As night deepened and the sea breeze howled, three ships bobbed on the waves, closely following the faintly visible dark shadow ahead.
Time seemed to stand still, and every second felt exceptionally long.
Finally, two lights appeared behind us.
Someone on deck shouted, "Two more are coming; they should be the coast guard vessels from before."
Feng Ye took the binoculars and got out of the driver's cab, standing on the platform outside and looking back.
Sure enough, two coast guard vessels were rapidly approaching them, their searchlights piercing the darkness like sharp swords in the night.
I don't know what happened to the four smuggling ships over there, but I imagine they were all caught so that the coast guard ships could be free to deal with these two ships.
They weren't the only ones to spot the coast guard vessel; the smuggling ship ahead of them was also spotted.
Now the smuggling boats were even more panicked.
Strangely, the smuggling boats stopped changing direction so frequently and just kept rushing forward.
Suddenly, a cry of alarm came from the deck: "There's something in the water!"
"What is that?"
Feng Ye was startled and quickly looked towards the sea, but saw nothing.
But the boatmen all spoke up:
"It was packed in a burlap sack, floating on the sea; we had no idea what was inside."
"Not just sacks, but also cardboard boxes."
"Yes, I saw them too. There were quite a few. I wonder where they came from..."
Everyone was leaning over the gunwales on both sides of the ship, looking at the sea in the dim light.
Some people were holding hooks, trying to catch things floating on the water.
After listening to everyone's descriptions, Feng Ye understood even though he hadn't seen it himself.
No need to guess, it must have been thrown down from that smuggling ship in front.
Knowing they could not escape, the smuggling ships began to resort to extreme measures in an attempt to destroy evidence.
They clearly knew that if caught, the smuggled goods would be key to their conviction.
Therefore, in a moment of desperation, they chose to throw the goods into the sea.
To catch a thief red-handed.
Without the stolen goods, it's difficult to convict them.
These guys are really cunning, but they're being naive to think they can escape legal punishment this way.
Feng Ye sneered, immediately ran into the wheelhouse, picked up the walkie-talkie, and reported the situation to the coast guard.
The coast guard was clearly surprised by the smuggling ship's move. After a brief silence, they said, "We're here now, you don't need to follow us anymore."
"However, could you please do us a favor and help us retrieve those floating sacks and cardboard boxes from the sea?"
"No problem, we will do our best to retrieve them all."
Feng Ye agreed without hesitation.
After ending the call, he connected with Dongsheng and Fengshou.
They typically don't use public channels to communicate with each other on their three ships; they use dedicated channels.
"You all heard that, didn't you?"
"Yes, I heard you."
"We'll slow down now and arrange for people to salvage it."
Feng Ye nodded and then added, "These are stolen goods, remember not to keep them for yourself. The coast guard may board the ship to inspect them later."
If he hadn't said it, Xiao Zhaojun would have actually had that idea.
These sacks and boxes are filled with smuggled goods, worth a fortune; who wouldn't be tempted?
If you hide some of them and resell them, you could make a fortune.
He still remembers the batch of goods that Feng Ye and Guo Changling acquired at the beginning of the year, which made a fortune.
At the time, it made the villagers envious for quite a while.
Now, Feng Ye's reminder instantly brought him to his senses.
Xiao Zhaojun swallowed hard. Reason told him that the risk of hiding it was too great and not worth the risk.
"Don't worry, we know what we're doing and won't do anything stupid."
After saying that, he added with some regret, "Sigh, if only we hadn't told the coast guard, we could have kept quiet and made a fortune."
Upon hearing this, Feng Xuan agreed: "Yes, Ah Ye, you're too quick to speak. You've let this opportunity to make money slip away."
Even Ah-Can sighed and chimed in, "Brother Ye, you're usually pretty sharp, why are you so confused today? Such a great opportunity to make money, gone now."
"Do you think the Coast Guard is a pushover, that they're all idiots or blind?"
They were right behind us, how could they not notice those things floating at sea? Didn't they realize they were thrown down by smuggling ships?
Besides, if we're going to fish, we'll definitely have to slow down. Don't you think they'll notice anything amiss?
Feng Ye asked several questions in a row, leaving the three speechless.
"Alright, stop thinking about all that and get to work. The important thing is to retrieve the item and hand it over to the coast guard."
Xiao Zhaojun and Feng Xuan knew that Feng Ye's words made sense, so they said no more, immediately reduced the speed of the boat, and instructed the boatmen to prepare for salvage.
Ah-chan doesn't need to say much; he's already started slowing down.
Feng Ye also turned and left the wheelhouse, going down to the deck.
On the sea, the floating sacks and cardboard boxes rose and fell with the waves, some near and some far from the Donglai.
Just then, a burlap sack floated by the side of the boat, and the boatman with the hook caught it with lightning speed.
Everyone quickly gathered around and hurriedly pulled the sack onto the boat.
"Open it and see what's inside?"
"Yes, open it and take a look..."
Everyone was extremely curious, crowding around the sack and urging each other on.
Feng Ye reminded him, "You can look at it, but don't keep it to yourself. We'll have to hand it over to the coast guard who's coming later."
"ah?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then their faces showed disappointment.
"Why?"
"Exactly, why is that? Aren't all the things floating at sea ownerless, and whoever finds them keeps them?"
"This isn't unclaimed; it must have been deliberately thrown down from that ship ahead. It's stolen property. If you keep it, that's illegal and you'll go to jail. Don't do anything reckless."
Feng Ye's expression was serious as he scanned the faces of the crowd.
The boatmen looked at each other, their expressions turning serious, startled by these words.
Although they are greedy, they don't have the guts to break the law.
"Ah Ye, don't worry, we know what's important and we won't hide anything from you."
Luo Zhiping spoke first.
The other boatmen nodded in agreement.
Feng Ye nodded in satisfaction: "Then let's open it and take a look. I'm also quite curious about what they're smuggling this time."
"Maybe we should just forget about it and not look at it. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself once I see what's inside."
One of the boatmen hesitated before speaking.
"I'm also a little worried. What if I see something valuable and get tempted to hide it?"
Another boatman expressed the same concerns.
"Then don't look. As long as you don't see it, even if you feel itchy, you can at least resist. Besides, it's such a big bag, there's no way to hide it."
"Yes, don't bother looking at it. Just hand it over to the coast guard. It'll save you from opening it and arousing suspicion."
"I'm not watching anymore, I'm not watching anymore..."
Everyone dispersed, no longer crowding around the sack, and ran to the boat to continue the search.
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