I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

All the lights in the yard were turned off, and the roar of the purification furnace stopped abruptly.

Old Wei grabbed a flashlight in the dark and shone the beam onto the discharge port.

The flow rate of the silvery-white molten metal slowed down, and a skin began to form on the surface.

"Grandpa! The furnace has stopped! If the temperature drops, all this titanium alloy will be ruined inside!" Old Wei was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh.

Zhao Tiezhu ran to pull the switch, but after pulling it several times, there was no response.

"It's not a power outage, it's the main power grid outside that's lost power!" Zhao Tiezhu shouted.

Lin Ting sat in the rattan chair, without even changing his posture.

"Uncle Fu," Lin Ting said.

Lin Fu walked over with his phone in his hand, the light from the phone screen illuminating half of his face.

"Grandpa, we've found out. The head of the dispatching department of the municipal power supply bureau took two million in cash from the Mitsui Group."

"They used the excuse of line maintenance to cut off power to the entire eastern suburban industrial zone, with an estimated outage of 48 hours," Lin Fu reported.

Old Wei was so anxious he kept stamping his feet.

"Forty-eight hours? The material in the furnace will solidify in half an hour! These foreign devils are trying to cut off our escape route!" Old Wei shouted.

Lin Ting tapped his walnut cane.

"How long will it take for the backup generator to be connected?" Lin Ting asked.

"Ten minutes. The Lin family's construction team brought eight high-powered diesel generators and is already connecting the wires," Lin Fu replied.

Old Wei breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed a flashlight, and ran to direct the workers to connect the wires.

Lin Ting stood up.

"Mitsui cut off our power, so the Lin family will cut off their supply lines." Lin Ting looked at Lin Fu, "Which shipping route does the Mitsui Group use in Jiangnan Province?"

Lin Fu opened his tablet and brought up the shipping information.

"They're using waterways. They have three 10,000-ton cargo ships, loaded with high-precision machine tool parts and special steel. They just entered the outer harbor half an hour ago and are preparing to unload at Pier No. 2," Lin Fu read out the data.

Lin Ting turned to look at Lin Fei.

"Notify Lin Dayou to move the sand dredging vessels from Tazhai to the outer harbor," Lin Ting ordered.

Lin Fei nodded, took out his phone, and dialed Lin Dayou's number.

The river wind howls through the outer harbor channel.

The Mitsui Group's cargo ship "Maruyama" sounded a long blast of its horn, and the beams of its searchlights swept across the river.

The captain stood in the bridge, staring at the radar screen.

Dozens of dense signal sources suddenly appeared at the edge of the screen, converging on the main channel at an extremely fast speed.

"What's going on? Is there a fleet exercise in the outer harbor tonight?" the captain asked the first mate, grabbing the walkie-talkie.

The first mate, holding the binoculars, began to tremble.

"This isn't a drill! It's sand dredgers! All of them are heavy-duty sand dredgers!" the first mate shouted.

On the river, sixty heavy sand dredgers from Tazhai stood in a row, completely blocking the main channel.

These sand dredgers are all modified with thickened steel plates, with sturdy anti-collision steel corners welded to the bow. When the engine is turned up to the maximum, thick black exhaust gas is sprayed out of the exhaust pipe.

More than a thousand men from the Lin family, wearing life jackets, stood on the decks of various ships, holding ropes and iron hooks.

Lin Dayou stood atop the cockpit of the lead ship, holding a loudspeaker in his hand.

"Listen up, Japanese ships ahead! The Lin family has taken control of this area. Stop your boats and turn off the engines immediately!" Lin Dayou's gruff voice echoed across the river.

The captain of the "Maruyama" grabbed the megaphone.

"We are a cargo ship belonging to the Mitsui Group! This is a serious violation! Get out of the way immediately, or we will sink you!" the captain replied in broken Chinese.

Lin Dayou put down the loudspeaker and turned to look at the boatman from Wangjia Village next to him.

"Sink us? Does he think these sixty iron turtles are made of paper? Full speed ahead, force them into the shallows!" Lin Dayou ordered.

Sixty sand dredgers accelerated simultaneously, creating huge waves on the river.

The sand dredger did not slow down at all and rammed directly into the 30,000-ton cargo ship.

The captain of the "Maruyama" broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the approaching crash bar.

The distance is less than 100 meters.

The distance is less than fifty meters.

The sand dredger showed no intention of giving way.

"Madmen! These madmen! Hard to port! Into the shallows!" the captain shouted hoarsely.

The massive cargo ship swerved and veered off course into the deep waters.

The two cargo ships behind it, seeing the flagship turn, had no choice but to follow suit and turn their rudders to full speed.

Three enormous vessels plunged headlong into the muddy shoals on the east side of the outer harbor.

The bottom of the boat rubbed violently against the gravel and mud on the riverbed, producing a tooth-grinding metallic tearing sound.

The Maruyama shook violently, tilting the entire ship to the right by fifteen degrees and becoming completely stuck in the shallows.

Exclamations of surprise came from the lower deck.

"The hull is breached! River water is flooding in! Cargo hold number three is taking on water!"

The captain slumped onto the floor of the bridge, staring at the sand dredgers that had them completely surrounded on the radar screen, his face ashen.

The Outer Harbour Management Office was brightly lit.

Director Huang stood in front of the monitoring screen, watching the three cargo ships being forced into the shallows, and he slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

"They've rebelled! These peasants are trying to cause trouble! Contact the marine police immediately and send patrol boats to arrest them!" Director Huang roared at the duty officer.

Just as the duty officer picked up the phone, the landline on Director Huang's desk rang.

Director Huang answered the phone impatiently.

"Director Huang, don't get so angry." Lin Fu's calm voice came through the receiver.

"Who are you? I don't have time to listen to your nonsense!" Director Huang was about to hang up.

"I am Lin Fu. Director Huang, your brother-in-law lost 30 million in Macau last month and was detained at the casino. The Lin family settled the debt for him half an hour ago," Lin Fu said.

Director Huang's hand froze in mid-air, and his breath hitched.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I don't understand," Director Huang replied, forcing a smile.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. The loan contract with your brother-in-law's signature and fingerprint, along with mortgage certificates for three hidden properties under your name, is right here on my desk."

"Director Huang, the surveillance equipment in the outer harbor is old and in disrepair; it should be out of service tonight. What do you think?" Lin Fu asked calmly.

Director Huang stared at the sand dredgers speeding around on the monitor screen, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead onto the table.

He slowly put down the phone and walked to the monitoring host.

"Sir, the call with the water police has gone through." The duty officer turned around.

Director Huang unplugged the power cord of the monitoring host, and the large screen went completely black.

"What are you doing calling the marine police! There's a short circuit in the equipment, the whole of Hong Kong is without power for repairs! Nothing happened in the outer harbor tonight!" Director Wong shouted.

Downtown, penthouse suite at the InterContinental Hotel.

Murakami, wearing silk pajamas and holding a half-empty glass of red wine, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

The entire eastern suburban industrial zone was plunged into darkness, with even the streetlights turned off.

Murakami swirled his wine glass with satisfaction, picked up his phone from the table, and sent a message to the head of the power supply bureau's dispatch department confirming that the final payment had been received.

"The Lin family? A bunch of country bumpkins who only know how to play in the mud, do they even deserve to fight against the Mitsui Group?"

"A 48-hour power outage is enough to turn all your scrap metal into rubble." Murakami muttered to himself.

The satellite phone on the table suddenly rang urgently.

Murakami walked over and answered the phone.

"Mr. Murakami! Something's happened!" came the hoarse shout of the captain of the "Maruyama" over the phone.

Murakami frowned.

"What's the panic? Are you having trouble unloading machine tool parts?" Murakami asked.

"It's not unloading! Our three cargo ships were forced into shallow waters by dozens of sand dredgers in the outer harbor! They've all run aground!" the captain shouted into the phone.

Murakami's hand trembled, and red wine spilled onto the back of his hand.

"What did you say? Are the Outer Harbour Management Office dead? Where are the marine police?" Murakami roared into the phone.

"No marine police! The Outer Harbour Management Office has even turned off the searchlights!"

The ship struck a reef, causing the river water to overflow, and all the high-precision machine tool parts in cargo hold number three were submerged in water!

"They're still surrounding us outside, and we can't even lower the lifeboats!" The captain's voice was filled with despair.

Murakami's hand went limp.

A wine glass shattered on the expensive carpet, shards of glass scattering everywhere.