Binjiang Police Affairs

The night was deep, and the rural outskirts of the East Sea were silent.

Jiang Xiaojun and Jianghai people were unfamiliar with the place, only knowing their approximate location, unsure of the specifics, and not daring to turn on the high beams to continue the chase.

Three and a half hours ago, the target got off at the East Sea long-distance bus station, transferred to four different buses, and lastly boarded a van at a bus stop, winding up in this remote village that didn't seem like it belonged to the East Sea at all.

They had managed not to lose the target in the bustling downtown area, yet lost them here!

Jianghai, frantic, gripped the steering wheel and asked, "Director Jiang, what do we do now?"

"There's light over there; that should mean there's a household. Let's go ask them where we are."

"Okay."

"You drive over and ask. I'll wait on the side of the road with Old Yan. If that van comes back the same way, we'll stop it and ask the driver where he took the person."

"All right, that's the only thing we can do now."

Asking for directions was easy.

Jiang Xiaojun and Old Yan, an auxiliary police of Four Factory Police Station, waited on the roadside for about fifteen minutes before Jianghai returned with the car, and immediately said to them anxiously upon arrival, "Director Jiang, this area is Group 3, Luchao Village, Lu Port Town, very close to the sea; nearby there are no large ports or docks, but there is a small fish port and several cha ports."

"Where is the fish port?"

"They said go forward two kilometers and then take a right turn."

"Let's go, take a look!"

Jiang Xiaojun gestured for Jianghai to drive while pulling out his cell phone to report to Director He, who also arrived at the East Sea in the evening.

...

Meanwhile, the Fishery Administration Ship was sailing on the pitch-black sea.

According to the navigation plan set before leaving the port, they aimed to reach the waters of She Island by two o'clock in the night.

She Island consists of three reefs laid out from east to west, the longest being about five hundred meters and the widest about two hundred meters, with a total area of approximately 0.037 square kilometers. It is located at the confluence of the East Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Yangtze River estuary, and is the easternmost island of the East Sea.

The island is uninhabited but has a Navy presence, acclaimed by the East Sea people as the "First Sentry of the East Sea."

The reason why it is said to be acclaimed by the East Sea people is because there is a dispute over the island's sovereignty. Jiangnan people, especially Dongqi people, have always claimed that She Island belongs to Jiangnan Province. However, unlike the dispute over who has jurisdiction over Qian Island at the boundary between Jiangnan Province and Dongshan Province, after Zhuangming Island was designated to the East Sea, in practice, it came under the jurisdiction of the East Sea.

When chatting about these gossips, Old Yu, the Chief Officer of the Fishery Administration Ship, was all animated.

"There are rich fishery resources around Qian Island, and fishermen from both provinces go there to fish, leading to fights every year, and no one can stop them."

"Do the superiors not manage this?"

"Each has their own reason. How can the superiors manage?"

Old Yu asked back, laughing with a touch of helplessness, "We from the province approached Dongshan Province, and they didn't give an inch. Qian Island also has a military presence. You wouldn't believe it, every year in December, leaders from Yungang City of our Jiangnan Province and Zhao Ri City of Dongshan Province visit the island to offer comfort, both wanting to assert sovereignty this way."

Fang Zhiqiang hadn't expected that fishermen from both provinces would go to such lengths over the island's ownership and pursued the matter, asking, "Are the stationed forces on the island also from the Navy?"

"Not Navy, but Border Guards."

Old Yu chuckled and continued, "The previous stationed forces were managed by Dongshan Province, but now these Border Guards are from our Jiangnan Province. Historically, it's a tangled mess that can't be severed. Luckily, the fishery in that area isn't under the jurisdiction of our Binjiang Fishery Law Enforcement Corps, or else we'd definitely be driven to madness."

Xiao Yu, curious, asked, "Uncle Yu, why isn't the dispute over She Island's sovereignty that serious?"

"After such a large Zhuangming was assigned to the East Sea, who would care about a small island. Fishermen here aren't as tough as the northern ones, and fishery resources in this area aren't very abundant, so it's not worth going to blows over maritime sovereignty."

Comrade Old Yu thought about it and laughed again, "Also, most fishermen who go fishing in the She Island waters are from Zhuangming. Zhuangming people have deep roots with Dongqi and you Linghai people, seeing each other often, even related through marriage, so how could they possibly fight over fishing rights and crack heads over it."

The three of them gossiped in the crew's cabin.

Shi Shengyong was at sea for the first time. Although today's winds and waves weren't that strong, he had become dizzy and nauseated less than three hours after leaving the port, feeling as if his stomach was churning violently, and was now retching profusely in the next cabin.

The Director Miao and four Armed Police Soldiers from San Zao Port Border Police Station were also sleeping, and a few Civilian Soldiers who had drunk a bit of alcohol went to bed even earlier.

Xu Mingyuan was sitting in the small meeting room next to the bridge, watching the Fishery Administration Ship's Radiotelegraphist send and receive telegrams. Han Yu, on the other hand, was chatting with Captain Wu at the helm, waiting for news.

"Time flies, back when we went to the Jiangyin Waters to catch those robbery gangsters, you and Xiao Yu were just kids. In the blink of an eye, you've become the Deputy Division Commander, and Xiao Yu has become a police academy instructor."

Captain Wu, aged fifty-three this year, could no longer compare physically or mentally to his past self, and was full of nostalgia when recalling the old days.

Han Yu also inevitably remembered the first time he met Captain Wu and couldn't help but chuckle, "Uncle Wu, even though I was young back then, when we went to Jiangyin to capture criminals, you all had to follow my navigation instructions."

"The sidelight wasn't on, and you discovered it, reminding me to fix it quickly."

"Back then, I was naive, showing off superficial knowledge and making Uncle Wu laugh."

"No, that wasn't showing off at all. We usually navigate on the sea and aren't familiar with the Yangtze River Channel. It was night sailing, and there were many ships involved, plus there were many eel fishing boats on the river; we had to listen to you, otherwise, what if there was a collision?"