Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Ah Huo, is it safe to talk here?"

The two-story building below the Haiwei Village Committee building has been basically emptied. An Xiaohai stood in the empty building, scanning various corners as he asked questions.

"Don't worry, it's safe. I've checked it three times already, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Hmm..." An Xiaohai nodded.

This place belongs to Guo Xiangshui, so we naturally have to be extra careful. Ah Huo is so experienced; he checked it and there were no problems, so there shouldn't be any issues.

"How's it going? Has Fourth Brother found anything?"

"Those two people are most likely in Fourth Brother's hands."

"Oh? Why do you think that? Have you found any clues?"

"We haven't found any specific clues," An Xiaohai shook his head. "Just as you said, Fourth Brother is very cautious. He is meticulous in his words and actions, and he can keep each circle relatively closed off. He is very capable."

What about you? Have you found anything?

"No," Ah Huo shook his head. "Everything is normal here with Guo Xiangshui. People are coming and going there. I chatted with him for half an hour but didn't get anything out of him. After eating, I came here."

"Since there are no clues, how can you be so sure the person is in Fourth Brother's hands?"

"It's just a feeling..." An Xiaohai said after biting his lip and thinking for a moment.

Actually, there were still some clues. When talking to Fourth Brother, An Xiaohai's words contained many hidden traps, and Fourth Brother fell into several of them.

For example, when An Xiaohai said the words "new bribe-takers," Fourth Brother acted as if it were perfectly normal.

However, this is not a major oversight. Perhaps Fourth Brother had already received news that the two had fled, or perhaps he simply did not notice the details of the wording.

Anything is possible, and we can't be certain that the person is with Fourth Brother. Furthermore, Fourth Brother reminded An Xiaohai not to get too close to Guo Xiangshui.

This could be because Guo Xiangshui was involved in drug trafficking, or it could be a reminder to An Xiaohai that being with Guo Xiangshui and having too close a relationship with him could easily expose him.

"Ah Huo, how exactly were these two people identified? Do you know the details?"

"I have a general understanding," Ah Huo nodded. "The day after the incident at Shenhu Port, the Tong Sheng Lian people started reporting it."

Quite a few people were reported; almost all the guards at the checkpoint were reported. Of course, the main culprits were the three people who tried to extort money.

I suspect that Tong Sheng Lian also left themselves an out; their main goal was probably just to scare those who broke the rules. They just didn't expect Captain Zhou to take it seriously.

After investigating secretly for about ten days, Captain Zhou actually uncovered four people who were taking bribes.

These four people were from the same squad. Squad Leader Zhou immediately arranged for their capture, but two of them escaped. These two were the squad leader and deputy squad leader.

"On what specific day did these two people run away?"

June 19th.

"That means these two people have been missing for over a month."

"Yes."

"Alright, Ah Huo, let's reconstruct this incident."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Let's say I was one of the two who escaped. I escaped capture on June 19, but because I fled in such a hurry, I probably didn't have enough money on me."

Of course, if I were them, I would definitely prepare in advance for doing something like this. At the very least, I would prepare a relatively safe place to stay, a place where I could hide temporarily and where I would have some supplies and cash.

"Yes, that makes perfect sense."

"So what should I do next?"

I am a member of the People's Armed Police, and I know very well that things are very tense right now, and all the major and minor checkpoints in Shenhai City must have been taken into custody.

You need an ID card to fly, and security checks are extremely strict, which is very dangerous.

Therefore, the only way to escape is through unconventional means.

For me, there are a few types of people I can contact through illegitimate channels. The first is human smugglers who specialize in helping people smuggle themselves into countries, and the second is gangs I've previously worked with.

"We can rule out the smuggler option for now," Ah Huo said, pursing his lips. "Leaving aside whether they have enough money to smuggle people, smuggling itself is extremely dangerous. They might end up being drained of their money and thrown into the sea to feed the fish."

They are armed police officers, so they must know the ins and outs of this. If I were them, I would not choose to use a human smuggler unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, those smugglers have intricate connections with the armed police, so these two wouldn't dare to approach them lightly.

"Okay, then they only have one option left: to find the gangs they used to work with."

Who will they turn to? The crucial question is, who will help them?

"Then there are many possibilities... Anyone who smuggles through the Shenhu Port is basically connected to them."

The thing about accepting bribes is this: either they don't accept them at all, but once they start, they'll just accept all kinds of money because they probably have too many people to choose from.

"No, they have no choice. They can only find one gang."

"Only one?... " Ah Huo paused for a moment, then immediately realized, "Yes! You're absolutely right, Tong Sheng Lian! They can only contact Tong Sheng Lian!"

"Yes," An Xiaohai nodded, "The most likely place they would go is Tong Sheng Lian, and that's the only place they can go."

This world is very realistic. When these two men were taking advantage of their positions to accept bribes, all the smuggling gangs were begging them for favors. But now that they've gotten into trouble, they're no longer of any use to them.

Helping them is not only extremely risky, but also offers no benefit whatsoever. Who would do something so foolish?

Tong Sheng Lian is different. This whole thing was caused by them. If they don't clean up the mess, who will dare to take their money in the future?

"That makes sense! Don't be fooled by these people's constant talk of loyalty. They would never do anything that's risky and unprofitable, except for the Tong Sheng Lian. The Tong Sheng Lian benefits from helping them."

I understand. They must have contacted Tong Sheng Lian after July 7th.

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because on July 6th, Captain Zhou invited some container truck drivers and several media outlets from Hong Kong to clarify the facts. Only after receiving this information did these two people dare to contact Tong Sheng Lian."

"That's it then, let's continue."

Tong Sheng Lian, after all, is a gang in Hong Kong. It will be quite difficult and risky for them to pick up these two people from here. Therefore, they will likely need to find a local gang to cooperate with. So, who will they cooperate with?

"Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother is indeed the best choice!"

Although Guo Xiangshui and his gang also engaged in smuggling, their main business was drug trafficking. On the surface, they needed to maintain their relationship with Tong Sheng Lian, but in reality, they didn't value this relationship too much.

Even if Tong Sheng Lian approached Guo Xiangshui and his group, they might not agree to help. Besides, these drug dealers would rather avoid trouble altogether.

"Yes, there's another suspicious thing about Fourth Brother. I just mentioned Tong Sheng Lian to him on purpose. He probably thinks that I was the one who did the incident at Shenhu Port. Not only did he make all his men leave the scene, but he also immediately called a meeting with his people after I left."

"That doesn't prove anything, does it? Maybe he wants his men to keep your secret, or maybe he's arranging something else."

"No, he excluded Er Mao."

"That is indeed a bit strange, but it could be something else, after all, Er Mao is Third Brother's man."

"That's certainly a possibility, but in any case, Fourth Brother is the most suspicious."

"I agree. So, what do you think we should do now?"

"Of course, we need to find out where they boarded the ship. Ah Huo, where are Da Fei hiding on Third Brother and Fourth Brother's side? Do you know that?"

"Although I am not in charge of this area, I know about some of them. There are more than a dozen places, not all of them. The area is too large, and it is difficult to find the correct boarding point."

"We have to find it even if it's difficult... Ah Huo, could you tell me where Da Fei is hiding?"

"Of course, I'll write it down for you."

"No need, just tell me once."

"Okay..." Ah Huo was stunned for a moment, but he still told An Xiaohai about the dozen or so places where Da Fei was hidden.

As An Xiaohai listened, he mentally matched each location with the map.

"Xiao Hai, there are more than ten locations, and the timing is still uncertain. I still think it's too difficult. We can't keep an eye on them all, can we? That would require a lot of manpower and resources, and it would easily arouse the other side's suspicion."

"No, the location is hard to pinpoint, but the timing is easy to determine. It should be in the next couple of days. If they don't leave in the next couple of days, we'll have to wait at least another two weeks."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Trade winds, ocean currents, tides."

"Does it have anything to do with that? Aren't modern ships all mechanized?"

"It won't have a significant impact on other ships, but it's different for large aircraft carriers!"

Although it's called a big flyer, it's still too small. Plus, it's so fast that if the waves are too big, it won't be able to fly and it will capsize!

Ah Huo, have you ever skipped stones? Think about it, if there are waves on the water, how far can those little stones drift?

"I see... I didn't know you knew these things!"

"I grew up in a fishing village!"

"Yeah, it's like traveling through mountains! Xiao Hai, damn it... I think these people who travel by water are going to be in trouble if they run into you."

……

"What do you mean you'll be unlucky if you run into me? And again?!"

An Xiaohai glanced at Ah Huo, who chuckled for a while before frowning again.

"No wonder Captain Zhou was anxious. If they really leave in the next couple of days, we won't have enough time to investigate the upload locations."

There are more than ten places to visit. Just going through them all would take a whole day. It would be too difficult to find out where they actually boarded the ship from among these ten-plus locations. At least I can't think of any way to do it.

Moreover, there are some points I'm unaware of; I estimate there are at least five points I don't know.

"Ah Huo, didn't you just say that every profession is like a mountain to climb?"

In my opinion, to find out where these two people will board the ship, we don't necessarily have to focus on these docks; we can keep an eye on something else.

"Something else? What is it? A person? Who are they watching?"

"It's not a person, it's an engine."

"Engines..." Ah Huo's brows furrowed even more, but soon his eyes lit up: "Holy crap! You bastard! But I really have no idea where those big planes' engines are hidden!"

"Well... I might be able to find them! Ah Huo, how about you take me there? It's urgent, and taking taxis all the time is expensive!"

"Haha, you rascal! Let's go!" Ah Huo put his arm around An Xiaohai's shoulder and strode out.