The ship was unremarkable, and there was nothing of value on board. What piqued Petru's interest was simply that it had sailed from Egypt.
Petru established special rules for all ships sailing from Egypt:
For ships unrelated to the government, one-tenth of their goods or equivalent value would be confiscated as usual; Copts ships would be released without question; but ships connected to the Egypt government would be dealt with harshly – either the entire ship would sail away, or all cargo would be removed, leaving not a drop of fuel. If any civilians on board were willing to join the pirates, they would be welcomed; if anyone resisted, they would be killed without mercy. Those who neither joined nor resisted would be left to drift at sea in their fuel-depleted ships until rescued.
Although Egypt is not a major exporter, the targeted operations of the Redbeard the Great Pirate have severely hampered Egypt's maritime trade. Not only have the risks for Egyptian ships at sea increased, but many of Egypt's trading partners who transport goods to Egypt via the India Ocean - Red Sea route have also raised prices by at least one-tenth to offset potential losses from encounters with pirates.
The Egypt government was forced to take countermeasures, deploying more coast guard personnel to patrol the Gulf of Aden. Whenever a large cargo ship or cruise ship leaves the Red Sea, the navy dispatches a Mubarak class frigate to escort it. Although this significantly increases costs, it at least ensures Egypt's normal maritime trade.
However, this ship was an ordinary cargo ship. When it sailed from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden, there were no warships escorting it. Judging from the ship's waterline, the cargo it carried was not heavy. It was probably lightweight goods such as cotton textiles or space-consuming ceramics. These are important export items for Egypt besides crude oil.
It appears to be just an insignificant ship, perhaps even Copts, so much so that the Egypt government doesn't bother to take care of it.
Such a ship was certainly not something that would warrant the great Redbeard's personal attention, so he simply dispatched a small group of pirates to keep an eye on it.
They planned to deal with the ship according to the rules set by Petru and then report back to Redbeard. However, the small group of pirates, consisting of seven or eight speedboats, never returned, as if swallowed up by the storms of the Gulf of Aden.
Petru was shocked when he received the news.
The Gulf of Aden is the sea they know best. These children, who grew up in Somalia, can easily make a round trip from Cape Hafun to Socotra Island in a canoe. How could dozens of them disappear at sea at the same time?
Furthermore, ever since Petru organized the pirates, each operation had a dedicated ship and crew responsible for communications. The ships were equipped with radio communication equipment, and each pirate had a maritime walkie-talkie using encrypted frequencies. Even if they encountered the navy of another country, they would at least have time to send a message. How could seven or eight ships and dozens of people disappear at the same time?
Petru's first instinct was that this was a trap.
During the years he stirred up trouble at sea, the Egypt government never hesitated to kill him. They once joined forces with neighboring countries to launch an anti-bandit operation called " Strike Red " in the Gulf of Gulf of Aden, with the aim of eliminating Redbeard.
Twenty-one countries participated in " Operation Strike Red," with more than fifty large warships and over 20,000 naval personnel from various countries patrolling the India Ocean and Arabia Sea. If judged solely on scale and disregarding quality, it even surpassed the United States -led Rim of the Pacific Ocean Exercise and was touted as the largest joint maritime counter-terrorism operation in history.
Fortunately, Petru received advance warning and made ample preparations, while the major powers that openly supported and participated in this operation were merely putting on a show.
Petru is well aware that whether the United States, China, or Russia has pirates in the Gulf of Aden is of no concern to them what they care about: control of the India Ocean and their interests in Africa.
He took full advantage of this, avoiding direct confrontation with major powers, allowing their warships to counterbalance each other at sea, and deliberately sending some people to their deaths so that they could maintain a good reputation internationally.
Due to the competition among these forces, the India Navy, which originally intended to take this opportunity to show its power and retaliate against Petru, was hampered at every turn and could not fully exert its power.
Petru didn't care much about the remaining small-nation navies. As long as they avoided direct confrontation and didn't dare to fight head-on, there wouldn't be any major problems. He hid the Redbeard Army's fleet in a safe place and then gave his brothers a long vacation, letting them relax for a few weeks in the casinos and brothels of the Mediterranean Sea ports.
Of course, with such a large-scale operation as " Strike Red," it would be impossible not to give them some rewards and prevent them from capturing a group of pirates. Petru used a clever trick to kill two birds with one stone, pushing out some powerful pirate gangs that he didn't usually get along with.
When the operation ended, the multinational coalition had indeed achieved great success, eliminating many pirates and claiming to have restored a peaceful Gulf of Aden to the world.
In reality, Operation " Strike Red " did not cause Petru any major losses. Instead, it helped him eliminate the forces opposing Redbeard, further enhancing his strength. The pirate organization was also more united than ever before, and voices opposing Redbeard could hardly be heard.
The Egypt government was naturally unwilling to give up, and subsequently sent troops to strike Redbeard several times. In addition to the navy, they even used their most elite Thunderbolt Forces.
However, in Petru's view, Egypt's special forces were simply too weak. Having been a special forces soldier himself, he now possessed wealth, power, manpower, and weaponry; why would he fear a mere few members of his Thunderbolt Forces special forces?
After several unsuccessful operations, the Egypt government began to become more cautious and cunning. They first cooperated with armed forces in Somaliland, such as Somalia and Puntland, taking advantage of their concerns about the Redbeard Redbeard ' forces crossing the border to divide and weaken them. At the same time, their anti-bandit operations became increasingly strategic and cunning.
Therefore, Petru suspected that the ship was a trap set by the Egypt government.
But as the pirate king of the new era and the spiritual leader of the pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Redbeard Petru certainly couldn't let his dozens of brothers disappear in vain.
He sent men to keep an eye on the seemingly ordinary cargo ship, but no trace of the navy was found in the waters surrounding the ship, nor were there any submarines underwater.
After leaving the Gulf of Aden, the cargo ship headed southeast. It did not appear to be a trade ship bound for Arabia countries; it was probably heading to somewhere in Asia or Australia.
Petru was even more puzzled. Where had all his brothers gone? Had some stunning beauty on board bewitched these heroes?
Regardless, Petru decided to board the ship and take a look. So he stopped the ship and led the pirates aboard.
Strangely, there was only one person on this huge ocean-going freighter.