American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 374 Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic, Samana Bay, Day 9 of sailing, 10:00 AM

After three days of smooth but somewhat monotonous sea voyage, the bow of the Polaris finally cut into the calm, emerald-green waters of Samana Bay.

Unlike Nassau, which is filled with modern luxury and is built with superyachts and cruise ships.

Samana Bay presents a more primitive and rugged Latin atmosphere.

In the distance, mountains completely covered by tropical rainforest stretch all the way to the coastline, and in the bay, the white private sailboats that shuttle back and forth are no longer the ones that used to be.

Instead, there were brightly colored local fishing boats called "Yola" with biblical quotes written on their sides, as well as small sightseeing boats that took tourists to the national park for whale watching.

The air was no longer filled with the scent of money and sunscreen, but with a complex aroma of rich tropical flowers and diesel engine exhaust.

"Alright, crew, get ready to enter the port." Lin Yu'an's voice broke the crowd's gaze.

"From now on, we are entering Dominican territorial waters, and everything will be done according to the rules. Raven, raise the Q flag. Mike, contact the port authority of Santa Barbara de Samana."

"Roger that!"

Guided by the heavily Spanish-accented English on the VHF radio, the Polaris slowly entered the public dock in Samana.

There are no floating berths like those in Nassau, equipped with independent hydroelectric bollards, for superyachts; there is only an old but sturdy concrete dock.

With the enthusiastic shouts and help of the dockworkers, they managed to moor the Polaris securely next to a French long-haul sailing ship that had also come from afar.

As the quarantine flag is lowered, the Bahamian flag is lowered, and the Dominican Republic flag is raised on the mast, the most crucial chapter of this voyage is about to begin.

Unlike other sailors, they didn't rush into the town's pubs to celebrate their arrival with an ice-cold "Presidente" beer.

After a short rest, Lin Yu-an changed into a high-quality Loro Piana linen shirt and khaki pants, while Raven wore a simple, fitted white dress.

The two men didn't look like weary sailors; they looked more like business elites who had come to assess the investment environment.

They went directly to the upscale hotel in Samana, the most famous hotel in the area, and entered the cigar bar box that Ricardo had designated.

The air conditioning was very cool, there were genuine leather sofas, the air was filled with the aroma of cigars and rum, the lighting was dim, and there was a mahogany wooden table.

A slightly overweight middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a well-tailored bright blue suit was leisurely leaning back on a leather sofa, puffing on a cigarette.

The huge gold Rolex Daytona on his wrist gleamed undisguisedly in the dim light.

Lin Yu'an only glanced at him before making a rough judgment: he was Ricardo, a mixed-race descendant of white people and Taino natives.

The Dominican Republic is a typical "melting pot" country, with more than 70 percent of its population being of mixed race.

For centuries, the genes of Spanish colonists, descendants of African slaves brought here, and the Taino indigenous people, whose bloodline remains but has long since disappeared, have intertwined on this land.

Ricardo, standing before us, is undoubtedly one of the most successful products of this "melting pot".

He has a European surname, speaks fluent bilingual languages, and understands all the rules of the game in modern business society.

However, his skin color and certain facial features allowed him to blend perfectly into the local social network and mingle with all sorts of people.

Upon seeing the two enter, he did not stand up. Instead, he lazily raised his eyelids and subtly scanned them from head to toe with his shrewd black eyes.

From the understated yet instantly recognizable Patek Philippe 5270 on Lin Yu'an's wrist, to the simple Van Cleef & Arpels four-leaf clover necklace around Raven's neck.

Only then did the languor on his face vanish instantly, replaced by the shrewd and enthusiastic smile of a businessman upon seeing a "big fish."

“Ah! Mr. Lin, Miss Raven!” He finally stood up and extended his hand warmly.

“Welcome to Samana! I am Ricardo. The middleman has already given instructions that his two most distinguished friends will come to visit me.”

His handshake was firm but brief, and the moment his gaze met Lin Yu'an's, he confirmed the other's aura once again.

“Mr. Ricardo.” Lin Yu’an nodded politely.

“Sit down, please sit down!” Ricardo greeted them like a host and snapped his fingers. The waiter immediately brought out three glasses of “Brugal Leyenda” rum.

“Mr. Lin,” he said, swirling the amber liquid in his glass, getting straight to the point, “the reputation of the middleman you’ve chosen is as bright as gold throughout the Caribbean.”

"He said, 'You are a very capable independent documentary film crew from the United States, and you hope to obtain official permission to film in the core area of ​​Los Heidiss National Park in the shortest possible time,' right?"

“Absolutely correct.” Lin Yu’an nodded and pushed over the pre-prepared shooting plan.

The proposal, titled "Caribbean Echoes: Exploring the Lost World of the Tainos," details their "academic purpose" of using film to explore the cave paintings left by the ancient Tainos and study their connection to maritime culture.

Ricardo took it, but instead of looking at the contents, he used his fingers to feel the thickness and texture of the high-quality coated paper, then smiled and elegantly set the plan aside.

"The proposal is perfect, Mr. Lin. The cover is beautiful, and the paper is excellent." His words were full of implications.

“But,” he slowly extended a finger adorned with a huge gold ring, “according to normal procedure, such a beautiful proposal would need to be sent to the desks of three bigwigs: the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Culture, and the National Park Service. They are all very busy and may need… a month or two before they have time to appreciate it.”

After Ricardo finished speaking, he fell silent, leaned back on the sofa with a relaxed air, picked up his wine glass, and looked at Lin Yu'an with an all-knowing gaze. He enjoyed the feeling of being in control.

Raven listened with a furrowed brow, clearly uncomfortable with this blatant solicitation of bribes.

Lin Yu'an showed no displeasure or surprise, as if it were all within his expectations.

He calmly picked up the glass of rum in front of him, but didn't drink it. He simply held it to his nose and smelled the complex aroma of caramel and oak.

Then, he slowly raised his eyes, calmly meeting Ricardo's gaze, while at the same time glancing lightly at Raven.

That glance was so fleeting, so quick, that it was almost impossible to catch.

But Raven understood instantly. She bent down and picked up the black briefcase. The bag wasn't heavy, but she could feel the weight inside, the weight of wealth that belonged to it.

She placed her briefcase on the smooth mahogany table with a soft but clear thud.

Then, under Ricardo's intrigued gaze, Raven extended her slender fingers and, with a crisp "click," deftly unlocked the briefcase.

But there were no further developments.

Ricardo hesitated for a moment, then stopped tapping his fingers on the table.

He hesitated for a moment, then stopped tapping his fingers on the table.

"Mr. Ramirez from the Department of Environment is currently worried about the tuition fees for his daughter to study in Miami."

"Ms. Fernandez from the Parks Authority has always wanted to get a new Mercedes SUV."

"And those lads in the coast guard, their patrol boats have been complaining about running out of fuel lately..."

Instead of giving a direct quote, he explained the menu to Lin Yu'an in detail, like a waiter in a high-end restaurant.

Finally, he held up three fingers.

“Thirty thousand dollars.” He gave a precise figure. “Ten thousand will be used to sponsor Mr. Ramirez’s daughter’s studies; ten thousand will be used to support Ms. Fernandez in changing her official vehicle; and the remaining ten thousand will be fuel subsidies for the patrol team lads.”

"I guarantee that your official filming permit will be delivered to your ship by noon tomorrow."

"Furthermore, from tomorrow until the week you leave, no official vessels will appear in the waters near the Whale's Mouth, except for seabirds and yourselves." His quote was clear, specific, and even the details of each payment were clearly laid out, demonstrating the professionalism and "honesty" of a top broker.

Raven listened with a chill down her spine; she hadn't expected that entering a national park for filming would require such an exorbitant "ticket."

Lin Yu'an widened the opening of the briefcase a little more.

Then he took out a thick roll of hundred-dollar bills tightly bound with a purple rubber band from his bag and casually tossed it on the table.

With a "bang," the heavy wad of money rolled halfway across the smooth tabletop, making a muffled sound that made one's heart race.

Then he took out the second volume, the third volume...

“Here’s thirty thousand,” he said calmly, as if it weren’t thirty thousand dollars, but just three rolls of ordinary printer paper. “Want to count it?”

Ricardo's smile froze for a moment, then widened again. He looked at the three rolls of cash on the table, which exuded a "streetwise" vibe, and couldn't help but whistle.

Ricardo laughed. "Mr. Lin, you're joking." He picked up one of the rolls, flicked it with his thumb with practiced ease, felt its familiar thickness and elasticity, and then looked at it no longer.

"Your reputation is certainly as reliable as that of the middleman."

Ricardo stood up, casually stuffed the three rolls of cash into his pocket, and gave a warm smile.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Now you can go and enjoy the sunshine and rum of Samana. Leave the rest to me."

He made a "go ahead" gesture, then turned around and left the private room first with his signature shrewd smile.

Lin Yu'an and Ruiwen exchanged a glance, said nothing, and got up to leave.

But when Ricardo, carrying his briefcase, walked through the hotel lobby and sat in the back seat of his black bulletproof Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the warm smile on his face vanished instantly.

Instead, there is a cold, gloomy atmosphere, like that of a mafia godfather.

In the driver's seat was a young man with a mohawk and a scorpion tattoo on his neck—his wife's younger brother, named Harvey.

Looking at him in the rearview mirror, she rubbed her hands together and asked greedily, "Brother-in-law, this time the 'fat sheep' looks good. Same as usual?"

"I'll have the patrol team cooperate and, when they go into the mountains, find a reason to impound their vehicles and then squeeze a large sum of money out of them?"

Ricardo didn't answer immediately. He leaned back in the comfortable Nappa leather seat, pressed a button, and a hidden mini-fridge slowly rose from the center armrest in the back.

He took out a bottle of top-quality rum that had been chilled and had an intricate pattern printed on it, along with a similarly chilled Baccarat crystal glass.

He skillfully poured himself a glass; the golden liquid, illuminated by the ambient lighting inside the car, resembled flowing gold.

He raised the glass to his eyes, gazing at the rich, amber liquid, and asked in a cold voice, "Harvey."

"Yes, brother-in-law!"

Do you know who introduced this Mr. Lin?

Harvey paused for a moment, then replied, "I know, it's someone from Mr. Middleman's side."

"Middleman" is not a specific person's name, but a code name.

Throughout the Caribbean's gray areas, from financial lawyers in Panama to "special freight forwarders" in Colombia to politicians in Miami, everyone knows what this code name means.

It represents an influential, reputable, but also ruthless, underground order builder. Offending a client through this middleman usually results in a far worse outcome than offending the police.

“Very good, you know that.” Ricardo asked again, “But do you know that one of them is Chinese and the other is American, and that the man is a super influencer with millions or even tens of millions of followers worldwide?”

"Don't worry, brother-in-law, I already found out about this," Harvey's voice began to waver, and he vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

“You know everything…” Without warning, Ricardo suddenly grabbed the heavy whiskey crystal glass and smashed it hard on Harvey’s head!

"boom!"

A muffled thud! Ice and liquor splashed all over Harvey's face, and a streak of blood instantly trickled down his forehead!

"Ah!" Harvey screamed, clutching his head, trembling with fear, and dared not utter a word.

"You know this! You know that!" Ricardo's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife chilled to the bone. "Then why the hell don't you have a brain?!"

He grabbed Harvey by the collar, pulled his face close to his own, and stared at him with bloodshot eyes:
"The middleman's client! A hugely influential Chinese internet celebrity! A sensitive American woman! Tell me, is this a combination we can just casually get involved with?!"

"Look me in the eyes! Answer me! Can you!"

"You guys were doing shady business behind my back last time, extorting money from those Germans, and you still haven't cleaned up the mess!"

"Do you think I have too much money and want me to use it to feed lawyers and police officers?!"

Harvey was terrified and stammered, "I...I was wrong, brother-in-law...I just...I just felt..."

“What do you think?” Ricardo sneered, released him, leaned back in his chair, and wiped the spilled wine from his hands with a silk handkerchief.

"Let me tell you, Harvey, be smart this time!"

"We take the money and do the job. We feed those idiots in the government, so they're blind when they should be blind and deaf when they should be deaf."

"Make sure our clients can quietly take whatever they want and leave safely. Not a single hair can be missing! Understand?"

“If anything happens to them,” Ricardo’s voice turned as cold as a viper, “I will personally feed you and your sister to my Canary Island!”

The Canary Mastiff is a Spanish mastiff known for its ferocity, fighting spirit, and absolute loyalty. It is also the most feared fighting dog in the Dominican Republic.

Ricardo's champion dog, Beast, could easily bite through an adult's bones.

Upon hearing the name, Harvey's body trembled uncontrollably.

"Understood! Understood! Brother-in-law!"

"Get out!" Ricardo waved his hand dismissively. "Tell everyone to keep a low profile for the next few days!"

"Yes! Yes! Boss!" Harvey scrambled out of the car.

Silence returned to the car, and the ruthlessness of a mafia godfather in Ricardo's eyes slowly faded, transforming him back into the shrewd businessman he once was.

He knew that the $30,000 was a deposit, and if the cooperation went well, he would have a steady stream of cleaner and larger business opportunities through the middleman and this Mr. Lin.

Only a fool like Harvey would ruin everything for such a paltry gain.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number: "Ramires? It's me, Ricardo. I've prepared your daughter's tuition part... yes, $5000."

An unseen storm was nipped in the bud by Ricardo in the bud, without Lin Yu'an and Ruiwen's knowledge.

[Time: 2:00 PM, Samana Town]

When Lin Yu'an and Ruiwen walked out of the hotel, the town of Samana was bathed in the languid afternoon sun.

The transaction that just took place, filled with a battle of money and power, seemed like just an interlude in another parallel world.

(End of this chapter)