HLM – Chapter 1074 All Things Fall Into Place

The speedboat skimmed across the sea, leaving two long white wakes roaring behind it.

As expected of one of the richest tycoons in this coastal city, Song Zijun never did anything by halves. The boat he casually provided was a fine deck boat, its wide deck spacious enough for passengers to lounge or hold small gatherings.

Wang Bo was standing on the deck at that moment, his upper body bare and glistening with sunscreen oil. Under the sunlight, he shone like gold. Facing the sea breeze, a heroic surge rose in his chest.

When they reached the area Song Zijun had mentioned—ten kilometers or so away from the salvage ship—there was already a fishing boat and a large sampan anchored on the sea.

On the fishing boat, a long-faced young man was crouching timidly at the bow, peering nervously into the water. A bald, burly man walked over impatiently and kicked him. “Biaozi, what the hell are you doing? Seasick already?”

Startled by the kick, the long-faced young man almost toppled into the water. He scrambled back and yelled, “Bald Xu, I swear your ancestors are weeping! You almost kicked me into the sea, you know that?!”

Bald Xu snorted. “There’s still two hundred kilometers of water under you—what are you scared of? I remember taking you out to sea before—you weren’t such an embarrassment.”

The young man sighed in despair. “I’m not scared of the boat. I’m scared of the water.”

“Huh? You develop hydrophobia now? That thing has a one-hundred-percent mortality rate! Holy crap—Old Du, get over here! Your nephew’s dying!”

“Get lost,” the long-faced youth snapped, furious. “Bald Xu, your whole family can drop dead before I do! I’m just scared of sea water, since when is that damn hydrophobia?”

A middle-aged man with skin like dried orange peel ambled over. “Who got bitten by a rabid dog and caught hydrophobia?”

Bald Xu grinned. “Your nephew. He won’t even get in the water now—useless as trash.”

The long-faced youth raged, “You’re the one who’s useless! I already said I just have… issues with sea water.”

“Issues?” Bald Xu raised a brow.

“Too lazy to explain to a donkey-brained idiot like you.” The young man spun around angrily.

Old Du stopped him, frowning. “Biaozi, what’s wrong with you? You’re scared this long? Someone shoved your head underwater once—so what? How’d you turn into such a coward?”

The young man snapped, “My dear uncle, I’m a coward? Then how come when that bastard from Wang stole all your sea-hens, none of you acted like heroes? Who got scared into going to apologize to Du Zhicheng, huh?”

“Don’t mention that shit!” Bald Xu exploded. “It’s been almost a year—we’ve lost so much money! And Du Zhicheng is a bastard too. We give him all the good fish, and he only pays market price, no loyalty discount at all!”

Old Du grumbled, “Watch your damn mouth, Bald Xu. Whose mother are you cursing? Isn’t she my aunt?”

“But does he remember that? That bastard treats us like slaves! A whole year—every good catch goes to him! We were idiots for going to him for help.” Bald Xu fumed.

Old Du countered, “Don’t give me that crap. Weren’t you the one begging me to ask him for help? If it weren’t for my cousin, how would we know what that brat Wang would pull?”

“Alright, enough!” the young man—Ma Guangbiao—snarled. “It’s all because of that bastard Wang Bo! Is he cursed to clash with me for life? He ruined all my good days! Next time I see him, I don’t care if I die—I’m taking him with me!”

Someone nearby tried to smooth things over. “Alright, calm down. As the saying goes, misfortune turns to luck. Isn’t good fortune here already? Look—so many coral stones. Once we haul them up, we’ll make a good profit.”

Bald Xu forced a grin. “Heaven finally took pity on us. It’s so damn hard to find coral outside protected zones nowadays.”

“Come on, haul them up. Make bonsai or whatever—at least it’ll bring in some cash,” Du Shicheng nodded.

Ma Guangbiao was still ranting, “Damn it, this time we’re gonna make big money! So many chances to earn cash, all ruined by that bastard! If anyone messes with me again today, I’ll fight them to the death!”

Far away, a speeding boat appeared.

A fisherman hurried over. “Boss Du, Brother Xu, a speedboat is coming. Could it be the authorities?”

Bald Xu squinted hard, then smacked the fisherman. “Are you blind? Government wouldn’t come in an open-deck speedboat! That must be a military patrol boat!”

Ma Guangbiao’s expression darkened. “Where’s the jet ski? Get it ready. I’m going to take a look. Whoever it is—if they block my money path today, I’ll destroy them!”

A jet ski, after all, didn’t require him to actually enter the water, and though he feared being submerged, riding on top didn’t terrify him as much.

The open-deck boat drew nearer. The two jet skis circled it first, engines roaring before charging forward through the waves.

Wang Bo spotted the two craft and frowned—clearly someone had arrived earlier than expected.

According to Song Zijun, this coral reef was extremely concealed. The water here was so shallow no fishing boat should be able to approach. His men had only found it by chance.

If people were already here, he couldn’t use the sand tray to collect the undersea stones later. At only four or five meters deep, under bright sunlight, anything he did underwater would be clearly visible from above.

He originally intended to take a look and leave. But when he saw the two jet skis racing toward him, he understood what that meant—someone was coming to warn him off.

He had no people with him today, nor the fierce animals like Zhuang Ding and Little Wang to rely on. Shaking his head, he decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. He told the driver to head back.

But the two jet skis closed in quickly and began circling the slowing deck boat—an obviously aggressive provocation.

Wang Bo frowned and spat into the sea. “Brother, head back. It’s better to compete with equals than waste time with idiots.”

One jet ski approached, and the riders finally came face to face.

It was the long-faced youth. Wang Bo recognized him vaguely and stared.

But when Ma Guangbiao recognized him, his face drained of color. He seemed so startled that he lost control of the jet ski—and it shot straight toward the deck boat.

“Motherf— Murder attempt!!” Wang Bo roared and immediately jumped into the water.

The jet ski struck the boat, though not very fast. The deck boat merely staggered on the waves, while the lightweight jet ski flipped over instantly.

The man on the other jet ski screamed, “Brother Biao! Brother Biao! What happened to you?!”