The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Immediate Fallout, Done Playing Nice

The Hua Country ship immediately responded, "This Hua Country fishing boat was only fishing. It did not recover a detector."

"You are approaching our national defense line. Halt your advance immediately. I repeat, halt your advance immediately."

With that, the five Hua Country ships moved toward the foreign vessel.

Although the opposing ship was more advanced and faster, it was simply outnumbered.

The foreign ship wanted to continue the pursuit, but it was blocked off.

Short of using their weapons, their only option was to ram them.

But the cost of that was too high. They were near Hua Country’s defense line. If a collision occurred, it wouldn’t be them capturing Hua Country people, but the other way around—all under the guise of a "rescue."

When Wang Liang saw the ships, a flicker of frustration crossed his eyes.

’What a waste of the message I sent!’

Ye Feng noticed more and more beads of sweat forming on Han Xiaorui’s forehead. "Comrade Xiao Han, let me take over."

Han Xiaorui refused. "No, we have to keep going at full speed. We’ll be fine once we cross the defense line."

Once they were inside the line, Shencheng’s coastal artillery could hit the foreign ship.

The foreign ship would never dare to cross into Hua Country’s defense line.

They finally shot past the defense line and traveled another two nautical miles.

Ye Feng quickly said to Zhou Yang, "Zhou Yang, take the helm."

Now that he wasn’t needed for plotting coordinates, Zhou Yang was free. "Comrade Xiao Han, let me take over."

Han Xiaorui let out a long sigh of relief and stepped aside. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Once Zhou Yang had full control of the helm, Han Xiaorui’s legs gave out. She staggered and nearly collapsed.

With quick reflexes, Ye Feng shot to his feet and steadied her. "Xiao Rui, sit down and rest!"

"Thanks!" Han Xiaorui had used up too much of her superpower. Knowing she couldn’t push herself any further, she let Ye Feng help her into a chair.

"Should have thought of that before, shouldn’t you have?" Wang Liang muttered under his breath.

Han Xiaorui narrowed her eyes and shot Wang Liang a cold glare. "If I hadn’t been at the helm, we would’ve been caught by those Japaneses long ago."

She had made a mistake earlier, but she had also made up for it.

They were safe now, but Wang Liang was still whining. Han Xiaorui wasn’t going to tolerate it any longer.

Ye Feng turned, fixing Wang Liang with a sharp gaze. "Wang Liang, there’s a problem with your attitude. You need to apologize to Comrade Xiao Han right now."

It was the first time Wang Liang had ever seen Ye Feng truly angry, and the menacing aura he exuded made him shrink back.

With a guilty conscience, Wang Liang didn’t dare meet Ye Feng’s eyes. "S-sorry, Comrade Xiao Han."

"Hmph!" Han Xiaorui had a temper of her own. She turned her head away from Wang Liang.

Previously, Han Xiaorui had thought that after explaining what Zhang Lili had done, she shouldn’t hold it against Wang Liang. And Wang Liang, for his part, had at least managed to be polite on the surface at first.

But the moment things got a little difficult, he showed his true disgust for her.

’She, Han Xiaorui, was no masochist. She lived by a simple principle: you respect me an inch, I’ll respect you a yard.’

’Since Wang Liang was going to be shameless, she’d stop being courteous. In fact, she’d look for an opportunity to put him in his place!’

"Comrade Ye Feng, if you ever bring him with you again, I won’t report it even if I find another detector."

Wang Liang’s heart sank. ’If I don’t go with them, how can I provide an accurate location?’

"Comrade Han Xiaorui, protecting national security is everyone’s duty," Wang Liang said, his voice suddenly rising as he tried to intimidate her with his position.

Han Xiaorui shot back, "And aren’t the people supposed to be the masters of this country? Aren’t you supposed to be a public servant? Because I don’t see a single shred of an intention to serve the people in you."

"You’re the type who fawns on your superiors while baring your fangs at ordinary people. You throw your weight around just like the traitors and collaborators you see on TV."

Hearing this, the color drained from Wang Liang’s face as if she had hit a nerve. He flew into a rage. "Han Xiaorui, don’t you dare make baseless accusations! You say one more word, and I’ll have you arrested for slandering a public official."

Ye Feng’s brow tightened, and his eyes grew even colder. He snapped, "Wang Liang, who gave you the right to speak to a citizen like that?"

"Your attitude is the problem here, and yet you refuse to admit you’re wrong. When we get back, you will reflect on this and write a self-criticism report."

Wang Liang lowered his head, hiding the loathing and guilt in his eyes.

Zhou Yang looked from Han Xiaorui to Wang Liang. He felt something was strange, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

’No matter,’ he thought. ’We accomplished something major today.’

Behind them, the five Hua Country ships were still in a standoff with the foreign vessel, refusing to let it cross the defense line under any circumstances.

Hua Country would not fire the first shot, but they had the courage to ram.

After all, there were five of them. If worst came to worst, they would sacrifice one ship to defend the nation’s maritime border.

Only after the foreign ship had left and they received a telegram from Ye Feng’s party confirming they had reached the shore did the crews of the Hua Country ships finally turn back.

"Mr. Ye, Comrade Zhou, you two go on ahead. I need to go to the county seat to sell my fish." Han Xiaorui had just had some water and was feeling recovered.

Ye Feng thought Han Xiaorui still looked weak. "Zhou Yang, go help her."

Han Xiaorui refused. "There’s no need. I was just shaken up earlier. I’m fine now. Besides, we’re on our own home turf. What’s there to fear from those Japaneses?"

The women on the shore mending nets and digging for clams all gathered around, curious to see what kind of fish Han Xiaorui had caught.

Song the Second also hurried over. He figured that with Yang Zhigang not around, he could flatter Han Xiaorui with a few nice words and maybe make a nice little profit for himself today.

When Han Xiaorui saw Song the Second, a look of disdain crossed her face. ’She still hadn’t settled the score with him and his wife for instigating Zhang Xiufang last time!’

’As if she’d ever sell the Luo Duan to Song the Second on the cheap.’

Just as Song the Second was about to step onto the boat, Han Xiaorui started the engine. With a WHOOSH, she sped away.

Song the Second’s foot found only air. He plunged straight from the dock into the water and sank beneath the surface.

"HAHAHA!" Han Xiaorui roared with laughter as she piloted the boat away, her bright, hearty laugh carrying far across the water.

The women on the shore burst out laughing. Did that Song the Second really think Han Xiaorui was a pushover? Did he think a few flattering words were all it would take to trick her?

This was the woman who had managed to get her own former mother-in-law thrown in jail!

Song the Second’s wife was the one who had goaded Zhang Xiufang into making trouble for Han Xiaorui in the first place, so there was no way Han Xiaorui would ever sell her fish to him!

Everyone was disappointed that they didn’t get to see the fish Han Xiaorui had caught.

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