Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 257 - 188: Initial Victory

Chapter 257: Chapter 188: Initial Victory

The barge had no power, but it was connected to Linghai Tug 012’s auxiliary engine for electricity.

Han Yu lifted the tarpaulin and with the help of the light on the barge, clearly saw that the five small boats didn’t head towards the tugboat but went straight for the barge behind.

Lv Xiangping was on lookout atop the pilothouse, standing tall with a good view, he noticed something off and immediately picked up the radio: "Salted Fish, Salted Fish, they are boarding Barge Number 5 and are securing cables onto Barge Number 5."

The fleet needed to refuel, pay toll and docking fees, so cash was always carried in large amounts, usually on the tugboat.

Although there were crew cabins on the barge, those onboard were generally regular crew members handling the steering, punting, or cabling.

The regular crew members didn’t carry much money, so they were unlikely the target of the "Iron Brothers."

Han Yu realized that these "Iron Brothers" were only looking to steal goods from the ship, which was more like a straightforward robbery as they weren’t afraid of the fleet’s crew members.

But now they were transporting sand, which, despite being costly to transport, couldn’t be taken away in meaningful amounts by those five small boats, nor would it sell for much...

"Iron Brothers will surely be disappointed," thought Han Yu, somewhat disappointed himself. After weighing his options, he picked up the radio: "Barge Number 5, stay alert, protect yourselves, do not act recklessly."

"Barge Number 5, received."

"Brother Lv, continue monitoring."

"Understood."

"Xiao Yu, hand the gun to Brother Ma and come with me to take a look."

Before Liang Xiaoyu could speak, Ma Jintao eagerly asked, "What about us?"

Han Yu lifted the tarpaulin and peeked out, confirming that the sand piled in the barge’s cargo hold resembled small hills, blocking his own view as well as the "Iron Brothers’," he chuckled, "I and Xiao Yu will go and draw their attention—you all quietly move to Barge Number 4 on the port side and remain hidden on standby."

"And then?"

"Stay in ambush, wait for my command, do not act recklessly."

"Okay."

It was already November, and it was quite cold.

The fleet was sailing on the broad lake surface, which made it even colder at night.

Han Yu slung the Micro Machine Gun over his shoulder, took Xiao Yu to Barge Number 1, and running along the starboard side, they entered the crew cabin where a shipping company neighbor was on guard with the Peace Axe, borrowing an old deep-blue overcoat to conceal his gun.

Then with a radio in hand, he took Liang Xiaoyu to Barge Number 2, continued along the starboard side, and ran all the way to the stern of Barge Number 4.

However, upon closer inspection, he couldn’t help but laugh.

More than ten "Iron Brothers" who boarded discovered that the cargo under the tarpaulin of Barge Number 5 was worthless sand; some gave each other bewildered looks while others glanced around at other barges.

The two elderly crew members on Barge Number 5 were initially frightened, but seeing San’er from the Old Han family with the Cooperative Defense Team member called Xiao Yu arriving, they felt much more secure. Holding a flashlight, they asked in Linghai dialect, "What are you doing?"

"What are you flashing for, looking for a beating?"

"You old thing, put that flashlight down, looks like you don’t want to live!"

The shipping company’s crew generally consisted of older individuals because younger ones either went independent or left sailing due to the hardships.

The old crew member, seeing these water bandits daring to shout in front of San’er from the Old Han Family, suppressed a laugh and pretending to be very scared, hid on the right side of the crew cabin, saying, "This is our boat."

"How dare you talk back!"

A tall water bandit, carrying an iron shovel brought from his small boat, tried to take a shortcut to go after the old crew member, but forgetting that they had opened the tarpaulin over the cargo hold, he only managed a few steps before sinking into the sand.

A short water bandit intended to go around from the port side, but Han Yu opened the pocket-sized recorder hidden in his pocket and shouted, "Brother, let’s talk this out, you all boarding our ship so late, what exactly are you trying to do?"

The water bandit stuck in the sand, with help from his companion, returned to the ship’s side, shaking sand out of his shoes while asking, "Are you the person in charge?"

"I guess so."

Han Yu still stood at the stern of Barge Number 4, pretending he was afraid to approach.

Liang Xiaoyu and two old crew members from Barge Number 4 were on guard with cold weapons.

The fleet’s personnel outnumbered the water bandits, but they weren’t afraid because not only were the fleet’s members generally older and timid, few ever dared to fight them to the death.

The tall water bandit, clearly the leader, took the flashlight from a companion and shined it on Han Yu asking, "What’s loaded on the other ships?"

"Sand."

"All sand?"

"Brother, why would I lie to you? See for yourself if you don’t believe me."

The accent of Shaobo region was similar to that of Si Gang area, but the accent of these water bandits were clearly different from Si Gang’s, immediately recognizable as coming from the Suqian area.

Han Yu was almost certain they were itinerant criminals, even daring to conclude that it wasn’t just these five small boats present—there must be a "mother ship" nearby, otherwise where would they store any stolen goods.

Liang Xiaoyu, sharp-eyed, kept a close watch on a young water bandit of a similar age to himself, then whispered into Han Yu’s ear, "Salted fish, they have radios."

Han Yu said subtly, "Let Uncle Zhu and Captain Fan prepare the assault boats."

"Alright."

As Liang Xiaoyu turned to run back,ustomeddmoment when she heard the high-pitched water bandit speaking to a middle-aged water bandit, they immediately led a group of water bandits towards them.

Han Yu hurriedly said, "What are you doing, we can talk this out, don’t come any closer!"

"Now you know fear?"

"Brother, we all earn our living by running these ships, please don’t make things difficult for us."