Cai Bao'er casually picked up the megaphone. "Don't throw it away; I paid twenty yuan for it. It might be useful next time."

The dark-skinned girl said, "Don't call me boss; my surname is Shen, and my name is Langhua."

Zhu Da eagerly stepped forward to take the homemade item from Shen Langhua's hand. "That's a beautiful name, Langhua, so elegant. I could never come up with such a fine name."

Shen Langhua chuckled. "What's so good about it? We fishermen are uneducated, so we just pick names from the sea. Come on, if you're going to eat, you should come to our house. Do you have anything else with you?"

Cai Bao'er replied, "Nothing except three bachelors, we can leave anytime."

Even after the five of them walked far off, I could still hear people behind us discussing, "Old Shen got away cheap this time, hiring three titans for two hundred yuan. Next time he goes out to sea, he'll definitely catch more fish than us. Too bad; if I had spoken up sooner, he wouldn't have gotten such a deal."

"Are you stupid? Do you really think those three guys care about the money? They're interested in Old Shen's family, specifically Langhua. I'd say they might even be people sent by the 'West Side.' We should be careful."

"Stop gossiping; you might bring trouble upon yourselves. Let's just sell the fish and go home to sleep with our wives."

Shen Langhua asked as we walked, "What are your names, the three of you?"

Zhu Da quickly responded, "I am Zhu Da, this chubby younger brother is Zhu Er, and that handsome younger brother is Zhu San."

Ugh, the whole family is named Zhu. Why couldn't they pick a better surname? They had to use their own family name. Seeing Cai Bao'er's disgruntled expression, I knew he was unhappy with the name too.

Shen Langhua seemed uninterested in Zhu Da and Zhu Er. She deliberately slowed her pace and said to me, "Zhu San, have you studied?"

It seemed my appearance suggested I was more scholarly. I replied, "A few days, but my older brother said studying is useless, so he stopped me from going and told me to come down and work to earn money."

Shen Langhua sighed. "That's true. If you can't even solve the problem of basic sustenance, studying is pointless. I only went to school for three days. Then the primary school on our island closed down, and I never attended again. If you have a chance, teach me how to read."

I casually agreed, "Sure."

Cai Bao'er chimed in, "I can teach you to read too!"

Zhu Da smacked Cai Bao'er on the head. "Second brother, stay behind. You can only count to eight, and you want to teach someone to read? I'll do it. I studied for nine years; I know tons of characters."

Shen Langhua turned to Zhu Da. "You, the eldest brother, are too selfish. You studied for nine years and yet told your younger brother that studying is useless. I despise selfish people like you the most."

Zhu Da looked utterly embarrassed; he had definitely shot himself in the foot. He didn't dare say another word for the rest of the walk. Old Man Shen, carrying a basket of fish, walked ahead without speaking. Before long, we arrived at a small courtyard. The courtyard was extremely dilapidated, though the hygiene was passable, thankfully.

Shen Langhua told the three of us, "Starting tonight, you three will sleep on the boat. You'll eat here during the day so you can get used to the environment. In the afternoon, you'll repair the fishing nets. We need to set sail no later than the day after tomorrow."

We tidied up here and there, and soon it was noon. A rich aroma of fish drifted from the low-ceilinged hut, making Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er salivate. I had never smelled such fresh fish soup before, and my heart was filled with anticipation for lunch.

Finally, Shen Langhua called us to eat. We gathered in the small hut, sitting close together. Old Man Shen remained silent, scooping large bowls of rice and eating. Shen Langhua welcomed us: "There are rarely fresh vegetables here besides fish; please make do."

Zhu Da said, "Having fish and white rice is already great. Hurry up and eat, younger brothers."

While eating, I managed to pry out most of the island's situation from Shen Langhua. The island had three natural villages, none with more than a hundred households; the largest had only eighty. The island's economy was very backward. Besides one fishery company that bought the fish the locals caught daily, there were almost no other sources of income.

The island was governed by a small town on a larger island ninety nautical miles away. Due to inconvenient transportation and communication, the three natural villages had been in a state of autonomy for many years, with the government rarely interfering.

This place was not far from Da Nang in Vietnam. Da Nang City was the second-largest city in Southern Vietnam, the capital of Quang Nam–Da Nang Province, covering 79 square kilometers. Da Nang Bay was one of Vietnam's famous natural deep-water harbors—wide and deep, backed by mountains and facing the sea, with a strategically advantageous position.

Da Nang had four harbors, three of which were naval ports, each capable of accommodating ocean liners over ten thousand tons. There were three airfields, one of which, Da Nang Airport, could hold several hundred jets. Water and land transportation were convenient, with the north-south railway and highway both passing through here, making its strategic importance immense.

I subtly inquired about the Vietnamese people, but Shen Langhua stammered and refused to answer. She hinted that if we wanted to stay and work here, we shouldn't meddle in other people's business, or we might cause trouble for them, not just for ourselves.

Most of the income from fishing went to buying diesel fuel and maintaining the fishing gear. Since Old Man Shen had recently added a large net, he decided to hire people. Otherwise, at the normal monthly salary—a little over a thousand yuan a month for the three of them—they couldn't afford it, and that didn't even include food expenses. Three grown men ate a considerable amount at every meal; Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er finished an entire pot of rice just dipping it in the fish soup.

In the afternoon, led by Shen Langhua, the three of us went to the seaside to repair the fishing nets on the boat. The Shunfeng (Fair Wind) was a diesel-powered steel-hulled boat, patched up and likely decades old. The name 'Shunfeng' was painted on it haphazardly in large, crooked characters.

We knew none of the work on the boat, but thankfully, it wasn't complicated. After a day and a half, we were familiar with everything. Then came following the fishing boat out to sea. We expected things to be simple, but after fishing for two weeks, nothing had been accomplished.

The Shunfeng stayed within the area of the Zhongsha (Macclesfield) Islands. It never went as far south as the Reed Bank or the Twin Reefs. There were garrisons from the Fei Lü (Flying Donkey) and Ming Island there. Old Man Shen was probably afraid of trouble.

But if the fishing boat didn't encounter trouble, our mission couldn't proceed. Every time we brought up finding escorts for the boat, they skillfully skirted the topic. If we pressed further, they would ignore us. We tried contacting fishermen on other boats; they were all the same. It made me so angry I wanted to call Peach to analyze what was going on in their heads, but then I thought, since I made the effort to come out on a mission, I should focus on completing it seriously.

These past few days were sheer torture for Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er. The sun near the equator was brutally hot, changing the skin color of the three of us. It was nothing but white rice and fish soup every day, making our mouths go completely bland. The initial excitement of eating such fresh food was long gone; now, the smell of fish made us lose our appetites.

However, the happiest person was Old Man Shen. During this period, the amount of fish we caught was consistently the best among all the fishing boats on the island. After deducting all expenses, he made an extra hundred or two yuan every time they went out to sea. If we continued working for him like this, I believe in a few years he could replace the broken boat with a new one.

That night, the three of us discussed plans while sleeping on the fishing boat. Zhu Da said, "Let's just fight it out openly, like in a knife fight. How long will this drag on? You two don't plan on being sailors here forever, do you?"

I replied, "Being here forever is impossible, but at least we've experienced the fishermen's living conditions. The fishermen here refuse to tell the truth. I suspect there's a problem here, and we need to figure it out in the next couple of days."

Cai Bao'er groaned, "You two investigate. I have no energy left. I'm practically starving just eating fish and rice every day."

Zhu Da retorted, "Cai Baozi, you never eat anything, so of course you're starving! I wonder who was saying fish soup with rice was the greatest delicacy in the world at first, and now look at you. Aren't you embarrassed?"

I said, "We can't just wait around. I think we should go back to your original idea: send small teams to harass the islands garrisoned by the Vietnamese troops. Annoy them enough so they come out looking for trouble themselves."

Zhu Da exclaimed, "We should have done that long ago! I'll arrange for people to do it right now."

Cai Bao'er volunteered, "I request to join the action. Even if I only get a piece of compressed biscuit to eat, it'll be worth it."

"Shh!" I warned them to be quiet.

Zhu Da whispered, "What is it? I don't hear anything but the waves."

I lowered my voice, "Don't make a sound. I hear someone sneaking ashore. Let's go take a look."

The three of us slipped out of the boat wearing only our shorts. Our fishing boat was moored in a secluded spot, shielded by nearby rocks, so it was rarely discovered by ordinary people. The three of us crouched behind the rocks and watched several figures moving stealthily on the distant shore. Zhu Da gave me a thumbs-up. "Well done, Commander Zhao! Your hearing is getting sharper. I have to admire you, brother."

Cai Bao'er hissed, "Commander Zhu, shut your mouth and hurry up and follow them to see who they are."

There were four people in the other group. After coming ashore, they hid their diving gear and then split up to enter the small fishing village. We initially thought they were going to steal something, but then realized the cost of sneaking onto an island via diving was too high. The only valuable assets on the island were the fishermen's boats, but every boat had someone guarding it, making theft difficult.

These four people visited one house after another in the east side of the small fishing village. One household kept a guard dog, and one of the four raised a hand. The dog let out a muffled cry and collapsed on the ground, motionless. The four then toured the entire village, retrieved their diving gear, and plunged into the sea.

Zhu Da said, "Cai Baozi, you dive and follow them to see where they're going. Commander Zhao and I will go into the village to check what they've done. Be careful not to expose your target."

Cai Bao'er scoffed, "Damn it, I don't have any diving gear to follow them."

Zhu Da quipped, "Didn't you boast about knowing the Turtle Breath Technique? You could hold your breath and swim across the South China Sea, right?"

Cai Bao'er confessed, "I was just bragging! Holding my breath for one minute is my limit."

I intervened, "Stop arguing, both of you. You two go check the village, and I'll follow them. Don't alert the villagers easily; it’s not the time to stir up trouble."

Underwater, I was far more capable than the other two; describing it as moving like a fish in water would not be an exaggeration. The four, clad in diving suits, were not moving quickly, and I soon caught up. I followed behind them at a steady pace, watching where they were headed.

The deeper they dove, the greater the depth of the seawater became. Soon, the outline of a submarine appeared in sight. The four quickened their pace and quickly entered the operating range of the sub. The submarine then began to surface, opened its hatch, and the four slipped inside before it quickly submerged and headed west after the hatch closed.

I was familiar with the exterior of this submarine; it was a small North Korean-made model, very low in tonnage, primarily used by the Vietnamese for transporting the 126th Marine Brigade. Vietnam originally had two of them; we destroyed one on the way to invade Mong Cai last time, so this one should be extremely precious to the 126th Marine Brigade.

From the submarine, I could ascertain the identity of these four: they must be agents from the Vietnamese Marine Brigade infiltrating our Great Dragon Country to carry out subversive activities. They severely underestimated the strength of our nation! A mere Marine Brigade, thinking they were hot stuff because they once sank a US warship—others might fear them, but I certainly wouldn't. If they like sinking ships, today I'll let them taste what a sea burial is like.

I didn't act immediately. First, I needed to find a place with sufficient depth. This sea area was visited by Vietnamese as well as Great Dragon Country personnel. The advantage of deep water was that even if the Vietnamese confirmed the submarine's sinking location, they wouldn't be able to salvage it, leaving them frustrated.

Passing a small deep trench, I felt it was the perfect grave for them. I swiftly caught up to the Vietnamese submarine and began hammering its exterior hull with my fists. It was just ordinary pressure-resistant alloy, with extremely limited hardness; it couldn't withstand my blows. The pressure hull was damaged and began taking on water rapidly.

Fearing the submarine might escape, I chased it to the rear and punched the rapidly rotating propeller with one blow. Bang!

The propeller made a muffled sound before breaking off and flying away from the submarine. To ensure its demise, I punched several holes in the hatch. Seawater rushed in; it would be hard for them to survive now. Rest in peace. Watching the Vietnamese submarine violently sink into the trench, I offered a brief prayer for them before returning to the fishing village.

I waited on the Shunfeng for a while. Soon, Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er returned. "Commander Zhao, Cai Baozi and I discovered these things. How did your end go?"

Zhu Da handed me a stack of papers. I flipped through them—they were all printed propaganda materials. Cai Bao'er fumed, "Those bastards are Vietnamese spies! Damn it, they dared to distribute reactionary documents on our turf! Next time we see them, we'll just wipe them out!"

I said while reading, "No need to wait for next time. They're feeding the fish right now."

The two exclaimed, "Commander Zhao, you acted ahead of us!"

I explained the situation to them. They laughed, "With the 126th Marine Brigade losing their underwater equipment, let's see how much they can stir up. Should we build a few cheap, small diesel-electric submarines and sell them, then sink them? We could profit in the middle."

I replied, "We're not lacking that little bit of money. Let's focus on what to do tomorrow. We really can't wait any longer. If Old Man Shen refuses to fish near the islands garrisoned by the Vietnamese tomorrow, we'll just carry him there!"