Chapter 423 - 299

Words : 2309 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 423: Chapter 299 "Osprey TeamNight had fallen, casting a hazy veil over the river’s surface. Not long after the Jiang Han 60 passenger boat left Qing’an, it soon came into sight of Xiao Gushan in the middle of the river; downstream it would pass Wuhu and arrive at Jiangcheng, where the advertisement board for Panda Electronics at Number Four Pier was particularly eye-catching. When he was a child, Liang Xiaoyu loved to sit at the bow or stern of a small fishing boat, watching the passing ships, never growing tired of the sight. In summer, when he bathed in the river, he felt no shyness when the Bai Shen or Bai Liu passenger ships passed by; he would wave to the passengers, bare-bottomed, dreaming of travelling far on a passenger ship one day. That dream had finally come true! Now he was on a passenger ship every day, taking it upriver to Mountain City, and downriver all the way to East Sea, freely choosing from the dozens of Jiang Shen, Jiang Han, and Jiangyu passenger ships on the over 2000-kilometer main line of the Yangtze River, without spending a cent of his own money. But now he was too busy to enjoy the bustle or appreciate the night view on both sides of Jiangcheng; his attention was focused on a fat man who occasionally made calls on his "brick phone." The fatty, about thirty-seven or thirty-eight, with a slick and powdered appearance, had a bulging briefcase next to him. He had been bragging since boarding at Qing’an, making sure everyone knew he was the sales manager of a Qing’an enterprise, obviously basking in the envious and admiring glances from others. Now, he was lavishly courting a young girl, handing out his business card, offering her fruit, and even inviting her to a karaoke bar in a singing hall. If it wasn’t for the numerous passengers around, which made the young girl a bit embarrassed, she might have actually gone with him. When you’re out and about, don’t flash your cash. This fat man was doing just the opposite, as if he was afraid that others wouldn’t know he was wealthy, frequently buying fruit, snacks, and beer, and always pulling out his wallet to pay. His wallet, like his briefcase, was bulging with hundred-yuan bills, at least tens of thousands! Liang Xiaoyu noticed that on the journey from Qing’an to Jiangcheng, there were two groups of shady characters eyeing him, but with so many passengers in the cabin, they had no chance to act. The night had deepened, and several passengers, unable to stay awake, had fallen asleep, while others yawned incessantly. Some passengers, annoyed by the fat man, even gave him contemptuous looks. Pretending to be uncomfortable lying down, Liang Xiaoyu quietly turned over and saw that the skinny man who had surveyed the area just now had somehow moved over, like a lone traveler spreading out a newspaper and resting his head on luggage, sleeping in the corridor outside the cabin. Thinking that the guy must be feigning sleep and was certainly waiting for an opportunity, Yang San, with a tooth mug in hand and a towel over his shoulder, walked in carefully, trying not to step on the lone traveler resting in the corridor, moving gingerly as if threading through a needle. "Brother Yu, didn’t you eat dinner? Are you hungry?" "A bit." "The food on the ship isn’t good, better to have some eight-treasure porridge." Yang San put down his tooth mug and pulled out a can of eight-treasure porridge from his travel bag. Liang Xiaoyu got up, took the porridge and put it aside, then yawned and said, "I’m going to take a leak, I’ll eat when I get back." "Okay, I’ve got some ham sausage here, good stuff." "Just leave it there, and keep an eye on our things." "I know, go ahead, it’s crowded on this floor, I had to queue just to wash my face and brush my teeth earlier. If you really can’t hold it, you can go to the third floor." "Is that so? I’ll check it out." Liang Xiaoyu patted Yang San on the shoulder, squeezing out of the cabin while heading toward the restroom, keeping a discreet eye on his surroundings. There were fewer and fewer passengers going to Bailong Port to board the Bai Shen, while the number of passengers on Jiang Shen and Jiang Han remained high, with people everywhere in the corridors and on the deck. This was possibly related to the many cities the boats stopped at along the way. Near the stairs leading to the third deck, there was a woman in her thirties who looked rather suspicious. Who wouldn’t be sleepy at this late hour? Passengers who hadn’t managed to get fourth-class cabin tickets were all looking for a place to rest, yet she was very alert, sitting at the stair landing looking around, and occasionally glancing towards the fatty’s cabin. At that moment, a short-haired girl with a backpack climbed up the stairs from the front. Liang Xiaoyu went to the bathroom, remembered the multiple reminders from his girlfriend, so he washed his hands under the faucet again. Then yawning and stretching, he went up the stairs to the third deck. The short-haired girl was looking at the night scene at the ship’s stern, Liang Xiaoyu walked over, leaning on the railing with his back to the girl, he asked, "Where’s Uncle Liu?" "He’s up front with my cousin." "Are the cousin and the younger cousin familiar with each other?" "It doesn’t seem so, they probably don’t know each other." "Did the cousin find someone he likes?" The girl shook her hair and whispered, "Found two, still looking for an opportunity." The Osprey Team from the Shipping Police School consisted of four members; team leader was Instructor Liu, Liang Xiaoyu was the deputy team leader, and the other team members were Yang San and the girl behind him named Zhou Meimei. She and Yang San were classmates, both studying security. Not only were her grades better than Yang San’s, but she was also superior to him in other areas, being the most outstanding female student at the Shipping Police School. However, in Liang Xiaoyu’s view, no matter how outstanding, she was still a student. The main reason for her transfer to the Osprey Team was to have a female police officer on hand in case they encountered female criminals, which would make searches and bathroom breaks less convenient. Liang Xiaoyu glanced back inconspicuously and asked, "Do you need me to help with Uncle Liu’s side?" "Not for now, he said for you to keep an eye on the younger cousin." "We need your help over here." "What is it?" "There’s a woman at the bottom of the stairs who might be the younger cousin’s friend. Help me keep an eye on her when you can." "Okay." After exchanging information, Liang Xiaoyu was about to go down, Zhou Meimei couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Yu, did Instructor Liu say you’re getting off at Binjiang?" "What about it?" "Uncle Liu said that since we came out together, we have to stick together no matter where we go. He planned to go ashore with you at Binjiang, and take the opportunity to let Yang San go home for a visit, then we would get back on the ship after you’re done with your business." "Whether we can go ashore depends on the cousins, if they don’t make a move, we’ll have to follow them to East Sea." Zhou Meimei had never been to Binjiang and was very curious about it. She couldn’t help but smile, "Uncle Liu said they’re definitely going to make a move." Liang Xiaoyu asked curiously, "How does Uncle Liu know?" "The cousins bought tickets to Jiangcheng. If they didn’t go ashore in Jiangcheng, they’ll definitely go ashore in Binjiang because ticket inspections at East Sea pier are strict." "They could get a short-distance ticket from Binjiang to East Sea." "That’s possible. I really hope they make their move sooner." "Let’s stop here; I’m going to go down first." The itinerary of the Strike Team is decided by the team itself, reporting daily to the Command Center on their location, without notifying the onboard police or the Changhang Bureaus along the Yangtze River. It’s precisely because they can set their own itinerary that Liang Xiaoyu made arrangements with the Instructor half a month ago, to make it back to Binjiang on Labor Day in order to attend Salted Fish and Sister Ningning’s wedding. But plans can never keep up with changes. Whether they can actually go ashore when the passenger ship reaches Binjiang, Liang Xiaoyu has no idea. After all, there were two groups of thieves on the ship they had been monitoring for so long. They had to catch them all in one fell swoop, not allowing the salted fish’s wedding feast to get in the way of their duties. He returned to the fourth-class cabin, ate a can of eight-treasure porridge, and lay down to rest. To call it resting was a bit of a stretch, as actually, he couldn’t truly sleep; he had to stay alert in every direction. The watch extended all the way until three in the morning, when the announcement came through the loudspeaker that the passenger ship was about to reach Yangzhou Port. The chubby man, who had been snoring for hours, finally got up, picked up his luggage and briefcase, and prepared to disembark. Liang Xiaoyu gently kicked Yang San, sleeping in the bunk next to him, to wake up and pack up as well. Yang San quickly snapped to it and hurriedly packed his things. The chubby man wasn’t fully awake, groggily walking out of the cabin, and the corridor was already packed with people, suggesting that quite a few passengers were disembarking at Yangzhou. "What’s the rush, don’t push." "Oh, sorry." "Be careful, there are so many people here!" "I’m not fully awake, my apologies." "Forget it, we all have our difficulties when outside." The skinny thief stayed on board, struggling to push his way back through the crowd, past the chubby man. During the brief scuffle and exchange caused by their jostling, Liang Xiaoyu could clearly see through the gaps between the shoulders of the passengers in front that the skinny thief had slit the pocket of the chubby man’s jacket with a blade and deftly stolen his wallet. And the woman who was sitting by the stairwell earlier in the night, no one knew when she had squeezed through the crowd, apologizing as she pushed behind the chubby man, constantly shifting her luggage, intentionally pushing him forward. Liang Xiaoyu looked back to make sure that Yang San was keeping an eye on the skinny thief, who had just scored, and proceeded to move forward with the fourth-class passengers and other scattered travelers, as per the prearranged plan. "There’s no need to hurry, don’t push, the passenger ferry hasn’t docked yet. Check your luggage and take care of your children; watch your step." "Comrade, please move aside a bit, don’t block the way, so many passengers need to disembark." The onboard police and crew kept reminding everyone, but akin to a train approaching a station, everyone on the passenger ferry wanted to disembark as early as possible, and the crowd remained tight. Liang Xiaoyu was wondering if the woman in front would actually get off the ship when, to his surprise, she nervously asked, "Brother, do you know if there’s a bus to Yangzhou City from the port at this late hour?" Even though this female comrade was neither very young nor very pretty, the chubby man was still very interested in helping her and immediately turned around to answer, "It’s not too late; it’s actually too early. There definitely aren’t any city buses at the port right now." "What should I do then?" "There are hotels nearby the port; you could find one to sleep for a while and then take the bus to the city when it gets light." "It will be daylight in just a few hours. What’s the point of a hotel?" "Then take a taxi; there will definitely be taxis at the port." "How much would a taxi cost?" "If it comes to that, you can come with me. My client is sending a car to pick me up, and I could take you to the city along the way." ... Always a sucker for pleasing women, his wallet gets stolen without even realizing. Liang Xiaoyu sneered silently to himself, almost certain this woman was trying to divert the chubby man’s attention so he wouldn’t notice the theft of his wallet, buying time for the skinny thief to transfer the stolen goods. In the past, catching them red-handed would suffice. Now it’s different from the past; they have to capture them in the act and take down the whole gang! If they caught the skinny thief now, they could secure both thief and evidence, but the skinny thief might take all the blame, allowing this woman to escape justice. Liang Xiaoyu dared not act rashly and could only keep watching. The passenger ship made a strong shake, and the noise from the engine was louder than before, obviously adjusting course to dock. At that moment, Yang San’s classmate Zhou Meimei appeared at the top of the stairs, overlooking the passengers queuing up to disembark. Without drawing attention to herself, she made a subtle gesture. Liang Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, then slightly nodded. Zhou Meimei immediately turned and went upstairs, her face showing a hint of fatigue and regret. "Yangzhou Port has arrived, passengers for Yangzhou please disembark. Watch your step and be safe!" "Please wait your turn, let this side’s comrades go first."

Chapter 423 - 299

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