I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Early the next morning.

Captain Wu and the police officer arrived at the port management office.

The port staff on duty have prepared the outbound records for the past three days.

Several pages of printed tables listed information on all the ships departing from that port.

Ship name, ship registration, departure time, destination, and cargo manifest.

Captain Wu sat down and turned the first page.

He turned to the second page, his finger hovering over the middle line.

Information about a cargo ship caught his attention—

The destination is marked as a port in a neighboring country, and the cargo manifest states that the cargo is empty.

No load?

Ports of neighboring countries?

The notes section next to it is blank.

He took out his notebook and wrote down this information—the ship was highly suspicious.

After taking notes, he flipped through the next few pages as well.

No departure record registered in Zeng Guosheng's name was found on the form, nor was there any information on any suspicious unregistered persons accompanying the ship.

He closed the form and looked at the officer next to him:

"Let's go check out the docks."

The two left the port management office and walked along the dock.

There were some boats moored nearby, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

After walking about 400 meters, the main pier structure came to an end.

Further ahead is a small fishing port.

There were seven or eight fishing boats moored there, all of similar size and old in appearance.

Several boats were moored side by side, their mooring lines loosely tied to iron stakes on the shore.

Captain Wu started by looking at the first ship.

The numbers on the bow of the ship are sometimes clear, and sometimes blurred.

He stopped in front of the third ship.

The paint on the bow of the ship has peeled off in large areas, revealing the dark metal layer underneath, and the sheet metal roof is covered with rust.

Several cables dangled from the side of the ship, one of which was already worn rough.

He stood on the shore and first looked at the waterline at the stern of the boat—

The ship's hull was noticeably deeper than the other ships nearby, suggesting it had recently carried people or cargo.

The cable was tied to the iron stake with a tight knot, wrapped several times, unlike the other ships that had just wrapped it twice and tied a slip knot.

The cockpit windows were closed, and the curtains were half-drawn.

The edges of the fabric were tucked into the window frame and pulled flat, as if someone had deliberately arranged them.

He didn't approach, but continued walking along the dock, looking at the remaining ships as well, but found no similar suspicious traces.

He stood at the end of the dock and turned around.

He glanced at the ship with its peeling paint one last time, then turned and walked back.

As he passed by, he crouched down to tie his shoelaces, glancing at the side of the boat out of the corner of his eye—

There is a fresh scratch on the underwater metal layer.

The location is not far below the waterline, and it looks like something was scraped off the bottom of the ship. The paint color is darker than the surrounding area, so it must have been formed not long ago.

He tied his shoelaces, stood up, and continued walking forward without looking back.

We left the fishing port area.

I encountered a middle-aged man tidying up his fishing nets by the roadside.

Captain Wu slowed his pace and asked:

"Is the owner of that boat here?"

He turned and pointed to the fishing boat with its paint peeling off.

The middle-aged man looked up and glanced at it:

"Old Liu's boat. He lives over there at the village entrance, in a white house, with fishing nets piled up in front of the door."

Captain Wu thanked the officer and walked out of the fishing port with him, where they flagged down a car on the roadside.

The driver asked them where they were going.

Captain Wu reported the location of the village entrance.

The car drove through several dirt roads for about ten minutes.

We stopped in front of a house with a white exterior.

A man in his sixties was sitting on a small stool by the door, repairing a small engine. Parts were scattered all over the floor, and his hands were covered in black engine oil.

He heard the sound and looked up.

His gaze lingered on Captain Wu and the police officer for a moment each.

Captain Wu squatted down, took out his phone, pulled out Zeng Guosheng's photo, and turned the screen towards Lao Liu:

"Did this person travel on your boat?"

Old Liu put down the parts he was holding, didn't answer the phone, leaned closer to look at them, paused for a moment, and then spoke:

"Yes.

He contacted me the night before last, saying he wanted to go to an island in the south.

They gave me an envelope, but I didn't count the contents in front of them. I counted them later when I got home.

He gave me more money than I earned in a month at sea.

Captain Wu put his phone away:

When did he find you?

"In the evening, I was tidying up my fishing nets when he came over and asked if I was coming, saying he was going to Tai Wan Island."

I asked him who introduced me, and he said there was no need to ask so many questions, just pay me.

Do you know him?

"I don't know him. I've never seen him before."

Captain Wu didn't pursue that question further, but instead changed the subject:

Did he say anything after he boarded the ship?

Old Liu thought for a moment:

"After he boarded the ship, he did not go into the cabin. He sat on the deck at the stern, looking towards the port, and did not say a word."

I sailed out of the harbor and headed south for about an hour until I arrived at the Tai Wan Island pier.

He stood up, disembarked, looked around the dock a few times, and then left.

"Which direction are you going?"

"There's a dirt road over there at the dock that leads to the other side of the island. He walked along that road. There's a small village on the island, but not many people live there."

Captain Wu stood up: "Did he mention when he would be back?"

"No. He didn't even turn his head when he got off the ship, and he didn't ask me when we were returning."

Captain Wu didn't ask any more questions. He walked to the side of the road, stopped again, and turned to look at Old Liu:

"Do you still have the envelope he gave you?"

Old Liu paused for a moment, then stood up and went back into the house.

After a while, he came out with an empty envelope and handed it to Captain Wu:

"I took the money out, but I didn't throw away the envelope."

Captain Wu took it and glanced at it. It was just an ordinary kraft paper envelope, with the corners folded several times.

He flipped the envelope over, glanced at it, saw no writing on it, and then put it in his pocket.

The police officer next to him interjected:

"Old Liu, we'll contact you again if we need your cooperation in any future situations."

Old Liu nodded, didn't say anything more, and squatted back down to continue repairing the engine.

Captain Wu turned around and walked back to the car.

Open the car door, get in, and say to the driver:

"Back to port."

The car turned around and drove back along the dirt road it had come from.

He sat in the back seat, took out his phone, and dialed Chen Dapeng's number:

Zeng Guosheng took a fishing boat to Dawan Island the night before last.

There's a village on the island, and a dirt road leads to the other side. I'm arranging for a boat to go there.

Chen Dapeng didn't ask any further questions: "Okay. Let me know as soon as you have the results."

After hanging up the phone, Captain Wu put his phone in his pocket.

The car stopped at the port entrance.

Captain Wu got out of the car, stood by the roadside, and glanced at the water in the direction of the dock.

Then, they walked towards the pier, with the police officer following behind.

A small speedboat, white in color, was moored on the dock with its cabin door open.

A young man in a dark T-shirt was checking the engine when he heard footsteps and looked up.

Captain Wu walked over:

"Can this boat go to Da Wan Island?"

The young man put down the wrench he was holding and glanced at him:

"Yes, it's possible. The round trip takes about three hours, and you'll need to pay for gas."

Captain Wu said, "Let's set off now."

The young man didn't ask any questions, jumped onto the boat, went to the driver's seat, and started the engine.

Captain Wu boarded the boat, holding onto the railing, and sat down on a seat on one side.

The police officer followed him onto the boat and sat opposite him.

The speedboat slowly drove away from the dock, turned around, and began to accelerate.

About an hour later.

The ship arrived at Da Wan Island.

Captain Wu stood up, grabbed the railing, and went ashore.

He looked up and saw a dirt road stretching out from the dock, through a patch of low bushes, and into the island.

The police officer also came ashore.

The two stood on the dock for a while.

Then, Captain Wu said, "Let's go inside and take a look."