"Mr. Zhuang, you can't let the sea breeze blow on you too much. It's fine when you're young, but you'll have a lot of health problems when you get old..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to conduct further investigation, he suddenly heard a voice with a Minnan accent. Turning his head, he saw it was Old Li, who was involved in the salvage operation.
"Hehe, it's Old Li? Why aren't you resting yet?"
When Zhuang Rui saw Lao Li, a thought struck him. He had been wondering what that place ahead was and why there were so many reefs. He figured he might as well ask this local bully.
"I'm getting old, and I can't sleep well at night, so I'll get up and take a walk..."
Old Li participated in this salvage operation and was considered a meritorious contributor, receiving a reward of 50,000 yuan. Although it was less than what he earned from fishing for a month, the fact that the area was now closed off meant that it was at least some compensation.
Zhuang Rui casually pointed ahead and asked, "Old Li, what's that area of the sea up ahead?"
"Oh? Mr. Zhuang, you mean Devil's Reef?"
Old Li glanced in the direction Zhuang Rui was pointing, a strange expression appearing on his face. He continued, "That's a rocky area, about three or four hundred acres. We call it Hundred-Acre Reef here, but some people also call it Devil's Reef. There..."
After Lao Li's explanation, Zhuang Rui learned that this was a place that coastal fishermen both loved and hated. They loved it because it was full of reefs and caves, providing habitats for marine animals and producing valuable seafood such as squid, grouper, and lobster, making it a natural fishing ground.
However, the vast reef covers hundreds of acres and is submerged in water. Although the surface is rippling with blue waves, the water is deep and full of caves, making it difficult for boats to enter. Over the centuries, countless fishing boats have sunk there, and it is known by the locals as "Jiashen Reef," meaning the Reef of Death.
Only the boldest and most skilled fishermen dare to venture deep into this area in their small sampans to fish for shrimp and shrimp, but even so, news of people dying here can still be heard every year.
Some expensive seafood alone wasn't enough for Zhuang Rui to find a reason to go to Devil's Reef, so after listening to Lao Li's introduction, Zhuang Rui suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Lao Li, does...do this place have pearls?"
"Pearls? Of course there are, but those clams are all on the seabed, where the underground reefs are very dense. You could easily get stuck underneath them if you're not careful. Nobody dares to go here to touch for pearls..."
Old Li shook his head, a trace of lingering fear on his face. When he was young, he had also ventured into Devil's Reef. Although he gained a lot, he also faced death almost every time.
"Oh? Then I'll have to go take a look there. The pearls I got today aren't enough to make a necklace. I was just thinking of finding some more natural sea pearls..."
Zhuang Rui laughed immediately upon hearing this. This was exactly the excuse he needed, and Old Li had delivered it. As for the danger, Zhuang Rui didn't care much. With his eyesight, as long as he was careful, nothing should happen.
"Mr. Zhuang, please don't! Not only is the terrain there complicated, but there are also sharks. This could be a matter of life and death..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Old Li immediately became anxious. The reef area is a paradise for sharks. It's fine to cast nets while standing on the boat, but going deep into the water is a life-threatening act. Even the most daring and best-swimmering fishermen would never dare to do that.
Zhuang Rui pondered for a moment upon hearing this before speaking, "Sharks are here? Actually, I'm not afraid. I have a kind of medicine on my boat. The scent it releases when sprinkled in the water will repel sharks..."
Sharks have an extremely developed sense of smell, which is their primary way of finding food. They can smell blood from several kilometers away. Once marine animals are injured, they are often attacked and killed by sharks.
Scientists have prepared a drug for some people who frequently dive for scientific research. Simply spraying it in the water can repel sharks. Before this salvage operation, Zhuang Rui prepared some of this drug on the boat in case of shark attacks.
Zhuang Rui had already made up his mind. Seeing that Old Li still wanted to persuade him, he waved his hand and said, "Hey, Old Li, let's talk about this tomorrow..."
"Why did I have to talk so much? What if something goes wrong... sigh..."
Seeing Zhuang Rui turn and leave excitedly, Old Li sighed as he stood on the deck. He couldn't forgive himself if Zhuang Rui suffered any problems because of his words. ...
The next morning, Zhuang Rui found Director Wu, who was actually in charge of the salvage operation, and explained his intentions, leaving Director Wu momentarily speechless.
"I disagree, Xiao Zhuang, you...aren't you being ridiculous? The leaders are all waiting for us to go back for the celebration party, and you...you're actually going to delay us for another day, how can that be allowed?"
According to the voyage schedule, we should arrive at Tianjin Port tonight, and the celebration party will be held tomorrow. If none of the people on this ship show up, wouldn't that be a joke?
"Ahem, Director Wu, please don't get agitated. We can negotiate with the Beijing side to postpone the celebration party for a few days..."
Zhuang Rui also knew that his reasons were really "powerful"—it was really a bit unreasonable to make those ministerial-level leaders, and even vice-state-level leaders in Beijing, wait longer just to salvage a few pearls.
However, Zhuang Rui didn't care. He had put in money and effort this time but hadn't gotten any benefits. He didn't care what those leaders thought, since Zhuang Rui didn't need to depend on anyone.
"No, we can't continue like this, so disorganized and undisciplined. We must set sail and return today..."
When Director Wu heard Zhuang Rui's words, he was so angry that his nose almost twisted out of shape. He dared not go to negotiate with the Beijing side. If the leaders thought he was being arrogant and complacent, then a good thing could turn into a bad thing.
"Ahem, Director Wu, Clyde told me yesterday that there's a problem with the ship's propulsion system, and it needs to be inspected all day. Well... there's nothing I can do about it..."
Zhuang Rui shrugged and decided to act like a rogue. After all, it was his ship, and he could say whatever he wanted. Clyde would definitely not go against his boss's wishes.
"You...you're just playing nonsense! Professor Meng, please be the judge, is this even possible?"
Director Wu was so angry at Zhuang Rui's words that he almost went crazy. He grabbed Professor Meng and tried to get him to discipline his student.
"Xiao Zhuang, this is... not quite appropriate..."
Professor Meng also felt that Zhuang Rui was being a bit too frivolous, making a whole ship of people wait for him for a whole day, which was not reasonable.
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and said, "How about this, we're not far from the coastline, I'll have a helicopter take Director Wu and the others back first..."
Chapter 1025 A Sensation (2)
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Professor Meng nodded and said, "That works too, Director Wu, what do you think?"
All the items salvaged this time, including the cultural relics that were previously agreed to be kept by Zhuang Rui for five years, had already been transported away by the warships patrolling the outer perimeter of the sea. Therefore, this ship was actually used to transport people back.
Zhuang Rui's suggestion is also worth considering: taking people ashore and then transferring to a plane back to Beijing would be much faster than taking a boat.
"Professor Meng, this won't do. A welcoming ceremony has been organized at Tianjin Port. If this ship doesn't sail back, who will we welcome?"
Director Wu shook his head with a bitter face. This matter really troubled him. The itinerary had already been arranged, and making any rash changes would cause a series of consequences.
"Ahem, Director Wu, there's nothing anyone can do about a ship being damaged, right? Could you explain this to them..."
After Zhuang Rui finished speaking, he stood up. He was preoccupied with the underwater artifacts and really didn't want to waste any more time arguing with Director Wu. As for making excuses, that was definitely a strength of government officials. He didn't believe that Director Wu couldn't handle this matter.
"Hey...hey, Professor Meng, what kind of attitude is this?"
When he saw Zhuang Rui walk out of the room, Director Wu was so angry that he could hardly speak. Wasn't this just trying to make things difficult for him?
However, Director Wu had absolutely no way to deal with Zhuang Rui. He neither held a government position nor conducted salvage operations in domestic waters. In addition, given his background, not only Director Wu, but even Vice Minister Yu behind him couldn't control Zhuang Rui.
"Director Wu, Xiao Zhuang has already sacrificed a lot for this salvage operation, so I think... it's understandable that he'd make this request..."
Professor Meng, however, did not speak up for Director Wu. He knew that the cultural relics recovered this time were not of high value, and Zhuang Rui had already said he didn't want them. In this way, Zhuang Rui's time-consuming and laborious salvage operation had yielded no benefit at all.
It's important to know that this month-long salvage operation for the Awa Maru cost Zhuang Rui at least tens of millions of RMB. The fact that they didn't ask the government for money is already a testament to their high moral character. ...
"Old Li, you've been fishing at sea your whole life, you've weathered all kinds of storms, what are you afraid of in this tiny place?"
Zhuang Rui launched three speedboats from the cruise ship and sailed to the outer edge of the reef area. Now, led by Old Li, they are preparing to enter the reef area.
Zhuang Rui didn't care at all how Director Wu replied to the leaders in Beijing. However, when he left the cruise ship just now, Director Wu told Zhuang Rui with a stern face that he must return to port tomorrow.
"Mr. Zhuang, those who drowned were all good swimmers. It's better to be careful..."
Compared to Zhuang Rui's relaxed expression, Old Li looked a little nervous. Years ago, he had sailed through this Devil's Reef area in a sampan and almost got stuck there.
However, this time the team was quite strong. Zhuang Rui's three speedboats were specially made for the military, with thick alloy plates on the bottom. As long as they didn't go full speed and crash into the reefs, minor collisions wouldn't have a significant impact on the speedboats.
"It's alright, I'm not going down alone. I still have a shark gun, right? There's nothing to be afraid of even if we encounter sharks..."
Zhuang Rui patted Lao Li on the shoulder, changed into a diving suit. This reef area wasn't very deep, only about 20 meters. Zhuang Rui could dive down by hand as long as he brought an oxygen tank.
Behind Zhuang Rui were two divers from the Maritime Safety Administration who had made great contributions to the salvage operation. Therefore, they were to accompany Zhuang Rui to search for Haizhu, and Director Wu turned a blind eye to it.
Nobody ever complains about not having enough money. Zhuang Rui was able to find a black pearl worth tens of millions of dollars in this sea area, so these two wanted to try their luck. Maybe they could really make a fortune?
Little did these two men know that this diving trip would bring about a tremendous change in their lives, and that their names would be permanently etched in history.
Following behind Zhuang Rui was Yao Zhen, the current captain of the cruise ship's security team and an old subordinate of Li Zhen. Holding a coil of rope, he said, "Mr. Zhuang, tie this rope around your waist. Pull it immediately if anything happens..."
Yao Zhen originally insisted on going into the water with Zhuang Rui, but Zhuang Rui refused. He knew that Yao Zhen was not a good swimmer. Just like Li Kui was good at martial arts on land, but in the water, he was still overwhelmed by the waves.
"Xiao Yao, I already told you it's okay..."
Zhuang Rui was about to decline, but seeing Xiao Yao's determined look, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll pull the rope right away if there's a problem..."
Zhuang Rui then took out three more packets of medicine, handing one to each of the other two divers, saying, "If you encounter a shark, just crush it with your hand. The shark will immediately retreat upon smelling this..."
The medicine Zhuang Rui was holding was developed by foreign scientists and was specifically designed to prevent shark attacks during underwater operations; it was extremely effective.
"Alright, let's stop here..."
Zhuang Rui "saw" that the place filled with unknown spiritual energy was only seven or eight meters away. He immediately stopped the speedboat, turned around, and sat down on the side of the speedboat with his back to the sea.
A standard back-entry maneuver was executed, splashing water across the calm sea surface. Zhuang Rui's figure disappeared from sight, while the other two divers also entered the sea at the same time.
Although it was only twenty or thirty nautical miles away from the area where the shipwreck was salvaged, the variety of fish in this reef area was significantly richer. Schools of colorful fish that Zhuang Rui couldn't name swam around him, making for a very beautiful scene.
"Damn, what a coincidence! A shark?"
Zhuang Rui had just dived down to a depth of five or six meters when he spotted a large silver shark, about three meters long, with very smooth lines, swimming directly in front of him. Its white teeth were clearly visible on its lower jaw.
"Damn it, what bad luck..."
Zhuang Rui crushed the bag in his hand, and an invisible, colorless liquid immediately mixed into the seawater. After throwing away the bag, Zhuang Rui placed his right index finger on the trigger of the shark gun. He was ready to strike first if the big guy made any move.
Fortunately, the medicine developed by foreign scientists is not like the miracle pills or rat poison sold in China, which are neither deadly to rats nor deadly to humans; its effects are very obvious.
The moment the liquid touched the seawater, within just a few seconds, the great white shark, which was more than ten meters away from Zhuang Rui, turned around and swam away like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
Seeing this, the two divers behind him were relieved, gave Zhuang Rui a thumbs up, and continued swimming towards the seabed.
At a depth of over twenty meters, it only took a few minutes to descend to the seabed. The marine life there was far more abundant than in the area where the shipwreck was salvaged. Fish, lobsters, and clams could be seen swimming among various seaweeds.
Zhuang Rui pretended to pick up a clam that had just closed its shell, threw it into his backpack, and then swam along the seabed towards the unknown spiritual energy.
"What...what is this thing?"
Zhuang Rui chose a spot in the water that was very close to the spiritual energy, and after only a few breaths, he saw the object.
This is a rectangular object, about 1.5 meters long and about 1 meter wide, stuck between two rocks.
Although the box was covered with seaweed, Zhuang Rui could tell from its appearance that it was a box. However, he was puzzled as to why the box had not decayed for more than half a century.
The answer was revealed when Zhuang Rui's fingers touched the box; it turned out to be a tin box, or rather, a tin box wrapped between two layers of wood.
Although the wood had completely rotted away, the sheet metal had not yet been completely corroded by the seawater. However, Zhuang Rui poked at it and felt that the sheet metal probably wouldn't last much longer.
"Could it really be a skull fossil inside?"
As Zhuang Rui parted the seaweed clinging to the surface of the box, a storm raged within him. Even though he had seen all sorts of rare and precious treasures over the years, he still couldn't remain calm in the face of this skull fossil that might carry a heavy history.
After inspecting the part of the box that was stuck, Zhuang Rui realized that it could only be pulled outwards and not lifted up. Since the metal of the box was also severely rotten, Zhuang Rui did not dare to act rashly. Instead, he tapped a few simple signals on the microphone near his lips.
Two divers not far from Zhuang Rui heard the signal and immediately swam over. They were also surprised to see the box stuck in the reef.
After gesturing with each other, the three decided that one person would push from behind the rocks while the other two pulled from the front, to get the box out first.
After Zhuang Rui and a diver finished cleaning the seaweed off the skater, they each held onto one side of the box and pulled it outwards. However, the box was so badly rotten that just as Zhuang Rui exerted his strength, he felt the sheet metal under his hands seem to fall off.
"not good!"
Zhuang Rui looked down and saw that, with the effort of him and another diver, the half of the sheet metal had completely detached from the box, and two round objects rolled out of the box.