The fishing boat cut through the waves for who knew how long. Only when the first light appeared on the horizon and night gave way to dawn did the skipper bare a row of rotten teeth and gesture to Lian Youming.
"We're here?"
Lian Youming looked up and surveyed their surroundings. They were in an unknown stretch of sea, but strangely enough, a market of middling size lay not far away.
It teemed with people, their voices clamoring in all sorts of languages.
And in that brief instant, he saw several Indonesians carry two mangled corpses to the water's edge, slit open their bellies, and toss them into the sea. The people nearby wore odd expressions, but seemed accustomed to it.
Lian Youming raised his eyebrows and took a closer look. The market was not on land at all, but pieced together from boats of all sizes, linked by iron chains, with rows of floating barrels laid out for people to walk across.
The skipper jabbered with Wang Mazi for a while longer. Once they stepped onto the market, he took the fare he had just collected and hurried eagerly toward several scantily clad young women. With a woman in each arm, he ducked into a small boat, cackling strangely.
Wang Mazi leaned toward Lian Youming and whispered, "The skipper said this is a black market. They'll sell anything that makes money, and you can buy anything as long as you can afford it. Hired killers, human trafficking, guns and ammunition, food, drink, whores, gambling, drugs-they have it all. There are dozens of black markets like this in these waters alone, all along the big ship's route... He also said... said he'd go enjoy himself first, then take us over when it's about time."
Just as they entered the market,