He had hidden the recorder in his inner pocket beforehand and sent a text message to An Xin, asking her to bring Gao Qiqiang along. An Xin agreed, since having Gao Qiqiang would make the recording more credible and less likely to arouse suspicion.

The two men riding Tang Ping's motorcycles were not nervous at all; on the contrary, they were secretly excited because they were helping An Xin with his business.

The task was simple: record audio for evidence, then notify Anxin to arrest the person.

It took Tang Pinghe and Gao Qiqiang more than an hour to reach Xiawan Fish Farm. He didn't know if An Xin was following behind. He looked back and suddenly his phone vibrated. It was a text message from An Xin: Keep in touch.

Tang Ping casually deleted the text message, and then he and Gao Qiqiang pushed their motorcycles and walked from the fields beside the road.

This area is full of fish ponds.

Not far away, a shed had been set up with lights on, and several burly men were gathered around it, playing cards.

Tang Ping only recognized one of the leaders, nicknamed "Ghost Brother," but he was very familiar with Gao Qiqiang. He quickly stopped the car, stepped forward enthusiastically, offered him a cigarette, and greeted him: "Ghost Brother, how's your luck?"

"Hey, Lao Gao's here. Didn't you sell your fish stall? I heard you opened a mobile phone shop?" Ghost Brother asked, shuffling cards with a cigarette in his mouth.

Gao Qiqiang walked over with a smile: "Yeah, Brother Gui, the fish stall business isn't making any money, so my brother and I are just doing this little business to make some money. We're here to buy fish today because an old customer of ours is having a banquet, so I'm helping out. Oh, you should know this A-Ping."

"Um."

Ghost Brother glanced at Tang Ping without even raising his eyelids and said, "The fish haven't been caught yet, wanna play a couple of rounds?"

"No, no, you guys play, I'll just watch." Gao Qiqiang quickly waved his hand and deliberately asked, "By the way, Brother Gui, is our Xiawan Fish Farm now Brother Ma's territory?"

Ghost Brother paused in dealing the cards, narrowed his eyes, stared at Gao Qiqiang, and asked, "Why are you asking about these things? Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, understand?"

Gao Qiqiang quickly put on a smile and said, "Hey, I gave my fish stall to a relative. He's not familiar with our Xiawan fishing grounds. I was just thinking of talking to Brother Ma Zi so that when my relative comes to buy fish, he can still get the same discounted price as before."

"Okay, I'll ask around for you when my brother arrives."

Ghost Brother then stopped suspecting anything and continued dealing the cards.

Gao Qiqiang didn't dare to ask any more questions, but instead gave Tang Ping a wink. The two of them stood to the side, watching them play cards.

Tang Ping unconsciously squeezed the recording pen on his chest; his palms were sweating slightly.

After all, it was his first time doing something like this, so he was nervous.

Ghost Brother and his ilk are all unemployed people; once they're discovered, they're capable of anything.

After waiting a while, Gao Qiqiang continued to probe, "Brother Gui, this Xiawan Fish Farm used to belong to Bai Jiangbo. I heard that Bai Jiangbo is dead. So, things shouldn't change for us now, right?"

Ghost Brother sneered, "Heh, what could possibly happen? Compared to Brother Ma, Bai Jiangbo is nothing. Last time, Bai Jiangbo's henchman was all about ruthlessness, wasn't he? And what happened? Brother Ma shot him in the leg, leaving him crying for his parents. Ah Qiang, don't get any other ideas. With Brother Ma around, all the fish from Jinghai can only be shipped out from here, understand?"

"I know, I know. Brother Gui, I need to go relieve myself!"

Ghost Brother had a great hand and had no time to pay attention to him.

Gao Qiqiang pulled Tang Ping along for a short distance, then squatted down in the field and whispered, "Did Officer An say what he was going to investigate? I feel like Brother Gui is acting a bit strange today."

"Something's not right?" Tang Ping asked, puzzled, as he couldn't see it.

Gao Qiqiang said, "I can't really explain it, it's just a feeling. These guys may seem like they're just playing cards, but they're actually very wary. Did you notice that when I was testing them just now, those guys were staring at us? Trust me, there's definitely a big fish tonight."

Should we send a message to Officer An?

"Let me think about it..."

In the darkness, Gao Qiqiang was seen deep in thought, but it was unclear what he was pondering.

Tang Ping was also conflicted. An Xin only asked him to come and record, but that guy with the pockmarks didn't even show his face. How could he record?

Just as Tang Ping sent a text message to An Xin and was about to get up...

Suddenly, on the road not far away, several people got out of a van, one of them carrying a box.

"You can rest assured about the quality of the goods. You should know who my older brother, Crazy Donkey, is associated with."

“I trust Mr. Xu, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. As long as the goods are in good condition, we’ll exchange money for goods.”

Walking in front was a tall, thin man dressed in jeans. In the moonlight, all that could be seen was his pockmarked face. Wasn't this the pockmarked man who had taken over the Xiawan fishing ground?

He's Mad Donkey's sworn brother, Pockmarked.

The two people behind them are probably the buyers. What kind of transaction are they making?

flour?

Tang Ping instantly understood everything. What Xiawan Fish Farm? How much money could one make selling fish? Selling fish was just a cover. This pockmarked man's real way of making money was probably trading flour.

In that case, wouldn't An Xin and the others be in great danger?

Those who do this kind of business are all desperate criminals!

Tang Ping was about to notify An Xin, but it was too late.

"Damn it, there are cops!"

"Quick, throw the goods into the fishpond!"

An Xin has already taken action, and he has brought several members of the Criminal Investigation Detachment with him.

Over at the shed, Ghost Brother and his gang reacted quickly, throwing bags of flour into the fishpond—they were destroying evidence.

Sure enough, the fishing grounds were just a cover; the real purpose was to trade flour.

"Sure enough, the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish! Turns out they're a bunch of flour smugglers!" Gao Qiqiang said excitedly.

"What's going on?" the buyer carrying the suitcase panicked.

"Those bastards, Ah Gui!"

Ma Zi cursed, "Damn it, how did we attract the cops? Don't be afraid, they haven't found us yet. You guys go first, I'll cover your retreat."

"Don't move! Police!"

Unexpectedly, Li Xiang led his team over after they had only run a short distance.

He and An Xin originally planned to split up and flank the enemy from behind, but unexpectedly, they ended up catching Ma Zi and the buyer by mistake.

"run!"

Ma Zi roared at the buyer, then pulled out a gun and fired directly at Li Xiang.

Clang!

The gunshot rang out, and Tang Ping's ears were ringing.

In the chaos, he only saw the two buyers run onto the road. Ma Zi fired the first shot, but it didn't hit anyone. Then Li Xiang led his men to chase after them.

But Ma Zi was not afraid at all. He raised his hand and fired two more shots, and a policeman immediately fell to the ground. Li Xiang was also suppressed and forced to lie on the ground, not daring to chase any further.

"Damn it, they dare to barge into my territory. Ah Gui, tell the brothers to grab their weapons and bury all these filthy cops here!"

The more Ma Zi was hit, the more arrogant he became, shouting loudly.