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The next morning, Mai Lao and Shunzi prepared everything and went back into the sea to salvage the Wreck. Since the Wreck was not very large, Mai Lao decided to use a Buoy to lift it entirely. However, Jiao Ba suggested that they first transport some of the porcelain to the fishing boat before attempting to salvage the whole thing. As for the coffin, they could leave it for now and open it later once it was brought up; this way, at least it would be safer than being deep underwater.
Shunzi and I agreed with this idea. After some discussion among us, we decided to move part of the porcelain onto the boat before salvaging the entire Wreck.
Jenny sent someone to lower a metal net into the deep sea. Although it was called a net, it was actually a large iron box secured with Steel Wire Rope all around. Once placed on the seabed, it would allow them to transport some items back up more easily, making the Wreck easier to salvage as well. With everything arranged, Mai Lao led the team while all the sailors except me went into the water.
This time, I stayed on deck with Jenny, waiting for the fruits of our labor. It was rare to have a break; it had been quite challenging! After so many days at sea, I had hardly rested at all. It felt even tougher than my time in the military. Earning this little money was truly difficult! I vowed to myself that no matter how much they offered in the future, I would never go out to sea again; this was my last time.
“Do you think we’ll manage to salvage the Wreck smoothly this time?” Jenny’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“It should be fine! If it weren’t for that unexpected incident last time, we would have already brought it up,” I replied, turning to look at her. Standing beside me, I could catch a whiff of her natural scent—not perfume—something pleasant that reminded me of milk. Looking at her fair face, I couldn’t help but want to lean in closer.
“Let’s hope everything goes smoothly this time; may the Ancestors bless us,” she said, clasping her hands together and closing her eyes in silent prayer. But if prayers really worked, this world would have been peaceful long ago.
I chuckled helplessly and took out a cigarette, lighting it and smoking leisurely as I patiently awaited their victorious news.
About an hour later, the metal net was raised, filled with quite a bit of porcelain and some miscellaneous items. Jenny and I checked what was inside; most were various porcelain jars and bottles along with some corroded silk. It was clear that there wasn’t anything particularly valuable among them. Taking advantage of their absence, I decided to act first.
I squatted down and rummaged through everything while muttering under my breath, “Damn it, where is it? Where did it go?”
Seeing me search for quite some time, Jenny suddenly asked, “Hey, what are you looking for? You’ve been at it for ages.”
Without looking up, I replied, “I’m looking for silver! I remember seeing Silver Ingots underwater.”
Jenny rolled her eyes at me and said, “You’re such a money-grubber; all you think about is cash.”
I stopped what I was doing and stood up to look at her. “Of course! How else am I supposed to live without money? Not everyone is born into an upper-class family like you! Besides, this is what I deserve.”
Taking a breath, Jenny said, “The Silver Ingots aren’t here; they’re probably with Mai Lao and the others who will figure out how to bring them up. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
I glanced at the porcelain in the net and asked, “Do you think any of these things are worth something?”
Jenny squatted down and picked up a piece of Blue and White Porcelain. After examining it closely, she said, “If it's from the Yongle Period, it would be very valuable.”
"Is this Blue and White Porcelain from the Yongle Period?" I asked casually.
Jenny put down the Blue and White Porcelain, stood up, and looked at me. "If I could identify this stuff, I wouldn't need to find Jiao Ba."
As we were talking, Mai Lao and Shunzi climbed onto the boat one after another. A few minutes later, all the sailors returned to the ship; the oxygen in the Oxygen Tank was running low, so they came back to recharge it.
Jiao Ba threw down the Oxygen Tank and sat down on the deck, cursing, "Damn it, we've been at it for over an hour, and that ship is still underwater? There's not a peep."
Shunzi complained as well, "Yeah! This is tough! Working deep underwater is already difficult, and now it's even harder."
Jenny asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Mai Lao? What happened?"
Mai Lao sighed and said, "It's nothing serious; it's just that for some unknown reason, the wreck has sunk deeper into the seabed sediment than yesterday. It will probably take longer to salvage."
"Longer? Today would be a miracle if we can get it up! If you ask me, we should just empty it out. What do we need that broken ship for? It's not worth much," Jiao Ba said while sitting on the deck, pointing around.
"I think that's fine; let's just get something valuable out of it. If that corpse in the coffin starts acting up, we're done for," Shunzi said breathlessly beside him. I could tell he was very nervous; that Coffin Corpse had left us with too many mysterious vibes. I always felt a Yin Qi surrounding the Wreck.
"That's not acceptable. I've said it before: no matter what's in that coffin, as long as we can salvage it, we must bring it up. That ship is very valuable," Jenny immediately countered Jiao Ba's words.
I chimed in intentionally to tease Jiao Ba, saying, "Let's just salvage it safely! Come on, old man! You just work hard."
Jiao Ba turned green with anger at my words but dared not say anything. The others were snickering nearby. Mai Lao glanced at the time and said, "Change the oxygen tanks and rest for twenty minutes before going back into the water."
Twenty minutes later, Mai Lao led the team back into the sea. Jenny, Li Xin, and I patiently waited on the ship. After about three hours passed, the Wreck was finally brought up by a Buoy. Everyone on board was ecstatic, especially Jenny, who was practically jumping with excitement. It seemed she had been looking forward to this day for a long time! I was equally happy; after all the hard work and sweat over these days, we finally had something to show for it.
The Wreck brought up by the Buoy was right next to our fishing boat. Once it was up, I realized that this ship was actually in terrible condition; it had decayed significantly. Mai Lao also mentioned that getting it up was no easy feat; even a slight deviation could have broken the ship apart.
Aside from the cabin containing the coffin, we turned over the entire Wreck upside down. Initially, I intended to open the coffin myself, but Jiao Ba repeatedly stopped me. Even when Mai Lao and Jenny insisted, Jiao Ba remained firm; if anyone tried to open that coffin, he would immediately leave on a Lifeboat and wouldn’t stay on board for anything.
It was clear he still feared that female corpse deeply; I felt scared too. However, I wanted to understand everything clearly. During this time, I had been feeling somewhat unwell; I didn't know if it was due to stress from that female corpse or something else entirely—either way, I wasn't feeling great. Although we outwardly agreed with Jiao Ba's stance, I didn't feel that way inside. I decided to wait for a night when everyone was resting to personally open the coffin.
In other cabins of the Wreck, we still didn’t find any treasures; the best items were those pieces of porcelain and some scattered Silver Ingots. I had initially thought there would be a big treasure chest filled with all sorts of rare treasures inside; instead, there was nothing of value at all. It seemed our hopes would have to rest on these porcelain pieces.
As for the five dead Divers' bodies, we let Li Xin conduct an autopsy first. When Li Xin saw how those five had died, her expression immediately betrayed her thoughts; she probably never expected anyone could die so brutally and horrifically. The other sailors reacted similarly; upon seeing those five corpses, their faces turned pale as ghosts—several even vomited.
Li Xin furrowed her brow, carefully checking the scene while wearing a mask. After a moment, she stood up and shook her head lightly, saying, "The deaths of these five people are very strange. They did not die from external injuries but rather from myocardial infarction, which caused their immediate deaths."
"Myocardial infarction? All five of them?" I asked casually.
"Yes, all of them. Although the bodies are quite decomposed, I can still determine that. Analyzing their terrified expressions, it seems they must have seen something horrifying, which led to the myocardial infarction and subsequently their deaths," Li Xin said seriously this time, lacking her usual bravado.
"Aside from that, how did they get those injuries?" Mai Lao asked from the side.
Li Xin pulled off her gloves and replied, "It looks like they were bitten by some kind of creature. I can't identify exactly what it was, but it definitely wasn't human-made."
"It must be the work of Bloodsucker Worms. I can't think of anything else that could cause such injuries," Jiao Ba remarked casually, his face showing no emotion.
I looked at Li Xin and said, "Now do you believe it? The deaths of these five people are indeed very strange, and the myocardial infarction—do you think it was caused by fear?"
Li Xin met my gaze and replied, "I don't know what they saw. Whether it was fear that caused it is something only they would know. Why don't you go 'down' and ask them?"
I scoffed and said, "No need for that. If you, as a doctor, aren't going 'down,' why should I? Don't you think?" This girl had a way of speaking that was incredibly irritating; it felt like she was wishing for my demise. If she weren't a woman, I might have slapped her a few times.
Li Xin huffed coldly and left, leaving the five bodies to us. Mai Lao called over a few sailors who quickly handled the bodies by wrapping them in plastic sheets and tying some lead weights to them before tossing them into the sea for what could be called a burial at sea. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes—ultimately feeding the fish...
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