"Lazi, not to be rude, but you're kind of out of sync here," Sun Fatty said with a strange look when he saw me pick a different location. He continued, "You directors should stick together. Even if you run into Lin Feng and that other guy, you can watch each other's backs—won't be too bad. The other two spots, let Two Yangs handle one each, that should be enough."
For some reason, I was dead set on going to the South China Sea location. "I'm still going to the South China Sea. We went there once for that ghost ship incident. Maybe I'll run into that guy from the ship again. Even if I bump into Lin Feng and Hao… you know who, adding Yang Jun along means we won't be at a disadvantage."
I thought Sun Fatty would assign Yang Jun to South China Sea, but after rolling his eyes and thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "Yang Jun—he's not fit for the South China Sea. Only Yang Xiao suits that spot. But him going alone against that other guy and Crow won't be easy. Lazi, I gotta say, you really have to work with Yang Xiao. He counters Lin Feng, Crow counters him, and your weapon counters Crow. It's a rock-paper-scissors cycle, and you come out ahead in the end. I'll find a few extras to back you guys up, and that should do."
That left Yang Jun to investigate Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi's whereabouts near the Yalu River. How Gao Liang arranged investigators to support him wasn't my problem.
Hao Wenming had turned into a hothead—once he knew roughly where to go, he couldn't wait. Gao Liang originally wanted to call Hugo over for instructions, but once Hao got the exact addresses, he grabbed Ouyang Pianzuo and marched out, only giving Sun Fatty a few brief words: "No time to waste. I told Hugo—if anything happens, we'll contact by phone. Honestly, if we had time to waste, we'd already be on a plane."
After Hao Wenming and Ouyang Pianzuo left Sun Fatty's office, Sun Fatty made a call to send some Second Section investigators to assist the directors. He also called the two Yang brothers to come to the office immediately, then asked Wang Lu to find a few investigators familiar to me to support me, Yang Xiao, and Yang Jun.
While waiting for the Yang brothers to arrive, I said to Sun Fatty, "Da Sheng, I still think Yang Jun should go to the South China Sea. His boss is still on that ship—maybe there's a chance to run into him again. Also, it makes more sense to have a white-haired guy come ashore rather than fooling around."
"I'm just worried they'll actually run into each other," Sun Fatty said, glancing at the South China Sea file. He continued, "Lazi, to be honest, you white-haired guys don't exactly get along. Old Wu's Shao Yiyi, I don't need to say more. Yang Xiao has a young wife a little over two years old. Don't look at me like that—you have the most weaknesses: your grandpa, your parents, your third uncle. If anything happens to them, you'll lose it. Yang Jun's better off, but if the white-haired guy on the ghost ship gets controlled by Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi and is forced to find Old Wu for a fight, Yang Jun wouldn't hold back either. So for the South China Sea, only Yang Xiao goes. At least when things get violent, he won't hesitate."
Just as Sun Fatty finished, two familiar auras appeared outside his office. I signaled him discreetly, and Sun Fatty changed the subject. "Just do as I said. As soon as we spot Lin Feng or Hao Zhengyi, we throw everything at them. Even if it costs the Bureau dearly, I want to settle this score."
Right after Sun Fatty spoke, Yang Jun walked in without knocking, followed by a seemingly shy Yang Xiao. Sun Fatty, used to their antics, didn't hold back. He handed the two files to the brothers and briefly explained the situation.
Unexpectedly, Yang Jun had no intention of swapping places with Yang Xiao. After clarifying some details, he was ready to depart at any moment. Yang Xiao only gave Yang Jun a fleeting glance, then squinted at the addresses on the file and began to ponder.
After Sun Fatty gave a few more instructions, he signaled us to set off. Er Yang and I returned to the Sixth Section and greeted Wu Rendi. Wu Director, true to his character, didn't really offer any advice, but he did rare inquire about where Sun Fatty was headed. When he learned that Deputy Director Sun was holding down the Bureau headquarters, Wu Rendi couldn't help but sneer at the location of Sun Fatty's office so hard I felt sorry for Sun.
Shao Yiyi was still busy copying pointless files. However, when she heard we were leaving Fujian to head to the South China Sea, she immediately went online to research. Soon she made a list of local specialties, asking us to bring some back for her. Then she went online again, checking what specialties were along the Yalu River.
When we arrived at the parking lot, two teams were already waiting. Those going to the South China Sea were old acquaintances from the Second Section—Old Mo, Xi Menlian, and Xiong Wanyi. The team accompanying Yang Jun also consisted of a few Second Section investigators familiar to him.
All of these investigators carried special equipment. Judging by the large plastic cases on their backs, it was easy to guess they contained the Bureau's specially made assault rifles I used two years ago. But what else was inside their backpacks? No one could say.
After some polite small talk, we split into two teams and simultaneously rushed to the airport by car. Once on the vehicle, Xiong Wanyi, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, was the first to speak. Having waited a long time for someone to start talking, and mindful of the feud between the Second Section and Yang Xiao, he asked me, "Lazi, Wang Lu didn't explain much earlier, just said to get the equipment and wait in the parking lot. So, what's going on? What's the matter that has all of you riled up? Give me a hint—is it got something to do with Lin Feng's business just now?"
Though Xiong Wanyi looked big and rough, his mind was sharp and his question hit the heart of the matter. I had originally planned to explain everything after boarding in Fujian, but since someone had already guessed, there was no need to hide it.
Seeing that Yang Xiao had no objection, I took advantage of the remaining time before reaching the airport and explained our mission in the South China Sea to the three of them. Although they had mentally prepared, confirming that we were looking for traces of Lin Feng and Hao Zhengyi still made them breathe heavily and glare fiercely out the window. They were less concerned about Hao Zhengyi, but the grudge against Lin Feng was deeply rooted. All of them had benefited from Qiu Bulao, and they would never let the brutal death of Qiu Bulao at Lin Feng's hands go unavenged.
For a while, the atmosphere inside the car was somewhat oppressive. Fortunately, we soon arrived at the airport. The Bureau's special plane carried the trio of directors who arrived earlier, heading towards Zhongnanshan. Sun Fatty had already coordinated with the airport, setting up special lanes for us and for Yang Jun's team.
After waiting for more than an hour in the lounge, luck was on our side—we boarded the plane to Fuzhou ahead of Yang Jun's team.
A few hours later, the plane landed at Fuzhou airport. A van was waiting for us right on the tarmac and quickly took us away. During the ride, each of us was handed a set of uniforms for the maritime surveillance personnel and told to change on the spot. After more than an hour, at the same dock as two years ago, we boarded a semi-new maritime surveillance ship.
Once on board, I called Sun Fatty. After a few instructions, he handed the phone to the captain. The captain reported to the dock via radio and then ordered the ship to set sail.
While Xiong Wanyi and the others organized their gear, I walked around the ship. Besides us, there were about a dozen crew members. After a short chat, I learned that although they wore maritime surveillance uniforms, they had no actual affiliation with the Maritime Surveillance Bureau. They were, like the crew from two years ago, peripheral personnel borrowed by the Bureau. Sun Fatty had paid handsomely to secure this still-active maritime surveillance vessel.
The captain and crew usually earned their living around the nearby waters. Before we reached our target area, Xiong Wanyi asked the captain if any strange occurrences had been reported recently in these waters.
No sooner had Xiong Wanyi finished asking than the captain responded, "Even if you hadn't asked, I'd have told you anyway. Just yesterday evening, strong winds blew a shipping container off a cargo ship into the waters you're heading for."