Chapter 309: Lock On! Make the Arrest

Chapter 309: Chapter 172: Lock On! Make the Arrest

At that thought, he took a deep breath and spoke in a low, heavy voice.

“To the docks!”

…

…

The docks in Jiangsan City were huge, a gathering place for people from all over the country and swarming with foreigners involved in the import-export trade.

On the morning of January 4th, the docks were subjected to a surprise inspection by the authorities.

“Monkeys?”

“No way. Why would we let monkeys on a ship? If they broke something, we’d lose the entire cargo!”

The dock manager was in the middle of a discussion with the police.

“Officers, you must have made some kind of mistake!”

“There’s really nothing wrong here.”

A middle-aged man stood before Li Jianye, trying to explain something.

In those days, dock management wasn’t very strict.

But no matter how lax, they wouldn’t let monkeys onto a ship without proper legal documentation.

‘Does the culprit have documentation?’

‘No. And even if they did, they probably wouldn’t have it on them.’

Of course, Xu Huo didn’t care about that.

He glanced around the docks before his gaze fell on the man.

“Tell me about the ‘black boats.'”

‘Black boats?’

The dock manager froze. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Xu Huo speak again.

“Take a guess. Why do you think we came to inspect the docks instead of the harbor?”

“If you’re smart, you’ll tell us now. We can let bygones be bygones.”

The middle-aged man’s lips twitched. He was silent for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t know anyone who runs black boats, and there aren’t any operating out of this dock.”

“However, a few of my men have a history of illegal operations. You can look into them.”

What were “black boats?”

The term didn’t refer to ships of unknown origin.

It meant boats used for smuggling or human trafficking.

In those days, a single human trafficking run paid more than a whole fishing trip!

The country was full of people desperate to go abroad.

It was 2004, not long after a war had ended, which resulted in a massive number of people in the Eastern Country who idolized the West. Since they couldn’t get green cards through legal channels, they tried every means possible to be smuggled in.

Boats were their primary choice.

The cost for one person to be smuggled over was likely their entire life savings. By taking a few dozen people at a time, the boat captains were laughing all the way to the bank.

“This many?”

Li Jianye paused as he took the list the man handed him.

There were no fishing bans in January.

All the boats had gone out for deep-sea fishing, making them difficult to contact on short notice.

Fortunately, with the dock boss personally cooperating with the investigation, progress was unprecedentedly fast.

A short while later…

“Golden Scale? Golden Scale? Acknowledge if you copy.”

“I repeat, Golden Scale, acknowledge if you copy. Acknowledge if you copy.”

The middle-aged manager paused for a beat, then turned to look back at Li Jianye.

“What is it?” Li Jianye’s brow furrowed.

“The Golden Scale has no record of leaving port, and its captain is still on land. Generally, a captain never parts with his satellite phone. A situation like this, where he can’t be reached…”

Cold sweat appeared on the manager’s face.

A satellite phone generally has global coverage. It’s impossible not to get through unless the person doesn’t have it with them.

But that device was a ship’s lifeline. What kind of captain would leave it behind…?

“The Golden Scale?”

“Didn’t Old Liu’s Golden Scale already head out to sea?”

Suddenly, a voice from the crowd of onlookers called out. Everyone turned to look.

It was a group of fishermen on the shore, mending their nets while watching the commotion.

“You’ve seen the Golden Scale!?” Li Jianye asked hurriedly.

“Of course we have. We were drinking with Old Liu just yesterday afternoon. He took the boat out last night. Didn’t he report it to you?”

the fisherman asked curiously.

Li Jianye paused and instinctively glanced at Xu Huo. Their eyes met.

Fishing boats normally have to log their departure and return.

But this one had slipped away secretly last night…

And now even its satellite phone was unreachable!

‘Of course, it’s also possible that the person sailing the boat right now isn’t the captain of the Golden Scale…’

“They’re really going for revenge!”

A trace of horror appeared in Li Jianye’s eyes as he looked at Xu Huo.

‘He knew that the people they were after—the ones who had the power to abduct someone and send them overseas—couldn’t have built their influence overnight.’

‘Could a few individuals really hope to challenge them?’

‘Honestly, it was impossible. It was a futile effort, nothing more than a suicide mission.’

‘Why?’

‘Putting aside the enemy’s power for a moment.’

‘The simple fact that they were overseas was enough!’

‘Why?’

‘Are foreigners that tough?’

‘No, that wasn’t it.’

‘Guns are legal abroad.’

‘That’s right. The enemy had guns, all sorts of high-precision weapons. It wouldn’t matter how many ordinary people went after them; they’d just be throwing their lives away!’

“They’ve been blinded by rage…”

Li Jianye frowned and said in a low voice.

“This is so reckless! This isn’t revenge, it’s suicide!”

“And… I bet they don’t even know where they were held captive.”

Indeed, the police now suspected that the vigilantes didn’t even know the location of the place where they had been tortured,

even if they had been there before.

Why?

Their eyes.

Based on the construction workers’ statements, both the monkey busker and the prostitute had problems with their eyes.

If that was the case for both of them, there was a high probability the others were the same.

The perpetrators had blinded them.

Most likely to prevent the location from being revealed!

So, even if they had been taken there… they would have no idea which direction they had sailed!

In other words…

right now, they were just drifting aimlessly on the boundless ocean.

This group was very likely…

planning to wander the seas for the rest of their lives until they found their target, and then…

die.

It was a cruel reality.

“Bring them back first. The Special Fifth Bureau will take over the investigation into the masterminds.”

Zhang Liang’s brow furrowed as he took direct responsibility for the next steps.

This was exactly the sort of thing the Special Fifth Bureau handled. If the victims wanted revenge, the Bureau would get it for them!

Xu Huo looked up at the dock manager.

“Does the Golden Scale have a satellite locator?”

The manager stared blankly for a second, then slapped his forehead.

“Old Liu struck it rich with some illegal work this year. In the second half of the year, he bought a brand-new boat, the Golden Scale. It’s state-of-the-art, that ship… It has GPS tracking!”

Those four words hung in the air.

Xu Huo immediately looked at Zhang Liang. He slowly uttered four words.

“Contact the Coast Guard!”

…

…

Satellite locators. Those things were uncommon in those days. After all, with such lax dock management, communication relied on satellite phones; how could every ship be expected to have one installed?

It was the same during this time period in Xu Huo’s previous life.

Things only really started to get strict…

after a ship returned from a voyage that had turned into a real-life game of Mafia. Only then did people start taking it seriously.

Oh.

The ship was called the ‘Lu Rong Yu 2xxx.’

After that incident, regulations became increasingly strict.

Before, you could go to sea without reporting it. Now? You want to go to sea without reporting? Dream on!

Before, the crew wasn’t even registered. Nobody knew how many people were on a ship.

Now, if you leave with ten people, you have to come back with ten people!

If even one person was missing…

Heh, you’d be in for a world of hurt.

Gradually, satellite locators were also installed. The devices were great; with a single ping, anyone could see a ship’s location. There was no chance to pull any funny business.

Thinking of smuggling people?

The Coast Guard will be right behind you, giving you a personal escort.

And as for the current case…

「January 4th, 1:30 PM.」

A voice suddenly rang out.

“We’ve found the Golden Scale’s position!”

On the bridge of the Coast Guard vessel, a bright dot on the control room screen was speeding towards international waters.

Xu Huo took a deep breath. He glanced at Zhang Liang, who had already ordered Zhao Gang to investigate, and uttered two words in a low voice.

“Get them!”

…

…

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