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Chapter 148 Titanium Alloy Submarine

"Let those pirates delay for a few days..." Chen Fan bit his lip, saying no more.

This ungrateful guy, he has gotten so many benefits, yet he’s still unwilling to help when we need him to carry out a task.

Wu Ruoyu’s inner flame of rage started growing rapidly, as she looked at Chen Fan, who was deep in thought.

"Is there anything bothering you?" Ma Rongtao let out a sigh, as he took out a cigar from a box with trembling hands.

The moment he put it in his mouth, he immediately spat it out, touching the purple-reddish blister at the corner of his mouth. The blister was a result of the excessive internal body heat produced from his anxiety level and lack of sleep, which were direct results of his receiving the call from the pirates last night.

"There is nothing bothering me. I was just organizing my thoughts!" Chen Fan glared at Wu Ruoyu, who was beside him, before taking out his phone.

The phone rang for almost 40 seconds and Chen Fan was about to hang up, when the opposite party picked it up finally.

"Hel, hello, wha, what do y, you want?" asked the translator, stuttering on the other end of the call.

"Nothing much, just feeling a bit bored, so I called you up for a chat!" said Chen Fan casually, while leaning on the sofa.

"Ah!" Wu Ruoyu, who stood beside him and could hear the conversation, covered her small mouth, staring at Chen Fan with great dismay.

At this moment, it was as if Chen Fan had suddenly torn his shirt apart, revealing blue tights with the gem-shaped letter S printed on it. He was like Superman! Ma Rongtao was no better than her niece, as he did not even notice that the cigar in his hands had fallen onto the floor.

"Ch, ch, chat? What do you want to chat about?" he stuttered.

"What are you busy with? What took you so long to answer my call?" teased Chen Fan.

"Nothing much, anything from your side?" the translator did not have the guts to claim that he had no intention of answer his call initially. So, he tried his best to reply in a forceful and confident manner.

"Is Abadi around? If he is, call him over, I’ve got matters to deal with him about," Chen Fan barked.

"He... He’s not in..."

"How did you even qualify as a translator? You’re always claiming that he’s not around." Chen Fan raised his eyebrows. "Anyway, did you guys rob two Chinese cargo ships that were heading to Turkey yesterday?"

Wu Ruoyu desperately wanted to snatch the phone away from Chen Fan and use her most gentle and soft voice to apologize to that poor translator. The translator suddenly had a feeling that all their efforts to rob the two ships were going to be in vain...

"Yea, it... it did happen!" The translator sounded as if there was a big lump in his throat.

"In that case, tell Abadi that these two cargo ships belong to a friend of mine, so I hope they are immediately released."

Chen Fan signalled to Ma Rongtao, who wanted to speak, to stay quiet. He then continued saying, "Do as I say now. I hope to hear good news from you in no more than half an hour."

When Chen Fan hung up the phone, both Ma Rongtao and Wu Ruoyu looked at him as if he was out of his mind. They just stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?" Chen Fan asked with a smile.

Actually, he just wanted to tease Wu Ruoyu. He would have informed Ma Rongtao about the situation, had he been the only one around.

Five seconds later, Wu Ruoyu quivered and placed her cold yet soft hands on his forehead, just like how he had placed his on her chest some time ago. She then touched her own forehead.

"It doesn’t seem to be a fever," Wu Ruoyu concluded doubtfully.

"Little Chen, are you crazy?" Ma Rongtao snapped his mouth opened and closed, almost bursting the blister, as it was too hard to take in what just happened.

When the pirates first called him, he did whatever he could to please them. However, Chen Fan was too brave, as he had even requested an immediate release of the cargo ships!

"Hehe, you will soon find out in another thirty minutes!" Chen Fan told him with a smug grin.

"Thirty minutes?" exclaimed Wu Ruoyu, as she almost took the ashtray to beat up Chen Fan. "The ransom is going to become one hundred million US Dollars after thirty minutes!"

"Sha Sha!" Ma Rongtao shouted at Wu Ruoyu.

He believed that Chen Fan would not say things without having his reasons, but he also believed that the pirates would not release the ships and their crews, just because of a word from Chen Fan.

It took a mere 20 minutes for the office phone to ring. Ma Rongtao walked towards it, looked at the displayed incoming number, and took a deep breath. He was trembling as he answered the call.

"What!?" he barked into the phone."The pirates released all of you, and on top of that, they even allowed you to inform me that everything is alright?" Ma Rongtao’s bitter expression was suddenly plastered with astonishment, as he repeated the words that he had just heard.

"Yes, boss. They even sent someone who could speak Mandarin to apologize to us!" The voice on the other line crackled.

"That’s good, that’s good."

Ma Rongtao’s legs suddenly gave away beneath him in front of his office desk. "Don’t say another word, as long as everyone is safe. We will celebrate everyone’s safe return upon their reaching home safely."

"You... How did you do it?" Wu Ruoyu showed disbelief in her big eyes, as she stared deeply at Chen Fan.

"Little Chen, this... This... This is..." Ma Rongtao stuttered, as he grabbed both of Chen Fan’s hands, unable to speak properly.

Everything was too shocking for him. Yesterday, he was on the verge of having his head explode from anxiety, but today, all of his problems were solved with just a simple phone call by Chen Fan. He was not expecting anything at all, when he wanted to try his luck to borrow some money from Chen Fan or use his connection with the pirates.

"That time when the ship crew was abducted, I paid the demanded ransom and waited until everyone got back safely. After that, I sought out a friend with a large influence to get back my ransom from those pirates. I have even gotten a compensation of 10 million US Dollars from them," Chen Fan explained, while holding on a tea cup.

He then added, while sipping his tea, "My friend even told me that he had warned them before. So, if such things were to happen again, I just need to give them a call to get them to obey and cooperate."

Ma Rongtao could not speak at all.

Just how capable and influential is he, to make those pirates obey his words? Who is that friend of his? Obama? Putin? Hillary?

Although Ma Rongtao found it extremely hard to believe that Chen Fan knew such a God-like person, he gave in to the truth that was in front of his eyes. It was obvious that those pirates were not stupid enough to willingly give up their gains for a word from Chen Fan.

Thus, there must be a party involved that the pirates feared. Otherwise, he could not think of any other reasons for their actions.

"Who is that friend of yours?" Wu Ruoyu also found it hard to believe, because her impression of Chen Fan had always been that he was just a normal hooligan, who did not work honestly and depended on illegal activities to become rich.

"Sha Sha!" Ma Rongtao reprimanded her again. Even if Chen Fan wanted to tell them, he would prefer not knowing such an influential figure.

......

12 pm in the afternoon, VIP private room at First Class Dynasty Restaurant

First Class Dynasty Restaurant was one of the best in Zhongyun. You needed to be a member to enter, as well as pre-order at least 2 hours in advance for the chef to have enough time to prepare a nice meal with fresh ingredients.

Chen Fan, along with Wu Ruoyu and Ma Rongtao, sat at a table made from white coral reefs, enjoying various types of mouth-watering food. When they were still in the office, Ma Rongtao kept inviting Chen Fan to a meal enthusiastically.

Chen Fan did not have any second thoughts, before accepting the offer because he also needed Ma Rongtao to do him a favor. So, he phoned Yun Meng and asked her to have lunch at school first, before following the two to the aforementioned restaurant.

"Uncle Ma, I have been wanting to get my hands on a few large cargo ships lately, either by purchasing them from another country or via other means. Do you happen to know any solutions for this?"

Chen Fan was prepared to obtain a few cargo ships overseas to be placed under the name of the offshore company. Since the common currency used in his country was Renminbi (China’s official currency, RMB), while overseas accepted US Dollars (USD), it was possible to save on the cost via laundering US Dollars to Renminbi. Plus, he could also use his real identity to purchase the ships at a dirt-cheap price!

Besides, Chen Fan was also prepared to buy a shipyard in Zhongyun with his real identity in order to manufacture some iron submarines for his electric eel. It may even be possible to build a cruise in the future, once his business expanded. As Chen Fan had roughly 25 million Renminbi, it was more than enough for now.

"Buy a ship?" Ma Rongtao put his chopsticks down. "Roughly how many tons?"

"Around fifty to sixty thousand tons, I suppose. It will be best if I can pay with US Dollars, because I have a large amount of those with me now."

Paying with US Dollars was simple, since it’s a globally recognized currency that many countries use to replenish their foreign currencies. However, for a customized ship, it would take a very long time.

A fifty to sixty thousand-ton ship would take about half a year’s time to build, even for the most renowned ship manufacturers. The global economic crisis had not subsided yet, so there were a lot of owners who wanted to sell off their large ships.

"Let me contact my overseas connections, and you should be able to purchase a large ship, fresh out of the dock," Ma Rongtao said, smiling.

He suddenly thought of something and said, "By the way, how many ships are you intending to buy? If possible, I suggest that you purchase a few tankers, then I will introduce you to a few influential figures from Saudi Arabia. With your connections in Somalia, you need not worry about making money anymore."

"I see!" Chen Fan nodded his head, then asked, "Could you order five tankers for me? Let me know the international banking number, so I can transfer the money."

"I have a few overseas business partners, who want to sell off their ships, so this can be done quickly. Little Chen, come, let us drink!"

"Cheers!" Chen Fan raised his cup and drank from it.

"You will also need to offer a cup to Little Chen. How can you keep lying on the table like that" Ma Rongtao hit the back of Wu Ruoyu’s head with his fingers.

I am supposed to offer a drink to this hooligan?

She was not at all keen on doing that. She did not have the patience to forgive and forget what had happened so far. However, under the pressure of her uncle, who was also her superior, she had no choice but to raise her head dispiritedly and say, "Come, little... Erm... Chen Fan, cheers!"

Wu Ruoyu nearly blurted out the word hooligan from her mouth, when she was not paying attention. Well, it was not her fault that Chen Fan had left a bad impression on her mentally!

"Hehe..." Chen Fan laughed to himself, as he saw her simmering with resentment.

....

3pm in the evening, Ma Rongtao’s office

"Pass this bank card to Little Chen later. Let him know that the password is 888888." Ma Rongtao, who was seated at his office desk, took out a bank card with 10 million Renminbi in it from his drawer.

"Wait, what?" Wu Ruoyu was stunned. "Isn’t this just a matter of a phone call?"

"That call of his saved me 5 million US Dollars, which is equivalent to three hundred million Renminbi. If you have such capabilities, I am more than willing to work under you!"

"Little Chen is very capable. When Zhang Xueyang requested him to smuggle a few machines from Japan, he didn’t even need to fight anyone to get it back. This time, a mere phone call was enough to get those Somalian pirates to obediently release the ship and its crew, without any complaints or issues."

"Uncle, who do you think is that influential person whom he has connections with?" she asked, highly curious.

"I am also not sure, but why do you need to know about it? It is not like knowing it will make us friends," he said.

At that moment, a black BMW 740 was carefully crossing the road, which was filled with a lot of cars. After 20 minutes, it pulled over to the side of a sea-side shipyard. Chen Fan jumped out of the car and stretched his back.

He had stopped at a small workshop named "Heavenly Treasures’ Ship-Manufacturing Shipyard." Below the green gantry cranes of the shipyard’s 3 docks, were a few workers. They were smoking and shaking their heads. There was no sign of work in progress, nor did it look like they would start any time soon.

"Boss, why can I feel the chills coming from this shipyard? Look, even the large dock in the middle is overgrown with moss already." Wang Bing stepped out from the driver’s seat.

"Do you think the owner would sell, if not for it being in this condition?" Chen Fan took a look around. He found this shipyard for sale on Zhongyun’s trading forum, stating that business was not good for the owner. Thus, the owner had decided to sell it off. Chen Fan decided to buy it, as long as the selling price was worth it.

"Good day, sir," a middle-aged man, who was smoking and squatting below the gantry cranes, quickly tidied his collar and ran to greet Chen Fan. "Are you planning to buy some ships? We are able to produce any ships of two thousand tons and below. Plus, since we do not have any work at the moment, with a little bit of overtime, it should only take a month for a ship to be completed."

"I thought you wanted to sell off this shipyard? I am not here to purchase a ship, but to purchase this shipyard." Chen Fan said, while kindly declining the cigarettes offered by the owner.

"Sell? Yes, it is for sale! I have no other options, because I have tons of bank debt," he said, his face bitter.

"In that case, how much are you planning to sell it for?" Chen Fan asked.

"Twenty...25 million..." This owner either had no conscience, or he was still drunk from the night before!

"What?" Chen Fan’s expression changed immediately, as he barked back, "Why don’t you rob me instead?"

"Are you really serious about this?" Wang Bing chimed in. "Did you think our boss came all the way here, just so that you could have a good laugh about it?"

"Little brother, I am joking. When I first set up this place, everything was imported from Germany, which cost 25 million, including the taxes. This does not even include the cost of this 5,000 square-meter piece of land," said the owner.

"When I used to be a virgin, the prostitutes even gave me a red packet with 100 Renminbi in it, as it was my first time. But, now, when I find them again, I am required to pay for their services. So, you better not tell me that your machines are worth more after you have owned them for such a long time!" Wang Bing shot the owner a ridiculous expression.

"Th... Then... How about a bit lesser offer... 24 million?" the owner offered.

"Final offer is 18 million. If you are not willing to sell it at that price, then we will look for another seller." Chen Fan did not want to drag this conversation out for too long. He had already done his research on the estimated price for machines, when he saw the photos on the shipyard online. Eighteen million for everything, including the land and old machinery, should be a fair price.

"I really can’t sell it for that price. Otherwise, I couldn’t even keep up with my loan," The owner said pitifully.

"Let’s go!" Chen Fan did not say another word, but walked towards his car with Wang Bing.

Vroom, vroom vroom..

The BMW’s engine roared to life soon after they both got into the car. The owner, on the other hand, watched the BMW with pitiful eyes, showing no intention of holding them back.

Was my offer price really too low?

Chen Fan was puzzled, as he had expected the owner to try to convince them.

"Let’s go!" Chen Fan commanded five seconds later. Even if the price was really too low, he would not take the initiative to increase the price. He could use that effort to find the next seller instead.

Screech!

All four tires of the BMW rolled into motion, as Wang Bing stepped on the accelerator.

"Hey, hey!" When the owner realized that they were really going to leave, he immediately chased after them, shouting, "Little brother, little brother, let’s discuss this again. Don’t go away! Let’s negotiate. Twenty million is my lowest price. I really cannot go any lower than that."

"Eighteen million! I won’t pay for anything more than this price." Chen Fan shook his fingers at him.

"Since you look like a straightforward person, I will take the loss as a price to become your friend," said the boss, after gritting his teeth for a very long time.

After finishing his negotiating, he said, "Little brother, how about this, could you be sure to keep on the 23 workers, who all have 6 to 7 years of working experience? It is not easy to search for jobs nowadays."

"Of course, this is not an issue," Chen Fan said, then pointed to the largest dock. "Can this operate now? I’m planning to start building a ship immediately."

"Yes, of course." The owner nodded his head, like a woodpecker. "Please don’t be fooled by its appearance. All of the German-made products have really high quality. Even if I were to place them outside under the hot sun and rain, without maintenance for two years, they would still operate as usual."

"Fine! Bring me to inspect your machines to ensure that they are not faulty. If they are fine, I will transfer the money to you immediately," Chen Fan said.

As they looked around, Chen Fan saw that Germany’s workmanship was genuinely good. The gantry cranes, along with the large-sized welding machines, steel plate compressing machines, cutting machines, CNC (Computer numerical control) machine tools and other various machines did not even have the slightest problem!

The purchase transfer process was very simple. After the Industry and Commercial Bureau made the appropriate filing, the shipyard was successfully transferred to Chen Fan’s name. He officially changed the yard’s name to "Storm Ship-Manufacturing Yard."

After transferring the eighteen million to the seller, Chen Fan squatted below the cranes and gave Zhang Xueyang a call. "Hello, Brother Zhang, do you have any titanium alloy? I need 10 tons of it!"

"Titanium alloy?" Zhang Xueyang felt deeply moved again by Chen Fan’s weird requests. "We do have it here, but you wouldn’t be requesting my dad’s factory to produce another big metal rod, would you?"

"Nope, I just wanted to try making a more solid ship for fun. I recently bought a shipyard, so I was thinking of asking you to send some titanium alloy." Chen Fan had calculated it before. If a submarine’s outer shell was completely made of titanium alloy, it could withstand 400 to 500 pascal of deep sea pressure.

By then, he intended to decorate the inner body extravagantly like a royal palace, complete with sauna massages, showers, and special services. As such, it would definitely feel like a home, which would also make it the best tool for an escape plan!

"Sure, my dad’s factory has a lot of titanium alloy. Let me know the place, and I will send it over by the afternoon. However, even though we are familiar with one another, you will still need to prepare the exact amount of money for payment!" his friend warned.

"Don’t worry, I will directly transfer it to you, the exact amount," said Chen Fan, as he stood up and shook his hips in exultation.