In the deep blue night sky, a full moon cast its bright glow onto the dark blue sea, revealing a long, trembling column of light on the water's surface.

The 825 Boat and 823 Boat set sail late at night, cutting through the waves under the guidance of the Sea Patrol Boat from the Maritime Bureau, safely navigating out of Qingdao Bay.

Han Yu stood on the bridge, looking out at the shimmering sea under the moonlight, listening to the sound of the waves lapping against the boat. He felt a sense of peace; not only was the view extraordinarily vast, but even his heart seemed to broaden, and it felt as if the sea had washed away all the worldly worries.

Turning around to look back in the direction of Qingdao, he couldn't help but recall the time he came here with his school senior for a trip.

Back then, they had little money, stayed in the cheapest hostels, ate at the cheapest roadside stalls, wanting to buy everything but reluctant to spend. Yet in hindsight, those days were truly happy and romantic.

As he was reminiscing, Jiang Shengqi reminded him, "Secretary Han, the Sea Patrol Boat is sounding its horn."

"Oh." Han Yu snapped back to reality, looked at the Sea Patrol Boat ahead on the left and ordered, "Send a signal to Hai Xun 207 to thank them for escorting us this far."

"Understood!" Jiang Shengqi responded, bending over to open a switch, skillfully tapping out Morse code. The signal light installed above the side lamp began to flash continuously.

Soon after, the signal lights on the Sea Patrol Boat also lit up.

Han Yu, who had studied communications in the past and even participated in competitions, looked at the signal of "Safe journey" sent by the other side and smiled, "Also wish them a safe return trip and welcome them to visit Binjiang when they have time."

"Will do." Jiang Shengqi smiled briefly and continued to send the signal as Han Yu instructed.

Before long, the Sea Patrol Boat sounded its siren again, made a wide circle, and began to head back.

Han Yu walked over, leaned out to take a look at the nearby 823 Boat, and added, "Send a signal to 823 Boat, asking them to navigate according to the plan. There are many fishing boats and even more fishing nets in this sea area, so please pay close attention to the radar to ensure safe navigation."

"Understood."

"Old Liu, Jiang Bin, Wen Ping, I'm leaving this place to you three. Don't rely too much on the radar; keep a good lookout."

"Rest assured, Secretary Han. We will report any situation in a timely manner."

"Good, I'll go check on the engine room first."

...

"Small but complete," this phrase fits China Customs 825 perfectly.

Since it would be performing maritime anti-smuggling tasks in the future and might even engage in rotational battles in the territorial waters of other provinces and cities, the crew configuration was complete.

In terms of crew configuration and onboard staffing, the 825 Boat was entirely different from the nearby 823 Boat. It not only referenced the Navy small vessel staffing but also took inspiration from the crew setup of oceangoing freighters.

Han Yu naturally served as the boat captain, with Jiang Shengqi as the deputy captain and Chief Officer.

Although young, Xiao Gong was both an officer and professionally trained, entrusted with the major responsibility of serving as Chief Engineer, which was equivalent to the position on a ship. Hence, everyone called him "Old Ghost."

From the former Linghai Boat, officer Wang Zhixin took on the duties of the gunner, in charge of all weaponry onboard. Should they encounter armed smugglers or other combat missions, he would not only have to serve as the gunner but also shift shooters and loaders from the deck and engineering divisions.

It is worth mentioning that, under Han Yu's strong recommendation and with the approval of superiors, the machine gun on board was dismantled at the shipyard and replaced with a 23-mm caliber single-barrel autocannon!

The reason for carrying so many shells was not only due to the importance of the upcoming mission but also considering the training needs. If all goes well, after dawn, they'll conduct live ammunition shooting while navigating.

Aside from the autocannon, the boat was also equipped with a motorboat.

In case a fast smuggling boat was encountered, or two smuggling boats appeared simultaneously, they would have to lower the motorboat to chase them, requiring a well-trained assault team.

The military skills of Guo Weitao were second to none, serving as the assault team leader.

However, like the gunner Wang Zhixin, he was a "commander without troops," with team members being drawn from deck and engineering crew during assault tasks.

Including the deputy captain and Chief Officer Jiang Shengqi, there were a total of six people in the deck crew.

The Second Officer was Liu Chuanjun, a former officer of Binjiang Ship, and the Third Officer was Liu Wei, whom Han Yu brought to the Customs from Linghai Development Zone. The deck crew members were Jiang Bin and Chen Yulin, also brought by Han Yu from Linghai Development Zone, along with the retired warrior of Linghai Boat, Chen Shilong.

Chen Shilong was older than Chen Yulin, so one was called "Big Chen" and the other "Little Chen."

Including Chief Engineer Xiao Gong, the engineering division also consisted of six people.

The Second Chief Engineer was Sun Yuming, the former engineering class leader of Binjiang Ship. The Third Chief Engineer was Wang Yongning, the former King of Soldiers of Linghai Boat. The remaining crew, Gao Chao, Ding Wandong, and Xu Qijun, were engineering soldiers from two naval ships.

Besides the deck and engineering divisions, the 825 Boat also had an observation and communication group.

The head of the group was Xue Wenping, a former sonar soldier of Binjiang Ship, while Yao Yazhong, a former radar soldier of Linghai Boat, served as deputy. Since the observation and communication group only had the two of them, while others needed to stand two shifts a day, each of four hours, they had to rotate once every six hours.

There was also the cook Shang Zhiyong from Binjiang Ship.

Cooking meals for over a dozen people alone was hard work, but it was just for cooking during sea missions. Onshore, the camp had hired two cooks, and he would eat prepared meals like everyone else.

As for duty arrangements, it was quite similar to that of sea vessels.

The deck and engineering crew stood one shift during the day and one at night, each shift lasting four hours.

The Third Officer Liu Wei, Third Chief Engineer Wang Yongning, along with the sailor Jiang Bin and engineer Gao Chao, shared watch shifts from 8 a.m. to noon and 8 p.m. to midnight, a schedule known as "eight to twelve."