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墨書 Inktalez
When the cry of the Human-Faced Flower echoed, we all covered our ears and retreated into the Passage. The piercing sound shook the entire Wreck; it was undoubtedly the most terrifying noise we had encountered so far. This Human-Faced Flower, the size of a well opening, was truly extraordinary.
The horrific cries of the Human-Faced Flower lasted for over a minute before finally subsiding. The Wreck returned to its usual silence, with nothing but darkness surrounding us. We quickly turned on the Underwater Light.
Everyone's faces were pale, almost ghostly white. The events that had just transpired surely left us all shaken. Shunzi prepared to open the Hatch, but I pulled him back forcefully.
He turned to me and gestured, "Is Mai Lao still outside?"
I nodded and signaled, "Wait a bit longer." I knew what he was thinking, but we couldn't open the Hatch just yet. The large amount of toxins spewed by the Human-Faced Flower would likely linger for some time. If we were infected by those toxins, it would mean certain death.
Even though Mai Lao was still outside, I couldn't gamble with everyone's lives. We waited quietly in the Passage as time slowly ticked away. I felt as if I were sitting on pins and needles; every second was a torment.
About five minutes passed when I exchanged glances with Jiao Ba. He nodded, signaling us to open the Hatch and take a look outside. I instructed everyone to stay put while I took the flashlight and quickly made my way to the Hatch.
Just as I was about to open it, I heard knocking from outside the Hatch. The sound was rhythmic—one long knock followed by two short ones. I immediately reacted and called for the others to come over. After we exerted ourselves to open the Hatch, Mai Lao's figure appeared at the entrance.
We hurriedly exited the cabin, and seeing that he was alive lifted a weight off my heart. I stepped forward and supported his shoulder, nodding vigorously while gesturing with one hand, "Are you okay?"
Thinking back on what had just happened made me feel uneasy. If it weren't for Mai Lao's sudden appearance, I would have surely met my end. Every time we reached a critical moment, this Old Man always managed to surprise me in unexpected ways. Rather than saying that God favored me, it felt more accurate to say that Mai Lao was watching over me.
Mai Lao gestured back, "Don't worry, I'm fine; everything went smoothly."
Seeing Mai Lao safe and sound brought back the spark in everyone's eyes; the fear we had felt moments ago seemed to dissipate as well. It was no wonder—if anything had happened to Mai Lao, none of us would have had the confidence to continue.
Jiao Ba gestured to him, "What about Sting Horse Colt?"
Mai Lao suddenly revealed a smile, spreading his hands, "It's dead, it's gone."
At that moment, I noticed the surrounding environment. The toxins emitted by the Human-Faced Flower had vanished, and the Sting Horse Colt was also gone—completely disappeared, not even a trace of its body remained, as if it had merged with the sea. With the absence of the Sting Horse Colt's obstruction, things below could progress much more smoothly.
I gestured to Mai Lao, asking, "Are we proceeding as planned?"
Mai Lao nodded and then signaled for everyone to start moving upstream along the Wreck. The goal was to see if we could break through the Sea Surface directly. The initial part of our ascent went relatively smoothly.
However, when we reached a certain height—only about ten meters from the Sea Surface—I suddenly felt as if I had entered outer space. Everything around me turned pitch black; I could no longer see the people or lights nearby. It was just like when we had descended into this sea area.
No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break free from this sea area. It felt like being stuck in a swamp; my body was thrashing about, yet I sensed no forward movement—just treading water in place.
After more than ten minutes of fruitless effort, I decisively flipped over and began to dive down. But as I submerged, I suddenly saw schools of fish swimming around me and a large amount of plankton, along with the deep blue water. It dawned on me that I had once again been ejected from this Dark Sea Area and had descended into another location.
Surrounded by emptiness and completely alone, I hurriedly swam upward to break through the Sea Surface. This time luck was on my side; although I had been expelled from the Dark Sea Area, at least I could see the silhouette of a fishing boat—not too far away.
Just as I was about to swim over, Mai Lao suddenly burst out of the Sea Surface in front of me. I quickly swam up to him and supported him with one hand. "How are you, Mai Lao? Is everything alright?"
Mai Lao removed his Breathing Apparatus and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Have you seen anyone else?"
I immediately replied, "No, I just got thrown out too. It seems this Wreck really can't be salvaged; we can't break through."
Mai Lao looked around and sighed, "The fishing boat is over there. Let's head back for now."
We made our way back to the fishing boat, but Jiao Ba and Shunzi had not returned yet. When Jenny saw us come back, she hurriedly asked how it went. I briefly explained the situation to her. It seemed Jiao Ba was right; this sea area was indeed shrouded by some dark force that sustained a kind of barrier.
“Mai Lao, what should we do now?” I asked as I sat on the deck, looking up at him.
“Let’s wait for them to come back. If it really comes to it, we’ll have to haul the coffin up from the Wreck,” Mai Lao said, his expression unusually angry.
We waited in silence for over half an hour, and soon the others returned one after another. Fortunately, none of them had drifted too far; almost everyone could still see the fishing boat's trail. At least we wouldn’t be adrift in the merciless sea waiting to be fish food or haunted by ghostly shadows.
Once everyone was gathered, we began discussing our next course of action: to directly retrieve the coffin. This was the only option left; there were no alternatives.
Everyone agreed with this plan, but Li Xin interjected, “But can we really get the coffin up?”
“Why not? If people from the Qing Dynasty could manage it, why can’t we? We just need to get the coffin out of the Dark Sea Area, then let the fishing boat lower a net and hoist it up,” Jiao Ba replied nonchalantly.
“I know that, but the key is whether we can actually get it out of the Wreck. That coffin won’t be light; it’s not going to be easy,” Li Xin pointed out reasonably.
Mai Lao maintained his composure and said, “Many hands make light work. If we stick together for a bit longer, we can manage it. That’s settled then; we have no other choice.”
In order to complete this task as quickly as possible, we didn’t even take a break and prepared to head back into the sea. Just as a few of us were about to dive in again, Jenny suddenly called out to Mai Lao, “Wait a moment, Mai Lao.”
Mai Lao had already stepped to the edge of the boat. He turned around as she approached and said, “What is it, Jenny?”
“Mai Lao, I want to discuss something with you. If we manage to get that coffin up, can we not keep it on the boat? I... I feel uncomfortable seeing that thing,” she said hesitantly.
Uncomfortable? I removed my Breathing Apparatus and exclaimed, “Come on, are you joking? Where else would we put it? In this vast ocean, where do you suggest we take it?”
Jenny was at a loss for words after my response. After a long pause, she finally stammered out, “Can’t everyone think of another way? Keeping that coffin on the boat... it’s just too much.”
Wow, this woman really knows how to push buttons. When we were searching for the Wreck, she was more eager than anyone else—pushing and shoving despite several people dying—and now she’s worried about this and that. What’s with all these concerns? If that’s how it is, then maybe we should just give up on salvaging it and head home instead.
I glanced at Mai Lao with frustration, letting him take the lead. He looked at her and said, "Just bear with it; we have no other choice."
Jenny's face was grim as she said, "It's not just this issue; there's something even more important. The food and fresh water on the ship are running low. We can only last for one more meal at most."
"What? We're out of water and food? Damn it, why didn't you say something earlier? Now where are we supposed to find anything?" I felt a surge of panic. On the sea, running out of food was bad enough; we could always catch fish, but without fresh water, we wouldn't survive.
The other sailors were also starting to panic. If we had neither water nor food, what good was the treasure? Her words instantly crushed everyone's enthusiasm for diving.
"I didn't want to worry you," Jenny said anxiously. It was clear she was concerned about how this would affect our plans to dive, but now she had no choice but to speak up.
Just when everyone was feeling desperate, Shunzi's words seemed to save us. "I have an idea. I remember Bearded Man's fishing boat should be nearby. He has fresh water and food on board; we just need to move the supplies over. Plus, we can store the coffins we salvage on his boat, so Jenny won't have to worry anymore. This solves everything, right?"
I chuckled and patted Shunzi on the head. "Good thinking! Mai Lao, let's do it that way."
Following our previous route, we patrolled the surrounding waters again. In less than half an hour, we found Bearded Man's fishing boat still drifting in the endless sea, looking much like a ghost ship.
We brought our boat alongside and boarded Bearded Man's vessel to start moving supplies. This time, we transported all the food, fresh water, and Underwater Light along with other useful items back to Jenny's ship.
Then Mai Lao took the helm of Bearded Man's fishing boat and followed Jenny's Fishing Boat toward the Dark Sea Area. Once we returned to the original waters, our group prepared to dive again, heading straight for the Wreck...
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