Chapter 105 Underwater Zero-Yuan Purchase Begins! Diving and Scavenging the Museum
Half an hour later, the yacht slowly came to a stop.
The propeller churned the murky water, emitting a dull "woo-woo" sound.
Lin Xingwan walked to the edge of the deck and looked down.
Beneath her feet was a bottomless expanse of dark yellow ocean.
Only a dome with glazed tiles, possessing a distinct classical style, stubbornly protruded half a meter above the water surface.
The Provincial Museum.
Because this place was built in the lowest-lying central square of the city, it had now completely sunk over a dozen meters underwater.
"The underwater visibility is probably very poor, so stay close to me," Huo Yuan said, dragging two silver metal cases out of the cabin.
When the cases were opened, inside were two sets of military-grade deep-diving suits with a highly futuristic design.
They were made of black carbon fiber, and micro-hydraulic assists were installed at the joints.
"Not bad, you even hoarded this stuff?" Lin Xingwan whistled, reaching out to touch the cold, silky fabric.
"Standard procedure." Huo Yuan helped her fasten the heavy helmet and casually patted her bottom.
"Hurry up and change. If we go down late, the treasures will be ruined by the water."
The two of them got fully geared up and strapped on small underwater thrusters.
"Splash! Splash!"
Two black figures leaped into the cold, murky floodwaters, one after the other.
The moment they entered the water, a bone-chilling cold seeped in through the gaps in their diving suits.
Lin Xingwan couldn't help but shiver.
This rainwater was even colder than she had imagined.
The underwater light was dim, with visibility less than two meters.
Everywhere were floating debris and broken tree branches.
Huo Yuan turned on the high-intensity searchlight on his helmet, and two blinding beams of light instantly tore through the darkness.
He gestured to Lin Xingwan and initiated his thruster first, diving toward the massive dark shadow below.
The glass of the museum's main entrance had long been shattered by the flood.
The two of them easily swam inside.
Inside, it was like a massive underwater maze.
In the lobby on the first floor, various guide brochures, beverage bottles discarded by tourists, and several security guard corpses, soaked until they were pale and bloated, were floating.
Lin Xingwan frowned, avoided the floating corpses, and swam directly toward the core exhibition area on the second floor.
"The Bronze Ware Pavilion is this way." Huo Yuan had clearly studied the museum's floor plan in advance and led the way, familiar with the route.
The two of them kicked open a wooden door that had been deformed by water pressure.
The scene before her made Lin Xingwan's breath hitch for half a second.
In the massive exhibition hall, dozens of bronze artifacts of various shapes stood quietly in the darkness.
Although most of the display case glass had shattered, these heavy national treasures had not been washed away by the current.
A three-meter-tall Four-Ram Square Zun was covered in green patina, exuding an ancient aura that had traversed millennia.
Beside it was a complete set of chime bells, engraved with intricate inscriptions.
"I'm rich..." Green light practically shot from Lin Xingwan's eyes.
These ancient artifacts, which carried the historical destiny of China for thousands of years, were simply a panacea for her space!
She couldn't even be bothered to collect them one by one.
She unleashed her Mental Power completely, acting like a ruthless sweeping robot.
"Swish—!"
The entire Bronze Ware Pavilion, along with the broken display cases and nameplates, was instantly swept clean!
Beside her, Huo Yuan watched this miraculous scene, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
This wasn't "zero-yuan shopping"; this was clearly a dimensional strike.
After dealing with the bronze artifacts, the two went to the calligraphy and painting gallery next door.
Unfortunately, most of the peerless masterpieces had been ruined by the water, turning into a pile of blurry pulp.
Only a few, mounted with special waterproof materials, barely maintained their original state.
Adhering to the principle that "even a mosquito's leg is still meat," Lin Xingwan took them all.
Once these ancient artifacts, bearing the accumulation of history, entered her space, Lin Xingwan could clearly feel that the Spiritual Spring River in her space had expanded by another circle.
Even the spiritual energy in the river water had become much denser.
"Let's go, let's check the underground storage room." Lin Xingwan had tasted success and was in a great mood.
"That's where the real treasures are hidden."
The two dived down along the security passage.
The security door of the underground storage room was extremely heavy; Huo Yuan had to put in some effort, using a high-pressure cutting torch to burn a hole in it.
They crawled inside to take a look.
It was piled full of various artifact boxes that hadn't been exhibited yet.
Lin Xingwan wasn't picky either; with a wave of her hand, the entire storage room was emptied again.
"Alright, let's wrap it up." She clapped her hands, preparing to return home.
She had scraped up enough "mosquito legs"; this trip was a massive profit.
"Wait." Huo Yuan suddenly grabbed her.
He pointed to a shelving unit in the very corner of the storage room.
Behind that shelf, there seemed to be a hidden compartment.
Huo Yuan swam over and forcefully pulled open the rusted iron rack.
Sure enough, embedded in the wall was a half-meter square black metal safe.
However, the safe's electronic lock had long been ruined by the water.
Huo Yuan neatly pulled out his military dagger and violently pried open the safe door.
Inside, there were no gold or jewels.
There was only a black metal briefcase, tightly wrapped in several layers of thick waterproof tarpaulin.
Huo Yuan dragged the case out.
By the light of the searchlight, an extremely conspicuous logo painted in red on the front of the case caught their eyes.
It was a majestic five-pointed star, with a line of top-secret military serial numbers below it.
"Military property?" Lin Xingwan raised an eyebrow, her heart skipping a beat.
A military case that could be placed in the top-secret underground vault of a provincial museum definitely didn't contain anything ordinary.
"This case has a self-destruct mechanism; we can't open it here." Huo Yuan inspected the case's structure, his voice deepening.
"Let's take it back first."
Lin Xingwan nodded and was just about to put the case into her space.
"Hum—"
An extremely faint vibration, one that didn't belong to the water current, suddenly came from above.
Huo Yuan's eyes instantly turned cold.
He pressed down on Lin Xingwan's hand and made a "silence" gesture to her.
The two immediately turned off their helmet searchlights and hid in the shadows of the shelving unit.
Underwater, it plunged back into dead silence and darkness.
A few seconds later.
At the shattered main entrance of the museum, several blinding, swaying underwater searchlight beams suddenly lit up!
Immediately after, a dozen black figures wearing professional diving suits and fully armed swam in silently like ghosts.
They held specialized underwater rifles in their hands, their formation extremely professional; one look and it was clear they were professional soldiers who had undergone rigorous training.
"Captain, there are signs of cutting below! Someone beat us to it!" A hoarse voice, processed by sonar, rang out in Lin Xingwan's headset's public channel.
Lin Xingwan and Huo Yuan exchanged a look, both of their hearts sinking.
Trouble had arrived.
"Damn it! Which blind fool dares to snatch our stuff?!" Another irritable voice rang out, "Split up and search! Turn this underwater tomb upside down for me! I want to see them alive if they're alive, or their corpses if they're dead!"
"Wait!" The leading captain suddenly raised his hand, stopping the team.
His searchlight beam locked tightly onto the opening violently broken into the underground storage room.
"The item... should be down there." The captain's voice was extremely cold, carrying an unquestionable murderous intent.
"Everyone, prepare for combat. Remember, you can lose the item, but the people you see..."
He paused, his tone chilling.
"Must be silenced!"