Chapter 425

"Wait, human life is of utmost importance—don't go!"

The plump big sister at the bow, who claimed to be Chen Shaokang's aunt, panicked; she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at Lin Dongfan with all her might.

"Chief Fan!"

"It's true!"

"Shaokang said it himself!"

"Someone planted a bomb on your ship!"

"It's right on your ship—go check quickly! It's a matter of life and death! Believe me!!"

The plump big sister's lung capacity is truly huge, and her voice is loud; this time everyone heard her loud and clear—she was indeed reminding everyone—there's a bomb on the ship.

Lao Ba, who was about to shoot another arrow, also felt a bit dazed.

"Lao Ba!"

Lin Dongfan sprang to his feet, ripped off his sunglasses, and glared; Lao Ba immediately furrowed his brows, as if coming to his senses and reflecting on what he had just been doing.

Silence lasted a full five seconds.

Lao Ba then forced himself to explain to Lin Dongfan: 'The wind was strong; earlier I didn't catch what they were saying. I thought she was warning you, saying if you didn't stop the ship she'd throw a bomb and blow you up.'

Then did you hear me say—Lao Ba, don't!

I heard it.

Then why did you still shoot the arrow?

I thought you were telling me not to go easy.

You know? This is why you couldn't get into high school and had to join the army. Your imagination is wildly overpowered, freewheeling, daring to think and act. While teachers tell you 1+1=2, you ponder that one drop of water plus another drop of water still equals one drop of water. So you foolishly wrote 1+1=1 on your test paper.

As Lin Dongfan finished speaking, the little fisherman beside him let out a 'pfft' and nearly laughed himself sick.

But Lao Ba was truly listening attentively.

He sat up like a model honor student with sharp wits, and after a moment's recollection replied, 'Don't blame me for saying this, but when I was young my dad really proved to me that 1+1=1. He was testing my mental agility, but he wasn't talking about water—he said a flock of ducks plus another flock of ducks still equals a flock of ducks.'

So, is it you who wants to argue with me now, or your dad?

As he spoke, Lin Dongfan's speedy legs were itching to kick Lao Ba in the butt, ready to do so as soon as Lao Ba stubbornly resisted.

Lao Ba clearly sensed the anger.

He frowned and thought:

'I've got no moves—I can't possibly win against Master Fan; I can only shift the focus!'

He then turned and barked at the two bodyguards nearby: 'What are you looking at? You're just waiting to die here? There's a bomb on the ship, and you didn't hear? Hurry up and go find it!'

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp!

The two shrimp-level bodyguards didn't dare to even fart, rushing off to look for the bomb.

Lao Ba again urged Lin Dongfan: 'Master Fan, please move to the other ship first to avoid danger. After we eliminate the bomb threat, you can come back.'

'I'm not afraid of dying; I mainly need to go to the other ship to apologize. You almost shot someone dead with an arrow earlier—this mess is all your doing.'

Lin Dongfan gave a slight white-eyed look, feeling justified.

He turned and ordered someone to launch the dinghy.

Shift positions.

Two fishing boats, one parked to the left of the cruise ship and one to the right, escorted Lin Dongfan's private small yacht like two dilapidated guard vessels.

Lin Dongfan boarded the plump big sister's boat.

No surprise there.

As soon as he boarded, a strong fishy smell hit his nostrils.

The little fisherman also followed Lin Dongfan onto this boat, and the plump big sister explained to Lin Dongfan, 'Chief Fan, Xiao Yu knows me; we're not bad people.'

Got it, it was just a misunderstanding earlier. Lin Dongfan apologized to the plump big sister and the dark-skinned man: 'My subordinates didn't grasp the situation and thought you were enemies sent by rivals, so they fired a few arrows.'

As he spoke, Lin Dongfan glanced at the dark-skinned man holding a blue fish basin as a shield and said, 'Really sorry, you guys aren't hurt, are you?'

'Mazu blesses me—I won't die!'

The dark-skinned man, holding back his anger, pulled the arrow that had struck the fish basin out in front of Lin Dongfan and then flung it hard at Lin Dongfan's feet to vent his frustration.

The plump big sister beside him couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing she was truly blind to have married such an oblivious person.

After he entered the cabin,

The plump big sister immediately put on an apologetic smile and told Lin Dongfan, 'Chief Fan, my husband is just like this—small-minded but not a bad person. Don't stoop to his level.'

'You're too kind; this was actually our fault.'

Lin Dongfan stood at the bow, holding the rail, gazing at his own yacht. The sea breeze on his face felt refreshing, dispelling the fishy smell aboard.

The little fish suddenly asked the plump big sister, 'Auntie, how did Shaokang know there was a bomb on our boat?'

'I'm not sure about this either,' the plump big sister said. 'Shaokang has been suspended pending investigation; just after you set out to sea today, he ran over to find me and told me to chase you.'

'Chen Shaokang suspended pending investigation?'

Lin Dongfan's face showed slight surprise as he turned to the plump big sister and asked, 'Why was he suspended?'

"How would I know? They're officials, no need to tell us fishermen these things." Big Sister Fatty pondered and guessed: "I think he offended the Dragon King and is being retaliated against. Think about it—he arrested Zheng Sanshui; can the Zheng Family's Dragon King let him off?"

Speaking of which, Big Sister Fatty couldn't help but sigh: "This kid is also lacking common sense; there's no need to offend anyone, yet he insists on offending the Zheng Family's people—the Zheng Family's Dragon King is not someone he can provoke."

Upon hearing that, Lin Dongfan gave an embarrassed smile and had nothing to say.

Big Aunt Fatty's logic is sound; the Zheng Family's people are indeed not someone Chen Shaokang can provoke.

But as a police officer, Chen Shaokang did what he was supposed to do. Even if he were suspended for investigation, he would probably not regret it.

Lin Dongfan asked: "Aunt, do you have Shaokang's phone number?"

"Yes, I'll look for it."

Big Aunt Fatty pulled out her phone, flipped through the contacts for a while, and finally found Chen Shaokang's phone number.

Lin Dongfan dialed the number she had read out.

Soon, Chen Shaokang's voice came from the phone: "Hello, who is this?"

Lin Dongfan replied: "I am Fan Donglin."

"President Fan, I hope you're all right. Did my aunt catch up to your ship?" Chen Shaokang asked.

Lin Dongfan replied: "Mm, thanks for the reminder."

"Don't mention it, this is what I should do."

"Your aunt told me you've been suspended for investigation—is it because of the Dragon Palace banquet being smashed? Could it be that the exoneration plan I helped Lao Ba devise isn't working? Have I implicated you?"

"It's not because of that."

"Then what reason do the higher-ups have for moving against you?"

"My wife took money from others behind my back, and I only found out now. Consider me unlucky, but fortunately the amount isn't large—just around ten thousand yuan."

"Has the money been returned?"

"It has been returned."

"As long as it's been returned, that's fine."

As the director of the Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau, Lin Dongfan is naturally sensitive to corruption and bribery, and he does not want to personally arrest Chen Shaokang.

Lin Dongfan collected himself and comforted Chen Shaokang: "As long as you haven't been doubly opened, it's not a big problem. Just treat it as Along vacation. Once the turmoil surrounding Haishan settles, I'll give you a surprise."

"Thank you, President Fan, for looking out for me; I'm fine." Chen Shaokang sighed: "Matters in officialdom differ from those in the business world; you can't help me with this."

"Hehe, don't speak too absolutely."

Lin Dongfan pondered, wondering if revealing his true identity would leave the other party speechless. However, one thing is certain: the official and business circles of Haishan will surely astonish everyone sooner or later.