Chapter 1 The Warehouse

Late at night, around 11:30 PM, inside the warehouse compound near Haiyan Pit, an SUV came to a halt. Yu Mingyuan got out alone, his brow furrowed as he entered the building.

In the main house's living room, a group of workers were changing out of their seawater-soaked clothes, while Su Tianyu stood at the doorway, having just finished a call with Kong ZhengHui.

"The goods are gone, and the people are gone too?" Yu Mingyuan asked directly as he entered.

"Yeah, the goods were hijacked at sea, and Zhang Hao's entire crew was taken away," Su Tianyu repeated the situation to him. "They had six speedboats, more than thirty people, holding spearfishing guns and long forks, all masked."

"When are Bai Hongbo and Kong ZhengHui arriving?" Yu Mingyuan asked after a pause.

"They're on their way. My family is also heading here."

"Alright, then come with me." Yu Mingyuan nodded.

"Okay!" Su Tianyu turned and instructed, "Mizi, keep an eye on things here. I'm going out with President Yu."

"Got it."

...

Outside, Yu Mingyuan yanked open the passenger door and got in, leaving Su Tianyu to drive.

As they left the compound, Su Tianyu asked, "Where are we going?"

"Back to the company," Yu Mingyuan replied, already on the phone.

Su Tianyu nodded and drove toward Maolin Avenue.

On the way, after making several calls, Yu Mingyuan sat in silence in the passenger seat. Su Tianyu frowned slightly and asked, "What did Tang Baiqing say?"

"He's waiting for us at the company entrance." Yu Mingyuan looked at Su Tianyu, somewhat annoyed. "Hijacking the goods is one thing, but why take the people too?"

"Either it's a show of force, or someone in Zhang Hao's crew recognized the hijackers," Su Tianyu replied after a moment's thought. "They were masked, right?"

Yu Mingyuan nodded slowly, sighing. "Let's see what Tang Baiqing has to say first."

Su Tianyu glanced at Yu Mingyuan and asked very directly, "Brother Yuan, can he really handle this?"

"You're convinced it was the gang from the docks who did it?" Yu Mingyuan countered.

"It's very likely," Su Tianyu replied.

Yu Mingyuan: "Let's see what Tang Baiqing says."

"My family members were taken. If it was the docks gang, they need to come back first, Brother Yuan." Su Tianyu wasn't hesitant or embarrassed to speak his mind to Yu Mingyuan.

Yu Mingyuan glanced at Su Tianyu and nodded slowly.

...

Around 11:30 PM, in front of the Mingyuan Trading Company office building, Su Tianyu stopped the car. Tang Baiqing immediately opened the door and got in alone.

"Did you ask?"

"I asked. The docks gang said they don't know anything about it." Tang Baiqing had been having a rough time lately, and he looked particularly haggard and unhealthy.

"Could they be lying?" Yu Mingyuan asked again.

"The docks gang wouldn't lie to me," Tang Baiqing waved his hand. "It might be someone on the streets, or maybe someone around the docks got greedy and did it without telling their bosses."

"If they wanted money, why would they take people?" Yu Mingyuan frowned. "The Su family and the Bai family have five people held hostage in total. That's crossing the line."

"I called Wei Xiangzuo, the leader of the docks gang, and Xu Hu, his lieutenant. They said they're looking into it." Tang Baiqing tried to reassure him. "If the problem is around the port, they'll find out sooner or later. Besides, they only took a few workers. They have no use for them! I guess they have some demands. They'll talk eventually."

Yu Mingyuan remained silent.

Tang Baiqing loosened his collar, took out a cigarette pack, glanced at Su Tianyu in the driver's seat, and then said softly, "Little Su, get out of the car for a minute. I need to talk to President Yu alone."

Su Tianyu was stunned for a moment, but he didn't say anything and got out of the car.

Inside the car, Tang Baiqing lit a cigarette and looked up at Yu Mingyuan. "Actually… the docks gang contacted me yesterday."

"What did they want?" Yu Mingyuan was surprised.

"They wanted to talk about doing business shipping goods at sea, but I've been so overwhelmed with family matters lately that I didn't think much of it at the time." Tang Baiqing took a puff of his cigarette. "The docks gang's initial understanding was that we were only doing short-term business, and the volume wasn't high, so they turned a blind eye to the occasional theft, as a favor to me. But recently, our volume has been increasing, and our management has become more standardized. It's clear we're operating as a long-term business, which has made them a little jealous."

"Go on."

"The docks gang wants to join in and take a cut of the profits," Tang Baiqing added.

"How much of a cut?" Yu Mingyuan asked.

"At least twenty percent," Tang Baiqing replied.

"Are you kidding me?!" Yu Mingyuan raised his eyebrows. "The Su, Bai, and Kong families already take thirty percent, and you take another thirty percent. Now I have to give the docks gang twenty? Does this company even make a profit? I might as well be doing charity!"

Tang Baiqing was silent for a long time, then lowered his voice and said, "Mingyuan, if you're making money at sea, you can't bypass the docks gang. Every industry has its own rules. If you reach too far and make too much profit, people will get jealous. You know the situation with the docks gang. They're similar to the Changqing Company, they're both triad-like organizations. They not only have influence on the ground, but also have their people in the coast guard and customs. They can do me a favor, but they can also choose not to. Do you understand what I mean?"

Yu Mingyuan paused for a moment. "Are you saying they hijacked the goods?"

"No, that's not what I mean." Tang Baiqing waved his hand. "I did ask Wei Xiangzuo and Xu Hu, but they both said they didn't order anyone to do it. What I just told you is what they talked about when they contacted me yesterday."

Yu Mingyuan was silent.

"The logistics work can be given to anyone, honestly. To be honest, you give too much profit to the Su, Bai, and Kong families." Tang Baiqing paused slightly. "If you're planning to do this long-term, you can't avoid the docks gang. You might as well give them the logistics work."

"What do you mean?"

"Use whoever is useful," Tang Baiqing replied.

"Kick those three families out?" Yu Mingyuan asked very bluntly.

"It would be better that way," Tang Baiqing nodded.

Yu Mingyuan looked at Tang Baiqing deeply, thought for a long time, and then replied, "Lao Tang, are you sure the docks gang isn't lying to you?"

"Damn it, don't you trust me?" Tang Baiqing replied speechlessly. "Do you want me to call Wei Xiangzuo and Xu Hu right now so you can hear them for yourself?"

"No need for that."

"It's not necessarily the docks gang who did this. It could be someone who got jealous and hijacked the goods to extort some money." Tang Baiqing took a drag on his cigarette. "The docks are very chaotic, full of outlaws and desperados."

"Who invests and who gets kicked out, we'll talk about that later." Yu Mingyuan turned his head. "Let's find the people and the goods first."

"Alright, I'll urge the docks gang to investigate." Tang Baiqing nodded. "If it was really someone around the Zha Nan docks, we'll definitely find out."

...

Somewhere in the Zha Nan district, Zhang Hao and the other five were pressed to the ground, covered in blood.

"Damn it, you dare to fight back? You dare to send a message, huh? You're so tough?!" A burly man stomped on Zhang Hao's head a few times, then waved his hand and ordered, "Lock them in the dog cages and throw them in the pool."

A few minutes later, Zhang Hao and the others were locked in cramped dog cages and then thrown into an artificial saltwater fish pond by several men.

Zhang Hao's lower body was submerged in the water, his thighs were bleeding profusely, and his consciousness was fading. He was supported by another worker, and he muttered softly, "I... I know who they are...."