After everyone squatted down, the captain held a powerful flashlight, sweeping it across everyone's face. Then he frowned, stepped away a bit, and began using the communicator to contact the ship's commander.

"Report, no Asian faces found among the gathered crew!"

After a burst of static, the communicator quickly relayed the order from the ship.

"If there are none, forget about it! Continue with the mission!"

"Yes!" The captain responded, walked back to his previous position, and instructed the other soldiers: "Squad one, guard these people. Squad two, take over the control room. The rest, search the cabin for the target!"

"Yes!" The soldiers who received the orders immediately sprang into action.

Deep in the cabin, Chen Wei pressed against the outer wall of a ventilation duct, listening to the footsteps and clashing metal sounds outside, without any expression on his face.

After the ship's engine stopped, the cabin noise reduced significantly, but it was still possible to hear some movements.

Next to him, An Zai swallowed nervously: "We don't have weapons here. What if those bastards find us later on?"

Eagle and a few others wore grave expressions, but none responded.

An Zai looked at Chen Wei and hesitantly asked again: "Should I go get the gun? We can directly take them on later! We've tussled with the Brits before, their skills are like that, last time I alone..."

Before he finished speaking, Eagle smacked him on the head: "Can you be quiet? You think you can take on a frigate?"

An Zai shriveled after being hit by Eagle and stayed silent.

Chen Wei glanced at him and said calmly, "Follow the boss's plan. If we do get discovered, don't resist. The boss will find a way to get us out."

"Understood." They all nodded after hearing this.

...

Meanwhile, on the sea surface, two black shadows were swiftly approaching from the north. In the blink of an eye, they were less than ten nautical miles from the British warship.

These were Houthi's Yafa drones, with a maximum flight range of 1,600 kilometers, capable of carrying high-explosive warheads or 150 kilograms of explosives.

This drone was an improvement from Salaman's Sammad-3, which once caused the Templar's Iron Dome system to lose face.

The two shadows on the sea surface drew increasingly closer, about to confront head-on.

At this moment, the radar on the Duke of York Frigate finally detected the drones, and the screen suddenly burst with a sharp alarm sound!

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The red warning lights flashed wildly inside the command tower. The radar operator stared at the two emerging blips on the screen, first pausing in surprise, then quickly reported: "Captain! Two unidentified drones are rapidly approaching!"

"They are Houthi's Yafa drones!"

Upon hearing "Houthi," Captain Cole's spine trembled, and his hairs stood on end!

"Damn it! Why were they detected only just now!"

The radar operator opened his mouth, about to explain, when an alarmed report came from the side again: "They are armed with air-to-ground missiles!"

Cole was almost scared to tears. He thought intercepting a merchant ship would be easy, never expecting to provoke the Houthis.

Those maniacs even drove away the American carriers, and who knows how much Western maritime wreckage lies buried on this seafloor.

He had no intention of dying so ambiguously.

Cole lunged at the console, shouting excitedly: "Lock on with anti-air missiles! Prepare close-in weapons for interception! If they dare to open fire, shoot them down directly!"

As soon as he spoke, the two incoming drones suddenly climbed in altitude, their tail flames leaving two orange-red trails in the night sky, beginning to circle overhead.

Shortly after, an Arabic voice suddenly came over the communication channel: "Warning! Leave this sea area immediately!"

"Warning! Leave this sea area immediately, or your warship will be sunk!"

Cole stared intently at the circling drones on the radar, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

At least it was just a warning...

He had no doubt about the opponent's resolve to open fire. After all, their country was already fragmented; there's nothing left to lose.

"Main cannon locked!"

"Sea Interceptor Missile locked!"

As the soldier's voice sounded, the main gun of the Duke of York Frigate swiftly rotated, aiming at the circling drones, while the hatch doors of the missile launch wells beneath the deck slowly began to open.

The atmosphere inside the command platform instantly became extremely tense, with everyone's breathing syncing with the rhythm of the radar's alarms.

Yet, Cole didn't issue the command to fire, instead, he shouted to the communications officer: "Patch me through to the Navy headquarters!"

Upon hearing this, the communications officer quickly established the encrypted line: "Captain, line is connected!"

Cole snatched the receiver, though extremely nervous internally, he maintained a facade of calmness: "Commander, we encountered Houthi drones in Aden Bay armed with missiles, threatening us to leave immediately or they will open fire!"

After speaking, he felt his words seemed slightly timid, so he added, "The Duke of York's missiles have already locked on the enemy! Should we shoot them down?"

There was a brief silence over the receiver before the Chief of Staff's grave voice came through: "Cole, withdraw immediately! London does not wish to engage in direct conflict with the Houthis in the Red Sea. Your operation wasn't formally authorized; don't escalate this!"

Upon hearing this, a gleam of delight flitted across Cole's face, though he quickly masked it.

Leaving safely was ultimately the best outcome. If they did fire on the two drones, they could indeed shoot them down, but what then?

With the Houthis' vengeful nature, in the next moment, two hypersonic missiles would likely be headed their way.

Even the Templar's Iron Dome wouldn't withstand them, let alone the firepower on the frigate...

"Retreat! Return immediately!" Cole ordered through gritted teeth, "Notify the boarding team to abandon the mission and evacuate at once!"

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