Super Zoo-Chapter 379 - 375: Blowing Up the Ship

Wu Dacheng admitted to secretly keeping sturgeon, and Chu’s eyes lit up with joy as he ordered the fishery patrol boat to commence the rescue.

"Hold on a minute," Suming stopped the captain.

There was a delay, and the sand dredger sank further; what was mostly above water just moments ago was now completely submerged. From afar, it looked as though Wu Dacheng and his few men were standing on the water practicing how to float.

It looked freaking cool!

But the agony was known only to the victim himself. Gradually sinking into the water, the suction growing stronger under his feet, Wu Dacheng was desperate.

He could only blame his own complacency! Normally, such a large sand dredger would be equipped with at least a small lifeboat for escape in these situations. But Wu Dacheng’s boat was second-hand and came without a lifeboat. He thought buying one was purely for show—how could it possibly sink when operating on the Yangtze River near the coast, not venturing into deep waters or the sea? Experience exclusive tales on novelbuddy

It’s just like many people not wearing seat belts when driving. Even though it’s one of the most important safety devices and comes standard in every car, many people find it too cumbersome or uncool. They trust their driving skills and think they won’t get into an accident... until it’s too late for regrets when an accident does happen.

There were a few lifebuoys on the gunwale, but they were useless. The boat was slowly sinking, and as vast amounts of river water poured into the cabin, it created whirlpools around the vessel, with strong undercurrents pulling downwards. Even with a lifebuoy, there was a high chance of being sucked under and drowning.

He only had himself to blame for his demise. The original location of the sand dredger wasn’t that deep, but after years of dredging, he had dug a large hole in the riverbed, making this section much deeper than others, resulting in numerous dangerous whirlpools and currents.

The river was wide, but that’s relative to small streams; it was nothing compared to the vast sea, and you could see the opposite bank at a glance. Many fishing boats passed by on the river, and if they saw a boat sinking, they would certainly offer help without hesitation... The problem was, once they realized it was Wu Dacheng’s sand dredger, none of the nearby fishing boats showed any intention of approaching.

Wu Dacheng, on board, was so anxious his face turned pale, sweating profusely as he watched the boat gradually sink and water slowly rise over the deck.

Suming, however, stood at the bow as if nothing was the matter, holding a megaphone and asked leisurely, "Where are the sturgeons?"

"F*ck... they’re at my house..." Wu Dacheng was on the verge of tears.

"Hey Wu, why are you keeping those things? You’re not planning to eat them yourself, are you?" Suming asked.

"I sell them, I sell them, okay? Just hurry up and rescue us!"

Suming turned to ask Liang Shi, who was filming with a DV camera, "Did you get all that?"

"Got every bit of it, crystal clear!" Liang Shi nodded vigorously.

"Okay, time to rescue!" Suming snapped his fingers at the captain of the fishery patrol boat.

...

The following procedures went smoothly. After Wu Dacheng was rescued, Suming took strong measures to control him and his group immediately to prevent the transfer of evidence. Then he had Su Meng accompany Liang Shi, Professor Chu, and a few fishery officials to Wu Dacheng’s house, where they seized two white sturgeons.

Wu Dacheng’s home was a three-story villa with a yard, decorated like Caesar’s Palace, dazzlingly luxurious—a well-known place in town. You could easily find the location by asking around. He had two big wolf dogs at home, and Wu Dacheng’s wife, used to being domineering, was only ever on the giving end of a bashing. Today, when people stormed into her home, she was not going to take it lying down and screamed, commanding the two wolf dogs to pounce on Chu and the others.

This time, there was no need for Suming to use his spiritual power. Su Meng let out a roar like a fierce beast that terrified the dogs so much their legs went weak, and he grabbed them by the neck and threw them over the yard wall.

Su Meng and his team, carrying two sturgeons, made it back to the fishery patrol boat. Soon after, the police, alerted by the emergency call, dispatched officers to the scene. The town, mere minutes away from the riverbank, was quickly abuzz with the news of a sunken ship. Added to the earlier alert from the Agricultural Science Academy, three related counties immediately made the decision to send the nearest police force to the riverside for emergency response.

The team was led by a deputy director of the County Public Security Bureau, who boarded a small fishing boat with several officers and leaped onto the fishery patrol boat.

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Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

There were nine people on the sand mining boat, including Wu Dacheng. They were all rescued and had their hands cuffed behind their backs with plastic ties around their thumbs. They were then crammed into the small cabin of the fishery patrol boat. When the deputy director came aboard, he saw the small cabin, less than five square meters, packed with people like sardines in a can; Wu Dacheng’s face was pressed against the window, pleading with the deputy director for help.

"What exactly happened?" the deputy director asked with a slight frown, addressing the staff of the fishery patrol boat.

Chu stood out, first clarifying his identity, and then narrated the day’s events to the deputy director in full detail. During the illegal sand mining, the sand mining boat likely sucked up a bomb left over from World War II, resulting in a large hole in the ship that caused it to sink.

Illegal sand mining and capturing nationally protected class I wildlife, caught red-handed with irrefutable evidence, Wu Dacheng had no way to deny the charges.

If it were just these two charges, Wu Dacheng might have found a way to wriggle out of them. But add an explosion to the mix, and the math wasn’t as simple as 1+1=2.

In recent years, environmental protection had consistently been a hot topic. "Illegal sand mining boat explodes, stealing national protected animals" would quickly ferment into an explosive news story when combined.

As expected, no sooner had the deputy director clarified the situation than calls came in from the leaders of the county. Yangchuan City TV Station and Jiangjin City TV Station from the capital, both having received the videos shot by Liang Shi, called one after the other, requesting interviews.

"Professor Chu, it was comrades from your Agricultural Science Academy who first reported the emergency, and you also provided the firsthand evidence. Having witnessed the entire process on the scene, the county has asked me to express their thanks on their behalf. Also, several media outlets want to conduct interviews. As the parties involved, our police force hopes you can join us," the deputy director said.

Professor Chu waved his hand dismissively, "No need to thank me. I, too, rushed over after receiving the news. If anyone deserves thanks, it’s this comrade here. Look, this is Mr. Su, Deputy Director of Yangchuan City Zoo. He’s young and strong, with a wealth of experience. He has been involved from the beginning to the end of the whole affair and even risked boarding the vessel to negotiate with the other side. In the end, he was the one who rescued the people. He should represent us."

"Mr. Song..." Su Ming asked tentatively.

"It’s the era of you young people now; us old folks should have bowed out a long time ago. Besides, you are the true hero of the day," Mr. Song said with a chuckle.

"Pleased to meet you, and I thank you for your help!" the deputy director shook hands with Su Ming enthusiastically and said, "This Wu Dacheng got what he deserved. To be frank, we’ve had our eye on him for a long time. This man is notorious in the town, suspected of various legal infractions, and we’ve been looking for solid evidence against him. He’s very cunning, with strong counter-surveillance capabilities, and is careful and meticulous, leaving us very few clues. The reason why we haven’t acted against this sand mining operation was to lull him into a false sense of security, to avoid spooking him. With the evidence you’ve provided today, we can create an entry point to conduct a thorough investigation!"

While listening to the deputy director, Su Ming nodded with a slight smile, certain about one thing - Wu Dacheng was in for a world of trouble!

"So how should I cooperate with the police?" Su Ming asked in the end.

The deputy director laughed and said, "By procedure, we may need to trouble you to go back with us and record a statement detailing the event. Additionally, during the upcoming media press conference, when facing interviews, I hope we can keep our stories aligned."

"Understood, you can count on that," Su Ming assured.

"Ha! Mr. Su, you are indeed a straightforward person. No wonder the two esteemed colleagues hold you in such high regard," the deputy director chuckled, patting Su Ming on the shoulder and then said, "Deputy Director Su, you’re not just a witness. You risked your life to protect wildlife. That’s an act of heroism, and it deserves proper publicity and accolades!"

"Cracking down on criminals, upholding social harmony and justice!" Su Ming said with a grin, "I ought to present you with a banner of honor."