Chapter 181: Diana Mendoza

The interrogation began.

The first prisoner they brought in was a burly man in his thirties, dark-faced with calloused hands and weathered feet—unmistakably an old sea dog with years of maritime living etched into his skin. Judging by his clothing, personal effects, and the silver coins found on him, he was likely one of the leaders.

When asked where he came from, he erupted into shouting: "Villains! You're all villains! Boss Zhu will deal with you eventually!"

Dugu Qiuhun sat nearby, sharpening his blade with deliberate menace. The prisoner only sneered.

"Why bother with a knife? Bring out the whips and branding irons! If I so much as flinch, I'm no true follower of Boss Zhu!"

Dugu Qiuhun's temper flared. He grabbed for his stun baton.

"No need to rush," Ran Yao said, waving him off. He opened his notebook with practiced leisure.

"Name?"

"I don't change my name no matter where I go—Han Yiping!"

"Gender?"

"Where's your hometown?"

"How many relatives do you have?"

"When did you first become a pirate?"

"How long have you been one?"

"What's your gang leader called?"

...

"What's your boss called?"

"What's his hometown?"

"Gender?"

"When did you first become a pirate?"

...

"When did you first become a pirate?"

"What's your gang leader's name?"

"Gender?"

"When did you first become a pirate?"

"Where's your hometown?"

...

"You said you're from Nan'an, Fujian?"

"The previous seven times you clearly said Minhou, Fujian!"

"Which is it?!"

"What's your gang leader called?!"

"SPEAK!"

"LIGHTS ON!"

"Say your name!"

...

Four hours of uninterrupted relay questioning finally pried Han Yiping's mouth open. On the twenty-fifth repetition of "Who's your gang leader," he at last muttered the name "Liu Xiang."

He tried denying it even after being caught in the admission, but under the relentless bombardment of questions, he finally broke down completely. Once a man submits and starts confessing, the rest pours out like water. Han Yiping quickly revealed everything he knew.

He was a gu—a "stockholder"—in Liu Xiang's organization, specifically a zhangui, or steward. Not a direct subordinate, but valued because his men were particularly formidable, contributing greatly whenever they clashed with government forces or rival pirate gangs. The overall commander of this particular operation on Liu Xiang's side was a woman.

"A woman?"

"A foreign devil girl." Han Yiping gestured as he spoke, explaining that this woman was famous among the maritime groups. She had her own Western-style fast ship and always operated independently. Ruthless and cunning, she maintained close ties with the Franks in Macau. She had previously served under Zheng Zhilong and was well-regarded there, but then she'd suddenly retired for over half a year.

Liu Xiang's organization had learned about transmigrators occupying Lingao back in October, but Lingao held little value and was traditionally Zhu Cailao's territory. Liu Xiang hadn't been interested.

The proposal to seize the fast ships had indeed come from Zhu Cailao's former people—when they joined their new boss, they'd revealed everything, including the observations Shi Shisi had brought back.

Zhu Cailao had genuinely intended to cooperate with the transmigrators. That was precisely why Liu Xiang had staged this entire drama, aiming to kill two birds with one stone: capture the "iron fast ships" while preventing Zhu Cailao from forming an alliance with the newcomers. To pull this off, he had not only recruited a motley assortment of random pirates under Zhu Cailao's name, but had also included some of Zhu's former subordinates in the operation.

"Wasn't Liu Xiang afraid you'd confess if captured?"

"We were told that if we got caught, just insist we're Zhu Cailao's men. You had a grudge with Zhu Cailao, so you'd believe it." Han Yiping answered listlessly. "Besides, not many of us actually knew about Chief Liu's involvement."

"What about the Western ship?"

"I don't know. All our contact with the Western ship went through that foreign devil girl."

"What's her name?"

"Li-something-ya?"

Ran Yao frowned as something stirred in his memory. His recall was excellent, and he immediately recognized who this must be—the woman who had kidnapped Mr. Wen years ago.

"Black curly hair, slightly brown eyes?"

"Right, right. This foreign devil girl is quite pretty—" Han the pirate swallowed visibly.

No question about it. Definitely her. What a small world, Ran Yao thought. But neither the corpses nor the prisoners included any women.

"Where is she now?"

"On the Western ship. Probably escaped. That devil girl is very clever."

Ran Yao pressed further, asking about Liu Xiang's strength, his bases, and the names of his main lieutenants. Han Yiping answered everything honestly. What he didn't know, he couldn't tell, and Ran Yao didn't force it. Based on experience, Han Yiping's extractable value was about exhausted.

More prisoners were questioned, though they yielded little of value. Then came the Indians, jabbering incomprehensibly. It occurred to someone later that since they worked for the Spanish, they might speak Spanish. They hurried to find an interpreter.

"No Spanish speakers," Xiao Zishan reported after checking the personnel files.

"Impossible! We'll be dealing with the Spanish in the future!"

"We have English, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Russian, and Korean speakers. Even Latin! But no Spanish."

"This is ridiculous! We have Korean but no Spanish? A second language would work!"

"Really none. I can't even find 'Spanish' as a search term in the database."

"What am I supposed to do?" Ran Yao hung up helplessly. Dugu Qiuhun's eyes suddenly lit up. He remembered the Latin beauty on the North American yacht from earlier that day. The Qian brothers had mentioned she was Venezuelan-something. Dugu Qiuhun's impressions of Venezuela consisted of exactly two things: beauty pageant winners and Chavez making the news.

"Latin American countries all speak Spanish, right?"

"Yes, with some Portuguese mixed in—" Ran Yao suddenly remembered: wasn't there a Venezuelan-American woman with temporary ID #008?

He picked up the phone and called Xiao Zishan. "I need someone transferred here. Process it quickly."

"Who? Someone who speaks Spanish?"

"Diana Mendoza."

Diana Mendoza had always believed she was the unluckiest person alive. Zhou Weisen constantly boasted that he'd seduced her with his charm, but the truth was far less romantic. Diana had simply been drunk in that Hawaiian bar, hoping for a free yacht ride to catch sea breezes. Instead, these Chinese men had essentially kidnapped her. And after two weeks of seasickness and torment, she'd arrived in some godforsaken wilderness only to be told it was the seventeenth century.

Diana Mendoza naturally didn't believe such nonsense. After slapping the biology PhD who spouted this gibberish several times, she stormed onto the bridge. The GPS, radar, and maritime satellite phone she'd been absolutely forbidden to touch were now freely available. Of course, she couldn't get any of the results she expected.

After prolonged struggling and crying, she finally exhausted herself. The Qian brothers' wives gently persuaded her until she fully understood her situation—without Zhou Weisen, she couldn't even feed herself. Diana Mendoza, like women in similar desperate circumstances throughout history, completely resigned herself to her fate. Zhou Weisen naturally wasn't shy about exploiting the beautiful woman's fear and helplessness in unfamiliar surroundings, easily making Diana Mendoza his woman.

For the Executive Committee, Zhou Weisen's emotional and physical needs being met was cause for celebration. But Xiao Zishan genuinely couldn't figure out what use this English Literature major Latina had—she couldn't even speak Chinese. He could only list her as a "dependent," a category shared only by some transmigrators' children. This Spanish translation assignment was at least putting her to use. She spoke both English and Spanish fluently.

When this tall, beautiful mixed-race woman appeared in the office, several men's eyes lit up. No wonder they said Venezuela was a land of beauties—a perfect blend of European, indigenous, and African heritage. Zhou Weisen, you lucky bastard!

The problem was that although Diana's Chinese had improved considerably over recent months—enough for simple daily conversation—complex explanations remained beyond her. She needed an English translator.

As it turned out, the Indians' Spanish was tragic, so broken that even Diana Mendoza couldn't understand them. After much confused back-and-forth, they finally pieced together the basics: these men were sailors, recruited in Manila by some Spanish lord named Sidonia. Beyond that, they knew nothing—not even where they currently were.

"What use are Indians to us?" Dugu Qiuhun asked. In his view, they ought to behead a few pirates for deterrence.

"For curry. I actually quite like it," Ran Yao said drily. "And if they're sailors, they'll be useful."

The last to be questioned were the Spaniards. When they saw a beautiful, Spanish-speaking compatriot among these Orientals, the two Spanish prisoners' jaws nearly hit the floor.

Both had been recruited in Manila. One was a sailor, the other an ordinary soldier. They hailed from the Panama viceroyalty in Spanish America and had come to try their luck in the Philippines viceroyalty.

From them, Ran Yao finally learned how the Spanish galleon had joined this battle. He also learned the commander's name: Aragonés Sidonia. A Spanish "gentleman" commissioned to recruit and command a galleon for trade or plunder along the Chinese coast, with orders to establish a trading foothold using local Chinese pirates' assistance if possible.

Aragonés couldn't personally fund such an expedition, so the voyage had been organized like a joint-stock company. The Manila Spanish governor, various officials, and plantation owners were all investors. The galleon's equipment, crew recruitment, and supply purchases were funded by shares. Aragonés Sidonia, as commander, would receive one-fifth of total profits. If he secured a coastal base, he'd also receive a bonus.

All participating soldiers and sailors received no pay or wages whatsoever. Instead, they collectively shared one-fifth of total profits—distributed according to rank.

"This is just a robbery gang, plain and simple!" Dugu Qiuhun said angrily after hearing all this. "Ask them how many Chinese ships they've robbed! How many Chinese they've killed!"

Ran Yao wasn't interested in that. He cared more about the ship's capabilities.

According to their confessions, the Countess of Scarborough carried four hundred personnel in total, including soldiers, sailors, doctors, gunners, craftsmen, and servants. Some were Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Black, or mixed-race; the rest were locally recruited Malay natives.

Quite the international crew. No wonder Yu Eshui had said that this era's sailors were a collection of every nation's dregs. Besides this motley assortment, the Countess of Scarborough carried substantial cargo, including trade goods and large quantities of firearms and powder—some of which had already been sold to Liu Xiang—as well as fort-building tools and materials. Food and water were actually limited, since they operated along the coast and could resupply ashore anytime. After allying with local pirate chief Liu Xiang, resupply had become even easier. Reportedly, their next target was a Chinese pirate called "Yiguan."

(End of Chapter)