“Ding-dong-ding…”
As the clock struck midnight at the pier, the Wan Chai Pier area instantly came alive.
? After such a long time of preparation and waiting, many of the henchmen were getting a bit anxious.
Finally, midnight arrived. Led by their respective captains, the henchmen boarded the ships one after another.
Then, at Huang Lixing’s command, more than twenty medium-to-large cargo ships and fishing vessels, along with seven or eight modified speedboats, started their engines and set sail from Wan Chai Pier.
However, just as their fleet had left the harbor, Dolsen at the Castle Manor in the city received word.
Immediately afterward, more than a dozen coast guard vessels belonging to the British Hong Kong government, stationed on the high seas, also received orders from the command center and sprang into action, heading toward the designated waters.
This night was destined to be anything but calm!
Just as the coast guard vessels on Hong Kong Island were gathering in the designated waters, more than twenty warships and anti-smuggling vessels belonging to the mainland side began to move as well, forming a massive encirclement on the outer perimeter.
At 12:30 a.m., the first batch of vessels belonging to the Green Dragon Society arrived in the waters off Shekou Port, but the Hong Kong Island coast guard anti-smuggling vessels did not intercept them, watching helplessly as they sailed right past under their noses.
Another ten or so minutes later, eight speedboats that appeared indistinguishable from one another appeared in the nearby waters.
Upon reaching these waters, four of the speedboats turned around and headed back, while the remaining four continued toward Shekou Port, dozens of nautical miles away.
Just then, a multitude of searchlights suddenly illuminated the sea, and immediately afterward, dozens of Coast Guard vessels started their engines and closed in on the speedboats from all directions.
At the same time, loudspeakers on the coast guard vessels blared: “Attention, vessels ahead! This is the Hong Kong Island Coast Guard Anti-Smuggling Unit. Stop immediately for inspection. Any resistance will result in consequences for which you alone are responsible…”
With over a dozen coast guard vessels broadcasting the same message simultaneously, the scene was quite a spectacle. The same voice echoed across the entire sea, audible from a great distance.
Even more astonishing was that, in less than two minutes, a helicopter appeared directly overhead.
When the helicopter reached the bow of one of the speedboats, the cabin door suddenly opened.
Immediately afterward, a rope was thrown from the helicopter, and several heavily armed Flying Tigers team members descended from the sky, landing steadily on the deck.
“Freeze! Everyone, put your hands on your heads and get down!”
On the speedboat, Yan Guangming stared coldly at these “uninvited guests.” In a loud, clear Mandarin accent, he demanded, “Who are you? Why are you intercepting our boat?”
At that moment, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the team leader shouted, “We are the Hong Kong Island Royal Police Flying Tigers. We’ve received intelligence that your fleet is suspected of illegal smuggling activities. Stop the ship immediately and submit to inspection. If you resist, we have the right to shoot you on sight!”
“Since when do you Hong Kong police have the right to inspect our Ah Zhong family’s ships? Who gave you that authority?” Yan Guangming roared angrily.
The middle-aged captain paused for a moment, then said in a stern voice, “Your excuses are useless. Your ships clearly belong to that gang of thugs from the Green Dragon Society—what do they have to do with Ah Zhong’s family?”
“Hah, there is a connection. Don’t forget your destination is right across the water. But unfortunately, you’ll never make it there—even though you’re only a dozen or so nautical miles away!”
Yan Guangming continued to stare at him coldly before saying, “I am now formally warning you: this is Ah Zhong’s vessel. You have no right to conduct any search of our ship—you don’t even have the right to board it!”
“You’ve trespassed onto our vessel without authorization. This is not only a provocation against us but also a trampling of our nation’s sovereignty. Are you prepared to bear the consequences…?”
Before he could finish speaking, the coast guard vessels on the periphery had already closed in, completely surrounding the four speedboats piloted by Yan Guangming and his crew.
Immediately, a large number of coast guard officers stormed aboard, attempting to subdue Yan Guangming and his crew.
Just then, fireworks suddenly erupted from the stern of one of the boats.
On the water’s surface, bursts of fireworks shot into the air, exploding mid-flight.
In an instant, the sky was filled with dazzling, colorful blossoms, as if a shower of fireworks had been scattered across the heavens, a truly dazzling sight.
Witnessing this scene, both the Flying Tigers and the Hong Kong Island Coast Guard were stunned, unsure what the “Green Dragon Society” members were up to.
Although they couldn’t fathom the group’s intentions, they instinctively sensed something was amiss. Immediately, someone ran to the stern and kicked the burning fireworks into the sea.
However, although the fireworks had fallen into the water, they did not sink but continued to burn on the surface.
For a moment, the sea was filled with dazzling colors—a truly spectacular sight!
After the Hong Kong Island Coast Guard vessels had secured the ships carrying Yan Guangming and his group, they immediately took Yan Guangming and his men into custody.
Next, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the leader approached Yan Guangming, looking at him smugly as he stood there in handcuffs, as if he were a prisoner.
“Looks like you’re not taking this well?”
“I’ve already said that neither the people nor the vessel on this ship have anything to do with Hong Kong Island, and this isn’t Hong Kong waters—you have no right to board and inspect!”
Yan Guangming continued, “Of course, if you insist on boarding and inspecting the vessel, then you’d better be prepared to face the consequences!”
“Hah, are you threatening us, the Hong Kong Royal Police?”
“You can take it that way!” Yan Guangming said coldly.
“I know you’re from the mainland, but so what? Don’t try to scare me with those bumpkins from across the strait!”
“You’ll regret this!” Yan Guangming said, staring at him with a cold, menacing gaze.
“Regret? What a joke! You broke Hong Kong law, so I have every right to arrest you!”
Then the middle-aged police officer in charge said smugly, “Do you know I’ve been watching you guys for days? From the moment you left the harbor until now, you’ve been under my surveillance the whole time. You deserve to lose!”
“You say we’ve broken Hong Kong law—where’s the evidence?” Yan Guangming asked, giving him a smirk.
The middle-aged officer glanced at the neatly stacked metal crates in the rear hold and said, “Isn’t that the evidence? You’re not going to tell me those are just old newspapers, are you? Hahaha!”
“That’s not necessarily the case,” Yan Guangming said coolly.
“It seems you won’t believe it until you see it with your own eyes. Open those crates!” the middle-aged officer ordered loudly.
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, several officers carried a metal crate over. Without even looking for a key, they smashed the large padlock on top with a few blows from a sledgehammer.
However, when the officer who had broken the lock opened the metal box, everyone was instantly stunned.
There were no US dollars inside—only stacks of white paper.
The middle-aged officer’s expression changed; he stepped forward himself and emptied all the papers from the metal box onto the ground.
It wasn’t a ruse after all—the box was filled entirely with white paper.
“Bring another box over here! I refuse to believe all these boxes are filled with this junk!” the middle-aged officer roared angrily.
The officers didn’t dare delay; they immediately brought over another box and quickly smashed it open.
Just like the previous one, it was filled entirely with blank paper.
Then, at the middle-aged officer’s command, they opened more than ten boxes in succession, but still found no US dollars as mentioned in the intelligence report.
Not only were they absent from Yan Guangming’s ship, but they were also missing from the other three Banbanhaobang vessels.
After confirming that the American dollars they were looking for were indeed not on any of these ships, the middle-aged officer strode up to Yan Guangming, glared at him, and said menacingly, “You’re the ones behind this, aren’t you?”
“I told you you’d regret this!” Yan Guangming retorted.
“Hmph! Even if your ship were loaded with blank sheets of paper, so what? I say you’re smuggling, and you’re smuggling. You’re going to jail, and not even the King of Heaven could save you!” the middle-aged officer roared.
“Is that so? I hope you’re just as defiant a moment from now!”
“What do you mean?”
Yan Guangming paid them no further attention, instead turning his gaze toward the distant sea.
The middle-aged officer’s heart skipped a beat. He followed Yan Guangming’s gaze and couldn’t help but narrow his eyes in shock. Right in front of them, on the open sea, two… warships had appeared out of nowhere!
……..