The entire ocean is my fishing ground.

Chapter 21 The camera is in place, please begin your performance.

The thug grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Don't worry, Brother Meng, I'll make sure his wrecked ship is turned into scrap metal."

Five o'clock in the morning.

Today's information has been updated (4/4)

[Intelligence 1 (Warning - Urgent): Zhang Meng plans to lead four people, carrying hammers and utility knives, to the west side of the town's dock at 2 AM tonight to sabotage the host's newly purchased fishing boat and cut the spare fishing nets. The route is to detour through the small road east of the village to the town's secondhand market, and then walk into the dock's blind spot.]

[Intelligence 2 (Opportunity): The town's digital store has two high-definition night vision surveillance cameras in stock today, supporting remote viewing via mobile phone and infrared illumination. High-capacity memory cards and power banks are also available for purchase. The store is open until 9 PM today.]

[Intelligence 3 (Warning): A streetlamp in the northwest corner of the town's dock is broken and unrepaired. The dim lighting at night makes it a suitable location to hide a pinhole camera, and it is also an easy target for attackers.]

[Intelligence 4 (Resource): There is a group of about 18 yellowfin tuna outside Qingshui Island. The quality is stable and can be used as a guaranteed source of fish for today.]

After reading the four intelligence reports, Lin Chen grabbed a pen and paper from his bedside table and quickly wrote down a few keywords: video recording, police report, compensation claim.

Zhang Meng finally couldn't hold back any longer and decided to strike from the shadows.

This was within Lin Chen's expectations.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. Zhang Tiejun's blacklist was broken by the speedboat, and Zhang Meng's prestige in the village was completely destroyed. It was only a matter of time before he was driven to desperation.

hide?

There's no way you can guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days.

Even if we hold out today, he'll still come tomorrow.

Since Zhang Meng wants to play dirty tricks, let's trap him completely in the chain of evidence and let him go straight to jail for free.

At six o'clock in the morning, Lin Chen asked Lin Jianguo to go out to sea.

"Not going to the open sea today?"

Lin Jianguo asked casually.

"Let's go take a walk around the outer side of Qingshui Island. The tide is right today, so there should be some goods there."

Lin Chen turned the steering wheel to full speed.

Zhang Meng's intention to smash the ship was primarily to cut off his business and prevent him from receiving orders.

Lin Chen, however, did not do as he wished.

Especially at times like these, it is crucial to ensure uninterrupted supply. This is not only a matter of credibility, but also a resounding slap in the face to Zhang Meng.

Upon arriving at the designated sea area, the father and son worked together seamlessly to cast their net.

When the net was pulled up, the golden yellowfin tuna were jumping and wriggling inside.

Exactly eighteen, no more, no less, all of uniform size and in excellent condition.

Lin Jianguo looked at the fish in the live water tank and took a puff of his cigarette.

"The restaurant likes this quality of yellow shark fin."

"Yes, it can fetch a good price."

Around noon, the fishing boats docked.

Lin Chen delivered the forty catties of yellowfin tuna directly to Yuge Restaurant and Haiweiju, earning over 1,200 yuan.

Business continues as usual, and money is still being made.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Chen rode his tricycle to town.

The digital store at the intersection of the old street was open.

The boss was a chubby man wearing glasses, idly scrolling through short videos.

"Boss, I need two high-definition night vision surveillance cameras, with infrared illumination, the kind that can be viewed remotely via a mobile phone. And one more webcam."

Lin Chen went inside and got straight to the point.

The fat shopkeeper paused for a moment, then pulled out two boxes from under the counter.

"Brother, you know your stuff. This brand just arrived, and the night vision is amazing. It even captures license plate numbers clearly."

"It also comes with two high-capacity memory cards, three high-capacity power banks, and a waterproof mounting clip."

Pay the bill and leave.

At six o'clock in the evening, the fishing boats on the dock returned to port one after another.

Lin Chen boarded his Blazer carrying a black plastic bag.

He first walked around the boat, removing the newly purchased fish finder and walkie-talkie—valuable electronic devices—and locking them in the lower deck.

Then, he pulled a half-new, half-old barbed wire net from the pile of debris and casually spread it out in a conspicuous place on the deck.

By the time all this was done, it was completely dark.

Lin Chen walked to the northwest corner of the dock.

The streetlight mentioned in the intelligence report was indeed broken, and the surrounding area was pitch black.

People who do bad things subconsciously tend to seek out dark places.

Lin Chen fixed the first main camera in the gap on the back of the iron box, with the lens facing the side of the Pioneer and the gangplank.

From this angle, you can get a very clear picture of the people boarding the ship.

He then jumped onto the boat and cleverly slipped the tiny camera, no bigger than a button, into a knot in the mooring rope along the side of the boat.

This position is specifically designed to capture close-up shots of destructive actions at close range.

Both devices were connected to a high-capacity power bank and sealed with waterproof tape.

Take out your phone, open the app, and adjust the screen.

Under infrared night vision, the image appears in clear black and white, and even water stains on the deck are clearly visible.

What Zhang Meng thought was a blind spot in the surveillance turned out to be the perfect frame for his shots.

Lin Chen returned home at 8 p.m.

When Lin Jianguo saw Lin Chen return, the old man tapped his pipe.

"Is everything on the ship packed up?"

"I've put it away."

"I saw you board the ship this afternoon with a bag of stuff, fiddling with it for ages. Was that bastard Zhang Meng trying to cause trouble?"

Although Lin Jianguo was a man of few words, he was as clear-headed as a mirror.

Lin Chen pulled over a small stool and sat down.

"He hired some thugs from out of town; they're probably going to come and smash the boat tonight."

Lin Jianguo stood up and grabbed the carrying pole.

"I'm sleeping on the boat tonight. Let's see who dares to touch my boat."

"Dad, sit down."

Lin Chen grabbed his father's arm.

"If you take a carrying pole, it'll just be a fight. If you win, you'll have to pay compensation; if you lose, you'll end up in the hospital. It's not worth it."

"So you just stand by and watch your ship get smashed?"

Let him smash it.

Lin Chen poured his father a glass of water.

"I installed cameras. If he dares to lay a hand on me, I can put him in jail for life. If the boat is damaged, he'll have to pay for it. All we have to do now is wait."

Lin Jianguo stared at his son and sighed.

"You little rascal, you've really got a lot of tricks up your sleeve lately."

It was late at night.

Huangni Village fell into slumber, save for the occasional bark of a dog.

It's 1:30 a.m.

The second floor of an old warehouse less than 200 meters from the dock.

Lin Chen sat on a broken wooden box, holding a cup of strong tea in his hands, the light from his phone screen reflecting on his face.

The screen displays two monitoring feeds in a split-screen format.

In the footage, the Pioneer rests quietly on the water, gently bobbing with the waves.

Lin Chen opened his phone's contacts and confirmed that the police station's duty room number was the first number on the speed dial.

He checked the photos in the album again, including the purchase invoice and pictures of the ship in good condition.

Everything is ready, except for Zhang Meng.

1:55.

The screen on the phone started to move.

From the edge of the blind spot in the northwest corner, several dark figures crept in furtively.

The person walking at the front was burly and wore a baseball cap, but Lin Chen recognized him at a glance because of his habitual pigeon-toed gait.

Zhang Meng.

Four unfamiliar faces followed behind him, each carrying something in their hands. Under the infrared night vision device, the metal objects reflected a pale white light.

That's a hammer.

The five men followed the broken streetlights to the dock. After looking around and confirming that no one was there, Zhang Meng made a hand gesture.

They stepped onto the Pathfinder using the gangplank.

The main camera captured the five people's every move in detail.

Zhang Meng walked to the center of the deck, glanced at the old fishing net spread out, sneered, took out an extended utility knife from his pocket, and stabbed it hard into the net.

"Sizzle—"

The sturdy nylon cable snapped instantly.

The footage from the pinhole camera clearly recorded a close-up of Zhang Meng's hand holding the knife, and even showed the old scar on the back of his hand.

"Get to it. Smash all the glass and the dial."

The four thugs raised their hammers and walked toward the cockpit window.

Lin Chen sat on the second floor of the warehouse, watching the scene on the screen. He steadily pressed the record save button, then went back to his contacts and opened the speed dial.

The phone was answered after only one ring.

"Hello, town police station."

"Hello, I need to report a crime. At the northwest corner of the town's dock, a group of five people are attacking my fishing boat with weapons. They're carrying hammers and knives. Yes, I'm at the scene watching them."