Professor Meng was not angry when Zhuang Rui rejected his suggestion. Instead, he was very pleased. Everyone has their own expertise, and Professor Meng was happy that Zhuang Rui could make a name for himself in marine archaeology.
The camera switched to the divers' underwater cameras. About seven or eight minutes later, the four divers arrived at the seabed that had just been cleared.
By this time, the seawater had become clear, and through the camera's sensor image, a warped plank was clearly visible on the display screen in the floating crane's control room.
"It's the Awa Maru, it must be the wreckage of the Awa Maru..."
Upon seeing the rusty ship plank, Professor Meng exclaimed in disbelief. He had researched shipwrecks in the Fujian waters from the early days of liberation to the present day, and found that only the Awa Maru, an iron ship, had sunk.
"Immediately assess the volume of the wreckage. All units, take note: develop a salvage plan based on the data sent back by the divers..."
With Director Wu absent, Zhuang Rui became the first deputy commander. His previous experience in salvaging the Song Dynasty shipwreck had indeed given him some expertise, and he was now directing operations in an orderly manner.
"President Zhuang, Professor Meng, have you made any discoveries?"
Upon hearing the news of the discovery of the wreckage, Director Wu, who was being interviewed below, immediately rushed to the control room of the floating crane, followed by a photographer. Fortunately, the control room was large enough, otherwise there really wouldn't have been enough room for so many people.
"The shipwreck has been located. We are currently assessing its size and weight. Once the specific parameters are available, we can begin salvage operations..."
Professor Meng's face showed a mixture of tension and excitement. Perhaps the mystery from more than half a century ago would be revealed today.
Zhuang Rui smiled wryly. The discovery at the bottom of the sea was indeed a great gain for Director Wu, but it had nothing to do with Professor Meng or him.
After more than an hour of intense investigation, the technicians concluded that the shipwreck wreckage on the seabed should be about 15 meters in size. It was estimated that a floating crane could not pull it out of the sea, and only the power of a drilling platform could lift it up.
Since most of the wreckage had been exposed, a plan was quickly devised, and four other divers descended to the seabed with ropes.
Eight divers worked in shifts, and under the guidance of the ship's technical personnel, they finally completed the work of binding and reinforcing the shipwreck wreck after more than two hours of hard work.
The massive drilling platform was moved off the deck and placed across the sea. Everyone on the platform and the ship was busy at this moment. Several technicians, with whistles in their mouths, were directing the operation of the machinery.
Chapter 1023 Salvage (Part 2)
Footage from the underwater camera shows that after the platform's lifting device started operating, the wrecked ship, which had been secured, slowly began to sway, and then the footage disappeared.
At a depth of over forty meters, and given that it was a salvage operation, a massive object covered in silt surfaced just two or three minutes later.
The lifting equipment on the platform directly placed the shapeless shipwreck wreck onto the deck. After the wreck was placed in place, it could be vaguely seen that it should be a cabin, but the cabin door and windows were covered by silt, and only a rough outline was visible.
"Quickly, use the high-pressure water hose to clean up, the rest of you get ready to salvage items from the wreckage..."
As the head of the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport, Director Wu was not entirely useless. He had quite a lot of experience in salvaging sunken ships. While directing people to clean the surface of the wreckage, he also made preparations in an orderly manner.
The shipwreck itself wasn't of much research value; what mattered was what was inside. So Director Wu gave the order that seven or eight high-pressure water jets simultaneously sprayed water onto the surface of the wreck.
After the black silt was washed down by the water column, the mottled hull was revealed. Although it was covered with rust, some patterns could still be faintly seen.
"It's a cabin, but...I don't know what's inside?"
After the mud on the windows and doors of the wreckage was cleared away, the outline of the entire cabin became clear. Professor Meng took two steps forward, looking somewhat excited.
Of course, the Awa Maru was over 150 meters long and had dozens of rooms and cabins, but during the salvage operation in the late 1970s, only a maximum of twenty cabins were found.
In other words, the ship hull salvaged that time was less than half the size of the Awa Maru, which is the main reason why no gold or valuables were found.
Based on Professor Meng's decades of research and analysis, those important items should all be kept in the captain's cabin. Now that such a seemingly intact cabin has been salvaged, Professor Meng can't help but feel excited.
"A team will go in and clear out what's inside..."
After the technicians confirmed that the uncovered compartment would not disintegrate, Director Wu gave the order, and four people filed into the cabin to begin clearing the silt inside.
Although the situation inside could be seen from the outside, Professor Meng was still somewhat anxious and paced back and forth on the deck.
It's important to know that the Peking Man skull fossil represents the hard work and dedication of several generations, including Professor Meng's teacher, which is truly moving for the elderly gentleman.
"We've found something! We've found something!"
A voice came from the person crouching inside the cabin. Professor Meng immediately perked up and, disregarding the mud inside, rushed in with a swift movement that was even more agile than that of a young person.
"This...this...is gold..."
Professor Meng took the item from the staff member's hand, wiped it with his sleeve, and then a look of disappointment appeared on his face.
No matter how valuable gold is, it's worlds apart from the Peking Man skull fossil that Professor Meng is looking for.
However, since gold was found in this cabin, it meant that this was where important cargo was stored. Thinking of this, Professor Meng felt a surge of excitement. Ignoring the foul smell that the cabin had emitted under the scorching sun, Professor Meng squatted down and started cleaning with the other staff members.
"Zhuang Rui, your teacher is busy inside, and you, his disciple, don't even offer to help..."
After Qin Xuanbing had just put Fang Fang and Yuan Yuan to sleep, she also rushed up to the deck to watch the commotion. She was a little surprised to see Zhuang Rui standing outside so calmly.
"Well, there's nothing here that the teacher is looking for; it's mostly just some gold and silver stuff..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head. To be honest, Zhuang Rui had no interest in the shipwreck at all. Even if all the gold he had surveyed was salvaged, it would have nothing to do with him. It would only be a waste of money for these officials to gain political achievements.
As for the Qing Dynasty ceramics and gold and silver artifacts that could be considered antiques, Zhuang Rui really didn't think much of them. The reason he agreed to participate in this salvage operation was simply for the legendary "Peking Man skull fossil." After reading the documents compiled by Professor Meng, Zhuang Rui had a deeper understanding of the "Peking Man skull fossil." The dozen or so boxes that went missing back then had extremely important scientific research value for the history of human evolution and archaeology.
So after Zhuang Rui failed to find the "Peking Man skull fossil" before, he wasn't as keen on this salvage operation. If it weren't for the need to prevent the gold from sinking to the bottom of the sea forever, Zhuang Rui wouldn't have bothered to help them with the survey.
However, since it is the duty of a disciple to serve their teacher, after Qin Xuanbing said that, Zhuang Rui also pinched his nose and went into the wreckage of the ship's cabin to help Professor Meng and the others clean it up.
Zhuang Rui didn't want to stay in the foul-smelling cabin for long, so he immediately used his spiritual energy to find the pieces of gold scattered in the silt. With his help, about an hour later, all the items in the wreckage of the cabin had been cleared out.
A pile of slightly blackish gold was stacked on the deck, along with some uncorroded ironware and the remains of boxes. The rest of the items had disappeared with the passage of time.
Several technicians used weighing instruments to weigh the gold bars one by one. After more than half an hour, the results came out: a total of 4.8 tons of gold were found in the shipwreck.
"A major discovery! A groundbreaking discovery! Contact Vice Premier X immediately... oh no, first contact Minister Yu and announce this major discovery..."
Unlike Professor Meng's disappointment and Zhuang Rui's boredom, Director Wu was so excited that his hands were trembling, and in his excitement, he almost made a fundamental mistake.
Before the "Xuanrui" was launched for salvage operations, Vice Premier X, who is in charge of national education, science and culture, personally gave instructions and delivered a speech to the staff involved in the salvage operation.
So, in his excitement, Director Wu wanted to report directly to the Vice Premier. Fortunately, he corrected his mistake in time, as reporting to a higher level is a major taboo in officialdom.
When the good news reached Vice Minister Yu, it was immediately reported back, and the exciting news was broadcast on the evening news that same day.
Of course, what filled the news footage were images of leaders talking eloquently, while the actual shipwreck and gold were only briefly shown. As for Director Wu, he was only shown a couple of sentences before the camera moved on.
However, this also pleased Director Wu greatly. That night, he drank two bottles of Moutai by himself. Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol, but he generously approved a note for Zhuang Rui, stating that all fuel costs for this salvage operation would be reimbursed by the Maritime Safety Administration.
Zhuang Rui didn't refuse. The fuel cost of a day at sea was no small amount. He put the note away and planned to squeeze a hefty sum out of the Maritime Safety Administration after the salvage operation was over. But that was a story for another time.
Good news came on the first day of the salvage operation. The Vice Minister also came to the "Xuanrui" ship to encourage the personnel involved in the salvage.
Of course, the prize money of 10,000 RMB per person announced at the end was what everyone liked the most.
The divers, who each received a hefty reward of 50,000 yuan, were even more motivated. Surprisingly, without Zhuang Rui's guidance, they managed to find the remaining shipwreck debris during the subsequent survey.
More than 20 days have passed in the blink of an eye, and the salvage of the Awa Maru shipwreck is coming to an end.
The salvage operation was a great success, as it recovered 38 tons of gold and many other valuable ancient Chinese artifacts.
In addition, more than 200 sets of remains were recovered from the broken shipwreck wreckage. These should all be the victims of the "Awa Maru". The remains have been collected and are ready to be returned to Japan after the salvage is completed.
The relevant departments have already broadcast the video of the salvage operation, which has aroused a huge public reaction. The discovery of the remains has also attracted the attention of the Japanese side, and the words "Awa Maru" have become the most popular search term on the Internet.
The relevant departments had prepared a grand celebration, which would be held once Zhuang Rui and his team returned to Beijing. However, the skull fossil that Zhuang Rui and Professor Meng had been so concerned about remained nowhere to be found, much to the disappointment of Professor Meng and the other paleoanthropologists on the ship. ...
Because another typhoon was expected to hit the area where Zhuang Rui was located, the "Xuan Rui" sailed 20 nautical miles north on the night the salvage operation ended, preparing to return to Beijing early the next morning.
That evening, Zhuang Rui asked the restaurant to prepare some side dishes and then invited his teacher over. He could tell that Professor Meng had lost a lot of weight in the past twenty days and wanted to comfort him.
"Teacher, it seems the Peking Man skull fossil isn't on the Awa Maru..."
Zhuang Rui sat opposite Professor Meng, looking at his teacher's somewhat aged face, and felt very sorry for him. These past few days, his hopes had been repeatedly dashed, which had been a great blow to the old man's spirit.
"Xiao Zhuang, don't say anymore. Your teacher is fine. A skull fossil isn't as heavy as gold. Maybe it was washed away by the sea when the Awa Maru broke up..."
Professor Meng shook his head. He came with hope, but left in disappointment. He didn't know if he would ever see those skull fossils again in his lifetime.
"Alright, go get some rest. We're heading back to Beijing tomorrow..."
Professor Meng waved his hand and went back to his room alone. Looking at the old man's somewhat desolate figure, Zhuang Rui felt a sudden tightness in his chest for some reason.
Chapter 1024 A Sensation (1)
"Is the Peking Man skull fossil really going to remain a mystery?"
Zhuang Rui walked quietly to the deck and looked at the sea surface that was shimmering under the moonlight. He felt a little lost. No matter how good his eyesight was, he couldn't make bricks without straw.
The bright moonlight shone on the sea, making the entire ocean seem to be coated with a layer of crystal luster, rising and falling with the waves, creating a very beautiful scene.
Standing alone on the deck, reflecting on the salvage experience of the past twenty-odd days, Zhuang Rui subconsciously released his spiritual energy, extending it towards the sea below the ship.
Whether it was day or night made no difference to Zhuang Rui. The invisible and colorless spiritual energy, like mercury spilling onto the ground, enveloped the entire sea area within several kilometers of the cruise ship.
Feeling the scattered spiritual energy he detected, Zhuang Rui felt quite at ease. This seabed not only contained shipwrecks, but also many unknown treasures. Even some coral reefs with life could emit rich spiritual energy.
The shallow seas are now heavily polluted, and corals are rarely seen. During a survey the day before yesterday, Zhuang Rui collected a red coral that was more than a meter long from the seabed. It was very beautiful. If it were in ancient times, it would definitely be a tribute to the imperial palace.
"Hmm? So many pearl oysters?"
When Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy reached a point about two kilometers ahead, he suddenly sensed that the number of places emitting spiritual energy on the seabed had increased dramatically. Upon closer inspection, he discovered many small pearls imbued with spiritual energy on the seabed.
However, these pearls were much smaller than the black pearl he had obtained; most were only the size of a bean, and their spiritual energy was not very abundant. They were just numerous, though Zhuang Rui estimated that there were at least forty or fifty pearls in each clam.
Moreover, there are many reefs there, some of which exude a faint spiritual aura. Although it is not strong, it is widely distributed, indicating that the area has not been polluted or eroded.
This piqued Zhuang Rui's interest, so after withdrawing all the spiritual energy from elsewhere, he carefully surveyed that area of the sea. If there was another large clam, he wouldn't mind going there to retrieve it.
"What's this?"
As Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy swept over a coral reef radiating spiritual energy, he suddenly sensed a kind of spiritual energy at the bottom of the reef that he had never felt before, which greatly surprised him.
"Strange, what is this thing?"
After carefully examining the object at the bottom of the coral reef, Zhuang Rui was somewhat dumbfounded. The shape it revealed after being enveloped in spiritual energy was somewhat like a round sphere, but the spiritual energy emanating from it was extremely dense.
"Hmm? And..."
Beside the spherical object were more than a dozen other objects radiating spiritual energy. They were irregularly shaped, some long and narrow, some like fists, and others crooked and twisted. It was unclear what they were.
"What the hell is this?!"
Zhuang Rui had never seen such a strange object before. It was neither silver, iron, gold, nor copper, but its spiritual energy was so rich that it was even comparable to his Dingguang Sword.
"Could it be...could it be a skull fossil?"
A thought suddenly popped into Zhuang Rui's mind, and once it came, it wouldn't go away. Moreover, the two or three round objects he sensed in his spiritual energy seemed more and more like the shape of a skull.