novelones Chapter 285 Business Rescue Team
Chapter 285 Business Rescue Team
Northern Saudi Arabia.
An overseas wholly-owned oil refining base of a Japanese multinational petrochemical conglomerate.
The towering oil refinery towers and the intricate network of pipes radiated the scorching heat of the metal under the blazing sun, yet no roar of machinery could be heard.
Inside the factory's administrative building.
Inside the factory manager's office, filled with dust, the air was foul and stifling. Several Japanese executives and senior engineers, dressed in short-sleeved uniforms, huddled behind their desks and in the corners.
Some people were huddled behind their desks, their backs against the wall and their knees tucked to their chests; others were slumped in the corner, clutching a cell phone that had long lost its signal, their thumbs unconsciously pressing the side button every few seconds, the screen turning on and off repeatedly.
The expensive satellite phone on the table, its red no-signal indicator light flashing on and off, seemed to be the only thing still breathing in the room.
No one spoke. All that could be said had been said in the past forty-eight hours.
On the distant northern horizon, the muffled booming of Iraqi heavy artillery could be faintly heard.
"boom--"
Each blast sent a slight tremor through the entire building. Dust fell from the ceiling, settling on the heads and shoulders of these pampered executives.
Sudden.
A heavy, dense roar of engines approached from the road outside the factory area and then stopped. The low-frequency sounds of the diesel engines of heavy trucks and the large-displacement engines of off-road vehicles mingled together, making the ground tingle slightly.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of hydraulic shears forcefully cutting the chain was heard.
"Click!"
The executives in the office looked up in alarm.
This is a war zone; the people who can still get here now are probably...
After a few seconds of silence, the factory manager was the first to move. He scrambled to the window, cautiously poking half his head out and peering through the blinds. The others followed suit, crouching low to look out from either side of his shoulders.
Four heavy, black armored off-road vehicles and eight heavy tactical trucks with desert camouflage tarpaulins rolled over the open barbed wire gate and drove directly into the factory area.
The car door opened.
Dojima Iwao stepped out of the vehicle. Several special operations team members dressed in sand-colored tactical uniforms and carrying automatic rifles followed closely behind, quickly dispersing around the vehicle to form a defensive formation. The Red Cross symbol, representing medical and rescue services, was clearly printed on their tactical vests and armbands.
The factory manager shifted his gaze from the firearms to the Asian faces and the Red Cross armbands.
He froze for a full two seconds. Then his whole body began to tremble violently.
He flung open the office door and sprinted down the stairs. Several senior executives followed closely behind, stumbling and rushing out of the glass doors of the administration building.
"Are they from the embassy?! Has the embassy finally sent people to evacuate its citizens?!"
With tears welling up in his eyes, the factory manager stumbled to Dojima Yan's side, his voice trembling with extreme excitement.
Dojima Iwao stood beside the hood of the SUV. He looked at the disheveled Japanese executives in front of him.
"Embassy vehicles simply cannot enter the combat zone."
Dojima Iwao's tone was calm.
"We are a commercial rescue team assigned by the SA Group."
The factory manager's face froze instantly from ecstasy.
"A...business rescue team?"
Dojima Iwao did not answer his question. He turned around and pulled a slightly wrinkled satellite fax from the waterproof briefcase on the passenger seat.
He handed the fax to the factory manager.
"Due to the Ministry of Finance's order to cut off loans and the overall surge in crude oil prices," Dojima Iwao read aloud from the paper, looking directly at the factory manager, "your company's parent company in Tokyo has had its basic account frozen by the court."
The factory manager's hand, which had been taking the fax, froze in mid-air.
"Your company currently lacks the valuable foreign exchange to cover the high costs of hiring mercenaries for a cross-border evacuation."
The fax trembled slightly in the factory manager's hand. He looked down at it, his gaze sweeping over the blurry Japanese characters, his pupils widening little by little.
"To save everyone's lives," Iwao Dojima continued, "SA Group has funded and taken over the parent company's domestic debts. They have also fully covered all the costs of this evacuation, including the aircraft and security arrangements."
"As consideration, the parent company has already transferred all of its shares in the refinery to SA Overseas Trust at a discounted price in a conference room in Tokyo."
Dojima Iwao reached into his briefcase again and took out a "Confirmation of Transfer and Abandonment of On-site Physical Assets" and several boarding passes with the flight numbers of the US military evacuation.
"The legal transfer of shares has been completed."
He laid the confirmation form flat on the scorching hot hood of the SUV, and placed a black pen next to it.
"Now, you need to sign this confirmation form to complete the physical handover of the on-site equipment."
Dojima Yan pointed to the boarding passes.
"After you sign, the convoy will immediately escort you to the safe zone at Dalan Base."
The factory manager looked down at the end of the fax.
He recognized the signature.
The old president, who had been with the company for fifteen years, had a habit of drawing out the last stroke of his surname when he wrote. That familiar stroke of his pen was now imprinted on this cheap fax paper, next to the bright red official seal of the company.
The parent company went bankrupt. To save itself and for the sake of debt restructuring plans that were uncertain to be implemented, the Tokyo board of directors sold all of them, who had been working hard overseas, along with the multi-billion dollar oil refinery to this group—the only bargaining chip they received was a few plane tickets to escape from the war zone.
The factory director's Adam's apple bobbed.
He turned his head and looked around at the fully armed special operations team members.
He couldn't accuse the other party of taking advantage of the chaos, because in this desert already covered by artillery fire, this private armed force belonging to the SA Group was indeed the only force that could get them out alive.
"boom--!!!"
A heavy artillery shell exploded with a loud bang on a sand dune less than two kilometers from the factory area.
A massive shockwave, carrying sand and dust, swept in, instantly shattering the windows of several floors of the administration building. Countless sharp shards of glass flew everywhere within the factory area, slamming against the steel plates of the bulletproof SUVs with a series of loud impacts.
Several senior executives and engineers following behind the factory manager were knocked to the ground by the blast wave.
The violent blast caused everyone to experience temporary hearing loss and intense ringing in their ears.
"ah--!"
Terrified screams echoed through the factory grounds. Several people clutched their heads, writhing in agony on the dusty, shard-of-glass ground. Some tried to stand and run, but the intense physical shock and weak legs caused them to collapse back into the dirt.
After several seconds of chaos and panic, the instinct for survival completely overwhelmed reason.
An executive with a cut on his forehead from broken glass crawled on his hands and feet through the mess, stumbling and falling to his feet as he reached the SUV.
He grabbed the factory manager's suit trouser leg tightly, his voice cracking from extreme fear, making even his sentences sound fragmented.
"Sign... Factory manager! Sign it quickly!"
His face was covered in blood as he pointed at the billowing smoke rising in the distance and screamed hysterically.
"Shellfire! The Iraqis are firing... We're going to die! We're all going to die here! Get in the car... Please, we need to get in the car and escape!"
The other engineers who were lying next to the wheels also realized what was happening and started pleading loudly like madmen. Some of them even started pounding on the doors of the bulletproof SUV.
Amidst this utter chaos and hysterical wailing.
The special operations team members, who were spread out on the perimeter, quickly lowered their center of gravity, concealing most of their bodies behind the heavy armored vehicle. They raised their hands and pulled down the sand-proof goggles on their tactical helmets to shield themselves from the flying shards of glass and dust.
The muzzles of their automatic rifles remained level and pointed towards the police. The team members' gazes swept over the weeping Japanese company executives on the ground, piercing through the thick smoke, and locked onto the various high points and road entrances outside the factory's barbed wire fence.
The two squad leaders exchanged several tactical hand signals amidst the swirling yellow sand.
The team members immediately took steps and, within a few seconds, completed the inward contraction of the defensive line and the redeployment of crossfire, tightly surrounding the executives in the center of the defensive circle, without the slightest sign of the formation breaking apart.
Dojima Iwao watched with satisfaction as his team responded. Without his orders, they had independently devised the optimal solution. Moreover, they hadn't forgotten their primary responsibility—protecting the high-value target.
He then turned to look at the factory manager, who was slumped beside the car. Judging from his condition, he probably wouldn't last much longer.
Hmm, this shell makes things much easier... Could it be that the bombing of the area around the factory was also the young lady's arrangement?
It's very possible. Although I don't know how the young lady did it, if she is the young lady, she definitely could do it.
He silently praised the young lady's brilliant strategy in his heart, while pushing the black pen half an inch along the hood towards the factory manager.
Hurry up and fulfill your purpose. It's your honor to be schemed against by this young lady.
The poor factory manager was still staring blankly at the ground, memories of the company president's past kindness flashing before his eyes. However, reason told him that if he didn't sign soon, it wouldn't just be the company president's kindness that would surface.
The devastating cries of their colleagues, the approaching artillery fire, and the only life-saving train ticket that could take them away became the final straw that broke their reason.
The factory manager completely broke down amidst the deafening aftershocks of the explosion and the screams all around him.
He struggled to his feet, his upper body pressed against the scorching hot hood, and tremblingly grabbed the pen.
Although his handwriting was extremely distorted due to shaky hands, he still managed to finish writing it in a crooked and uneven manner.
He signed the physical asset transfer document, completely relinquishing control of this massive industrial fortress.
Dojima Iwao picked up the paper, quickly scanning the signature and fingerprint at the bottom to confirm it was correct. He folded it, neatly placed it into his waterproof and explosion-proof briefcase with a lead seal, and fastened the metal clasp.
"Fall back, board the vehicle."
Dojima Iwao turned around and gestured for retreat.
The special agents on the perimeter immediately tightened their defenses. They didn't give these former executives any extra business courtesy; they simply grabbed the engineers, whose legs were weak and who were still trembling on the ground, by the back of their collars and roughly dragged them into the back seat of the armored SUV.
The heavy bulletproof doors closed one after another, the dull thud of the metal latches shutting out the outside sounds of gunfire and sandstorms.
The convoy quickly turned around.
The engines roared, temporarily sealing this heavy industrial fortress, now bearing the name of the Saionji family, within the rumble of cannon fire and the heavy shadow of war.