Chapter 61: Turbulent Seas

At 11:30 PM, near the border between Dragon City's waters and international waters, seven ships with red and white stripes and war hammer flags slowly sailed in from the northern seas.

The lead ship was a large commercial fishing vessel that looked roughly the same as a normal deep-sea fishing boat at first glance. However, if one were to observe carefully with binoculars, it wouldn't be difficult to notice that this ship carried some military armaments, such as radar, bulletproof shields for the cockpit, and small-scale lethal weapons like fixed machine guns.

As the seven fishing boats were about to enter Dragon City's waters, a black man in the lead ship's cockpit picked up the intercom and said in broken Chinese: "Feng, we're heading back now. Have a safe journey."

"Safe journey," came the quick reply over the intercom.

After their exchange, six fishing boats with some military armaments stopped within international waters and began to turn back. The remaining ordinary fishing boat pressed on into Dragon City's waters, heading straight for the inner harbor.

......

At 12:40 AM.

Feng Hai, the team leader of the Zha'nan dock gang, stood on the deck of the medium-sized fishing boat and waved his hand, shouting: "Lower the flag, lower the flag!"

Nearby, two men immediately ran to the bow and stern of the ship, using ropes to lower the war hammer flags and replace them with the red flag of Dragon City Special Zone.

Feng Hai lit a cigarette, stood by the cabin entrance, and dialed a number on his phone: "We're about to enter the port, prepare to pick vegetables."

"Got it, still two lines for picking?" the other party replied.

"Yes," Feng Hai nodded.

"Alright, that's it then."

After they finished talking, the dock gang's people in the port immediately contacted Tang Baiqing: "Hey, Brother Tang, we're about to start picking."

"You guys go ahead, we'll stay clear," Tang Baiqing replied.

"Alright," the dock gang member hung up the phone.

The waves were smaller in the inner harbor, and the fishing boat sailed very smoothly. After making the phone call, Feng Hai began ordering his brothers on the ship to routinely bring up cargo from the lowest cabin.

Around 1 AM, while everyone was working in full swing, three speedboats came racing from the southern sea. Judging by their direction, they should have also entered the inner harbor from international waters.

The three speedboats, with their lights off, were running at full power and approaching the fishing boat at high speed.

"Boss, there's movement," the lookout on the ship immediately ran down from near the cockpit and shouted to Feng Hai.

"What's wrong?" Feng Hai, who was directing everyone's work, immediately raised his head.

"There are three speedboats..."

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Before the lackey could finish speaking, the three speedboats had already arrived nearby and almost simultaneously turned on their powerful searchlights.

In an instant, the people working on the deck were exposed by the strong light and their vision was obstructed.

"Damn it! Something's not right, grab your weapons!" Feng Hai shouted at the top of his lungs.

Upon hearing the shout, the lackeys on the deck immediately drew guns, machetes, and other items from their waists, and some even pulled out three automatic rifles from the cabin.

At the same time, three or four burly men immediately set up barbed wire around the deck railings to prevent the other side from boarding.

The people on the ship reacted quickly, but those on the three speedboats were clearly even more prepared. After turning on the powerful searchlights, one speedboat immediately circled around the fishing boat. Three masked men stood on the boat, all holding automatic rifles, and began firing at the ship's deck.

"Rat-tat-tat...!"

The roaring gunfire echoed across the sea surface. The people on the deck were caught off guard and scrambled to find cover. At this time, Feng Hai also saw that on the lead speedboat, there was a person setting up an RPG launcher. Although they hadn't fired yet, the pressure on the people on the ship was imaginable.

Gun control in Dragon City was very strict, and such high-level weapons were extremely rare inland. The underworld figures in the city wouldn't dare to openly use such things to commit major crimes within the borders. Only the old Thunder Boys, desperados, and private armed groups from outside the district would be able to create such a scene.

Objectively speaking, the dock gang's smuggling routes were actually quite well-established. Due to the chaotic environment in international waters, filled with private armed groups, rebel forces, and gangs doing all sorts of life-threatening business, the dock gang required their suppliers to provide protection for the shipping routes when importing goods inland. After entering the inner harbor, they were covered by customs officials, so it was usually difficult for anything to go wrong. But today, someone dared to move against them in the inner harbor.

Since the dock gang took control of the port, with their large numbers and strong background connections, to put it bluntly, among all those operating in Dragon City, there was really no one who dared to touch their people or their goods.

......

Gunfire echoed across the sea surface, and Feng Hai and his men on the deck were caught off guard. At this time, the other two speedboats approached the ship's hull, immediately shot ropes onto the ship, and then the old Thunder Boys on the speedboats nimbly climbed up the fishing boat's side.

The old Thunder Boys who led the boarding of the fishing boat were all wearing grenades and explosives, and they charged onto the middle deck with a very imposing manner.

Feng Hai and his men originally wanted to resist, but when they looked up and saw that the other side was covered in explosive equipment, they realized that if they opened fire and set it off, their own people on the deck would also suffer.

The leader of the old Thunder Boys, with his gun hanging on his side, held a grenade in each hand and shouted: "We want the goods, not lives. Cooperate obediently, and we'll have no conflict. But if you don't know what's good for you, I'll make you and this ship ascend to heaven together."

"The dock gang is picking vegetables, haven't you got the wrong people?!" Feng Hai shouted.

"No mistake, we're here for you!" More than a dozen masked old Thunder Boys controlled the people on the deck, forcing them to the bow of the ship.

At this time, the maritime police had already reacted, and three patrol ships were frantically sailing towards this direction from different angles.

Tang Baiqing, on the ship, was pale-faced and kept shouting: "Quick, hurry up and go!"

Just when the gunfire started, Feng Hai had immediately called him for help, but the maritime police had already left this patrol area in advance to avoid the fishing boat's route, so the distance between them was not too close.

On the fishing boat.

A man of average build quickly walked into the cargo hold where Feng Hai and his men were loading goods. After searching for less than two minutes, he discovered the dock gang's smuggled goods in the middle cabin.

"Slash!"

The average-built man cut open a cardboard box with a knife, looked down inside, and saw a large number of expensive watches and tablet computers.

These goods all bore the logos of well-known brands and were genuine products. The only difference from goods in shopping malls was that they didn't pay taxes and were smuggled in by sea.

The tax rate for electronic products and luxury goods in Dragon City was not low, about 30%, and there was no problem with sales because they were necessities of modern life, so this business was also full of huge profits.

Looking at the cabin full of goods, the man immediately turned his head and shouted: "He hit our vital point, so we'll hit his weakness. We can't take this stuff away, let's burn it along with the ship."

"Dog Six," Kong Zhenghui called out Su Tianyu's "operation code name" nearby: "Are we burning the ship too?"

"If we're doing it, let's make it hurt!" Su Tianyu nodded and was about to walk out.

Just then, footsteps sounded, and an old Thunder Boy hired by Yu Mingyuan walked up to Su Tianyu, carrying two brick-like yellow objects in his hand: "Look at what this is?!"

Su Tianyu turned his head at the sound and examined the yellow bricks in the light. He saw that these objects were wrapped in plastic, with a clear hammer logo printed on them: "What is this?"

"The goods in the ship's hold are to cover for what I'm holding in my hand, do you understand?" the old Thunder Boy replied.

Su Tianyu was stunned for a moment, looked down to carefully examine the bricks again, and then was also confused.

"The stuff on the deck is all this," the old Thunder Boy added.