Chapter 479: A Clichéd Drama

Lin Ming was startled and quickly said, “Chief, think twice!” Seeing a flash of hesitation on Suo Pu’s face, he added, “In my humble opinion, it might be better to feign compliance with them for now. It’s not out of the question to satisfy their conditions. Let’s get our main business done first. The few people on this boat surely understand what’s important…”

Lin Ming’s ability to read people was superb. In an instant, he knew why this usually low-key chief was suddenly acting this way.

His implication was clear: the best way to handle this mess was to return the woman and then keep the matter secret. No one should talk about it. That way, there would be no “rumors” back home.

As for whether to snatch the woman back later or just ignore it, that would depend on their mood.

Suo Pu thought to himself that it wasn’t that simple. He could silence the men from the escort agency, but he couldn’t silence the members of the Special Reconnaissance Team accompanying them. After a mission, everyone had to write reports independently. How could he possibly cover it up?

Suo Pu ordered, “Don’t panic. Let’s go to the bow and see what’s happening first.”

Lin Ming’s heart was pounding. He was most afraid of these grunts storming the boat. The chiefs were few in number. Even with that “machine gun,” how many could it kill? This wasn’t a battlefield where they were far apart; it was just the distance of a gangplank. In a melee, their side would definitely be at a disadvantage, and who knew what kind of disaster would ensue. At this thought, cold sweat beaded on Lin Ming’s forehead, soaking the back of his shirt.

The wharf was dark and silent. The merchants and laborers who usually worked there had all fled. The shops and boats on the river were not only empty but also completely dark. Only near the riverbank were there twenty or thirty soldiers, armed with swords, spears, and clubs. They held torches, illuminating this section of the wharf brightly, shouting and cursing about “catching thieves.”

They were called soldiers, but they were dressed in rags. If one didn’t look closely, it was almost impossible to tell they were wearing uniforms.

Seeing that they were just making a commotion and not charging, Lin Ming knew there was still room for negotiation. He quickly stepped forward, shielding Suo Pu, and shouted, “I am Lin Ming, a Baihu of the Jinyiwei! I am here on orders to patrol Guangdong and investigate a case! My medallion and warrant are here!”

He held up his medallion. He didn’t actually have a warrant from the Ministry of Justice, but a warrant gave one the authority to arrest people at will and was a very intimidating thing.

He announced his identity right away, hoping to dampen the arrogance of the soldiers.

In the late Tianqi era, the Eastern Depot had been rampant. As the Eastern Depot’s lackeys, the Jinyiwei had also been very powerful throughout the country. Their intimidating reputation lingered. Hearing he was from the Jinyiwei, the soldiers hesitated, and no one dared to rush forward. Lin Ming felt a little relieved. The cabin door was wide open, and the kerosene lamps inside were lit, illuminating everything inside and out. He saw Suo Pu, bathed in the bright light, standing perfectly still, dignified and composed, without a trace of panic. Lin Ming couldn’t help but feel a secret admiration. He made a deep, formal bow to Suo Pu, then turned and said again, “Our master is here! Who is your commanding officer? Come out and speak!”

The noisy crowd suddenly fell silent. Hundreds of eyes stared at the young man bathed in the lamplight. Not even a cough was heard. They waited for him to speak.

All the soldiers were suspicious. Gradually, they began to whisper among themselves.

…Amidst the buzzing and murmuring, Lin Ming shouted again, “Which one of you is the commanding officer? Please come out and speak!” He hadn’t expected Suo Pu to maintain such an impressive and calm demeanor in the face of a major threat. He felt that there might still be a chance to resolve the situation.

Unexpectedly, the other party refused to come out and talk. Someone shouted, “What Jinyiwei! They’re a bunch of bandits who kidnap people! They’re impostors. Get them, everyone!”

“Who dares!” Lin Ming roared, nearly bursting his throat. “Attacking an official boat is rebellion! Tell your commanding officer to come out, we will reason with him! Anyone who wants to commit a crime that will get his whole family exterminated, just come on!” He now understood that the other party was insisting they were “bandits,” preparing to kill them all to silence them. His heart leaped into his throat again.

Just then, a voice came from the crowd, “What’s with all this nonsense! Hand over the kidnapped woman at once, and we’ll let you live. We won’t hold you responsible for impersonating officials and kidnapping women. Otherwise, don’t blame us brothers for drawing our swords to help the wronged!”

This garbled speech made Suo Pu smile. However, the fact that the other party refused to show himself meant he was still somewhat afraid of Lin Ming’s “Jinyiwei” medallion. Lin Ming, being a clever man, immediately said, “Brother, why won’t you show yourself? Since you insist we are bandits and you are an official, there’s no reason for an official to fear bandits! Let’s talk openly. Whatever there is to say, let’s lay it all out…”

Before he could finish, a “rat-tat-tat” burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from the sterncastle. It was a sound Suo Pu knew all too well: the three-round burst of an M77B1, modified into a light machine gun for the Special Reconnaissance Team. He was shocked. Before he could react, the machine gun roared to life. The wharf immediately descended into chaos. The dozens of men were thrown into disarray, and a cacophony of screams, shouts of pain, and cries of alarm filled the air.

At that moment, all the kerosene lamps went out, plunging everything into darkness. The moment the gun fired, Suo Pu dropped to the deck. He felt a whooshing sound pass by his ear and guessed someone was shooting arrows. He quickly crawled back into the cabin. He saw Cummins holding a Glock 17 in one hand and dragging Lin Ming into the cabin with the other.

Suo Pu turned on his flashlight and saw Lin Baihu drenched in sweat. A bloodstain on his thigh was slowly spreading—the shaft of an arrow protruded from it, its fletching still trembling slightly.

“Damn it, they’re shooting arrows!” Cummins cursed. “Playing dirty!”

Suo Pu now understood why the machine gunner on the sterncastle had opened fire without orders. Hearing the steady rhythm of the three-round bursts outside, and the frantic shouts on the wharf fading into the distance with the gunfire, he knew the enemy had fled and there would be no more trouble tonight.

“Cease fire!” he shouted.

The gunfire stopped. Suo Pu peeked out the window. The wharf and the path to the city gate were pitch black, but many more torches had appeared on the city wall. The alarm gongs were sounding loudly, and he could faintly hear people shouting, “To the walls! Grab your weapons, there are bandits…”

“We can’t stay here long,” said Cummins, wiping the cold sweat from his face. “We’ve killed people…”

Suo Pu smiled. “It’s no matter. They’re a bunch of soldier-bandits. They say we’re bandits, but we can also say they’re bandits!”

“Master Suo is right. We can’t run… If we run, we’ll be the bandits,” said Lin Ming. He had been shot in the thigh, and the team’s medic was already cutting away his clothes and using a sterilized scalpel to cut the flesh and remove the arrow. Though the pain made him break out in a cold sweat, he quickly added, “Whether we go up or down the river now, they’ll surely have something planned—they have a navy here, and it’s not hard for them to get a few boats. If we travel at night, we’ll definitely be at a disadvantage…”

“But it’s not safe to stay here either…” Cummins said. “Look, they were openly shooting arrows at the wharf!”

“No, it’s fine. The commotion on the wharf has already become a big deal…” Lin Ming gasped for breath. “Those grunts failed in their first attack. They won’t be back again tonight, at least.”

Although he had been shot, the wound was not critical. Knowing his life was not in danger, he had mostly calmed down. That “machine gun” was truly formidable. Just the sound of its “rat-tat-tat” had sent the men on the wharf falling. He had heard that the Australians’ firearms were ingenious, but seeing it was better than hearing about it a hundred times!

Suo Pu said, “You’re right. It’s indeed not safe to travel by night.”

Lin Ming endured the pain and said, “We’ll wait until dawn tomorrow. When the city gates open, we’ll report a robbery.”

“A robbery? It was clearly soldiers trying to snatch a woman,” Cummins said indignantly.

The medic applied medicine, bandaged his wound, and gave him a dose of cocaine extract. Lin Ming felt the pain in his wound greatly diminish. He managed a smile. “If we report a mutiny, I’m afraid no one will take the case. We won’t be able to explain it clearly and will get bogged down in a legal battle—after all, we’re not a proper official boat and can’t afford the scrutiny. Reporting a robbery will be easier for both the prefecture and the county to handle—it’s not like we’re asking them to catch the culprits and solve the case.”

“The commotion on the wharf was so big. Can it be covered up?”

“Of course it can’t be covered up, but who would want to take the blame for this?” Lin Ming forced a smile. “The less trouble, the better.”

He suddenly remembered something else. “Chief, quickly send a few men to the wharf. There are probably some wounded who aren’t dead yet. Finish them off, one by one. Leaving witnesses will only cause more trouble!”

Suo Pu nodded. “I understand.” He led some men out of the cabin. The wharf was now deathly silent. The dozens of soldiers who had been fiercely charging the salt boat just moments ago had vanished without a trace, leaving only a dozen or so bodies lying in pools of blood.

Cummins stared at the scene, a sense of unreality washing over him.

A fight over the top girl, escalating into violence—such a clichéd, rich-kid drama, and I actually ran into it!

A gang war with over a hundred men on each side, fighting over the most popular courtesan in a nightclub—this is so… “freaking cool!!!”

If that group of “Eight Beauties of Qinhuai” fans in the Senate knew about this, they would be green with envy…

The bodies were grotesquely mangled. Some had large bloody holes in their chests, others had half their heads blown off—the power of the 7.62mm NATO round was no joke. They were all dead. Only one soldier, whose right arm had been torn off by a bullet, was still breathing, moaning in pain from time to time.

Suo Pu crouched down and said, “Don’t be afraid. If you answer honestly, I’ll save your life!”

The soldier managed a weak nod. Fearing he would pass out, Suo Pu first gave him a dose of cocaine water. When his spirits revived slightly, he asked:

“Who was it that came to snatch the woman?”