.
Because the other party knew too much.
The fewer people who know about the transport of three SA-9 sets, the better.
In order to keep it secret, Song Heping only brought one person, Jiang Feng, out of so many in his defense company. That was the reason.
"I'm sorry, I promised to let you go, not to kill you, but I have no obligation to deliver you to Aden Port, nor any obligation to hand you over to the Yemeni government," he said.
After finishing his words, Song Heping gave Jiang Feng a sign with his eyes.
Jiang Feng immediately understood and reached out to lift Sali, who was lying on the ground.
His arm strength was astonishing; picking up Sali was as easy as picking up a rag doll.
Sali fell towards the sea surface with a scream, and finally, there was a splash, and he disappeared into the darkness. After a while, not even his wails could be heard.
"Do you think this guy can survive?"