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墨書 Inktalez
Shunzi was the first to let go, and the other sailors quickly followed suit. I could no longer hold on and released my grip as well. But at that very moment, the hatch slammed shut with a loud bang, like a spring snapping back into place. The tremendous noise shook the deck, and once the hatch closed, the powerful cold current vanished, leaving the sea calm once more.
I was momentarily stunned. What the hell just happened? The hatch had clearly been halfway open, so how did it bounce back? Had all our efforts been in vain? This wreck was proving to be much more troublesome than I had anticipated. Just one hatch had caused us so much trouble, and now it seemed all for nothing.
Li Xin gestured to me, asking, "What happened? Why did the hatch close?"
I shot her a glance but didn't respond. I was too busy pondering how the hatch could have such a strong recoil and where that fierce cold current had come from. This wreck was even more bizarre than the Qing Dynasty Shipwreck; thinking about it made me feel uneasy.
Seeing that I wasn't answering her, Li Xin nudged me again and gestured, "I'm asking you! What just happened?"
I glared at her and angrily gestured back, "How the hell would I know?" This girl had followed us down here without being of any help and now was asking questions left and right. She should just stick with us quietly instead of getting involved in everything.
Noticing my displeasure, Li Xin shot me a glare but said nothing more. Perhaps it was because we were deep underwater; arguing would be inconvenient, and communicating through gestures was exhausting. Shunzi gestured to me, asking, "What should we do?"
I glanced at the oxygen tank; we still had about forty minutes left. That was enough time, but if we wasted it like this, our dive would be pointless. No matter what, we had to get inside the cabin. Even if it meant pushing against that fierce cold current, we had to force our way in.
I gathered all the sailors together and signaled for them to wait. "We'll continue opening the hatch in a moment. Once it's open wide enough for someone to enter, everyone gear up and take turns going inside. The person who goes in first will hold the hatch open from inside while I go in last."
Shunzi and the others nodded in agreement. Just like before, Shunzi and I used a paratrooper knife to pry open the hatch. As soon as there was a gap wide enough for others to grab hold of it, the other sailors came forward to pull it open with all their might. This time Li Xin joined in to help as well. With a series of creaking sounds, the hatch began to open wider, but another powerful cold current surged in, causing the water to ripple once more.
When the hatch opened wide enough for one person to enter, I shook my head and signaled Li Xin with my eyes to go first. Initially hesitant, she shook her head repeatedly while bubbles escaped her lips.
What are you doing at a time like this? Since we're already underwater, you need to be mentally prepared! I glared at her again and nodded my head firmly. With both hands gripping the hatch, if I could free one hand, I'd throw her in myself.
Seeing that I was genuinely anxious this time, Li Xin finally stopped hesitating. She readied her gear and turned sideways to slip into the cabin against the cold current. Once she was inside, I signaled Shunzi to follow quickly. After Shunzi entered as well, they both held onto the hatch tightly from within.
The resistance from the hatch was immense combined with that strong cold current; it was becoming difficult for me to maintain my grip on it. I shook my head vigorously, urging everyone else to hurry inside—time could not be wasted any longer. The other sailors squeezed into the cabin one after another; now it was just me left outside. They held onto the hatch from within, but due to their exhaustion, it began closing gradually.
At that moment, Shunzi extended an arm toward me. I reached out and grabbed his hand; I understood his intention—he planned to use all his strength to pull me in instantly. I nodded at him just as the hatch was about to close completely; with one swift motion, Shunzi yanked me into the cabin just before I heard a loud bang—the hatch slammed shut behind us as the wreck swayed slightly once more.
Once things settled down, I activated the Underwater Light and gestured to the others, asking, "Is everyone alright?" I checked the count; including Li Xin, there were a total of seven of us, not a single person missing.
Everyone else indicated they were fine, but at that moment, Li Xin suddenly gestured and asked, "How are we going to get out later?"
I pointed to the Hatch and waved my hand back, saying, "The same way we did before."
When the Hatch closed, the strong cold current disappeared along with it. The seawater inside the cabin wasn't as cold as I had imagined; in fact, it felt warmer than outside. What could be the reason for this? I just couldn't figure it out.
The Passage was pitch black. I wouldn't say it was so dark that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, but it was close. Even after waiting for a while for my eyes to adjust to the environment, I could only vaguely make out some shapes. Compared to outside, this was truly a dark world.
We turned on all the Underwater Lights. The illumination was sufficient; the space was quite spacious—much larger than the Qing Dynasty Shipwreck, at least twice as big. The height of the Passage was relatively high as well, with cabins on both sides. Shining the Underwater Light ahead revealed no end in sight. With such a large Wreck, there must be plenty of cabins; it seemed we wouldn't finish surveying them anytime soon.
Initially, I wanted to split all seven of us up to explore, but for safety reasons and to expedite our survey of the cabins, we had to divide into three groups. Shunzi and I would take Li Xin as one group while the other four split into two groups.
This way, we could ensure safety while saving some time. We decided to check the cabins on the left side of the Hatch first. There were many cabins on this level, and given our limited time, we could only survey as much as possible.
I instructed the other four sailors to go check the first two cabins while Jiao Ba, Li Xin, and I headed towards the third cabin on the left. The Hatch remained closed; I approached it again and found it wasn't sealed tightly. With a bit of force and a long creaking sound, the Hatch opened.
Once opened, nothing unexpected happened; there was no uncomfortable sensation at all—everything felt too ordinary and too quiet. Inside was pitch black; I couldn't see anything or hear a sound. A chill rose within me; claiming not to be scared would be nothing but self-deception.
In such a ghastly environment, not being afraid would be unrealistic; maintaining a calm mind and peaceful demeanor was already commendable. The strangeness and mystery this Wreck presented far exceeded that of the Qing Dynasty Shipwreck. A sense of oppression lingered in my heart, primarily due to the disappearance of that Black Fish's corpse. If only I knew it was dead, I might feel more at ease.
With my light illuminating ahead, I ventured inside first while Jiao Ba and Li Xin quickly followed. This cabin was large enough that the Underwater Light seemed less effective here. As I moved deeper inside with my light guiding me, I discovered some tattered Sacks piled up like a small mountain. There were also remnants of decayed food scattered across every corner of the cabin.
It wasn't as chaotic as I'd imagined; aside from the scattered food on the ground, everything else appeared relatively orderly. I drew my Paratrooper Knife and sliced open several Sacks; inside were more spoiled grains that crumbled at my touch.
I continued exploring along the edges of the cabin with Jiao Ba and Li Xin, checking every corner thoroughly but still finding nothing useful—no human Bones or any treasures like gold or jewels. Aside from those dilapidated Sacks filling the cabin, there was absolutely nothing.
I deliberately shone my Underwater Light upwards again; above me was just darkness—still nothing there. I recalled how in the Qing Dynasty Shipwreck we had discovered several modern divers' corpses floating above in their cabin. Remembering this made me quickly swim up towards the top of the cabin.
However, upon reaching above, I noticed something peculiar: there were red marks on the ceiling—seemingly bloodstains. Though not very large in area, they appeared to have been sprayed outwards. When I touched them with my hand, they didn't wipe off; they seemed long dried up. Logically speaking, after hundreds of years submerged in water, even if they were bloodstains they should have disappeared by now—so why did they still remain?
I found it hard to understand. Everything we encountered so far was quite illogical, and there was no need for me to get stuck on this issue. As long as there was no danger, that was enough. After looking around above, I didn’t find any other useful information, so I swam down where Shunzi and Li Xin were waiting for me.
I shook my head at them to indicate that I had found nothing. Shunzi gestured, "Let’s go out first and ask the others."
The three of us exited the cabin and returned to the Passage, where the other four sailors were already waiting for us. Seeing them, I hurried over and gestured to ask, "How did it go? Any findings?"
The Shandong Giant responded with gestures, "Nothing. Besides some rotten food, there’s nothing else."
Upon hearing this, my head started to feel heavy. Three cabins filled with spoiled food—was this really a cargo ship? If that were the case, then all our hard work over these days and the cost of a life would have been in vain, leaving us with nothing but useless trash.
I felt a surge of anger inside me. Jenny's Nautical Chart—how reliable could it be? I forced myself to stay calm and analyzed the situation. With such a large wreck, perhaps the treasure was hidden elsewhere. But Jiao Ba had also mentioned that if it were a cargo ship, then the entire wreck would be filled with food; even turning it upside down wouldn’t change that.
At that moment, Shunzi nudged me and gestured, "Brother Yi, what should we do?"
I glanced at the Oxygen Tank; there was still some time left—enough for another survey. Since we were already here, we might as well go all out. We needed to find something before heading back. Regardless of whether this wreck held treasure or not, as long as it could provide me with the information I wanted, that would suffice.
I shook my head and gestured, "Continue surveying."
Just as we were about to move forward, suddenly, I heard a strange sound near my ear…
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