Chapter 51: Raging Sea, Contending Peaks

  A series of loud explosions suddenly occurred, and Zhang Duojun, who was proudly chatting with his subordinates, was shocked to the point where he almost fell off the ship's side into the sea. He turned around to see that the two customs patrol boats that had come together had been blown up, spewing out several meters high of black smoke, and fierce flames were spraying out from the cabins in a sinister arc. More than half of the subordinates on the two boats were killed or injured, and the rest were all pushed into the sea by the blast wave, waving their arms for help.

  Bai San supported Zhang Duizhang with one hand and caught sight of Yulan in the sea water. He hastily pointed to the direction of the ship's stern, "There is someone in the sea, quick, fire!"

  The coast guard team at the bow of the ship hastily turned the heavy machine gun and began to frantically sweep the water surface at the stern of the exploding and burning coast guard boat.

  A large number of bullets splashed water, and Yulan had already dived underwater again at this time.

  The bullets shot into the water, forming white tracks. Yulan was careless for a moment and got hit on the arm, instantly showing red ripples. Under the pain, Yulan's body sank straight down to the depths of the sea.

  Suddenly, a powerful palm stretched out and directly grasped his wrist, pulling her up with force.

  Jade Orchid raised her head and looked over, but it was Huo Yan.

  At this moment, Huo Yan's body convulsed, and a blood flower rose up behind him. Yu Lan was shocked and hurriedly swam upstream to hold Huo Yan in her arms, but he insisted on blocking her with his body. His body shook again, and Huo Yan took the second shot.

  Huoyan's face showed a painful expression, and his arms began to relax slowly. Yulan bit her lip, propped up Huoyan's arms, and used all her strength to swim away from the waters that were locked down by bullets.

  Bai San saw bloodstains floating on the water's surface and was overjoyed, directing his men to continue firing.

  The customs officers who occupied the Dragon King's ship also rushed to shoot into the sea, and Yulan dragged the injured Huo Yan, unable to emerge for a while.

  Lin Xiaotang was just blown away by the blast wave, and his mind was a bit dazed for a moment. When he came to, he had drifted along with the current of the seawater to near the bow of the boat where Captain Zhang and Bai San were, but everyone on board was busy chasing after Huo Yan and Yu Lan in the water, and no one noticed his presence beneath their feet.

  Lin Xiaotang wiped the seawater from his face, and then patted his waist, only to find that the Mauser pistol he had been carrying was nowhere to be found. It must have fallen out during the explosion earlier. At this moment, he didn't have time to think about it anymore. He pulled out a dagger from his leg and held it tightly between his teeth, then grabbed the anchor chain with both hands and agilely climbed up to the bow of the ship.

  On board, Lin Xiaotang quickly ran to the back of the customs officer who was shooting, a dagger flying up and down, instantly stabbing three people, snatching a shotgun from one person's hand, turning the muzzle sideways, and firing a burst, Bai San and his men were caught off guard, leaving several bodies behind as they retreated towards the cabin and stern of the ship.

  Lin Xiaotang fired all the bullets in the shotgun, went straight to the heavy machine gun at the bow of the ship, loaded the bullets, grasped the gun handle with both hands, and swept the maritime police officers on the Dragon King's ship.

  A burst of bullets sent a string of bloody flowers flying, and the smugglers' team members cried out in pain as they fell into the water. Lin Xiaotang fired while shouting, "Young Master Xiang, come out and grab the gun!"

  Ma Qixiang and others in the cabin heard the sound and moved, several people used all their strength to open the steel plate cabin door, ran to the bow of the ship, manipulated the old Maxim heavy machine gun, and started sweeping with Lin Xiaotang towards the crowd at the stern of the smuggling boat.

  Two bullets wove a crossfire of firepower, like the Grim Reaper swinging his sickle, and in an instant, the stern was swept clean.

  The Dragon King had now climbed aboard the patrol boat and with a wave of his hand, everyone finally stopped firing.

  The stern and the pilot house had been battered to pieces, Captain Zhang was sitting on the ground leaning against the railing of the stern, his body had been beaten into a sieve, the blood from the stern converged into several small streams, in no time, it would dye the nearby seawater bright red.

  The Dragon King anxiously searched around. "Yulan, Yulan, where are you?"

  "Brother, I'm over here!" Yu Lan's shout came from the surface of the water.

  The crowd rushed to the side of the boat and saw Yulan dragging Huo Yan with one hand and rowing with the other, while Huo Yan hung his head down, revealing a pale face. Lin Xiaotang was shocked and quickly grabbed a rope from the ground and threw it down.

  Ma Qixiang and Long Wang's men also arrived on the patrol boat via the plank at this time, and everyone worked together to rescue Yulan and Huoyan onto the ship.

  Huoyan's back was shot twice, and he had already fainted. Lin Xiaotang examined his wound, "Fortunately, it didn't hit any vital organs, but it seems that there is some excessive blood loss, coupled with the soaking in seawater, we must remove the bullets immediately, otherwise..."

  Jade Orchid ignored her own wound and grabbed the Dragon King's hand, "Brother, you must save him! He took a bullet for me!" At this moment, she was on the verge of tears.

  At this time, a person slowly crawled out of the pile of corpses at the stern of the ship. He stuck to the deck and crawled towards the side of the ship on the other side. When he reached the side of the ship, he suddenly got up and jumped onto the fishing boat next door.

  As soon as he moved, Ma Qixiang counterattacked with a single shot, hitting the man's leg. The man's body twisted and let out a miserable cry as he collapsed onto the deck.

  The Dragon King took three steps and ran over in two steps, one foot trampling on the man's body. He turned him over and looked at him, "Bai San, you son of a bitch!"

  Bai San covered his injured leg and begged for mercy.

  The crowd lifted Fire Eye into the cabin of the Dragon King's ship. Lin Xiaotang ran into the driving cabin of the patrol boat, which was badly damaged, and after searching for a while, he found the first-aid kit on board. At this time, the Dragon King's men also brought over antiseptic gauze and wound medicine. Lin Xiaotang washed the dagger clean with clear water, took out a lighter to sterilize it, and then turned Fire Eye's body over so that he was lying face down. Lin Xiaotang began to remove the bullets from his body.

  The Dragon King dragged Bai San into the cabin, threw him heavily to the ground, pointing at his nose, "What did I do wrong to you? You four followed me for seven years, I treated you as my own brothers. Today, Eldest and others all died because of you, and so many more brothers... I'll have your life!"

  Bai San tightly hugged the Dragon King's thigh, "Big brother, I had no choice, Zhang Xiao Lin sent people to raid my nest on the shore, and that woman who is carrying my child was taken away by him. I had no way out, so I agreed to do things for him!"

  The Dragon King grunted heavily and said, "Speak, continue speaking!"

  White Three wiped his nose with one hand and tears with the other, "Zhang Xiao Lin wanted me to get rid of you, but I never found a suitable opportunity. Yesterday, when I knew you were going out to sea, I informed Zhang Xiao Lin in advance. Big brother, everything I said is true, just think about how many years I've accompanied you through thick and thin, spare my dog life!"

  Lin Xiaotang used tweezers to pick up the bullets and threw them into a plate beside her, letting out a sigh of relief. She skillfully helped Huo Yan bandage his wound. Yulan stood motionless beside them, her eyes moving from the two bullets to Huo Yan's face, her gaze filled with complex emotions, and her small wheat-colored face was slightly flushed.

  The dragon king's eyes flashed, the hand holding the gun trembled slightly, after a while, he put down the gun with a thud and kicked Bai San fiercely, "Get out, don't let me see you again!"

  Bai Sanruo was overjoyed and forgot about the wound on his leg, he quickly got up and hastily bowed to Long Wang, "Thank you so much, big brother!"

  The Dragon King turned around with disgust and waved his hand.

  Bai San was just limping to the cabin door when a gunshot rang out, causing everyone to jump in shock.

  Lin Xiaotang didn't even glance at Bai San, her hands covered in fresh blood tightly grasping a handgun, with wisps of white smoke emerging from the muzzle.

  The Dragon King was shocked, "What is this...?"

  Lin Xiaotang turned around to look at Bai San's corpse, which had fallen to the ground after being shot. He casually tossed the gun to Ma Qixiang, saying, "This man was a scourge, he knew too much about you, it's not that I'm being cruel to him, but rather being ruthless to myself!"

  The Dragon King widened his eyes, but instantly lowered his head, "I understand, but I just can't bring myself to do it, he's saved my life before!"

  Lin Xiaotang shrugged and made no comment.

  Jade Orchid continued to take care of Huo Yan, who was still unconscious. Long Wang and Lin Xiaotang led the others in re-examining several boats. At this time, the few remaining subordinates that Long Wang had brought with him had already killed all the smuggled team members who had fallen into the water, confirming that not a single one was left alive. The small boat that Long Wang had brought had been beaten to pieces, and although Lin Xiaotang's boat was intact, the boatman had been shot dead by stray bullets.

  The Dragon King readily agreed to Lin Xiaotang's previous proposal for cooperation, and then formally thanked Lin Xiaotang. After all, Lin Xiaotang and the others had saved their siblings' lives. Through this matter, the Dragon King and Zhang Xiao Lin had completely broken off relations, reaching an irreconcilable point.

  The Dragon King suffered a heavy loss this time, four years of old brothers, one betrayal, three tragic deaths, which also sparked his hatred for Zhang Yaolin. He told Lin Xiaotang that he would go back to gather his men and wait for Lin Xiaotang's notice, ready to start plundering Zhang Yaolin's fleet and goods at any time. He eagerly hoped to use his opponent's blood to wash away the hatred in his heart. This was something that Lin Xiaotang had not expected before coming.

  As for Huo Yan, it was clear that his injuries were no longer suitable for traveling with Lin Xiao Tang and the others. Fortunately, the distance from here to Long Wang's base wasn't very far, so Long Wang suggested that Huo Yan temporarily go there to recover from his injuries. He had medicine and doctors by his side who could take good care of Huo Yan until he recovered, and Yu Lan strongly advocated for this as well.

  Lin Xiaotang smiled slightly, he had already discovered the dragon king's sister's thoughts, but didn't think that Huo Yan's injury this time was actually a blessing in disguise. Who knows, maybe even the lifelong matter could be settled like this. It seems that getting shot twice is quite worth it.

  When they returned to Shanghai, it was already midnight. After Long Wang's men had sent Lin Xiaotang and Ma Qixiang ashore, they bid farewell and left in a hurry.

  Returning to the hideout, Lin Xiaotang suddenly saw Liu Chengfeng. According to his subordinates' report, Liu Chengfeng had found this place in the afternoon and had been waiting for seven or eight hours.

  Liu Chengfeng saw Lin Xiaotang, and suddenly felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. He didn't say anything, but handed him a document bag. "It's from Chongqing, it's confidential, Station Master Wang instructed me to hand it over to you personally no matter what!"

  Lin Xiaotang was taken aback, and hastily opened it to take a look. Inside, however, there was only a brand new appointment letter and an envelope. The appointment letter had only a few words: "Appoint Lin Xiaotang as the Lieutenant General and Acting Director of the Military Bureau's Nanjing Station." The signature at the bottom was that of Dai Li. There was only one additional seal in the upper right corner, "Top Secret"!