It's important to know that the deepest part of the waters near Vigo Bay reaches about 1,000 meters. Such deep-sea salvage requires a considerable amount of financial resources. Many explorers have invested huge sums of money, but the harvest is meager, and they have lost everything.
So, out of respect for Clyde and for Zhuang Rui's gift, Lasco still kindly greeted Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this and said, "Hehe, General Lascaux, I am an archaeologist. As far as I know, much of the history of this world has been altered. Perhaps... those explorers simply didn't find the true location of the shipwreck?"
As the saying goes, seeing is believing. In the seabed area that Zhuang Rui surveyed, there were more than a dozen shipwrecks, and the valuables inside were mostly gold. According to Zhuang Rui's rough estimate, they were worth at least two billion US dollars.
Therefore, Zhuang Rui concluded that the treasure hunters simply hadn't found the exact location of the shipwreck. Moreover, that area was in the deep sea, and there was a suspected deep-sea volcano at the bottom, making the terrain quite complex, which was why it hadn't been discovered by the world.
However, none of this was a problem for Zhuang Rui. With his abilities, he could accurately locate the sunken ship and maximize the functionality of the salvage equipment on the drilling platform.
"Oh? Zhuang, that's impossible, isn't it? You should know that in just the last few decades, surveys have been conducted a thousand nautical miles around Vigo Bay..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Lasco shook his head dismissively. These days, there are many people who want to make a fortune, but in the end, they all leave this place in disgrace.
Zhuang Rui's expression shifted upon hearing this. The area within a thousand nautical miles had been surveyed. Even if those people's surveying equipment was inferior to his, there was no reason why they hadn't discovered the massive number of shipwrecks on the seabed three hundred nautical miles away.
Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui took out the nautical chart that Clyde had prepared beforehand, pointed to a coordinate point on it, and asked, "General Lascaux, has anyone surveyed this location?"
Zhuang Rui didn't mind revealing the location of the shipwreck, because salvaging a shipwreck requires a lot of preparation. Even if some powerful international marine salvage companies knew about it, Zhuang Rui would probably have already returned with a full load by the time they were ready.
Secondly, the seabed terrain there is extremely complex, and the shipwreck is already decayed. Accurately locating the shipwreck would require a lot of time and effort. Compared to them, Zhuang Rui has far more advantages.
"here?"
Upon seeing the coordinates Zhuang Rui pointed to, Lasco's smiling face suddenly became somewhat unnatural, and even his breathing became a little rapid, which made Zhuang Rui and Clyde look rather strange.
"Old friend, what's wrong here? Is there some problem?"
Clyde and Zhuang Rui exchanged a glance and then asked.
"There's a problem..."
Lasco stared intently at the coordinates on the map for a long while before turning to Zhuang Rui and saying, "Mr. Zhuang, this area is outside Portuguese territorial waters and is the deepest point within a thousand nautical miles..."
According to surveys, there appears to be a volcano beneath this sea area, which frequently triggers tsunamis and towering waves. Furthermore, ships often disappear when passing through this area.
Adventurers had searched these waters before, but... they too disappeared, their boats and crew vanished overnight..."
As Lasco finished speaking, he took a deep breath and said, "So, Zhuang, I suggest you don't go to this area to salvage, even if there is a huge fortune down there. I think... life is more important than wealth." As soon as Lasco finished speaking, Clyde, who was sitting next to Zhuang Rui, exclaimed, "Old friend, this... this area is the infamous Devil's Sea that Europe talks about?"
Clearly, Clyde also knew what Lasco was talking about, but he had been away from Europe for a long time and did not know the exact location of the sea area where these events had occurred. Upon hearing Lasco's words, he immediately showed a look of surprise.
Chapter 1283 Undersea Volcano
"What is the Devil's Sea? Isn't this area normal? It's not far from Vigo Bay. How could something like this happen?"
Zhuang Rui was somewhat puzzled. He had used his spiritual energy to survey that sea area before. The only strange thing was that there were relatively few fish and marine life there. Otherwise, there seemed to be nothing unusual. Why would Clyde call it the Devil's Sea?
Moreover, according to Zhuang Rui's observation, the volcano beneath that sea area should be an extinct volcano, making it impossible for it to erupt and therefore even less likely to cause a tsunami.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Clyde shook his head and said, "Boss, this... this sea area is a bit strange. When things are calm, ships come and go, but at any time, a sudden storm can arise, capsizing passing ships. Over time, no ship dares to pass through here..."
As a seaman, the most frightening thing is the wind and waves at sea. In the ocean, some waves can even reach tens of meters high. Although the "Xuanrui" is hundreds of meters long, it is not much different from a lone boat in the face of the giant waves.
In ancient times, ships often encountered storms and waves that could sink and kill people. The safety of the crew was a major concern for seafarers, who placed their hopes on the protection of the gods.
Like Poseidon, the sea god in foreign mythology, who is the king of the sea who rules over all the waters surrounding the continent. He has the power to summon wind and can stir up or calm the raging sea, and is revered by all believers.
People along China's coast worship Mazu, and the Mazu temples that can be seen everywhere in Fujian and other regions are actually a kind of spiritual sustenance sought by boatmen, sailors, travelers, merchants and fishermen who revere the wind and waves at sea.
“Mr. Zhuang, Clyde is right. If we were just passing through that area of water, perhaps nothing would happen, but if we stayed there for too long, it seems we would incur the wrath of the sea god and unleash monstrous waves…”
Lasco is not a materialist; he enjoys freedom of religion abroad, and his words are not unfounded.
Many adventurers had previously set their sights on that sea area, with some ships not much smaller than Zhuang Rui's Xuanrui, but they all ended up disappearing without a trace.
"Such a thing actually happened?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui's expression turned serious. He was originally an atheist, but the strange change in his eyes had instilled in him a sense of awe for the world. Perhaps there really were gods in the dark.
"Boss, I think... let's forget about it and go somewhere else..."
Clyde hesitated, not because he was cowardly, but because people who make a living at sea are bound to have these taboos, and no one is willing to risk their life.
"this……"
Upon hearing Clyde's words, Zhuang Rui hesitated. More than a week had passed since he left China. According to Zhuang Rui's previous plan, he intended to finish the salvage work within half a month and sell the gold from the seabed.
Moreover, he had done a lot of "preparatory work" for this salvage operation. Zhuang Rui was somewhat unwilling to turn back based on just a few words from the two people in front of him.
"Alright, Captain Clyde, let's go back to the edge of that area and take another look. If there's any problem, we can just back out immediately..."
After much deliberation, Zhuang Rui decided to go and investigate again; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to get over leaving without knowing why.
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Clyde nodded helplessly and said, "Alright, boss, you decide..."
The "Xuanrui" set sail again, while General Lasco returned to his warship, following behind the "Xuanrui" until they approached the devilish waters that covered an area of three hundred nautical miles before stopping.
"Mr. Zhuang, please do not venture too far out to sea. If you sense anything amiss, please retreat immediately. We will be there to meet you in the vicinity..."
Before the "Xuanrui" was to enter, General Lascoe spoke with Zhuang Rui again by phone and warned him.
"Thank you for your concern, General Lascaux. We will be careful..."
Standing in the captain's cabin, looking at the calm sea in the distance, Zhuang Rui's mood was quite different from the last time. Clyde's incessant nagging over the past few hours had cast a shadow over his heart.
After closing the call with General Lascaux, Zhuang Rui looked at Clyde and said, "Captain Clyde, order the ship to continue forward, but slow down. At the same time, activate the deep-sea radar and turn back immediately if anything happens..."
"yes……"
Clyde agreed, picked up the microphone on the control panel, and said, "Direction: straight ahead. Adjust speed to ten knots per hour. Activate the deep-sea detection motors. Put the entire ship on high alert..."
An alarm sounded on the "Xuanrui" ship, and the well-trained crew members went into action. Although they didn't know what was going on, the captain's serious speech put everyone on edge.
"Captain Clyde, I'm going to Peng Fei's place. Let me know immediately if anything happens..."
Seeing that everything was running smoothly, Zhuang Rui left the captain's cabin.
In the monitoring room on the top deck of the Xuanrui, there is a state-of-the-art underwater military scanning radar system that Li Zhen purchased from a retired Russian nuclear submarine. Its capabilities far surpass those of the ordinary civilian radar in the captain's cabin.
Upon seeing Zhuang Rui enter the monitoring room, Peng Fei said with dissatisfaction, "Brother Zhuang, it's just salvaging a sunken ship, not a war. Is it really necessary to turn on the radar scan here?"
In Peng Fei's opinion, General Lascaux was just exaggerating. Did he think the sea was like a child's mood? Could it cry or laugh as it pleased? Unless it ran aground, he had never heard of a cruise ship of the Xuanrui's size being sunk by the waves.
"Enough talk, focus, let's scan the seabed first..."
Zhuang Rui glared at Peng Fei with annoyance. After learning that this sea area was known as the "Devil's Sea", Zhuang Rui was also very uneasy, after all, he had once encountered a shipwreck.
"Hey, Brother Zhuang, you're making me do the work while you go take a break?"
After Zhuang Rui finished giving the order, he went straight to the most comfortable chair in the monitoring room and closed his eyes to rest. Peng Fei grumbled a few words in dissatisfaction.
Peng Fei was unaware that as Zhuang Rui closed his eyes, spiritual energy poured out from them, penetrating through several cabins and directly entering the sea.
The deep blue seawater, mixed with wisps of spiritual energy, soothed Zhuang Rui's eyes. After diving more than a hundred meters, the sunlight disappeared, and the seawater turned pitch black.
The seawater beneath the Xuanrui is over 1200 meters deep, with a very flat seabed covered with fine sand, as if it has been regularly combed.
Just like the previous survey, there were very few marine creatures in this area, which was as barren as an underwater desert. Compared with the area more than ten nautical miles away, it seemed as if we had entered two completely different regions.
As the cruise ship moved forward at a leisurely pace, the patrol vessel carrying General Lasco gradually disappeared from the sight of the Xuanrui. Five hours later, the Xuanrui arrived at a point fifty nautical miles from this area.
This area is also the deepest point in the surrounding area, which spans over a thousand nautical miles. The seabed is nearly three thousand meters below the surface, and the shipwreck treasure and underwater volcano that Zhuang Rui previously surveyed are located in this area.
"This underwater volcano is rather strange; why don't any creatures live here?"
Zhuang Rui sensed the presence of the underwater volcano once again, and a strange feeling involuntarily arose in his heart.
Because volcanic ejecta contains many minerals, all sorts of marine life lived around the underwater volcanoes that Zhuang Rui had seen before, which had cooled after lava eruptions. The desolation of this underwater place, however, sent chills down one's spine.
After briefly observing the volcano that rose abruptly from the seabed, standing over a thousand meters tall, Zhuang Rui turned his attention to the shipwreck surrounding the volcano.
"Huh, there really are quite a few other shipwrecks..."
During the last survey, Zhuang Rui focused his attention on the shipwrecks containing gold. This time, the search area was expanded, and many differences were immediately discovered.
Besides the dozen or so 17th-century European galleons laden with gold, there are also many shipwrecks in the seabed silt around the volcano, ranging from medieval sailing ships to modern vessels, totaling dozens of ships of all sizes.
The hulls of these ships were all obviously damaged, and some ships were even broken in the middle. Zhuang Rui was speechless. How big of a storm would it take to break a ship in the middle?
"To hell with all that! Let's get to work. If we're fast enough, we can salvage all this gold from the ship's hold in three to five days..."
After observing the shipwreck for a while, Zhuang Rui found no danger. After thinking for a while, he finally decided to salvage the ship there. After all, the gold in the more than ten shipwrecks had been shining with an unusual light in Zhuang Rui's eyes.
"Brother Zhuang, come and take a look. There seem to be two volcanoes beneath this sea area, one big and one small. It's quite strange..."
Just as Zhuang Rui opened his eyes and was about to notify the salvage team to start the drilling platform, he suddenly heard Peng Fei's voice.
"Two volcanoes?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback upon hearing this, then gathered the spiritual energy that had been scattered in the distance and focused it on the area below the Xuanrui. Upon closer inspection, sure enough, there were two volcanoes beneath the calm sea surface.
Chapter 1284 Biology?
These two underwater volcanoes are quite different in both shape and size. One of them, formed by cooled magma, is over a thousand meters high and stands in the middle of the sea like a sharp sword piercing through the seabed.
The other underwater volcano seemed to be a little shorter, but it was still seven or eight hundred meters high. However, what Zhuang Rui couldn't understand was that this volcano did not have the rock layers that form after the magma cooled down. Instead, it was completely bare.
"Huh? A mountain... how... how could there be a shipwreck under the mountain?"
When Zhuang Rui focused his attention on the volcano, his eyes, which had been tightly closed, suddenly snapped open, his face filled with disbelief.
Fortunately, Peng Fei's eyes were fixed on the monitoring console at that moment, otherwise he would have definitely seen Zhuang Rui's expression as if he had seen a ghost.
Just as the spiritual energy inadvertently passed through the "mountain" in Zhuang Rui's eyes, piles of shipwrecks, as if compressed by a great force, suddenly appeared beneath the volcano.
Zhuang Rui had heard of a tree in the African jungle that could run, but he had never heard of a volcano with legs. However, if this volcano didn't have legs, why were there shipwrecks beneath it?
"Could this volcano be a living organism?"
Completely baffled, Zhuang Rui had a fantastical idea pop into his head. He remembered that not long ago, when he was bored and browsing through some online novels, he often came across terms like "volcano giant."
Although he knew his idea was ridiculous, Zhuang Rui still released his spiritual energy. The spiritual energy he had previously controlled would not be absorbed by marine life, but by deliberately releasing it, all life forms in the sea could sense Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy.
However, just as Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy was overflowing, his face suddenly turned deathly pale. This was because he felt that his overflowing spiritual energy was almost instantly swallowed up by a black hole-like entity.
At the same time, Zhuang Rui seemed to feel that the massive underwater volcano trembled slightly. Although the tremor was very small, Zhuang Rui definitely felt it.
"Damn it, I've only read a fantasy novel once, surely something this ridiculous won't happen?"