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墨書 Inktalez
After Jiao Ba finished speaking, Shunzi, looking rather foolish, asked, "What? A granary ship? What does that mean?"
I glanced at him and replied, "It's a ship that carries grain. We've been out at sea for years; how would we survive without food? If it really is a granary ship, then I think we've wasted our time."
Shunzi looked a bit disheartened and said, "No way! If that's the case, we might as well not go out to sea. What’s the point of dealing with a bunch of rotting food?"
Although Shunzi's comment was rather silly, he had a point. If we ended up losing men and resources only to salvage a granary ship, that would be quite absurd. What use would we have for a hold full of decayed food? Can we eat it? Can we sell it? It would be nothing but scrap.
On the other hand, if it were a treasure ship, that would be different. With such a large wreck, even a few treasures could sustain us for a lifetime. However, that wasn't the most important thing to me right now. I wasn't particularly interested in those treasures; what mattered was whether this wreck could provide me with some information—information I wanted to uncover. While I do love money, I was more eager to solve this mystery.
Jenny smiled and said, "I don't think so. The Ancestors intentionally left behind this Nautical Chart; they wouldn't just let us find a sunken granary ship. I believe it's a treasure ship. What do you think, Mai Lao?"
Mike took a sip of hot water from the table and said, "I think so too. But if it really is a useless granary ship, then there's nothing we can do about it; we'll just have to take our chances."
I chuckled helplessly and said, "Well, that's really putting our lives on the line."
"Loyalty and Righteousness, what do you mean by that?" Mai Lao shot me a cold glance, clearly displeased with my earlier comment.
I quickly smiled and said, "Mai Lao, don't misunderstand me; I'm not targeting you. But this dive is genuinely dangerous; there could be casualties."
Jenny showed a worried expression and said, "Yes, going underwater always carries certain risks. Salvaging the wreck is even more dangerous. We finally found the wreck; we can't just give up now."
I looked at her and said, "I understand your point. I'm not planning to give up; you can rest assured about that. Since I've taken your money, I will make sure to get things done properly."
Jenny nodded slightly with a somewhat pale face. At that moment, Mai Lao suddenly asked me, "Loyalty and Righteousness, did you encounter something while you were underwater?"
I exchanged glances with Jiao Ba; our expressions were grim as I replied, "Yes, I saw that shadow again while underwater. I don't know what it was; all I know is it moved incredibly fast and disappeared in the blink of an eye."
Mai Lao glanced meaningfully at Jiao Ba, who then pretended to tell a lie. "Yeah, I saw it too! It scared me so much that I almost shouted out loud. I have no idea what it was—just saw this dark mass vanish in an instant. It was really creepy."
After Jiao Ba finished speaking, both Jenny and Shunzi looked uneasy and turned their gazes toward him. Jiao Ba shrugged his shoulders and said, "Why are you all looking at me? I'm just telling the truth."
Mai Lao asked calmly, "Loyalty and Righteousness, what do you think we should do now?"
I was taken aback. This Old Man was actually turning the question back on me. How was I supposed to know? I shook my head helplessly and said, "I don't know. I really have no idea what that thing is, so how can I come up with a plan? Mai Lao, I'm just stating the facts."
The look in Old Man's eyes was filled with doubt, as if he questioned my words. Sometimes, I couldn't understand why he didn't trust me yet still came to rescue me and Jiao Ba. But then again, maybe he saved us because he knew we had the jade pendant, or perhaps because we still had some value to him? In any case, I still found him hard to read.
Mai Lao nodded and said, "Of course I believe what you're saying. We've been through so much together; why would I doubt you? But now that the arrow is on the string, it must be released. Even if we know there's danger ahead, we have to go."
I knew it would be like this; it was pointless to argue. After all this time, there was still no clear plan. Suddenly, Jiao Ba said, "It's certain that we're going out to sea. I just hope we can find something worthwhile this time. It would be great if this is a treasure ship; then our efforts wouldn't be in vain. What do you think, Brother Yi?"
I understood that Jiao Ba was saying this intentionally, so I played along and replied, "Yeah, isn't the purpose of going out to sea to make money? Finding treasure would be the best outcome."
Jenny scoffed and said bluntly, "Don't worry; if it really is a treasure ship, you two will definitely benefit."
I pretended to be greedy and said, "Oh, that would be the best! Haha! If you're happy, we're happy too." I knew that Jenny looked down on me a bit; perhaps in her mind, I still had a hint of heroism. But with these few words of mine, I completely shattered that image. There was no choice; I had to act this way to avoid raising suspicion.
Mai Lao looked at everyone and asked, "Alright, does anyone have any other opinions or questions?"
"Jenny, I've always wanted to ask you—besides salvaging the Ming Dynasty Shipwreck, is there anything else we're aiming for on this trip?" Li Xin suddenly chimed in with an innocent expression directed at Jenny.
"There shouldn't be anything else. When we set out to sea, my family only told me that we could find the Wreck based on its location on the Nautical Chart. They didn't mention anything else," Jenny answered seriously.
Jiao Ba interjected, "Maybe your family is hiding something from you? Hehe, don't take it personally; I'm just saying this casually. We'll find out when we salvage the Wreck."
"Alright, alright! Does anyone have any other serious matters?" Mai Lao asked again. We all shook our heads in unison. "Good! Let's not waste any more time; prepare yourselves—we'll head out to sea shortly."
An hour later, we were all geared up and ready to dive again to explore the Wreck. By this time, it was completely dark outside. The wind howled across the surface of the sea, and only a few seabirds were still flying about. All around us was nothing but ocean—there wasn't even a small island in sight. The pitch-black surface of the sea looked like a devil waiting to swallow us whole.
Some sailors were dissatisfied; after all, we had already been out twice before. Diving was exhausting enough as it was, and doing it repeatedly would drain a lot of energy. With nightfall reducing visibility underwater even further, diving became even more challenging and dangerous. Yet they only muttered complaints under their breath without daring to say more.
Having spent many years at sea, I understood fear of the ocean well enough; yet never before had I felt such anxiety. Jiao Ba nudged me and asked, "Brother Yi, are you still worried?"
I glanced at him and said, "What do you think? This time we might go and never come back, so we need to be mentally prepared."
Jiao Ba suddenly said in a manly tone, "I've been ready for a long time. A true man shouldn't fear death. Besides, who hasn't died in this life? It's just a matter of when."
"Damn, when did you become so righteous? I remember you used to value your life a lot. Back when I wanted to open that female corpse's coffin, you were completely against it," I looked at him with disdain, wondering how this guy had suddenly changed.
Jiao Bayi, with a weathered expression, said, "After going through these life-and-death trials, I've come to terms with it. Life is just that—when it's your time to die, you can't escape it; when it's not your time, you can't die even if you want to."
I patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's good that you've come to terms with it. Anyway, with so many people around, what’s there to be afraid of?"
At that moment, Shunzi walked over and said, "Brother Yi, Lao Ba, you two need to be extra careful. I'll be waiting for your good news on the boat."
I smiled and nodded at him. Jiao Ba patted his arm and said, "Don't worry, Shunzi. Brother Yi and I will be fine."
Mai Lao then called all our sailors together. "Everyone, in order to quickly salvage the wreck and ensure that everyone can take their money home today, we have to work continuously at sea. I hope you all understand."
Upon hearing the word "money," the other sailors responded enthusiastically. The saying that money can make the devil push the millstone is indeed true. Seeing everyone's spirits high, Mai Lao continued, "Let me remind you all: once we’re at sea, be extra careful and never work alone. We'll split into two groups of four for the exploration; each group must pay extra attention and never be careless. Does anyone have anything else to say?"
Naturally, Jiao Ba and I had nothing more to add, and the remaining sailors also expressed their agreement. Mai Lao waved his hand decisively and shouted, "Good! Let's head out to sea."
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