As the speed boat approached, I noticed people in marine patrol uniforms, wearing red armbands, and with "Fishery Administration" or similar words on the boat's hull. The patrol officer shone a searchlight at us a few times. I didn't know what it meant, but Wang Haibo said it was a signal to stop for inspection.
"Then so be it," I said calmly, as we couldn't run anyway.
Wang Haibo cut the engine, and the speed boat pulled up alongside us. There were seven experts with Purple Qi energy on this speed boat, but they remained hidden inside the cabin. The cabin had glass and was elevated, so I could only see their heads, all of them staring at us menacingly.
The uniformed man hooked our fishing boat with a grappling ladder and leaped over. He saluted Wang Haibo, who was at the helm, "Hello, routine inspection. Please present your identification."
"Sure thing, please wait a moment. We have them all," Wang Haibo replied. He went back into the cabin, retrieved a waterproof bag, wiped his hands, and took out a stack of documents. I don't know much about fishing matters, but it should include a "Fishing Permit," "Vehicle and Boat Certificate," and something like a fishing boat license. Kuaishuge.
"Why are there only two practitioner identification documents? Who are these two?" the uniformed man asked, pointing at me and the fox spirit sitting in the corner.
Just as Wang Haibo was about to speak, the uniformed man stopped him and walked towards me. "You two, tell me, what do you do?"
"Reporting, Uncle Patrol Officer! My sister and I are out fishing with our father and eldest brother. We don't have permits; we're just here for the fun of it," I said loudly.
"You both look fair-skinned and tender, not like fishermen. Do you know that unauthorized fishing is illegal?"
"But we didn't participate in the fishing, and we don't know how to. We were just sitting on the boat. Is that illegal?" I asked with a smile.
The patrol officer didn't answer my question directly. He glanced back at the speed boat, then turned back. "You two, show me your identification."
"Sorry, Uncle Patrol Officer, I was afraid of losing them, so I didn't bring my documents," I said.
The patrol officer then looked at the fox spirit, who quickly shook her head, pretending to be scared. "I... I didn't bring mine either."
"You two, tell me your names separately," the patrol officer asked again.
"My name is Wang Haitao, and my sister's name is Wang—" I began.
"Shut up," the patrol officer interrupted me. "Did I ask you to speak? Let her speak for herself!"
"I... my name is Wang Haichao..." the fox spirit whispered.
"What?"
"Haichao, 'hai' from the sea, 'chao' from morning."
I glared at the fox spirit. Why would she make up such a name!
The patrol officer took his walkie-talkie off his shoulder and spoke to his colleagues in the cabin. "Check the registration details of the family members of the owner of Fengyu B-4985... The owner is Wang Xiangdong. Yes, eldest son Wang Haibo, second son Wang Haitao, daughter... Wang Haichao. Understood."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Fortunately, we had prepared. I didn't expect him to be able to check household registration.
The patrol officer then turned to Wang Haibo. "You came from that direction. Did you see anything... resembling a submarine?"
"Ah, I saw it!" I raised my hand voluntarily.
"What shape was it? Where did it go?" the patrol officer quickly asked me.
"The shape..." I gestured, "It was like a small island, very big. The island could move, and it was very fast. I thought it was a giant whale spirit, but it turns out it was a submarine!"
"I asked where it went!"
"That way!" I pointed in the correct direction for the patrol officer. Yao Yao and the others hadn't turned back towards Fucheng, but had gone directly south, towards the other side of the sea, in the direction of Yantai City.
"How long ago was that?" the patrol officer asked again.
"About five minutes ago, it probably hasn't gone far. Comrade, is it an enemy submarine that has entered our waters?" I asked, feigning concern.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! All of you, remember this: this is state secret. What you saw and heard tonight, pretend it never happened. Understand?"
"Understood, understood. We will absolutely keep state secrets!" I stood up and gave the patrol officer a salute.
The patrol officer nodded in satisfaction, turned back to his speed boat, retracted the grappling ladder, and returned to the cabin. After conferring with the Purple Qi experts, the speed boat quickly detached from the fishing boat and headed south. Another speed boat not far away also pursued in the same direction.
About half a minute later, I even heard the sound of a helicopter from the direction of Fucheng, flying towards the speed boats. It seemed they had previously dispatched the helicopter to the Fucheng area for an interception, but they had "followed the wrong direction"...