I mused, and then I heard of a report, my guess was indeed right this time, but it wasn't a plane crash, it turned out to be…
When I heard the news from the 110 emergency center, I was quite surprised and a little disbelieving. This time, two ships had collided, yes, two ships!
This situation was rare under normal circumstances, and it happened near the Fuming Sea, a vast expanse of water. Although it was night, the ships had lighthouses for navigation, and there were lights on board. At that moment, I had a bad feeling. Could it be that the drivers were being held hostage, which caused the ships to collide?
We immediately rushed to the vicinity of the Fushui Wharf where the incident occurred. Then, with the help of customs, we had to set sail for the accident site. If it were a car accident, it would have been easier; dealing with matters at sea would only add to the difficulty.
We approached the two ships in our speedboats. The ships hadn't sunk yet; otherwise, we wouldn't have gone near them. A sinking giant ship creates immense suction, and we would have been pulled into the deep sea. At that time, there would be a powerful attraction because the air inside the ship, not water, would be displaced. As the ship sank quickly, water rushed in to fill the void. This would create a vortex, which would disappear once the water filled the space.
We still had some time. We had to assist the rescue team in saving the people on board. As for the specific cause of the collision, we would investigate after the rescue.
We weren't strictly required to undertake this mission, but to save lives as quickly as possible, we volunteered. The firefighters would also be involved. We concentrated our efforts on the larger ship on the left, as it was more dangerous, with the vessel already listing. Fortunately, we acted swiftly, and the rescue team's equipment was comprehensive. Through our efforts, one survivor after another was brought to safety. We then rescued many more people from the other ship. At that moment, Liu Yuning and I, along with others, boarded the precarious vessel and rushed to the bridge. I kicked open the door, expecting to find people trapped inside. To our horror, as soon as we entered, we witnessed a ghastly scene.
Several crew members in the bridge were hanging from the ceiling, seemingly hanged. We didn't have time to conduct autopsies then because the ship was about to sink, and we had to retrieve the bodies first. We carried the bodies down and boarded a lifeboat. We then left the scene one by one, accelerating away in our speedboats. We had to leave quickly, otherwise, if the ships sank, we might not be able to escape and would surely be pulled into a massive whirlpool.
Fortunately, our timing was impeccable. As we moved away from the two ships, we looked back with a lingering sense of dread. We had personally witnessed the ships sinking straight down. Although everyone had been evacuated, the resulting massive whirlpool had claimed the lives of numerous fish in the vicinity. I saw many parts that had fallen from the ships being sucked into the deep sea.
If we had stayed for just a few more minutes, the consequences would have been similar to these debris, swallowed up and forever becoming a part of the deep sea. Even at this distance, we could still smell that scent from the deep sea, a bitter, mixed with the salinity of potassium chloride, similar to the smell found in swimming pools.
However, the smell in swimming pools is from chemical agents used for cleanliness, while this was a natural scent. According to He Xin, after witnessing such a tragic scene at sea, we would be afraid to venture out again. Fortunately, we returned safely. There were a total of 10 bodies of the crew members. Others were likely washed away. There were bodies on both ships.
Plane crashes leave behind black boxes, but ships also have them, recording the events. The black box on a ship is also called a black box, and the terrifying scenes of this maritime disaster are no less horrifying than those of an air crash.
We would likely have to watch these horrific scenes again soon. He Xin and I would handle the analysis, while others would conduct interviews. Xie Chuchu would also be extremely busy. The dissection and analysis of over a dozen bodies would take several days, that's the most conservative estimate. If any bizarre phenomena were discovered in the bodies, even one body could take days, let alone over a dozen. In short, everyone would be busy for a while longer.
He Xin and I sat together, with Yuan Hezheng nearby. He had likely prepared a lot of eye drops again, but this time the video data wasn't very large; the difficulty lay in the decryption process. However, with the joint efforts of the provincial technical department, it should be manageable.
At that time, my role was limited to ordering takeout and offering words of encouragement, as I couldn't assist with such advanced technology. While eating our late-night snack, He Xin said, "Ah, black boxes every day. How much longer do we have to decrypt these things? I'm really worried I'll develop a black box phobia!"
"Let's continue after we've eaten. Complaining so much is less productive than working hard. Ah, this is how it is in our line of work. It's even tougher than being an investigator. My head aches from staring at the computer all day."
"Isn't it also hard for investigators, facing the elements every day? Stakeouts are very troublesome, don't you know?"
"I know. Let's not argue about who works harder. In this line of work, when is anything easy? Cases this difficult wouldn't even fall into the hands of our Punishment Group unless they were exceptionally thorny. Wouldn't you agree, Team Leader He?"
"Perhaps, but I have something to tell you. If we can resolve Zhuge Tianyu's case this time, the Punishment Group's mission should be completed. So, don't be disheartened. If you wish to change careers or transfer to a clerical position later, I won't object. However, apprehending Zhuge is our final task, and no one can slack off!"
"Understood, Team Leader He. We will definitely not back down. From Polaris to the final Punisher, the Criminal Alliance will be utterly eradicated by our hands!"
"Heh heh, I hope so. But if we are to truly eliminate the entire Criminal Alliance, it won't be just our Punishment Group's job. The police forces of the entire world must work together!"
This is a long-term goal, even an impossible one. After all, without criminals, the police would be unemployed.