At 4:27 PM, Coast Guard vessel 3201 arrived in the waters north of She Island, beginning the search for two fishing vessels suspected of organizing smuggling, according to orders from superiors.

Coast Guard vessel 3201 is part of the Jiangnan Province Police Department Border Guard Main Corps Coast Guard Team, stationed in Dacang at Liuhe River.

The unit of the Coast Guard Team is small in scale, lower in rank, and not equipped with advanced technology. Including vessel 3021, there are only two vessels capable of enforcing laws at sea, both are retired navy coastal patrol boats, yet they are responsible for overseeing over a thousand kilometers of Jiangnan Province's coastline!

Since the other boat is under major repair, only vessel 3201 was deployed this time.

Illegal fishing of eel fry is not limited to the Yangtze River; it occurs at sea as well.

Each year, the Coast Guard Team participates in operations to combat illegal fishing of eel fry, especially ensuring the smooth flow of waters at the Yangtze River Estuary. They have dealt several times with the Past Linghai Police Station and now Changhang Branch Bai Long Port Police Station.

Captain Pei stared intently at the radar screen, remembering that last December, Han Yu had mentioned the criminal plans to organize smuggling; he picked up the high-frequency radio handset, and hoping for the best, shouted: "Salted Fish, Salted Fish, this is Old Pei from Dacang, please respond, please respond!"

Three hours ago, an instructor at the base sent a telegram confirming that the typhoon had made landfall in East Guang, and although it might change direction, it could not reach the Binjiang Sea Area, yet it would still affect the area.

The seas were rough, with wind reaching level six.

Such sea conditions would not significantly affect the navigation of ten-thousand-ton freight vessels, but they considerably impacted patrol boats. The boat was repeatedly lifted by surging waves only to slam down hard again, with waves over ten meters high continuously crashing against the cockpit windows.

The severe weather conditions affected the communication range of the high-frequency radio, and after calling four or five times, there was finally a response.

"Brother Pei, Brother Pei, this is Salted Fish. There's a typhoon outside, you didn't go out to sea, did you?"

"Asking knowingly."

Captain Pei laughed and cursed, bending over the radar screen, he said: "The typhoon went to East Guang; of course, we had to go out to sea. The ship is loaded with goods, and if we don't quickly transport them, the company won't make the freight charge and won't have money to pay our salaries."

The high-frequency radio was being used, and many vessels could listen in.

Han Yu, unable to explicitly discuss the mission, could only jokingly ask, "Did a lot of ships leave the port?"

Just as Captain Pei was about to speak, a crew member from an unknown location interjected, "There are ships all around on the radar scan! Brothers, are you on a domestic trade ship or a foreign trade ship, and where are you planning to go?"

"There are ships all around, why can't I see them? Where exactly are you?"

"We just left the North Channel, no need for a radar, there are two foreign trade ships right ahead of us!"

…

A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples; maritime chat resumed once again.

The accent originates from all parts of the country, making the radio exceptionally lively.

Taking the opportunity, Han Yu asked, "Brother Pei, where are you guys now?"

"Our longitude is one two two point two five nine, latitude three one point seven five, heading directly north."

"So you can't catch up with us then; we are at least a half-day's sailing ahead of you."

Han Yu took a pen and scale, marking Captain Pei's current location on the nautical chart, without asking about the sailing speed. Because patrol boats are faster than cargo ships, even if he asked, Captain Pei could not reveal it without compromising his identity.

Captain Pei, looking at the sea, asked, "Salted Fish, my cousin from the East Sea also went out to sea, he used to sail in the Southern Ocean, but this time surprisingly he went to the Northern Ocean, have you encountered them?"

"Didn't encounter them, we chatted on the radio at noon."

"What did he say, where is he now?"

"They are fast, running ahead of me."

Han Yu looked up at Xu Mingyuan and Fang Zhiqiang, adding: "They are on a short voyage, if fast, they could return tonight."

Captain Pei was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized that his fellow East Sea colleagues must have departed in a rush during the night, with not enough fuel and other supplies, limiting their endurance at sea.

They were already crossing boundaries, so heading back early wasn't a bad thing.

Just as Captain Pei was about to speak, another unknown crew member from another boat interjected: "Both brothers, does your whole family run ships?"

Deputy Captain and two warriors clearly heard and couldn't help but laugh.

Han Yu then seriously said on the radio, "Yes, my cousins and brothers are all seamen; our whole family is on the ship."

The first crew member who joined the chat joked, "Wow, a family of seafarers!"

Han Yu, reminded of his father who liked to talk and even quarrel on the radio with crew members from all over, said with a suppressed chuckle, "Our family has been running ships since my grandfather's time, contributing to the maritime industry, dedicating our youth, our whole lives, and the next generations!"

"So, you are children of a maritime enterprise?"

"Pretty much."

"What do you mean dedicating your whole life and the next generations, don't act so modest after taking advantage. The income of being a seaman was so high before, not only was the income high, but so was social status."

"Yes, those who had secure jobs talked without knowing the pain of standing!"

Can't chat anymore, or we'll start cursing.

Han Yu had just put down the handset when Captain Wu reminded him, "Salted Fish, check the radar."

Bending over, Han Yu suddenly saw a bright spot approximately six nautical miles ahead to the left and asked quietly, "Only one?"

"There were two just now."

"Are they close to each other, that's why only one could be detected?"

"Yes," Captain Wu nodded and then confirmed determinedly, "It's definitely not a big ship."

Xiao Yu, leaning on the steering panel, asked, "Should we chase after it and take a look?"

Xu Mingyuan, Fang Zhiqiang, and Director Liu from the San Zao Port Border Police Station, who were also crammed in the cockpit, turned to look at Han Yu.

Han Yu stared at the radar monitor and said, "Don't rush, let's observe this target's speed and directional changes first."

"That works." Captain Wu turned and glanced at the helmsman, signaling to keep the ship's speed and heading unchanged.

Seeing the puzzled faces around him, Han Yu stood up straight and explained, "There's trash on shore, and just as much floating debris at sea. From the radar, we can only see objects, but can't confirm if they are ships. If we chase after every detected object, we might end up collecting a bunch of trash."

It really is a case of being in different professions sets one apart.

Xu Mingyuan sighed quietly to himself and held back his questions.

Perhaps this morning when the Fishery Administration Ship was docked at She Island Pier, it could only sway back and forth from the wind and waves, causing the entire ship to rock irregularly and everyone aboard to feel seasick.

Now, facing the wind and waves, the ship was being steered, and although it still bobbed up and down, it was more regular than in the morning, making everyone feel much better.

Xiao Yu didn't want to wait in the cockpit and simply dragged Fang Zhiqiang downstairs to continue playing cards with the Civilian Soldiers.

After about ten minutes, Xu Mingyuan and Director Liu in the cockpit agreed with Han Yu and Captain Wu that the radar-detected target didn't resemble a smuggler's boat, and it was unlikely to be a boat at all.

From the navigation and speed, the bright spot wasn't sailing but drifting with the waves.

If they received a distress signal, they would definitely rush to rescue at top speed, but there had been no distress signal, and neither the East China Fisheries Command Center nor Binjiang Fishery Station's Fishery Radio Station reported any ship in distress.

As the Fishery Administration Ship continued with its original search plan in the vast sea, Captain Pei was discussing the search strategies with Deputy Captain Lin.

"Three patrol boats were deployed from the East Sea and found nothing; we have only one boat, the sea is vast, how will we search!"

"Captain Pei, why not ask Salted Fish how they searched?"

"How should we ask over the radio?"

"We can contact Instructor Wang, ask him to get in touch with Linghai Police Bureau, or inquire at Binjiang Fishery Station about what code Salted Fish uses, and send them a telegram."

"What's the point in asking?"

Captain Pei countered with a question and said helplessly, "Searching together with two boats is no different than one boat searching alone; I guess they are also just trying their luck. Cases like these, catching perpetrators at sea is very tough. In the end, it's their fault for not doing their job well; they should have planned more meticulously and caught the smugglers as they left port."

Deputy Captain Lin smiled and said, "From the reports, this case is a joint investigation by Changhang Bureau and Linghai Police Bureau; one is familiar with river conditions and the other is local police, it's normal for them not to understand the sea."

"Others might not understand, but Salted Fish must, he worked on a marine ship for over four years, sailed to many places, he should know very well that catching perpetrators directly at sea is like finding a needle in a haystack!"

"They might be considering their jurisdiction, otherwise, they wouldn't be waiting at She Island."

"That might be possible, let's not talk about this anymore. We'll patrol along the last sea route; it's best if we can catch them, but if we can't, there's nothing we can do but return to Yungang Sea Area when the patrol ends."

...

Linghai Police Bureau, a small conference room.

Political Commissioner Jiang, who hadn't slept well all night, sat at the conference table with his chin propped up, deep in thought.

Zhou Huixin sat down worriedly after finishing a call from a superior.

Political Commissioner Jiang looked up and asked, "What did Director Chen say?"

"Director Chen said the Provincial Department is taking this very seriously, and asked us to think of ways to intercept. But the situation at sea isn't like on shore; we can think of ideas but there's no way to actually put them into action."

"The superior's concern is understandable; we're just anxious and that's not helpful, so we can only watch how Salted Fish and their team handle this."

"With over a hundred smuggling people crammed into two rickety boats, if I were a leader, I would be worried too."

Zhou Huixin lit a cigarette, taking several puffs in succession, filling the small conference room with smoke again.

Political Commissioner Jiang deeply agreed, considering the multitude of smuggling individuals. If a sea accident occurred and suddenly so many people died, one could imagine how severe the international repercussions would be.

And if everything goes smoothly and they reach Japan, being caught by Japanese law enforcement would be equally bad.

After all, having no knowledge of this clue would be one thing, but now that they have it, they must think of ways to intercept the smuggling vessels.

Thinking back to the several calls from his superiors today, which all hinted at why they didn't end the operation at Lu Port, Political Commissioner Jiang felt quite depressed, feeling that his superiors were indeed speaking without consideration of the practical difficulties.

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