Chapter 3: Zhao Kun's Shadow

The mist clung to the fishing boat's mast like damp, cold cotton. Lin Chao gripped the bronze ship's bell tightly; the faint vibration in his palm had barely subsided before a piercing siren wailed across the water. Two beams of high-intensity light sliced through the fog, pinning the boat into a dead end, making the spray dancing on the deck blindingly bright.

Lin Chao didn't flinch. He shifted his weight, his gaze piercing the haze to lock onto the approaching black speedboat. The boat's searchlight cut through the sea like a scalpel, stabbing straight into the cabin and jolting Old Ghost awake in his corner. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Old Ghost grabbed a harpoon from the side of the boat, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Those suit-wearing wolves again?" Old Ghost lowered his voice. "Seems some people think the rules of the sea are just something to be stepped on."

Lin Chao didn't answer. He calmly straightened the hem of his seawater-soaked clothes and tucked the Ancient Bell securely into a waterproof bag. He stepped up to the helm and adjusted the frequency on the microphone, his voice as steady as if he were reading a weather report.

"Identify yourselves and provide your operational permit number," Lin Chao’s voice boomed through the loudspeaker. It didn't tremble in the sea breeze; it carried an unsettling level of composure.

The speedboat closed in rapidly. Three security guards in black uniforms leaped onto the deck, led by a burly man whose badge clearly read "Zhao Security." Holding a walkie-talkie, the leader swept a contemptuous gaze over Lin Chao’s ragged clothes.

"This is the Zhao Group's Seventh Sector Exclusive Protection Zone," the leader said, glancing at the crude equipment around them with a sneer. "What stray dog thinks they can trespass on President Zhao's turf?"

Su Man stepped out of the instrument room, clutching a freshly printed ecological assessment report. She pushed up her glasses, her expression cold.

"Exclusive Protection Zone? More like you've turned the high seas into your own private backyard," Su Man replied, her voice sharp and dripping with irony. "According to the relevant articles of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, no one may monopolize extraction rights in unregistered waters."

The security leader scoffed and reached out to shove Su Man. "Where did this crazy woman come from? Do you even know what administrative jurisdiction is? Get off the boat now, or you're being charged with illegal trespassing."

Just as his palm was about to hit Su Man's shoulder, Lin Chao stepped in, blocking the path. He wasn't particularly tall, but under the glare of the searchlight, he stood like an immovable wall. He raised his hand and lightly brushed aside the man's grease-stained palm—a clean, efficient movement devoid of any emotional volatility.

"Your hands are too dirty; you'll smudge Dr. Su's report," Lin Chao said. His voice remained calm, yet it carried an unquestionable authority. "Also, drop the threats. We are three nautical miles north of the North Pacific high seas boundary. This does not fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of any single corporation."

The leader blinked, stunned for a moment, before an even nastier smile spread across his face. He turned and whispered a few words into his radio, then looked back at Lin Chao with a newfound scrutiny.

"High seas? Hmph. The exploration permit issued by President Zhao covers this entire coordinate sector." He whipped out a thick folder and slammed it down in front of Lin Chao. "Look at this. Is this what you fishermen call 'legal operation'? Without our special authorization, touching a single drop of water in this area is illegal salvage."

Lin Chao didn't bother flipping through the folder. Instead, he pulled a neatly folded map from his pocket and spread it across the wet wooden planks of the deck. His finger slid along a dotted line, stopping precisely on one spot.

"You're citing permit number VZ-2024-098, right?" Lin Chao looked up, his eyes so clear they made the burly man uncomfortable. "I've checked the public database. That permit expired on the fifteenth of last month, and the operational area is restricted to east of 142 degrees longitude. Our current position is 141 degrees, 35 minutes east."

Su Man let out a soft snort and dropped her ecological report on the deck with a sharp *slap*.

"Not only are they out of bounds, but their permit explicitly prohibits the use of heavy diving equipment," Su Man said, a mocking curve to her lips as she pushed up her glasses. "Looking at the sonar array on your mothership, you're clearly conducting illegal deep-sea resource exploration while pretending to have a license. Is this the 'legal' standard of the Zhao Group?"

The leader's face darkened instantly. His two subordinates stepped forward, forming a perimeter around them. The air grew thick with tension, as if a fight would break out in the next second.

"Big talk," the man sneered. "Out here, the rules are whatever we say they are. President Zhao said the treasures in this sea belong to the Zhaos. You paupers should hand over the boat and leave now if you want to leave in one piece."

Lin Chao stood up and brushed the water off his pants, completely unfazed by the intimidation. He pulled a notarized copy of his operational permit from the waterproof bag and simultaneously pulled out his phone, opening a real-time GPS interface.

"First, this is my legal diving certification and regional zoning map, complete with the Maritime Bureau's electronic signature. You can verify it online right now," Lin Chao said, his voice low but crystal clear. "Second, according to the Marine Environmental Protection Law and related conventions, even if you hold exploration rights, you must ensure the integrity of the surrounding ecological buffer zones. I just detected via sonar that your mothership's anchor chain has scarred the seabed coral reefs. That is a severe environmental violation—enough to get all your permits revoked immediately."

The leader's eyes flickered. He clearly hadn't expected this unremarkable fisherman to be holding such a powerful trump card. He instinctively recoiled half a step, though he quickly forced himself back into his arrogant posture.

"Environmental violation? Hmph. Until the official report is out, we hold the right of interpretation." The man grabbed his radio, his voice turning vicious. "HQ, target vessel is refusing to cooperate. Requesting forced boarding for inspection. The strays can deal with the consequences."

Lin Chao let out a cold laugh and swiped quickly across his phone screen, hitting a send button.

"Since you love 'interpretation' so much, let me give you a gift." Lin Chao flashed the phone screen. "I've already synced your mothership's real-time coordinates, sonar waveform data, and the recording of this illegal operation to the Coastal Guard's duty office and the International Maritime Monitoring satellite link. The signal delay is only zero-point-three seconds."

Su Man stood by with her arms crossed, a flash of surprise in her eyes that quickly turned into an appreciative, cold smile.

"You've certainly learned a few tricks, Lin Chao," she whispered, a hint of barely perceptible pride in her tone. "Beating them at their own game—that's the only way to survive."

The leader's face finally changed. He stared intensely at Lin Chao's phone, his Adam's apple bobbing. He knew that once HQ received the satellite alert, Zhao Kun would never allow a violation to be exposed to the public. The Zhao Group had risen through monopolies and Undercurrents; their greatest fear was transparent regulatory intervention.

"Hand over the phone," the man said, his voice raspy. It was no longer a command, but a desperate plea for damage control.

"Can't do that," Lin Chao replied calmly. "Unless you stop interfering immediately, retreat to your mothership, and issue a public apology. Otherwise, in the next second, the global media will hear the story of how the Zhao Group set up illegal checkpoints on the high seas in defiance of international law."

The mist grew thicker, and the sound of waves slapping against the hull felt jarringly loud in the dead silence. The leader gripped his radio so hard his knuckles turned white. He rapidly weighed the pros and cons: storm the boat and gamble on solving the problem before the signal fully processed, or swallow his pride to protect the foundations of the Zhao Group.

Time seemed to freeze for ten seconds.

Finally, the man slammed the talk button on his radio, his voice laced with a grinding chill. "All units, cease advance and maintain distance. Report to HQ: encountered irresistible interference, situation on-site is complex, requesting further instructions."

He glared at Lin Chao with a look that seemed intended to skin him alive.

"Kid, you got lucky," the man spat through gritted teeth. "But this isn't over. President Zhao doesn't like trouble, but he loves erasing it completely. You'd better pray that the next time we meet, you're still standing on solid ground."

With a wave of his hand, he signaled his men to retreat. Though the two guards were reluctant, they followed him obediently and leaped back onto the speedboat.

The engines roared, carving a white wake through the water as the boat vanished into the depths of the fog. The searchlight swept over the fishing boat one last time, leaving behind a bone-chilling cold before finally cutting out, plunging the sea back into a murky darkness.

Peace returned to the deck, but everyone's breathing remained ragged. Old Ghost slumped down beside a pile of fish and wiped cold sweat from his forehead, looking at Lin Chao with genuine awe.

"Goddamn monster," Old Ghost muttered. "He blocked three knives with a piece of paper. Lin Chao, who the hell are you?"

Lin Chao didn't answer. He silently put away his phone, folded the map carefully, and slid it back into his pocket. His fingers lightly brushed the patterns of the Ancient Bell, feeling that faint, steady pulse from the deep sea.

Su Man walked over to him and picked up the ecological report, dusting it off. Her tone returned to its usual caustic edge.

"Don't celebrate too early," she sneered. "Zhao Kun isn't the type to play by the rules. He'll mark you as a 'high-threat target.' From this moment on, your every move is under his surveillance."

Lin Chao nodded, gazing into the heart of the mist. Out there, the massive black mothership lay silently in wait, like a crouching beast ready to launch a lethal counterattack.

Old Ghost leaned in and lowered his voice, a glint of cunning in his eyes. "Boss Lin, those guys said something weird before they left."

"What?" Lin Chao asked.

Old Ghost rubbed his harpoon and grinned, revealing a mouth of yellowed teeth. "The leader muttered something right before he jumped. He said President Zhao wants you to try your luck with the 'Salvage Team'."

Lin Chao's eyelid twitched. The Salvage Team? Zhao Kun's Salvage Team? Those were the black-ops cleaners used to handle "uncontrollable factors"—the only organization capable of bypassing legal oversight to carry out assassinations or forced seizures.

Su Man's expression shifted. She pushed up her glasses, her voice turning cold.

"It looks like we've been officially targeted." She looked at Lin Chao, her eyes complex. "From here on out, this voyage might get a lot bloodier than you imagined."

Lin Chao gripped the ship's bell. The vibration returned to his palm, but this time, it carried a warning roar. Deep in the mist, a faint blue light flashed—perhaps a distress signal from one of the Zhao Group's unregistered submarines, or the stress response of some deep-sea creature that had been disturbed.

The real game had only just begun. And this time, the opponent was reaching out with a blood-stained hand.