Shi Lijun slowly stirred from his drowsiness as the container freighter released a long, piercing whistle.
His eyes followed the departing vessel, but his expression soon darkened with anger.
"That's the Universal Company's ship, isn't it?" he exclaimed. "Didn't we report the presence of prohibited items? How could it have left the port so swiftly?"
Yuan Guanghui stood by Shi Lijun's side and spoke up with courage,
"My lord, the customs have already inspected the ship of Global Ocean Services and have found no issues. Therefore, they have cleared the ship to leave the port."
Upon hearing this, Shi Lijun got surprised, and his anger boiled over.
He stomped his foot and demanded,
"How can this be? Weren't we informed that it would take at least ten to eight days before it could leave?"
Yuan Guanghui lowered his head, feeling the weight of his lord's disappointment.
Shi Lijun needed clarification about how the ship of Global Ocean Services could leave the port in three or four days.
Unbeknownst to him, Hu Shijun had been cooperative and positive during the inspection process.
Furthermore, no prohibited items were on board, and all necessary procedures and documents were meticulously prepared.
The customs officials were not easily deceived and cleared the ship for departure.
Suddenly, multiple voices erupted in shouts.
"Oh my goodness!"
"It's done for, absolutely finished this time!"
The ship belonging to Proton began to tilt even further, causing numerous containers to tumble into the sea.
The chaotic scene resembled something out of a disaster movie, prompting gasps and exclamations from onlookers.
Shi Lijun paid no attention to the departing ship of Universal Company as he fixed his gaze on the unfolding disaster before him. He watched helplessly as numerous containers toppled into the water and realized with a sinking feeling that the losses this time would be immense.
"It's all over," he muttered, his face growing pale. He knew this would be the most significant loss the Proton Group had ever suffered since its establishment.
As the ship continued to tilt and sink, it eventually came to rest on the sea bed, with only a small portion remaining visible above the waterline.
It was due to the shallow water depth next to the pier, which was only a few meters deep.
The ship would have sunk entirely without a trace if the water had been more profound.
Liu Yong sat in his office on the boss's chair, listening intently to the reports of Qiu Yang and Hu Shijun.
Hu Shijun spoke up, saying, "Brother Yong, I'm pleased to report that our ship finally departed the port an hour ago. Although it was delayed by a few days, we still managed to arrive at the port as scheduled, and the arrival date will not be impacted."
It was undoubtedly a piece of welcome news.
Upon hearing the report, Liu Yong breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that the ship had departed on time and would arrive in Hong Kong as required by the contract.
It would provide a satisfactory explanation to their customer and prevent the need for them to pay any liquidated damages.
Qiu Yanghui reported:
"Boss, you should have heard that a strange thing happened at Dongshan Deepwater Port this morning. An 80,000-ton container ship belonging to Proton Ocean Shipping Group sank. The speed was very fast, and it completely sank to the bottom of the sea in just over an hour."
Liu Yong smiled.
This ship was poked into a dozen big holes by the Overlord, and it almost became a sieve. It must have sunk very quickly.
But he smiled happily and didn't say he did it himself. Liu Yong would not say why the ship sank or the specific reason.
With a sense of satisfaction, Liu Yong exclaimed, "That's great news. Proton Group has been playing dirty, reporting us maliciously behind our backs. They had it coming."
Meanwhile, the ship's sinking had caused quite a stir, leaving the Proton Group in panic.
Shi Wanquan, the boss of Proton Group, who rarely made public appearances, rushed to the company in a hurry. He immediately called for a meeting of all the high-level executives in the company.
All the senior executives of Proton Group were present in the large conference room, but the atmosphere was sad and heavy.
The reporter then showed a photo of the damaged ship on the screen.
Shi Wanquan's face turned pale, and he asked tremblingly, "Who did this? Did we offend anyone?"
Sitting next to him, Shi Lijun suddenly stood up and said,
"Boss, I suspect that this is related to the Global Ocean Services. They were delayed in leaving the port and caused us a lot of trouble. Maybe they did it to retaliate against us."
Once he had finished speaking, he pressed the projector's remote control and presented a series of photos. These included an image of the hole in the ship's bottom and a picture of the vessel sinking.
Shi Wanquan's eyes flashed with anger.
"If this is true, we will not let them get away with it! We must take revenge!"
The ship was riddled with gaping holes that appeared to be mocking them with their open mouths. Shi Wanquan, seething with anger, tried to control his emotions and demanded, "Why are there so many enormous holes in a ship of such fine quality?"
During the high-level report, the reporter stated,
"Based on our preliminary analysis and inspection, we have concluded that the holes were made by a large, sharp external weapon." However,
Shi Wanquan quickly interrupted, shouting,
"That's just nonsensical speculation! Look at the size of these holes; each one is over a meter in diameter. It would take an enormous amount of force and a tool weighing several or even tens of tons to make such openings. Who could handle such a massive, sharp weapon?"
Although many people agreed with Shi Wanquan's skepticism, the holes' appearance strongly suggested that they were created by a sharp external weapon piercing the ship's hull.
Despite extensive discussion and analysis, people needed help to explain how these holes were made.
This mystery remained unsolved, and it seemed to baffle everyone for the foreseeable future.
The estimated loss this time is more than 2 billion yuan, a staggering figure for a container ship with a displacement of over 80,000 tons that is not worth nearly as much.
However, the real blow comes from the valuable goods stored within the containers, which have also been lost.
The number "2 billion" echoed in Shi Wanquan's mind, causing him to feel uneasy. Proton Group had worked tirelessly for an entire year, earning only about 2 billion yuan in net profit.
It seemed that all their hard work had been for nothing.
The meeting continued for an hour, during which Shi Wanquan ordered an investigation team to determine the root cause of the accident.
However, despite their best efforts, conclusive findings were still being discovered through the investigation.
Furthermore, the sunken ship took up valuable space at the Dongshan Deepwater Port Wharf, where it had sunk.
The ship would need to be salvaged or removed promptly, or else the pier would be unable to operate normally.
However, moving or salvaging an 80,000-ton ship remained an enormous challenge, even with advanced technology and equipment.
During the conference, Shi Lijun remained silent, lost in thought. He couldn't shake the question of why the ship had so many large holes, and it continued to occupy his mind even after the meeting was over and he returned to his office.
As he pondered this question, a disturbing possibility occurred to him. Could Global Ocean Services have been responsible for the damage to the ship?
This idea startled him and left him feeling deeply uneasy.
