The entire ocean is my fishing ground.

Binhai City Property Rights Exchange Center.

The air conditioning in the auction hall on the third floor was very strong.

A dozen or so middle-aged people sat on either side of the long conference table.

These people have IOUs, mortgage contracts, and court notices for asset liquidation from Sihai Shipyard.

Gao Zhiyuan sat in a conspicuous spot, his gray custom-made suit without a single wrinkle.

He fiddled with the rosewood nameplate in front of him, which read "General Manager of Xingyang Shipping".

The old factory director, Lu Guoqiang, sat opposite him; his back was hunched.

His hands were pressed on his knees, and there was black grime under his fingernails.

Gao Zhiyuan pushed a document to the middle of the table.

"Old Lu, just sign it. One hundred million is the highest premium you can get on the market. If you drag this out any longer, the workers won't even be able to pay their social security next month, and your reputation will be ruined."

Lu Guoqiang stared at the paper.

"The land permit for this shipyard, the 100,000-ton dry dock, plus those gantry cranes—their hard assets alone are worth more than 300 million. Mr. Gao, are you trying to take everything from us with this 100 million?"

A creditor next to him tapped on the table.

"Director Lu, look at the situation clearly. You owe us money now. General Manager Gao is willing to take over this matter as a solution for everyone. If you don't sign, we will apply for enforcement, and when the place is demolished and sold for scrap metal, you won't even get ten million."

Lu Guoqiang looked around and saw that none of the creditors dared to meet his gaze; some were looking down at their watches, while others were flipping through calculators in their hands.

"Three minutes left."

Gao Zhiyuan leaned back in his chair. "If no agreement is reached in three minutes, court bailiffs will come in and seal it up. At that point, you won't even have a chance to sign."

Lu Guoqiang reached out to touch the pen.

The moment his fingertips touched the pen, the hall door was pushed open.

Lin Chen walked in.

His windbreaker wasn't completely dry; the hem was still dripping wet.

My hair is very messy.

Sun Heizi and Zhou Dazhuang followed behind.

Sun Heizi was carrying a black briefcase, while Zhou Dazhuang was carrying an aluminum alloy file box.

"Lin Chen?"

Gao Zhiyuan sat up straight.

Lin Chen ignored him, walked to Lu Guoqiang's side, and pressed his hand down.

"Director Lu, this signature is unnecessary."

Gao Zhiyuan leaned forward.

"Mr. Lin, this is a property rights exchange center, not your Huangni Village dock. Sihai Shipyard owes 50 million, and with interest and late fees, the total exceeds 68 million. Do you have the money to pay it off for them? Or are you planning to use your fishing boats to settle the debt?"

Lin Chen pulled out a chair and sat down, taking the briefcase from Sun Heizi.

"Paying back the money is too much trouble."

He tossed his briefcase onto the table, unzipped it to reveal a stack of bank drafts. "Here are bank drafts for 100 million yuan, payable on demand. I'll take over Director Lu's debt. And I'll take the shipyard too."

The hall fell silent.

The creditors' expressions changed.

Gao Zhiyuan said, "President Lin, having money is a good thing. But acquiring a shipyard requires more than just money. Sihai Shipyard is currently lacking raw materials, orders, and the resources to keep it running. You may not know this, but the entire province's special steel suppliers are on our Xingyang Shipping's cooperation list. If you buy the shipyard but don't have steel, what will you build? Wooden boats?"

"Special steel?"

Lin Chen gestured to Zhou Dazhuang.

The aluminum alloy filing case was opened.

Zhou Dazhuang took out a stack of documents stamped with the official seal and placed them one by one on the table.

"This is the 'Ownership Certificate for the Salvaged Deep-Sea Object' issued by the Maritime Safety Administration."

"This is the 'Domestic Transit Registration Form for Special Materials' issued by Binhai Customs."

"This is the 'TC4 Grade Titanium Alloy Steel Plate Purity Test Report' from the Provincial Special Metals Research Institute."

Lin Chen tapped his finger on the documents.

"Three hundred tons of special titanium steel plates are currently sitting at the shipyard's dock. At current market prices, this shipment is worth eighty-six million. Moreover, it's readily available; there's no need to wait for a processing time or for anyone's approval."

Gao Zhiyuan's expression changed.

He stood up, picked up the test report, and glanced at it.

"Impossible! That shipment from Clearwater Bay...that shipment was 30 meters underwater! How could you possibly retrieve it in just four hours?"

"Mr. Gao, your understanding of deep-sea salvage is too outdated."

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair. "I've already personally invested this batch of steel into Sihai Shipyard. Sihai is now not only debt-free, but it also has nearly 100 million yuan worth of raw materials and 100 million yuan in working capital. Creditors, do you want Mr. Gao's installment payment, which requires waiting for processing, or do you want to come with me to the counter next door now to collect your principal plus interest?"

The creditors looked at each other.

"Mr. Lin, as long as the money arrives, everything is fine!"

"Yes, I can cancel the IOUs I have here anytime!"

Gao Zhiyuan looked at the creditors and gritted his teeth.

He stared at Lin Chen: "Lin Chen, don't be so smug. Acquiring a shipyard requires qualification verification. Xingyang Shipping is backed by multinational capital, and our credit rating is AAA. You're just a seafood wholesaler, what makes you think you can pass the verification? With funds of dubious origin, the regulatory authorities can seize your assets at any time!"

"System, start asset valuation and project."

Lin Chen gave a command in his mind.

Then he took a black USB flash drive out of his pocket and plugged it into the multimedia port on the table.

The curtain in the hall was lowered, and the projector beam shone on it.

The screen displays financial graphs and records of overseas account transactions.

"Please look, everyone."

Lin Chen stood up and pointed to the red line on the screen. "This shows the flow of funds of Star Ocean Shipping's parent company in the Cayman Islands. In the past three months, their funding gap has reached as high as 1.2 billion US dollars. The so-called AAA rating is based on fake trade contracts. Just ten minutes ago, the international anti-money laundering organization issued a freezing order on Star Ocean Shipping's three main offshore accounts."

A red warning box popped up on the screen, displaying English legal terminology.

Gao Zhiyuan's face turned pale.

He swayed slightly, but managed to grab the corner of the table to avoid falling.

"How...how did you get these things?"

Lin Chen did not answer him.

This intelligence was provided by the system.

He leaned forward and said to Gao Zhiyuan, "Mr. Gao, instead of worrying about my qualifications, you should worry about yourself. Using a shipyard for money laundering—that's a crime that carries at least a life sentence, right?"

Gao Zhiyuan shivered as he looked at Lin Chen's face.

"Lin Chen...you're ruthless."

His forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"Security, please ask Mr. Gao to leave."

Lin Chen waved his hand, "This is now a private venue for Dragon Ridge Fresh. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."

Several security guards came over and led Gao Zhiyuan out of the lobby.

Lu Guoqiang looked at Lin Chen, tears welling up in his eyes.

"President Lin, this factory... will be handed over to you from now on."

Lin Chen held the old man's hand.

"Director Lu, the factory is still yours, you can continue to be the director. I just want that 100,000-ton shipyard. The ships we want to build are unlike anything the world has ever seen before."

An hour later, all the legal procedures were completed.

Lin Chen walked out of the property rights exchange center, the sunlight shining on him.

"Boss, where are we going now?"

Sun Heizi patted the briefcase in his arms, which contained the shipyard's ownership certificate.

"Back to the office."

Lin Chen said, "Take that black box with you."

Back in the secret room at the headquarters of Dragon Ridge Fresh, Lin Chen locked the door.

On the table sat the black safe that had been salvaged from the shipwreck in Clearwater Bay.

He activated the "Deep-Sea High-Frequency Deconstruction Instrument" that he had redeemed through the system.

A puff of smoke came out of the electronic lock on the safe, and the lid popped open.

There was no gold or silver treasure inside, only several stacks of documents and a yellowed photograph sealed in a plastic bag.

Lin Chen picked up the photo and glanced at it.

The photo was taken on the deck of a fishing boat.

There are three people in the photo.

On the far left is my grandfather, Lin Dafa, when he was young.

On the far right is Gao Zhiyuan, who looks to be in his early twenties.

The middle-aged man sitting in the middle, holding up a bronze fish talisman, had a face that resembled Lin Chen's.

That was Lin Chen's father, who had been missing for twenty years.

On the back of the photo, a line of words was written in red pen: "The sea eye has appeared; this is offered as a sacrifice."

Lin Chen gripped the photo tightly with his fingers.

Outside the window, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.