HPDBC Chapter 54 A Triumphant Return, Face-to-Face Confrontation!
Chapter 54 A Triumphant Return, Face-to-Face Confrontation!
"Crisis averted."
"System countdown, two hours remaining."
"Pioneer and Poseidon, work side by side. Zhou Dazhuang, the Poseidon's robotic arm is yours; the instruction manual is in your head."
"Sun Heizi, lead the crew to operate the deep-sea winch of the Pioneer. Objective: Leave no luminous debris behind."
The order was issued swiftly and decisively.
The crew members, who had just crawled back from the brink of death, were still in a daze when they heard this, and they were all stunned.
Sun Heizi opened his mouth.
"Chen... Brother Chen, those bastards... I mean, those international friends, are we just going to use their ships like this?"
Lin Chen replied to him.
"Now, the ship is mine, and the people are mine. They are my assets, not my friends."
Zhou Dazhuang was the first to react.
"My God... Brother Chen, this... this is the German Krupp Siren VII deep-sea operating arm."
"I...I've only ever seen it in magazines."
"Stop touching me, get to work."
Lin Chen said calmly.
"Okay."
Zhou Dazhuang abruptly sat in the driver's seat and gripped the control lever with both hands.
Under Lin Chen's command, the two ships immediately began operations.
The Poseidon's robotic arm probed into the deep sea, steadily picking up pieces of ambergris ore the size of washbasins and sending them onto the conveyor belt.
On the other side of the Pioneer, Sun Heizi and his crew roared as they operated the winch. With each pull, a specially made net full of debris broke through the water.
The deck was piled high with stones, and the strange smell of the sea and musk filled the air, making every crew member's eyes red.
This isn't fishing; it's clearly panning for gold.
"The last ten minutes."
Lin Chen broadcast the message to both ships.
Everyone sped up their work, putting in every ounce of effort they could.
As the last of the ambergris was hauled onto the deck of the Pioneer, the system countdown reached zero.
[Task Completed]
[Ambergris (top grade), totaling 130 jin, active preservation completed]
[System valuation: 124 million yuan]
Lin Chen stared at the long string of zeros that popped up in his mind, and even he couldn't help but breathe a little heavier.
One billion.
"One...one hundred million?"
Sun Heizi stammered as he asked, counting on his fingers for a long time before finally giving up in despair.
"Damn, how much does this cost? Enough to buy our whole village?"
A young crew member plopped down on the ground, grinning foolishly, drooling without even realizing it.
After a brief silence on the deck, a deafening roar of cheers erupted.
"We've struck it rich!"
The crew members threw down their tools, hugged each other, and jumped wildly on the deck, releasing their excitement.
However, amidst the jubilation, Lin Jianguo seemed out of place.
He neither laughed nor spoke.
He silently walked to the ship's side, looked at the squid limbs floating on the sea, then looked up at the captured armed salvage ship, and finally, his gaze fell on the mountain of stones on the deck.
The old fisherman, who had been silent for most of his life, suddenly squatted down slowly and buried his face in his calloused and scarred hands.
His shoulders began to shake violently.
There was no wailing, only suppressed sobs that leaked intermittently from between his fingers.
Thirty years ago, his father perished in this Dragon Ridge Trench. Since then, this place has become a nightmare for the Lin family, and even for the old fishermen of Huangni Village—a forbidden land representing death.
But today, his son, with him, not only barged in, but also forcibly extracted wealth from this sea of demons—wealth enough to change the fate of the entire village.
Even the legendary sea monster was driven away.
Lin Chen walked to his father's side without saying a word, but simply placed the basketball-sized piece of ambergris into his father's hand.
The ambergris felt warm and heavy to the touch.
Lin Jianguo raised his head, and for the first time, a smile that looked even more like a grimace appeared on his tear-streaked face.
He clutched the ambergris tightly.
……
On the return journey, the sea was calm and peaceful.
The Pioneer led the way, followed closely by the massive Poseidon.
Lin Chen didn't go to celebrate; he went straight into the main control room of the Poseidon.
Vulture and the seven or eight surviving mercenaries were tied together with nylon cable ties by Sun Heizi and thrown into a corner.
As Lin Chen walked in, Vulture's eyes were filled with fear and resentment.
Lin Chen didn't even glance at them, and walked straight to the main control panel.
He inserted the black USB drive back into the port.
The data overwrite USB drive not only took over the permissions, but the accompanying decryption program also started running.
On the screen, encrypted data streams flashed by rapidly.
Soon, an encrypted communication folder was cracked.
Lin Chen clicked on it.
Inside are the communication records between Vulture and Zhao Deding.
The content is very simple.
A bank transfer receipt for two million overseas, with the recipient being a code name for Vulture.
And a few short encrypted voice messages.
"Target: Huangni Village, Lin Chen. I want him and his boat to disappear forever into the Dragon Ridge Trench."
Zhao Deding's voice was cold and sinister.
"Two million isn't enough. This area is too dangerous."
That's the sound of a vulture.
"After it's done, I'll add another three million. Also, everything on his ship is yours."
Lin Chen copied all the evidence and encrypted it for safekeeping.
As he was about to close the folder, an inconspicuous sub-file caught his attention.
The file name is Project Night Owl.
Lin Chen clicked on it.
Inside was a detailed transportation plan.
The time is three days from now.
This route is one of the most frequently used ocean cold chain transportation lines by Dingsheng Aquatic Products, a subsidiary of Zhao Deding.
The shipment list says frozen Argentine red shrimp.
But at the end of the list, there was a line of small print in German.
500 kg.
ivory.
Five hundred kilograms.
Lin Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.
He instantly realized that Zhao Deding had been using his logistics network to smuggle goods.
Lin Chen turned off the screen.
He originally only wanted to crush Zhao Deding in business, but now it seems he has found a faster way.
……
At dawn.
Deep-water port terminal.
It was barely dawn when the place was already packed with people.
More than a dozen media outlets stood ready with their equipment, while several police cars stood by with their lights flashing, creating a serious atmosphere.
Zhao Deding, the CEO of Dingsheng Aquatic Products, was dressed in a black suit and put on a sorrowful expression.
He was facing the camera, his voice choked with emotion.
"Ladies and gentlemen, just last night, Mr. Lin Chen, a young and promising fisherman and entrepreneur from our Huangni Village, unfortunately encountered a group of unidentified pirates while fishing at sea..."
"The ship that my company sent to negotiate cooperation has also lost contact, and I am afraid it is likely that it has met with certain death. I am deeply saddened by this and have already reported it to the police, requesting that they thoroughly investigate the matter and severely punish the perpetrator."
He was so immersed in his performance that he even managed to squeeze out a few tears.
Reporters around him snapped photos, and several familiar police officers patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.
Zhao Deding sneered inwardly.
Once Lin Chen's death is announced, he will, as a partner, jointly manage the assets left by Lin Chen with the government. After the storm has passed, the Pioneer and the Fishermen's Alliance will both become part of his thriving aquaculture business.
As for vultures, they take the money to do things, and once the job is done, they fly away, and no one can trace them back to them.
Just as Zhao Deding was about to deliver the next part of his eulogy, a commotion suddenly broke out among the crowd on the dock.
"Look, what's that?"
"A ship, what a huge ship!"
Zhao Deding frowned impatiently.
What happened?
The Pioneer is back? What's that giant ship? Where's the vulture?
As the two ships drew closer, he finally saw them clearly.
That massive armed salvage ship was the Poseidon, which he had rented for Vulture at a high price.
And on the bow of the Pioneer, there was a figure.
If it wasn't Lin Chen, then who was it?