When he said he was boarding the ship, his pronunciation sounded more like "getting into bed," but I didn't laugh. Instead, I looked at him seriously and said, "Thank you, Captain Wick...you saved my life!" Afraid he wouldn't understand, I repeated "thank you" in English.
At least I understand the word "thank you".
Fortunately, he could understand me, and then he asked me a few more questions.
I hesitated for a moment, then frankly told him I was an illegal immigrant. I had no documents, and I couldn't speak English or French (Canada is a bilingual country, and some people speak French), so it was obvious I was an illegal immigrant.
Wick shrugged, seemingly unsurprised. Then he stood up, looked at me with a serious expression, and said, "Sir, you don't need to be too grateful for saving you, because any conscientious sailor at sea would have done the same... But regarding your identity, I have to say... you've given me a lot of trouble! A lot, a lot of trouble!"
He was afraid I wouldn't understand, so he gestured with his hand. He made a very large gesture.
"You...you've already called the police?" I asked nervously.
Captain Wick looked at me for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "No."
I breathed a sigh of relief, and he then smiled at me: "You're lucky because you're Chinese... My mother was too. She also came to Canada illegally when she was young!"
I looked at him without saying anything.
But Wick's tone changed, and he looked at me very seriously: "If you were just a stowaway, I could not call the police and wait until we reach the next port. You could have secretly disembarked, and I could have pretended not to know... But now, you've caused my ship a lot of trouble!"
I looked at him without saying anything.
Wick took a step back and pointed to the corner of the wall: "Are those yours? Are you really just an illegal immigrant?"
I glanced at the corner... there were two bags... filled with US dollars!
I understand now, Wick suspects my identity! A stowaway couldn't possibly be carrying such a huge sum of money!
"Sir, I now suspect that you are not just a stowaway; I even suspect that you might be a drug dealer or an arms smuggler! You know, only these two types of people would carry so much money at sea! And it's all cash!"
I had calmed down and looked at Captain Wick. I thought for a moment and said, "What exactly are you trying to say to me...?"
Suddenly, I saw a strange look in his eyes... I've seen that look far too often lately.
It's greed!
I quickly composed myself and took a deep breath: "Captain Wick, can we make a deal?"
"No, no, no, no!" He immediately shook his head and said seriously, "I don't do business with drug dealers! I'm a legitimate crew member, and I work for a legitimate fishing company!"
I laughed.
To be honest, although I've never been a sailor, I do know a thing or two about the profession... How many sailors are truly legal?
Especially for those who travel overseas, even those doing legitimate business, it's common practice to smuggle some goods while on the road. It's no secret that many sailors smuggle small items to earn extra money.
“I’m not a drug dealer.” I looked at him. “My deal is very simple.” I tried to keep my smile calm: “You saved my life, and I am very grateful. So as a way of repaying you… I’m willing to give you this money for free… well… consider it a personal donation to your fishing company.”
I can tell that although Captain Wick has a serious and friendly appearance, he is actually very cunning!
He stopped talking and just looked at me quietly, listening to me continue.
Seeing that he didn't interrupt me, I knew there might be hope. I immediately explained, "Besides, I have a small request that I hope you can grant... I just hope you won't call the police, and that you can let me ashore when your boat docks, that's all."
Captain Wick seemed to be considering something. His gaze darted back and forth between me and the money in the corner.
My heart is pounding...
Actually, I don't really expect him not to call the police... If he were a legitimate crew member, then it would be perfectly normal for him to call the police!
What I'm afraid of is...
Honestly, I'm afraid he'll be tempted by my money! It's not that I'm despicable, but I've seen far too much these past few days! To put it bluntly, if he's ruthless, he could just kill me on the boat and throw me into the sea to feed the fish, then the money would naturally be his! If that happens, given my current condition, I have absolutely no ability to resist!
Don't think I'm being overly pessimistic! At least the fleeting greed in that guy's eyes just now didn't escape my notice!
I just hope he doesn't have any bad intentions. I don't care about the money at all; it wasn't mine to begin with, so I'll just give it to him. As long as I can get to shore alive, that's all that matters.
Furthermore, if he accepts my money, I'm certain he won't call the police! Because if I get arrested by the police, he won't be able to cover up taking the money!
I watched Captain Wick quietly, and finally, I saw a hint of a smile in his eyes...
Part 1: A Man in the Martial World, Forced by His Own Circumstances, Chapter 133: The Adorable Scoundrel
I stayed in the cabin for two days. During those two days, only Wick and the burly man from before came into my cabin. Captain Wick told me that he had given the order that no other crew members were allowed to enter my room.
Later I learned that the burly man was Wick's engineer and also the ship's first mate. There were six crew members on Wick's fishing boat, and the first mate himself jumped into the sea to rescue me that day.
After rescuing me, only Wick personally checked my bag. He originally just wanted to see if he could find any documents or anything related to me, but when he opened the bag, he was stunned! Fortunately, there were only him and the first mate in the room at the time. In other words, out of the six crew members, only Captain Wick and the first mate knew about this huge sum of money.
My proposed deal impressed Wick.
Seamen are all adventurous!
I didn't have any injuries, just extreme exhaustion and malnutrition. After resting for a day and a night and eating some hot food and drinking hot water, I've recovered. Although I still feel a little weak, my mobility is mostly restored.
Captain Wick is a typical smiling tiger, and I've already figured that out from our conversations over the past two days. He's very cautious and meticulous in his work. He strictly forbids his crew from contacting me, from entering my room, and also forbids me from going out of my room to the deck.
Clearly, Wick wielded considerable authority on the ship, and no one dared disobey him. At first, I found it strange… after all, the crew saw me board the ship and rescued such a suspicious person from the sea. I thought that under such circumstances, an ordinary person would speculate about my identity, right? Wouldn't the crew call the police?
Later, I carefully told Wick about my concerns. Captain Wick smiled after listening, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Chen... (I had already told him my name during our conversations over the past two days)."
“Mr. Chen… I can tell you that you are perfectly safe on my ship.” Wick smiled mysteriously: “In fact, your illegal immigration status is not a problem for either me or my ship.”
At first I didn't understand, but later I vaguely guessed what was going on!
Especially later, when I told Wick about my experience on that black man's boat, and how I jumped overboard to escape because the boat was being chased by police gunboats...
Wick immediately looked furious—I could tell that his anger wasn't feigned, but genuine!
"The ship you're talking about, is it black... with no flags flying, and a black captain! And his men are all armed... Oh God, I know, the ship you're talking about is that bastard Martin!"
“Martin?” I glanced at Wick.
“That black guy!” Wick cursed angrily, then immediately explained, “Mr. Chen, I’m sorry I used the word ‘black guy.’ I don’t have any racial prejudice, but that Martin, he really is a devil, a damn devil!”
Martin, that's the black man's name, right? That's how I found out the name of the guy I killed.
“He’s a bastard not just because of his own misdeeds… more importantly, he’s a lawbreaker!” Captain Wick explained. “Actually, I think you can understand that in any country’s coastal areas, there are many underground companies doing human smuggling. It’s a very profitable business, and there will always be people doing profitable businesses.”
I nodded to indicate that I understood.
Wick continued angrily, “That Martin used to be in the smuggling business too, but he doesn’t follow the rules! Even in the smuggling business, there should be industry standards, otherwise, once you lose your reputation, nobody can do business anymore! But that idiot Martin, he double-crossed people a few times, ruining his reputation. As a result, foreign smuggling organizations no longer trust our fellow smugglers in this area, leaving other smuggling companies here facing a lack of business! Martin is a black sheep! Oh God, I finally remembered that idiom! That’s right, a black sheep!” Wick suddenly became somewhat happy, “There’s another saying in Chinese… well, a rat’s shit is rotten… well…”
"One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel," I replied with a smile.
“Yes, that’s it!” Wick nodded immediately and laughed, “Martin is a rotten apple! He’s broken the rules of the trade several times, and now the local smuggling organizations consider him a public enemy! He has brought shame and heavy losses to all the smuggling organizations in this area… Oh, and there’s one more thing… This Martin, recently, because he couldn’t do any smuggling business, he’s supposedly taken his crew and started robbing people at sea! He’s become a pirate!”
"pirate?"
“Yes, pirates!” Captain Wick said seriously, “When there’s business, he’s a smuggling ship; when there’s no business, he’s a pirate! Do you understand?”
I understand now... and I understand even more!
Seeing Wick's indignant expression, I suddenly understood...
Why does Wick hate that black man so much? Why did he say his crew wouldn't report me?
The answer is simple! Because Wick's own boat was also involved in the smuggling business!
It's not surprising that fishing boats are involved in human smuggling! That Vietnamese guy's boat, isn't it just a fishing boat?
"That guy robbed a fishing boat a while ago and shot and killed several crew members from the fishing company. His actions have aroused public outrage. I guess the gunboat chase you mentioned is probably the Coast Guard's decision to eliminate him. Because the Coast Guard won't fire on smuggling boats... but pirates are different! Haha! I think this is a good thing!" Wick laughed, raising a cup of coffee: "Cheers to the peace and tranquility of these waters in the future!"
Having clarified the questions I wanted to know, I finally felt relieved. Then, cautiously, I asked, "Captain Wick, when will your ship be able to dock?"
“Soon, we’ll be able to get ashore first thing tomorrow morning,” Wick said with a smile. “To be honest, I originally intended to keep this boat sailing west to fish, but after meeting you, I figured you must be eager to get ashore, so I turned around and changed course yesterday.”
"Thank you." I sighed.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Wick smiled slyly. “Although I didn’t catch any fish, the money you gave me is more than enough to make up for my losses! I’m even thinking of using that money to sell my current boat and buy a bigger one!”
I am completely relieved.
It seems that the people on Wick's ship may not be good people either... He seems to be involved in human smuggling, and he's a two-faced scoundrel, not without his cunning.
But at least he's law-abiding! He values integrity in business!
I would still be very willing to deal with someone like that.
"We're circling around to the left of Vancouver Island, and we'll be able to disembark by this time tomorrow. I'll dock the boat at the Little Victoria Harbour pier," Wick said slowly. "I must make it clear, Mr. Chen, that I don't want you to have any contact with my crew before you disembark. That's my rule. On my ship, you are my guest, but guests must also abide by my rules! Understand?"
“Okay. That’s fair.” I nodded.
"Do you have any other questions?" Wick asked, looking at me.
I hesitated for a moment, then finally made up my mind: "Perhaps my request is a bit unreasonable, but I was wondering if you could help me plan a route to Vancouver, or better yet, find me a car, or something else."
Wick laughed. There was a hint of smugness in his smile. Then he patted my shoulder hard and laughed exaggeratedly, “Oh, my dear Chen! You’re so funny! I thought you’d keep quiet. Well. Actually, even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have asked anyway. It’s one of my services… Besides, you paid me so much money, I’ll provide you with the best service!”
A thought struck me. His words were tantamount to implying that he was also involved in the human smuggling business.
Wick then laughed and said, "You're going to Vancouver? Hey, that's not difficult! Don't worry, I'll arrange a very good route for you."
Wick was not lying.
In his words, he was a very trustworthy businessman. So the following morning, our ship really did dock!
After so many days of life-or-death struggles at sea, and countless brushes with death, I don't know how many times I thought my life was over!
And now, I can finally see land again! I can see the ground!
“Unfortunately, I can’t take you directly to Vancouver because my ship doesn’t have permission to dock directly at Vancouver Port. I can only take you ashore at Little Victoria Harbour.” Wick finally allowed me to leave the room.
The ship is on deck. The crew is busy furling the sails, untying the mooring lines, and so on.
The sea breeze was gentle, and the waves rippled on the surface. Unfortunately, I'll probably never forget the terrifying side of the ocean. Many fishing boats similar to Wick's were moored at the pier. Wick himself steered the boat carefully to the shore…
I followed his instructions and did not go ashore directly, but instead hid in the cabin.
The crew outside were busy. A truck pulled up to the dock, and several uniformed officials or inspectors boarded the ship for a quick inspection, but Wick easily dismissed them. Afterward, Wick had me put on a dirty uniform and then assigned me and the first mate to help unload the fish from the ship.
It was a huge fish, easily a meter and a half long. The first mate and I each grabbed a hook and pulled it ashore. I was wearing my dirty crew uniform, and I swaggered past the two police inspectors. They were chatting with Wick, not even glancing at me. I saw Wick smile and wink at me, mouthing silently, "Have a safe trip!"
The rest is quite simple.
The first mate and I threw the fish into the large baskets of the workers on the shore. Someone then stuffed the baskets with ice and loaded them onto the truck. The first mate and I walked over to the truck, where he chatted with the driver for a bit and they both smoked a cigarette.
While the two of them were blocking my view, I immediately leaped onto the car and jumped into the cargo ship behind it.
Five minutes later, the cargo door closed, and the car started...
The cargo hold was full of fish, reeking of a fishy stench, and there was ice everywhere—it was freezing! I was shivering and kept rubbing my hands. Just as I couldn't help but sigh, I heard a creak in the bulkhead ahead, followed by a click, and a small window on the side facing the wheelhouse opened. The driver inside shouted at me, "Welcome to Vancouver, brother!"