Reborn as a Noble's Son

Chapter 545: Chapter 502: At the End of the Line (Second Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets)_1
 

After giving the order to comb through all the docks, harbors, and various vessels including fishing boats, merchant ships, and freighters in Wanghai City.

Nie Zhenbang spoke again: “Jiamin, you’re leading a team. Follow the action of the Armed Police Marine Police Special Service Detachment. Meanwhile, I’ll personally lead another team. This time, if we don’t catch Lin Zhengxing, my life would have gone to the dogs.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

No one knew why Mayor Nie had such a grudge against Lin Zhengxing. Not even Nie Jiamin understood, only Nie Zhenbang himself knew. It had nothing to do with personal resentment, it was purely a matter of responsibility. It was an issue of conscience.

At Wanghai Port, pier number five, inside a very rudimentary civilian house, made as a temporary resettlement location for the original seaside demolition households during the dock construction. A row of bungalows extended down. These temporary resettlement houses remained even after the demolition households had moved into resettlement communities.

Now, they were rented out to workers at the dock. In other words, these slums around the dock were a gathering place for all sorts of people. Social order was always a headache for the Wanghai City Municipal Party Committee and City Government.

At this moment, inside one of the houses, Lin Zhengxing was sitting on a sofa. In his hand, a Type 64 pistol and beside him, four magazines. He was loading the bright yellow bullets into the magazine. He was well aware that he was on the citywide manhunt in Wanghai City. If he wasn’t careful, he might encounter the police. By then, his survival would be hanging by a thread. Being prepared had always been Lin Zhengxing’s habit.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door from the outside, which made Lin Zhengxing extremely nervous. He picked up the gun and chambered a round, standing by the door. He lowered his voice and asked: “Who is it?”

From outside, Chang’s voice came: “Boss, it’s me.”

The door opened, and Chang walked in from outside. His demeanor and actions were like those of an undercover operative. He swiftly closed the door and said in a low voice: “Boss, everything is ready, as per your instructions. Hei Zi and Feipang have each led ten brothers, each given 500,000 yuan in resettlement fees. Tonight at midnight, we sail. Snake Head Ming is asking for 300,000 yuan per person. We have twenty-four people, altogether it will cost 7.2 million yuan, boss, do you think we should?”

As he spoke, Chang also made a throat-cutting motion. Lin Zhengxing’s face was gloomy: “It is truly a humiliation that he dares to exploit me when I am most vulnerable. Snake Head Ming, does he care more about money than his life? Tell him that we will pay him immediately after we reach the open sea.”

Chang looked a little troubled and whispered: “Boss, we don’t have that much cash. Our domestic accounts have been frozen. Now, apart from what we’ve given to our brothers, we only have a little over three million yuan in cash.”

Lin Zhengxing’s face darkened. He nodded: “It’s enough. Go get some white papers and make the preparations below. Leave one suitcase out, all filled with real money. I want to see if Snake Head Ming has the grit to blackmail me and if he has the life to spend it.”

Time slowly passed. For Lin Zhengxing, each minute was a torment. Finally, it darkened. The lights at the harbor pier gradually extinguished. Lin Zhengxing’s hanging heart eased. This place was constantly bustling at night. From the conversations of the people passing by outside the house, Lin Zhengxing learned that police, armed police, and soldiers were patrolling and searching all the docks in Wanghai City. He was afraid they would come here for inspection, but now, it was already midnight, at least he had dodged this bullet.

Meanwhile, Chang knocked on the door from outside, three short knocks and then three longer ones. This was the pre-agreed secret signal. Lin Zhengxing had changed into a set of blue canvas work clothes. He didn’t resemble the boss of the Eastern Sea Group who used to dominate Wanghai at all.

The two men didn’t speak, but just nodded slightly. Lin Zhengxing followed Chang towards the pier. At the edge of Pier 5, which was actually already outside the dock area, was a gathering place for fisherman in Wanghai City.

In the darkness, they passed through numerous fishing vessels. On the outermost side, a fishing boat of about 800 tons had already started its engine.

As they stepped into the cabin, a thin man in his thirties came forward with a big smile on his face: “Mr. Lin, I’ve heard so much about you.”

This man was Snake Head Ming. He was a notorious smuggler in the area of Wanghai. Without waiting for Lin Zhengxing to speak, Snake Head Ming declared: “Mr. Lin, it’s standard practice in this business – cash on delivery. How about it? Has Chang told you?”

When he finished speaking, Lin Zhengxing’s face twisted. When had it come to the point that even Snake Head Ming dared to put himself above him? It was nothing short of humiliating. But he was under another’s roof and had to bow his head.

Lin Zhengxing made a gesture, and Hei Zi, who had already boarded the ship, immediately took out a security box and handed it to Snake Head Ming. Lin Zhengxing said indifferently: “Snake Head Ming, I also have my rules – no money, no goods. This is a deposit of one million yuan. The rest will be given to you when we reach the open sea. Although I, Lin Zhengxing, am down and out, I’m not at a point where I’d swindle you over this amount.”

Snake Head Ming was not polite. He directly opened the security box, neatly arranged hundred yuan notes, he verified them one by one, and then said with a smile: “Good, Mr. Lin, you are indeed straightforward. Set sail!”

Generally speaking, Snake Head Ming’s smuggling price per person was around 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. Now, Snake Head Ming had made a killing with the one million yuan he asked for.

Snake Head Ming said with a smile, “Mr. Lin, could you and your men please rest below? By dawn, you will be out of trouble.”

This was the norm. Generally, for those like Snake Head Ming who specialized in smuggling, the ships were custom-built with decks above cabins. The smuggled passengers were all crammed into the bottom layer of the ship, accessible through hidden compartments.

Although Lin Zhengxing had never been on such a ship, as a boss on the coast of WangHai, he knew enough. Without further delay, he entered one of the hidden compartments in the cabin with Hei Zi and Chang.

After they sealed the hatch, Snake Head Ming ordered in a deep voice, “Set sail! Take the offshore route. Now, the entire public security and armed forces of WangHai are looking for Fei Xing. Only the sea route is safe.”

At that moment, Snake Head Ming was unaware that here in Wanghai City, the joint Armed Police Marine Police Special Service Detachment, the Navy’s Wanghai Base, and several law enforcement vessels of the Wanghai Fisheries Administration had set up an extensive net on the sea.

At this moment, Nie Zhenbang once again boarded the 121 destroyer. By now, all vessels participating in the arrest operation had established communications and could coordinate directly.

Nie Zhenbang sat calmly on Taishan. Beside him, Xiao Shanming approached and whispered, “Mayor, we’ve just received news from the city – a fisherman at Pier 5 reported that a fishing boat has left the harbor.”

A fishing boat left the harbor? At dawn?

This news seemed unusual to Nie Zhenbang. Although he was not a local of Wanghai City, he knew that fishing boats did not usually set sail until after three in the morning. Anything earlier was out of the ordinary.

Immediately, Nie Zhenbang commanded in a deep voice, “It must be Lin Zhengxing. I have this premonition, Shanming. Order a full blockade of this fishing boat.”

Premonition, or intuition, is a rather mysterious thing. But for Nie Zhenbang, it was quite common. His three years of military experience in the Xibei Military Region not only honed his skills but also developed in him a keen sense of intuition.

With the destroyer’s radar scanning its full range, the whereabouts of the fishing boat were quickly discovered. In less than half an hour, Nie Zhenbang and his team surrounded the fishing boat.

Seeing this, Snake Head Ming cursed, “God damn it! What has that bastard Fei Xing done to deserve this? They’ve even sent a destroyer.”

No sooner had he finished speaking when the hidden compartment below loosened, and Lin Zhengxing and his men emerged, all armed, even with several submachine guns. The situation left Snake Head Ming stunned for a moment. He then yelled, “Fei Xing, are you trying to get me killed too? Get back in there. I hope they don’t find you.”

At that moment, Lin Zhengxing raised his weapon, aiming at Snake Head Ming, and coldly said, “Hide? Who knows if you, Snake Head Ming, will betray me? My fate has always been in my own hands. Men, hide. Snake Head Ming, better play nice, or I’ll deal with you before I die.”

At this time, Nie Zhenbang watched the fishing boat and commanded in a deep voice, “Let’s go, we’re boarding.”

Soon, the destroyer pulled up alongside the fishing boat. Without waiting for the gangway, Nie Zhenbang jumped onto the deck.

Entering the cabin and facing Snake Head Ming, he demanded in a deep voice, “Why sail off at dawn?”

At this moment, Snake Head Ming did not appear in the least like a smuggler. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary Wanghai fisherman. He responded, “Officer, we had a long journey this time, we were going to Diaoyu Island, so we left a bit early.”

Nie Zhenbang nodded and then told Snake Head Ming, “We are from Wanghai City Public Security Bureau. We are arresting a significant fugitive. We request your cooperation for inspection.”

With that, special police officers from the bureau entered from outside, thoroughly searching every corner of the cabin.

At this moment, Lin Zhengxing was completely disoriented. If he hadn’t doubted Snake Head Ming and emerged from the hidden compartment, they might not have discovered it, but the cabin wasn’t large, and the police quickly approached one of his sidekicks.

Unable to hold back any more, the sidekick stood up and fired a shot.

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