The welcome party didn't end until eight o'clock in the evening. Deng Shiyang and Keith made a report over the phone, and Harrowby was pleased with their concise summary. He jotted down the details in a notebook to relay to his clients in London.

Once the notes were finished, Keith made a request: "Please transfer twenty thousand pounds to our Standard Bank account in South Africa by tomorrow."

"No problem."

"Also, the person heading to Angola will depart in the next few days. We'll need your contacts there to assist him as much as possible."

"That’s fine, I’ll provide you with the contact person's name tomorrow. Your man can find him for help when he arrives in Luanda."

"Great."

"By the way, I recently received some news," Harrowby paused, then continued, "Due to the tightening regulations on domestic PMCs by the ANC at the beginning of the year, SkyLink is planning to wind down its operations in South Africa. I’ve heard they’re looking to sell off the equipment from their South African branch. You might want to contact them — you could get a good deal on some second-hand helicopters."

"That’s good news," Keith nodded. "Do you have a contact?"

Harrowby gave him a name and a phone number, which Keith noted down on paper.

After the call ended, Deng Shiyang emailed Harrowby the bank account details for the other three members, instructing him to transfer their advance payments.

The next morning, Du Preez arrived at the villa early. As soon as they met, he handed Keith a folded piece of paper.

"This is Johan Schlink’s phone number. I spoke with him last night, and he’s agreed to meet with you. You can arrange the time and place directly with him."

"Thank you." Keith took the paper, raised it slightly in acknowledgment, and glanced at Deng Shiyang with a questioning look.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Deng Shiyang briefly returned his gaze, then took the paper.

After breakfast, Du Preez and Semler left for Pietermaritzburg. Once the two had departed, Marc pulled a slip of paper from his jacket pocket and showed it to Deng Shiyang, asking, "Can you access this website?"

Deng Shiyang glanced at the paper and replied, "Should be able to."

He brought his laptop into the kitchen, opened it on the counter, and typed the URL from the paper into the browser's address bar. A website for buying and selling second-hand ships appeared on the screen.

Mark pointed at himself, and Deng Shiyang understood, pushing the laptop over to the table beside him.

The Belgian sat down at the bar, quickly opened the “wanted” section, and then entered the tonnage and type of ship he was looking for into the search filters. After pressing the “search” button, a list of available ships that met the criteria appeared.

Deng Shiyang called Keith over, and the three of them huddled around the laptop, reviewing the details of each ship on the list.

They spent the entire morning looking through the three-page list and carefully reviewed the information on all fifty-four ships for sale.

In the end, Deng Shiyang and Keith decided on a container ship named "Cristo." This ship had a full displacement of 5,200 tons, was 390 feet long, and had a maximum speed of 20 knots. Its forward deck was quite spacious and flat, making it ideal for their needs.

After some investigation, they found out that the Panama-registered vessel was built in Fuzhou in 1990. It had originally belonged to a Dutch shipping company, but in 2007, it was sold to FEMAS Ocean Shipping Company, headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. Late last year, FEMAS faced financial difficulties and was on the verge of bankruptcy. At the start of this year, they began restructuring their assets. To reduce expenses and pay off debt, the management decided to sell off a third of their fleet, including the "Cristo."

The asking price for the ship was 900,000 euros, which converted to around 1.17 million U.S. dollars. Although the price exceeded their budget, the seller mentioned on the website that the ship had undergone a comprehensive overhaul in mid-last year, and the engine was in good working order. This would not only save on maintenance costs but also allow for immediate modifications once the ship reached South Africa. Furthermore, Mark assured them that in such deals, the final price could usually be negotiated down, which strengthened their resolve.

Once they made the decision, Keith said to Mark, "I’d like you to contact the company as an intermediary this afternoon and then head to Antwerp as soon as possible. Can you do that?"

"No problem."

"You’ll need to inspect the ship's condition and verify the registration documents. Once you’re certain everything checks out, get in touch with me. We’ll go over the transaction details then." He paused and added, "You’ll be staying in Europe for a while. I’ll transfer £3,000 to your bank account in Belgium as a budget."

"Got it," Mark replied with a nod.