Chapter 1 The Dark Tide

At half past eleven late at night, seven ships bearing red and white flags with a warhammer emblem sailed slowly from the northern sea, near the junction of the Dragon City sea area and international waters.

The leading ship was a large commercial fishing vessel. At a glance, it looked no different from a normal deep-sea fishing boat, but a closer look through binoculars would reveal military equipment onboard, such as radar, bulletproof shields in the cockpit, and small-scale lethal weapons like point-defense guns.

As the seven fishing boats approached the Dragon City sea area, a black man in the lead ship's cockpit spoke into a walkie-talkie in broken Chinese, "Feng, we're turning back. Wish you smooth sailing."

"Smooth sailing," came the quick reply.

After the exchange, the six fishing boats equipped with military armament stopped at the edge of international waters, turned their rudders, and headed back. The remaining ordinary fishing boat proceeded into the Dragon City sea area, heading straight for the inner harbor.

...

Twelve forty AM.

Feng Hai, the foreman of the Zha Nan wharf gang, stood on the deck of the medium-sized fishing boat and waved his hand, shouting, "Lower the flag, lower the flag!"

Hearing this, two men immediately ran to the bow and stern, lowering the warhammer flag and replacing it with the red flag of the Dragon City Special Zone.

Feng Hai lit a cigarette, stood at the hatchway, and dialed a number on his phone: "Entering the port now, prepare to 'pick vegetables'."

"Got it. Same two lines?" the other party replied.

"Yeah," Feng Hai nodded.

"Okay, that's it."

After they ended the call, the wharf gang immediately contacted Tang Baiqing: "Hey, Brother Tang, starting the harvest now."

"Go ahead, we'll steer clear," Tang Baiqing replied.

"Got it," the wharf gang member hung up.

With smaller waves in the inner harbor, the fishing boat sailed smoothly. After finishing the call, Feng Hai, the foreman of the Zha Nan wharf gang, began ordering his men to expertly haul cargo from the bottommost compartments.

Around one in the morning, as everyone was working enthusiastically, three speedboats sped from the southern sea, presumably entering the inner harbor from international waters as well.

The three speedboats had their lights off, engines roaring, closing in on the fishing boat at top speed.

"Foreman, movement!" A lookout on the ship ran down from near the cockpit and shouted at Feng Hai.

"What's wrong?" Feng Hai, who had been directing the work, immediately looked up.

"Three speedboats..."

"Swish, swish!"

Before the lookout could finish speaking, the three speedboats had arrived, almost simultaneously turning on their powerful searchlights.

Instantly, the men working on deck were exposed in the blinding light, their vision obscured.

"Damn it! Something's wrong, grab the hardware!" Feng Hai roared.

Hearing the shout, the thugs on deck immediately drew pistols, machetes, and other weapons from their waists. Some even dragged out three automatic rifles from the cabins.

At the same time, three or four burly men immediately erected barbed wire fences around the deck railings to prevent boarding.

The men on the ship reacted quickly, but the men on the three speedboats were clearly better prepared. After turning on the powerful searchlights, one speedboat circled the fishing boat, three masked men standing on board, all wielding automatic rifles, spraying the ship's deck with gunfire.

"Da-da-da...!"

The intense gunfire echoed across the sea, catching the men on deck off guard, forcing them to seek cover. At this moment, Feng Hai also saw that the leading speedboat had a man setting up an RPG launcher. Although he hadn't fired yet, the pressure on the men on the ship was immense.

Gun control was very strict in Dragon City. Weapons of this level were rare in the inland areas. The local gangsters wouldn't dare to openly use such things to commit major crimes within the territory. Only the Old Leizi, desperadoes, and private armed groups from outside the district would create such a scene.

Objectively speaking, the wharf gang's smuggling route was actually quite sophisticated. Due to the chaotic environment in international waters, filled with private armed forces, rebel groups, and gangs engaged in all sorts of deadly deals, the wharf gang required the suppliers to provide protection for the sea route when importing goods inland. After entering the inner harbor, they were protected by customs officials, so it was usually difficult for anything to happen. But today, someone dared to move against them in the inner harbor.

Since the wharf gang took control of the port, they were numerous, powerful, and had strong connections. Frankly speaking, no one in the Dragon City underworld dared to touch them or their goods.

...

The gunfire echoed across the sea, catching Feng Hai and the others on the deck off guard. At this moment, the other two speedboats approached the hull, immediately firing ropes onto the ship. The Old Leizi from the speedboats skillfully climbed up the fishing boat wall.

The leader of the Old Leizi who boarded the fishing boat was covered in grenades and explosives, and charged aggressively onto the mid-level deck.

Feng Hai and the others had intended to resist, but when they looked up and saw that the other party was covered in explosive gear, they knew that if they fired, their own men on deck would also be in danger.

The Old Leizi leader slung his gun on his side and held a grenade in each hand, roaring, "We want the goods, not lives. Cooperate honestly, and we won't have any conflict. But if you're uncooperative, I'll send you and this ship to hell."

"The wharf gang is picking vegetables, are you sure you've got the right people?!" Feng Hai shouted.

"That's right, we're hitting you!" More than a dozen masked Old Leizi subdued the men on the deck, forcing them to the bow of the ship.

At this moment, the coast guard had reacted and three patrol ships were speeding towards them from different directions.

Tang Baiqing on the ship was pale, shouting, "Faster, go faster!"

Just as the gunfire erupted, Feng Hai had already called him for help, but the coast guard had already left this patrol area to avoid the fishing boat lane, and the distance between them was not close.

On the fishing boat.

A man of medium build quickly walked into the cargo hold where Feng Hai and the others were loading goods. After searching for less than two minutes, he found the wharf gang's smuggled goods in the middle cargo hold.

"Swish!"

The man of medium build used a knife to cut open the cardboard boxes, glancing inside to see a large number of expensive watches and tablet computers.

These goods were genuine products with well-known brand logos. The only difference between them and those in the mall was that they did not require taxes, and they were smuggled in from the sea.

The tax rate on electronic products and luxury goods in Dragon City was not low, about thirty percent, and there was no problem with sales, because they were necessities of modern people, so this industry was full of huge profits.

Looking at the cargo in the hold, the man immediately turned his head and shouted, "He's hitting our vital spot, we'll hit his key point. We can't take this stuff away, just burn it all with the ship."

"Gou Liuzi," Kong Zheng Hui called out Su Tianyu's "codename," "Burn the ship too?"

"If we're going to do it, we'll make it hurt!" Su Tianyu nodded and was about to walk out.

Just then, footsteps sounded and an Old Leizi hired by Yu Mingyuan came to Su Tianyu with two brick-like yellow objects in his hand, "Look what this is!"

Hearing this, Su Tianyu turned his head and looked at the yellow bricks in the light, seeing that the thing was wrapped in plastic skin, and there was a clear hammer logo printed on it, "What is this?"

"The goods in the cabin are to cover up what I'm holding, understand?" The Old Leizi replied.

Su Tianyu was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and looked at the brick again, and then he was also dumbfounded.

"The deck is full of this stuff," the Old Leizi added.