The entire ocean is my fishing ground.

Chapter 23 is just the appetizer!

Zhou Dazhuang wandered around the boat and the water's surface with a small notebook in his hand.

"This dent on the hull needs bodywork and repainting, it'll cost at least two thousand."

"The cockpit windows will all be replaced with imported tempered glass, which will cost at least 3,500 yuan."

"The instrument panel...tsk, those bastards really went all out. They smashed the GPS, fish finder, and walkie-talkie to pieces, and even cut the wiring. Rewiring and replacing the equipment will cost at least ten thousand."

Lin Jianguo squatted on the deck, without saying a word.

These people are deliberately trying to cut off his family's livelihood.

Lin Chen took a quick look at the system in the early hours of the morning.

[Intelligence 1 (Resource Category): A moderate number of shrimp have gathered in the nearshore waters, with an estimated catch of 60-80 jin (30-40 catties).]

The other three pieces of intelligence are of little value, either pointing to the distant seas or requiring special tools.

Based on intelligence, he caught over 70 kilograms of shrimp and delivered them to several restaurants owned by Su Jianming and his associates, earning 800 yuan.

Even though the boat is damaged, business can't stop.

"Xiao Chen, based on a preliminary estimate, not counting lost wages, the repairs and equipment alone will cost close to 25,000."

Zhou Dazhuang handed over the notebook.

"Okay, Brother Dazhuang, could you please prepare a formal damage estimate for me and stamp it with your ship repair shop's seal?"

"No problem, I'm an expert at this."

Lin Chen nodded and then looked at his father.

"Dad, we need to get an estimate for the internet too."

Lin Jianguo said in a muffled voice.

"Let's go find Old Man Li."

Old Li, who mends fishing nets in the village, was so angry when he saw the fishing nets ruined like this that his hands trembled.

"This isn't just vandalism, it's desecrating ancestral graves! It's a terrible sin."

He wrote out a bill, including both online and manual processing, detailing a loss of three thousand yuan.

Lin Chen did nothing else all morning.

He first made three backups: one on his computer, one encrypted and uploaded to a cloud drive, and one burned onto a CD.

Then, he organized all the videos and photos he had taken the night before, along with the invoice for the surveillance equipment, the purchase contract for the Pioneer, the damage assessment reports from Zhou Dazhuang and Old Man Li, and the police report receipt from the police station.

In the afternoon, he went to the town's police station alone.

He was greeted by the same square-faced middle-aged policeman from last night.

"Have a seat. Is there any new information?"

Officer Wang poured him a glass of water.

"Officer Wang, I have compiled all the relevant evidence."

Lin Chen placed the file bag on the table and took out the documents one by one.

"These are the original video footage and backup disc of last night's crime, with timestamps accurate to the second."

"This is the purchase contract for my boat, worth 80,000."

"This is the estimated repair cost for the hull and shipboard equipment, totaling 26,000 yuan."

"This is proof of the loss of the fishing net, three thousand yuan."

"The total losses have exceeded 29,000."

Officer Wang's expression turned serious.

He picked up the disc and put it into the computer.

In the interrogation room, Zhang Meng still maintained his shameless, refusing-to-admit-it attitude.

"Officer, I've told you so many times, I was drunk and intoxicated. I only kicked his boat, I didn't do anything else."

"And what about your accomplices?"

"I didn't know him. We met on the street, drank and chatted together, and then I just followed along for fun."

He completely wiped himself clean.

Officer Wang ignored him and turned his laptop so that the screen was facing Zhang Meng.

"Then take a look, is this you?"

On the screen, high-definition infrared night vision footage began to play.

"Smash it! The dashboard, the instrument panel—leave nothing!"

The sound has been noise-reduced and is exceptionally clear.

"This...this is fake. He framed me."

Officer Wang pointed to the timestamp in the lower right corner of the video.

"The original video with a timestamp, you say it's composite? Sure, our technical team has plenty of experts who can help you verify it."

He then played another clip.

In the video, a thug is frantically cutting through a net with a knife, while Zhang Meng stands by with his hands on his hips, watching without making any attempt to stop him.

"According to the law, in a joint crime, even if you did not personally commit the crime, as long as you were present at the scene and did not stop your accomplices' criminal acts, you are considered to have acquiesced and participated."

"I……"

Zhang Meng opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

He knew he was doomed.

The results were released that afternoon.

Zhang Meng was given an administrative detention of 15 days for intentionally damaging other people's property, involving a large sum of money.

As for the two thugs who are still at large, a case has been filed to apprehend them.

The news spread throughout Huangni Village in less than half an hour.

"Have you heard? Zhang Meng has been arrested and is going to be detained for fifteen days."

"Serves him right. He's really messed with someone tough this time. That kid from the Lin family is a ruthless one."

"That's right, who dared to mess with him before? This time they were sent straight to jail, that was satisfying."

"retribution."

When Lin Chen returned home, Lin Jianguo and Liu Guilan were waiting for him.

"Xiao Chen, how are you?"

Liu Guilan looked worried.

"Detained for fifteen days."

Lin Chen said.

"Only fifteen days?"

Liu Guilan was a little disappointed.

"He smashed our boat to pieces..."

"Mom, this is just the beginning."

Lin Chen returned to his room and opened an encrypted folder on his computer, which contained more than a dozen videos and dozens of photos.

These were all things he had collected intentionally or unintentionally in the past, and they were all evidence of Zhang Meng's rampant bullying in the countryside.

Previously, this evidence was scattered and could not cause him any real harm.

But things are different now. This incident of smashing the boat has given him an opportunity to connect all the evidence.

fifteen days.

For Zhang Meng, it was just a matter of going in for half a month.

But for Lin Chen, those fifteen days were enough time for him to prepare a big gift for Zhang Meng.

......

He categorized the negative information and selected three pieces from them.

The first part involves extorting dock management fees, specifically targeting unfamiliar fishermen.

The second scene shows someone kicking over Uncle Li's fish basket, a pure example of bullying the weak.

The third scene takes place at the dock, where he openly threatens several fishermen who want to find their own markets, using very offensive language.

To avoid causing trouble for others, he deliberately covered the faces of all the victimized fishermen with mosaics, leaving only Zhang Meng's arrogant face.

Finally, he gave this short video, which was less than a minute long, a title.

Record of Long-Term Irregular Charges at Huangni Village Wharf

He uploaded the video to a local information platform in the town, where the users were all locals, and then synced it to his own short video account.

This account previously posted some videos of seafood catching, and although it wasn't actively managed, it still amassed several hundred local followers.

He turned off the computer, picked up the bowl of white fungus soup, and drank it all in one go.

"Mom, go to sleep."

"Xiao Chen..."

Liu Guilan's eyes were full of worry.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

……

Early the next morning.

Lin Chen's phone rang; it was Su Jianming from Yuge Restaurant calling.

As soon as the call connected, Su Jianming's laughter came through.

"Xiao Chen, I saw the video. Well done. Calm and ruthless enough."

"Uncle Su, you saw it too?"

"It's not just me who's seen it; the chefs and servers at our restaurant are all talking about it. However, just spreading it around in the local circle isn't enough."

Su Jianming then changed the subject.

"I know a few local lifestyle bloggers in Binhai City who specialize in news and local food, drink, and entertainment content. They have quite a few followers. I can help you promote them and let more people see them."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Su."

"Don't thank me, you're doing a good deed. We restaurant owners are annoyed by Zhang Tiejun's methods. If we can solve this problem, it will benefit everyone."

Not long after hanging up with Su Jianming, Zhou Dazhuang called again.

"Chenzi, I just saw it. Let's get him. I've posted it in our ship repair and sailing groups so everyone can see what kind of bastard this is."

Lin Chen opened the local platform, and the comment section below the video had already exploded.

"Isn't this Zhang Meng from Huangni Village? I know him. Last time I went to their village to collect some sea snails, he insisted that I was encroaching on his territory and demanded three hundred yuan from me before he would let me leave."

"Damn, I'm not the only one who's been ripped off. He stopped me last time, saying my tricycle was taking up too much feng shui space at the dock, and demanded fifty yuan. Ugh."

"The uncle whose basket was kicked over in the video, isn't that Li Laoshi? That's so unfair."

"Shouldn't this kind of person be arrested for the New Year? @BinhaiSafetyOnline"

"I support exposing this. This kind of village bully should be severely punished."

The number of likes and shares on the video skyrocketed.

Several local lifestyle information accounts indeed reposted Lin Chen's video, adding even more impactful captions.

"Shocking. Chaos at a fishing village pier in a coastal city: fishermen's hard-earned catch is being treated like this."

Around noon, an unfamiliar number called.

"Hello, is this Lin Chen? This is Uncle Li."

It was Li Laoshi, the one whose fish basket was kicked over.

"Hello, Uncle Li."

"Xiao Chen, I...I saw the video. Thank you for helping us get revenge."

"I...I didn't dare to stand up before, afraid of retaliation. Now...now that things have blown up, if you still need evidence, I...I'm willing to go to the police station and tell you everything that happened that day."

"Uncle Li, thank you. Don't worry, your words are enough. Don't worry, I won't involve you in this."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen felt more confident.

In the afternoon, Su Jianming called again.

"Xiao Chen, Zhang Tiejun just called me."

"What did he say?"

"He didn't mention the video at all. He just chatted with me casually, asking how my business was going lately, whether the seafood supply was stable, and even subtly inquired whether I had met any new, capable underlings."

Lin Chen smiled.

Zhang Tiejun couldn't sit still any longer and started to investigate.

Instead of contacting Lin Chen directly, he went to Su Jianming, the middleman, to test who was behind this and how powerful their background was.

"Uncle Su, what was your reply?"

"What else could I say? I just said that the catch hasn't been good lately, the supply is tight, and I'm worried about it. As for the young man, I said I don't know any capable people, they're all just old acquaintances."

Su Jianming chuckled softly.

"Don't worry, although your Uncle Su isn't a big shot, I can still deal with people like this."

"Thanks, Uncle Su."

"You're welcome. Be careful. Zhang Tiejun is much more cunning than his cousin. Now that this has blown up online, he'll definitely try to distance himself. What you did has made him very uncomfortable."