Binjiang Police Affairs

At around four-thirty in the morning, the indigo sky loomed overhead, with the river shrouded in mist, barely revealing one or two fisherman's fires leading tiny fishing boats through the haze, slowly slicing the waters and heading off into the distance.

Water Police Fourth Squad Auxiliary Police Wang Xiaoshan, who had been on stakeout on the river embankment for two days and nights, was both exhausted and drowsy, yet excited, because the Chen Xiaojuan gang was unloading coal from the last boat on the river surface.

Captain Luo's "evidence gathering boat" and the Yangzhou Police Station boats, which had helped with tracking and had been found the night before by the Changhang Zhenjiang Branch, had already gathered the necessary evidence an hour ago. They sailed upstream and then made a U-turn, flowing downstream from the south side of the Yangtze River waterway, to meet up with the main force coming downstream for the roundup.

The arrest operation was underway on the river. Being ashore meant they couldn't lend a hand—the only thing they could do was watch.

Wang Xiaoshan was considering whether the criminals on those three boats would panic when they saw the main force and jump into the river to swim ashore, when Huang Yuhua, who was also on the lookout on the river embankment, suddenly said, "Something's off, why are they loading the coal back onto the cargo ship after unloading it?"

Wang Xiaoshan quickly took the binoculars, adjusted the focus, and observed carefully for a while, then couldn't help laughing and said, "Unloading hundreds of tons of coal will leave traces, they are tidying up the coal pile, restoring it to look as it did when it was first filled."

"The coal pile can be restored, but how would they tamper with the tonnage and the load line?"

"They must have a ballast compartment; they can pump water for ballasting."

"The boat's been modified?"

"Definitely."

"They're almost finished; why haven't Director Yu and Captain Luo arrived!"

"They should be here soon. There's light over there; it could be Director Yu and his team."

Huang Yuhua took the binoculars, looked in the direction indicated by Wang Xiaoshan, and mused, "Doesn't quite look like it, judging from the lights, it appears to be a fleet of boats."

With a smile, Wang Xiaoshan asked, "How many boats?"

"One, two, three, four; including the towing vessel, that makes four in total."

"That's correct, get ready for a good show."

"What do you mean correct?"

"001 is the towing vessel, one boat from Captain Luo's team, one from the Changhang Zhenjiang Branch, one from Captain Ma's team—that makes four."

Four boats, plus 001—that's indeed a small fleet.

Realization dawned on Huang Yuhua, and she said with a laugh, "Disguising as a boat fleet is smart; they might not even notice when we get close."

Just as Wang Xiaoshan had said, to ensure absolutely nothing would go amiss, Han Yu had the four cargo ships follow behind 001, masquerading as a departing fleet. But the operation didn't just involve these four cargo ships; also participating were two swift patrol boats from the Port Supervision Bureau and the Water Police Station.

Catching criminals on water is different from catching them on land; it's hard to predict whether the criminals would jump into the river.

If they jump in and manage to escape, then good for them, but if they have bad luck and drown, it would be quite troublesome.

Han Yu stood by the railing outside of the 001's cabin, estimating the distance between the fleet and the three "working boats," then lifted his walkie-talkie and said, "All units, be advised, all units, be advised, the arrest operation will begin in three minutes, marked by an illumination flare. Upon seeing the signal, all units should quickly head to the designated positions."

"First unit, copy that, over."

"Second unit, received, second unit, received, over!"

"Third unit, received, over!"

"Fourth unit, received, over!"

Han Yu turned his head to see the two patrol boats on the left flank using the fleet as cover to navigate; he then said, "Wang Xiaoshan, Wang Xiaoshan, this is Han Yu, please respond if you hear me."

"Director Yu, Director Yu, this is Wang Xiaoshan, go ahead."

"We're about to commence the operation; please keep an eye on the river surface."

"Understood."

...

After spending two days and nights staking out with the police on the river, Journalist Chen from the provincial station didn't want to miss this opportunity. He summoned two colleagues to retrieve the already packed equipment, getting ready to record the entire arrest process.

Watching them bustling around, Han Ning reminded, "Journalist Chen, be careful not to lose your footing later, do not fall into the river."

"Don't worry, we'll be cautious."

No sooner had Journalist Chen finished speaking than Han Yu came down the ladder, glanced at Xiao Gong who was preparing the rocket, and also reminded, "Sister, you too should be careful later."

With a slight smile, Han Ning replied, "I know, I'll be fine."

In fact, she wasn't originally supposed to come for tonight's operation—it was her insistence on participating.

It wasn't about showing off; mainly, it was because there was one female suspect, and if she weren't there, it would be inconvenient for things like body searches later on.

Thinking about how her younger sibling had once joked, "With the sibling's united hearts, their sharpness can cut through gold," the bow of 001 had already aligned side by side to sail parallel to the coal transport ship's aft.

Han Yu stood at the command cabin doorway, holding the megaphone's speaker and commanded, "Fire!"

Xiao Gong crouched by the railing at the boat's front, having earlier removed the safety cover of the rocket launcher, his left hand pressing the exposed pull ring while gripping the rocket firmly on the railing with his right hand, aiming it upward at a 45-degree angle.

Upon hearing Han Yu's order, he swiftly pulled the ignition cord.

Like setting off fireworks, with a sharp, piercing whistle, the rocket soared into the air, and when it reached the highest point of its trajectory, it burst open with a bang, turning the nearly one-mile radius of the dark night sky into day!

Simultaneously, Captain Fan in perfect sync switched on the police lights and blared the siren.

The two patrol boats shot out like arrows from the fleet's left side, drawing two tracks of water spray as they hurried to the front. Circling the "operational waters," they began to draw circles on the river's surface.

The ship owners were dumbfounded.

Busy tidying up the coal pile, the ship owner's wife was so frightened she dropped her shovel.

The floating crane's captain and crew were stunned, while Chen Xiaojuan and those unloading the coal were caught off guard.

"Attention all personnel on board, attention all personnel on board, we are the Changhang navigation police, we are the Changhang navigation police, we're conducting an inspection now, please cooperate with us!"

As Han Yu shouted, three cargo ships involved in the operation slowly closed in from the water area by the river embankment.

The illumination flare only stayed in the air for nine seconds, but as the searchlights came on one by one, the river surface was still bright as day, and the shipowner, crew, and Chen Xiaojuan and others were dazzled to the point where they couldn't open their eyes.

The man who had been to Bailong Port anchorage with Chen Xiaojuan realized that the game was up. He quickly gathered his wits, turned around, and jumped into the river.

He was a strong swimmer and dived out more than ten meters in a go!

However, Han Yu was well-prepared for this.

And no matter how good his swimming skills were, they couldn't compare to Xiao Yu's.

Xiao Yu was on the Water Police Station's speedboat, and his task was to be on guard. Seeing a suspect jumping into the water, he immediately pointed in the direction the suspect was heading.

The driver reacted and immediately changed course to pursue.

Meanwhile, the bow of ship 001 slowly approached the coal transport vessel.

Xiao Gong had just put down the rocket launcher and was busy with the ropes when Han Yu, covered by Zhang Ping, took the lead and was the first to climb aboard the cargo ship.

"Don't move, we're police, everyone get down!"

"Dear police officer, we're unloading..."

"Unloading, have you got the owner's consent? And where is this coal actually supposed to be delivered?"

It was a husband-and-wife operated ship. The owner was speechless, and his wife's legs went weak from fear, and she slumped down onto the coal pile.

Zhang Ping and Xiao Gong had come aboard. Han Yu paid no attention to this self-betraying couple and crossed the cargo ship. Just as he jumped onto the crane vessel, Ma Jintao and Luo Wenjiang's two ships also moved up against the two "three-no" boats from the inside, pincering them from the north and south.

Chen Xiaojuan never expected to be surrounded by police on the river and paced anxiously at the bow of the boat.

She wanted to escape by jumping into the river but didn't dare to due to her poor swimming skills.

As she was flustered, Luo Wenjiang leaped onto the bow and grabbed her: "Chen Xiaojuan, what are you thinking?"

"Ah..."

"What 'ah'? We've had our eyes on you for a long time. Turn around and behave yourself!"

Chen Xiaojuan was handcuffed, and another man accompanying her was also pinned down by the police onto the coal pile.

The owner of the crane vessel, scared out of his wits, pleaded urgently, "Dear police officer, this has nothing to do with me. I was just helping them load and unload."

"With so many cargo ships on the river, whoever asks you to help unload, you just go?"

"Dear police officer, please listen to my explanation. I'm really just working, and besides, there are people on the ship, the boss told us to unload..."

"Right now is not the time for explanations. Whether it concerns you or not, we will investigate clearly."

Even after unloading, they still had to reload a few tons to restore the coal pile. Only a fool wouldn't realize there was something fishy about the coal that was offloaded.

Han Yu didn't believe he was ignorant, so without hesitation, he handcuffed him.

Just as he was about to pull out his walkie-talkie to check on how things were going with Xiao Yu, the Water Police Station's speedboat arrived and docked alongside Luo Wenjiang's evidence collection boat.

Xiao Yu, looking like a drowned rat, brought another suspect looking just as miserable aboard the vessel.

"We told you that you were surrounded, yet you still thought of escaping by jumping into the river. Did you think you could get away, not afraid of drowning?" Xiao Yu was frustrated from the unexpected soak and couldn't help but give the captured suspect a push.

The provincial TV station's journalists were filming. They needed to handle the case with civility.

Han Yu quickly coughed and turned to say, "Captain Luo, hurry up with the interrogation. Captain Ma, check these two 'three-no' boats and estimate how many tons of coal there are."

"Yes!"

"Captain Zhang, check the registration and light numbers of each ship and remind the ships passing by to avoid collision."

"Understood."

"Xiao Yu, I have a clean set of clothes on 001. Go and change quickly, don't catch a cold."

"Okay."

Han Yu really wanted to interrogate Chen Xiaojuan, but now wasn't the time.

He quickly scanned around, making sure all suspects were apprehended, then quickly walked to the bow, took out his cellphone to report to Director He and Director Zhang, and then notified the other teams waiting outside for the arrest to close the net.

Different places have different customs for weddings and funerals.

In Linghai, if someone passes away, the burial usually happens during the daytime.

Fang Zhiqiang's target for arrest, however, was attending his father's funeral in the early morning.

It was unclear whether the funeral reform had not been promoted here or if it was not strictly enforced, but people here still practiced burial when someone died.

Before dawn, the funeral procession set out with music and fanfare.

There were monks, dutiful sons and daughters, relatives and friends, making up a group of fifty or sixty people. The villagers who came out to watch the excitement before dawn due to the drumming were also numerous.

Fang Zhiqiang and Xiao Chen, along with their colleagues from the local police station, blended into the crowd of onlookers, watching the funeral procession stop in a field.

The order to close the net had been received, and they could arrest at any moment.

Xiao Chen whispered in his native dialect, "Captain Fang, shall we arrest?"

With local colleagues assisting, they weren't worried about the suspect's family and friends obstructing.

But they were currently digging a grave; soon, they would bury the coffin, and the target of the arrest was the eldest son of the deceased's main family...

After all, the law is nothing without human compassion.

Fang Zhiqiang weighed his options and said calmly and unaffectedly: "Wait a bit longer, we'll talk about it after the burial."