Chapter 175: Chapter 174: Where Are the Cages?

In another section of the crabbing grounds.

Five small crabbing boats were stopped on the surface of the sea. The crab traps on their decks had all been deployed, and now they were just waiting for the snow crabs to fill them.

Meanwhile, the captains were chatting excitedly on a private channel, discussing how many Franklins they could snatch from the *River Beach* this time.

"Did you guys hear that? Sounds like gunshots."

"It’s nothing. Someone’s buoy probably got spotted by the *River Beach*. No big deal. We can afford to lose one crab trap."

"Exactly. I’ve got spare crab traps stored at the pier. Whoever’s trap gets shot can grab one later. No matter what, we’re taking a bite out of the *River Beach* this time."

On the other side, the crew of the *River Beach* was fervently hauling in their crab traps.

The crack of the AR-15 never ceased. While the crew was busy retrieving the crab traps, Feng Mountain had shot at least 50 buoys to pieces.

The crewman in charge of handing him magazines watched with a stunned look on his face.

Fifty buoys represented fifty crab traps.

A single crab trap was worth 3,000 US dollars, so fifty crab traps meant 150,000 US dollars.

’If those bastards knew the boss had shot all their crab traps to hell, they’d cry their eyes out.’

At the same time, while hauling in their traps, the crew on deck would occasionally pull up crab traps deployed by other crabbing boats by mistake.

The rule of the sea: anything ownerless found in the water belongs to whoever finds it.

They used tools to remove the other boat’s nameplate and replace it with a *River Beach* nameplate, claiming it as their own.

With a wave of his hand, Alvin announced a reward of 1,000 US dollars for every trap recovered. This sent the crewman in charge of hooking the buoys into a frenzy of delight; he looked ready to jump into the churning sea to find more.

By the time they had pulled up all their crab traps, they were short eight of their own 200, but they had picked up over 30 others. It was a net gain.

Having satisfied his itch for some moving-target practice, Feng Mountain returned to the wheelhouse, feeling quite pleased with himself.

"Boss, the refrigerated hold is full, and the live well is full too. Should we head back?" Alvin couldn’t hide the joy on his face.

This trip was a pure, massive haul.

The 500-cubic-meter freezer hold was packed with Gray-eyed Snow Crab, and the live well held 120 tons of live crab. At the latest market price, the total value was at least 15 million US dollars.

"Let’s go back. I need to head back too," Feng Mountain nodded.

Alvin picked up the intercom. "Alright, boys, we’re heading home! You’ve worked hard. Go take a hot shower, eat some snow crab, and get a good night’s sleep. When you wake up, you’ll be millionaires!"

Instantly, a chorus of wild, wolf-like howls and cheers erupted from the crew’s quarters.

The captain might have been exaggerating a bit, but he wasn’t far off.

After all, the snow crabs were physically packed in the hold. Based on the profit share, everyone on board could expect to get a 200,000-dollar paycheck.

That was 200,000 US dollars!

For five days’ work, that salary was an absolute bargain.

And from the sound of it, after a few days of maintenance, the *River Beach* would be joining the Emperor Crab season. If they could keep having hauls like these past five days, becoming a millionaire really wasn’t just a dream.

"Long live the captain!"

"Long live the boss!"

"Long live the *River Beach*!"

Amid the cheers, the *River Beach* left the fishing grounds and set a course for Saint Paul Island.

In the distance, the five crabbing boats that had been monitoring the *River Beach*’s movements on radar saw it leave the area. Excited laughter erupted over their radios.

"The *River Beach* is gone. It’s our turn."

"So many snow crabs! We’re gonna get rich!"

"Guys, I’m the one who found this spot. Remember to buy me a drink when we get back."

"Don’t worry. Are two women enough? If not, we’ll make it three."

"Let’s get started. I can’t wait to start picking up free money!"

The radio went silent. The five captains immediately started up their "malfunctioning" crabbing boats and headed toward the area where they had dropped their traps.

But when they arrived at the location, the sea was a mass of churning waves and white spray. Nothing but churning waves and white spray.

The captain and crew of the *Pirate* stood at the rail, staring at the empty expanse of water in confusion.

According to their navigation, this was exactly where they had deployed their crab traps.

So where the hell were the buoys?

The same scene played out on the other four crabbing boats. They had secretly dropped their traps, but now there was no sign of the buoys.

Even if they were lucky enough to find a stray buoy and haul up the trap, they were met with an empty cage.

They were utterly dumbfounded.

’Did I imagine it? What about all those full cages of Gray-eyed Snow Crab?’

...

Aboard the *River Beach*.

Feng Mountain and Alvin sat in the wheelhouse, drinking vodka and eating fresh snow crab.

When they talked about those five clueless crabbing boats, they both burst into raucous laughter.

With only two days left in this year’s snow crab season, it was too late for them to buy new traps and head back out.

Not even counting the lost crab, they were going to lose a huge amount of money on the traps alone, not to mention crew wages, fuel costs, and snow crab quota fees.

Even if those five unlucky bastards didn’t go bankrupt, they were going to lose their shirts.

"From here on, it’s all on you. I’m heading back to Crown Territory as soon as we dock," Feng Mountain said, raising his glass.

Alvin felt a pang of reluctance. This whole crabbing trip had felt like a dream.

He had achieved a goal he’d been chasing for decades in just five days. It was a miracle he’d never even imagined.

Of course, the man sitting before him was the one who had brought it all about.

Alvin looked at Feng Mountain expectantly, his eyes shimmering with visions of the future.

"Boss, why don’t we go into the fishing business together? I feel like as long as you’re around, we’re guaranteed a bountiful catch. We could team up and build something big."

"That’s not necessary. The *River Beach* has the protection of a deity. It will always have a full hold." Feng Mountain shook his head with a mysterious smile, pointing to the Totem Wooden Statue on the dashboard.

’The protection of a deity?’

’That was just an excuse to comfort the crew. Who could guarantee that every trip would be like this one?’

Alvin knew in his heart that the ocean was fickle and unpredictable, which made crabbing inherently uncertain.

This massive haul might have just been a stroke of luck; placing all his hope in some intangible deity just wasn’t reliable.

Amidst these complex emotions, the *River Beach* entered the bay of Saint Paul Island.

A long blast from the ship’s horn announced to the workers at the Merchant Fishing Pier...

The *River Beach* was back!

The workers all looked up toward the bay, where the massive hull of the *River Beach* was slowly approaching the pier.

"That’s strange. They’re back after only five days. Did they have a problem on their shakedown cruise?"

"I remember the fuel merchant filled them up the night before they left."

"That’s right. Not only did the *River Beach* buy bait, but I heard they also bought a thousand-ton snow crab quota."

"My God! With the snow crab yields down this year, Alvin still dared to buy that big of a quota? That’s too greedy!"

"Quick, the *River Beach* is docking! Let’s go see if they have any catch to sell."

It wasn’t just the pier workers who saw the *River Beach* docking; the snow crab buyers were also crowding around.

The rising water temperatures in the Bering Sea this year had led to a massive die-off of snow crabs, and most boats hadn’t even been able to fill their quotas.

With only two days left in the season, the price of snow crab was changing daily. They just hoped the *River Beach* had at least *some* kind of haul.

After the *River Beach* was securely moored at the pier and the gangplank was lowered, Alvin walked down under the watchful eyes of his crew and faced the crowd of workers and buyers.

"What’s the price for snow crab today?"

"It’s 16.30 US dollars a pound right now. I’ll take as much as you’ve got."

"16.50 US dollars a pound."

"16.70 US dollars a pound."

The buyers in the crowd raised their hands, calling out bids. To be honest, they didn’t have high hopes for the *River Beach*. It was its first trip out, and the crew was newly hired and hadn’t had time to gel yet.

Alvin wasn’t satisfied with this price. He knew from the ship’s radio that the going rate in Anchorage had already reached 17.50 US dollars a pound.

Just then, a young, black-haired man in the crowd raised his hand and shouted, "17.20 US dollars a pound! I doubt anyone will bid higher than me."

Hearing the bid of 17.20 US dollars a pound, the other buyers on site sucked in a collective breath of cold air. After all, they all made their living by buying crab here and reselling it to the major distributors in Anchorage, only earning a small margin on the price difference.

If the price in Anchorage was 17.50 US dollars a pound and they were buying at just over 16, their profit margin was already razor-thin after factoring in travel and shipping costs.

But now some stranger had suddenly jumped in and offered 17.20 a pound.

’What was he going to make?’

Workers and buyers alike all turned to look at the bidder.

He looked to be in his twenties, with black hair and Asian features. His face held the typical arrogance of youth, making it hard to pinpoint his exact ethnicity.

"Hey, buddy, are you trying to disrupt the market?"

"What are you thinking, offering 17.20 a pound?"

"Jacking the price up so high for just a few measly pounds of snow crab? How are we supposed to do business after this?"

Facing the barrage of questions, the black-haired young man just shrugged. "Gentlemen, it all comes down to who has the deeper pockets. If you can outbid me, be my guest!"

"Bullshit! I’d have to be crazy to pay that price."

"The *River Beach* is a new boat. They can’t have much snow crab. Your little plot to disrupt the market is a failure."

"Listen, kid. I have an exclusive agreement with five crabbing boats—the *South Wind*, the *Pirate*, the *Sun Never Sets*, the *Conqueror*, and the *Brown Bear*. A flat rate of 16 dollars a pound. *That’s* how you do business."

The buyers flashed smug smiles.

’This kid thinks money can solve everything. So naive.’

’This is Saint Paul Island.’

’We’ve had all the crabbing boats on this island locked down for a long time.’

’Maybe he can buy a few crabs from the *River Beach* today, but once we get Alvin on our side in a few days, he won’t be able to buy a single crab leg.’

Alvin watched everything unfold with a cold expression. Of course, he knew all about the buyers’ underhanded dealings; he had once been one of them.

Deliberately suppressing prices, pushing out external buyers, colluding with crabbing boats—all sorts of dirty tricks.

But things were different now.

He had a boss and the *River Beach*. He didn’t need to deal with these people at all.

His gaze fell on the young, black-haired man who had made the offer.

"Friend, come on board and we’ll talk. The haul is a bit big this time. I’m afraid you might not be able to take it all."

Then he looked back at the buyers on the pier.

"Still waiting for the *Pirate* and the others? I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed."

’Disappointed?’

’What does he mean?’

The buyers wanted to ask more, but they saw Alvin lead the young man onto the *River Beach* as several menacing-looking crewmen blocked the gangplank.

"From the sound of it, the *River Beach* had a massive haul this trip?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"No way. A few thousand pounds of snow crab at most."

"Isn’t that Hope standing on the gangplank? You’re buddies with him, go ask!"

Urged on by the others, a worker went up to the gangplank and asked quietly, "Hey, man, how was the haul this trip?"

Hope looked conflicted and glanced at the crewmen standing next to him.

The captain had given orders not to reveal the catch size, but the person asking was a friend he’d grown up with.

He hemmed and hawed for a long moment. Then it occurred to him that the captain had said not to mention the quantity of the catch, but he hadn’t said anything about their earnings.

"For five days’ work... I made 200,000."

What?!

Two hundred thousand US dollars in five days.

The worker who had come asking for information stood frozen on the spot.

...