Chapter 352: The Red Name Is Over

Yu Kai Lang saw Wu An's expression was a bit off and said, "That person is being a little gloating, never mind, don't take it to heart; after all, we won't have any more dealings with them."

Wu An nodded, smiled, and asked, "How many more fishing boats are left to inspect?"

Huang Xuejun looked toward the dock's manager, an old man, who said, "There should be about seven or eight boats left."

Wu An shook his head, "Then we won't check them."

"I thought about it; searching like this really isn't a solution."

"Even if I could recognize it, the obvious markings—anyone who stole a Crab Pot wouldn't have eyes as decorations; they'd definitely deal with it."

"Maybe… one of the boats we already checked has my Crab Pot, and I didn't notice."

"I'm probably useless following, so I won't follow and hinder the investigation."

Yu Kai Lang said, "A An, it's what Lao Ma just said…"

Wu An said, "What he said makes sense."

Yu Kai Lang and Liu Long exchanged a glance, nodded; since Wu An no longer persisted, they naturally didn't have to rush, letting Wu An follow the case would already violate the rules.

Huang Xuejun smiled, "Good that the handsome guy can see it through."

"Don't worry, even if you don't follow, we'll handle the case seriously."

"It's your matter, really hard to investigate… haha, but not impossible; there's still hope, huh."

They escorted the person all the way to the parking lot.

Watching the car leave, Huang Xuejun smoked a cigarette and walked back, arriving at a small tavern not far from the dock where Lao Ma happened to be smoking at the entrance, and he waved a greeting.

"Want a drink?"

"No thanks."

"Brother Huang, why be so polite? It's late at night, after work we were pulled into overtime, walked so far; we need a midnight snack to tide us over, otherwise we'll be hungry tonight."

"Then we'll eat a bit, but no alcohol."

"Alright…"

Inside the tavern, besides Lao Ma there were a few deckhands from the boat; after a couple bites of food, Lao Ma had already filled the wine glass, and Huang Xuejun glared, "Weren't we supposed not to drink?"

"I just poured it; Brother Huang, if you don't want to drink, just pour it."

"Huh, we can't waste it; just this one cup."

They kept drinking, bottle after bottle.

"Those from the Neighboring Town came to investigate; what did they find?"

"What the heck did they investigate?"

"Couldn't find anything?"

"They did investigate, but it will probably fizzle out."

"I heard the loss was considerable."

"You also sold Nine-section Shrimp today; that shrimp is valuable. If the loss hadn't been huge, we wouldn't have made such a big fuss."

Hearing that, Lao Ma and the deckhands exchanged glances.

"Don't gloat either; that kid got discouraged by what you said and quit on the spot."

"I'm not gloating," Lao Ma smiled, thinking to himself that it was provocation; the kid following was useless, he didn't notice the Crab Pot. This investigation is purely a joke; giving up early would have been right. He continued, "If you ask me, it's his own carelessness—he's been handling so many Crab Pots, so why steal his and not others, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, fine, let's not talk about this, come on, drink."

"Here, drink."

They drank.

Huang Xuejun left, Lao Ma settled the bill, and the deckhands also left the tavern.

"Brother Ma, does that mean it's all right now?"

"Obviously, Brother Huang already said we couldn't find anything, so it's definitely fine."

"That's good."

"The money's in hand, time to spend it." Lao Ma smoked, sneering, "We'll keep an eye on that kid and pull another job next time."

"Steal again?"

"What's there to fear? As long as we're careful and not caught on the spot, nothing will happen." After Lao Ma finished speaking and exhaled a smoke ring, at first, Wu An and the others boarded the ship; he was actually quite nervous.

That's why he said those words to provoke Wu An; in the end, Wu An didn't notice anything, so he felt relieved and half‑heartedly urged Wu An to keep looking.

Thinking about it now, he couldn't help but laugh.

That kid was probably just being funny.

But.

If they steal again, they'll need to be more careful; that kid isn't a fool—after being stolen from once, the next Crab Pot might have some kind of marking.

"At worst, if we steal a Crab Pot later, just toss it into the sea," Lao Ma muttered to himself.

…

Inside the car.

Yu Kai Lang drove, Liu Long sat in the passenger seat, and the two occasionally glanced at Wu An in the back through the rearview mirror, both looking somewhat gloomy.

The atmosphere was heavy.

After all, they'd gone around this big circle and got nothing.

They arrived at Zhen Shang Ma Tou.

Wu An got off the car.

Yu Kai Lang also got out, saying, "A An, don't worry…"

Wu An smiled and said, "Kai Lang, don't put too much pressure on yourself; I trust you'll do everything you can to help me investigate."

"But I also know this is hard to investigate."

If you can't find it, I won't blame you.

It's my bad luck, and it's also my own carelessness; I didn't even notice that someone had set their sights on the crab pot's spot.

From now on, I'll be extremely careful.

Hearing Wu An say that, Yu Kai Lang felt even worse, and said, 'Fine, it's good that you think that way.'

After saying a few words, Wu An walked toward the dock.

Yu Kai Lang got back in the car and couldn't help slapping the steering wheel; Liu Long said, 'Is A An giving up?'

Yu Kai Lang said, 'More or less.'

After all... it's just too hard to investigate.

But I must investigate, and I must get to the bottom of it.

Liu Long patted his shoulder without saying anything; he had been happy to get Wu An's call, after all, the previous few times had turned out sweet.

As a result.

This case is too tricky.

……

Wu An walked to where the fishing boats were moored, humming a little tune; he actually felt quite relaxed, and after all this running around, the haul was still great.

At least he had identified the culprit.

How to take revenge?

He was thinking, get someone to beat up Lao Ma, hit him with a blunt object, give him a good beating, even break his hand, so he knows there are things you shouldn't touch.

That's not impossible.

But just venting anger—what about the loss?

Losing the crab pot, including the seafood inside, Yu Kai Lang reminded him of the lost wages; all of that needs to be recovered!

Thinking about the last words Lao Ma said to him, that smug little man's face, Wu An couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.

You think you're safe?

You think you're free of worry?

I can't find it?

Actually!

You bastard, you've already been red-named here!

The more recklessly Lao Ma acts, the more advantageous it is for him.

When heaven wishes someone's ruin, it first drives them mad.

Arrived at the dock.

Wu An saw that the cargo hadn't been fully unloaded, felt a bit surprised, and asked, 'What's going on? It's not done yet.'

He glanced at the time; it was already past eight in the evening.

A Jin came to explain, saying, 'Brother An, you're back; my boss is bringing people over right away, we'll hold a secret auction on site.'

In short.

Just take the goods that have been moved up; everyone writes a price on a sign, and the highest bidder gets it.

Other fish aren't necessary, but the large yellow fish is definitely worth it, and it can maximize the value of the large yellow fish.

Wu An suddenly understood.

A Jin asked, 'Have you found the thief?'

Wu An shook his head.

A Jin comforted, 'Brother An, don't take it to heart; just think of it as giving alms to a dog.'

Wu An smiled and said, 'Fine, I'll listen to you.'

A Jin blinked, thinking he had that much face?

A Qing stood nearby listening, and asked in a low voice, 'Brother, are you planning to let it go?'

Wu An spread his hands: 'Brother Kai Lang will help investigate.'

While saying that.

A group of people walked over this way.