88: Chapter 88 Two Salvage Points

The engine sound of the blue whale seemed a bit monotonous on the morning sea surface.

Wang Xiaopang held onto the ship's railing, his face still a bit pale, but much better than last time; at least he wasn't hugging the railing and vomiting.

He turned his head to look at President Chen Ran, who was checking the deep-diving equipment nearby, his eyes full of curiosity and a hint of irrepressible excitement.

"Brother Ran, are we going to do some positioning this time?" Wang Xiaopang leaned in a bit closer and asked in a low voice.

Having spent the last few days on the island watching various blueprint meetings and hearing about the plans for major construction, he realized money was tight and guessed that President Chen Ran was going to search for treasure underwater again.

"Yeah, going to confirm the specific details of two new spots."

President Chen Ran took a special deep-diving suit out of the box, skillfully checking the air cylinder valves and communication lines. "Coordinates alone aren't enough. I need to see what kind of ship it is down there, what the condition is like, and if it's worth the trouble to salvage. This is professional work; I have to go down and take a look myself."

"That's true, Brother Ran, you are the deep-sea radar; your eyes are more accurate than sonar!" Wang Xiaopang quickly flattered him, then added with a touch of worry, "But is it deep this time?"

"It's alright. One is over six hundred meters, the other over nine hundred. Within the safety range." President Chen Ran said in a relaxed tone, picking up the diving helmet and wiping the visor. "You stay on the ship, behave yourself, and listen to Victor's arrangements. If you feel really seasick, there's medicine in the cabin."

"Not sick, not sick! I'm much better this time!" Wang Xiaopang waved his hands quickly, then couldn't help asking, "Brother Ran, do you think if we really salvage something big this time, our nine-hundred-meter grand hotel can start construction?"

"We'll see. If there's enough money, we start; if not, we wait a bit longer. Anyway, the land is ours, it's not going anywhere."

President Chen Ran smiled, finished checking the last piece of equipment, and signaled the Fortress team member nearby to help move it to the small boat.

This time he brought four team members on the ship to be responsible for surface support and security, while he would be alone underwater.

The blue whale sailed toward the first coordinate provided by the system, the B-3 golden fleece.

The voyage was not short, and President Chen Ran spent most of his time in the cabin, repeatedly checking the detailed information of the golden fleece and the surrounding sea conditions and current information through the system interface.

At a depth of seven hundred meters, the water temperature would be lower than at five hundred meters, the pressure would be greater, and the currents might be more complex.

He needed to plan the descent and ascent routes well to save energy and time.

A few days later, the blue whale arrived at the target sea area.

This place was far away from the new land of Deep Blue Nation, surrounded by endless deep blue seawater, with a vast sky above.

"Boss, we have reached the scheduled coordinates. The sea conditions are calm, suitable for diving." Banshou, the Fortress team member in charge of surface command this time, reported over the communicator.

"Good, prepare the small boat. I will enter the water in ten minutes. Maintain vigilance; do not approach the dive site without my signal." President Chen Ran ordered while putting on his diving suit.

"Understood!"

Wang Xiaopang leaned on the main deck railing, watching as President Chen Ran, with the help of the team members, climbed down the ladder to the small boat, which then motored to a spot on the sea some distance away from the blue whale.

President Chen Ran turned his back to the sea, leaned backward, and vanished into the water, splashing only a small spray.

"Just watching it feels a bit scary..." Wang Xiaopang muttered.

Underwater, President Chen Ran turned on his helmet light, adjusted the thruster direction, and began to descend toward the dark depths.

The familiar sensation of pressure gradually enveloped his whole body, and the light dimmed rapidly.

Six hundred and fifty meters was a depth where many deep-sea corals and sea lilies grew luxuriantly, and it was also the activity area for many medium-sized predatory fish, such as certain deep-sea cod and viperfish.

He controlled his descent speed, and as the light swept past, he could see some strangely shaped coral polyps slowly swaying their tentacles, filtering organic debris from the seawater.

A school of slender, degenerate-eyed hagfish were startled by the light and quickly burrowed into the sediment.

Approaching the target depth, the light finally outlined a huge, tilted steel ship silhouette. The golden fleece.

It was larger than the m.v. cassiopeia, with its hull severely rusted, but the structure seemed relatively intact, lying obliquely on the seabed slope, surrounded by some scattered broken deck components.

President Chen Ran swam slowly around the shipwreck, looking for the cargo hold entrance.

According to the data, gold dust and gold ore should be stored in several reinforced cargo holds in the middle of the ship's hull.

He found a damaged hatch, used hydraulic shears to enlarge the entrance, and slipped inside.

The inside of the cargo hold was pitch black, with thick sediment.

Where the light shone, he could see huge, severely rusted, yet regularly shaped wooden crates. Many were already broken, and what was revealed inside was not ordinary ore, but a substance shimmering with an alluring dark golden luster, mixed with quartz and black minerals—high-grade gold ore.

There were also some relatively smaller, better-sealed metal boxes. After prying them open, inside was bright yellow gold dust that had solidified into chunks.

President Chen Ran didn't waste time admiring it and quickly began to collect it. Wherever his palm touched, crates of gold ore and gold dust kept disappearing, stored into the system space.

Occasionally, he needed to clear away the collapsed debris piled on top.

After clearing this cargo hold, he found two adjacent ones.

The crates in one of the cargo holds were sturdier, and inside were surprisingly already smelted gold ingots with faint markings. Although the quantity was not as much as the ore, the value was more direct.

It took about forty minutes for President Chen Ran to loot the main cargo holds clean.

A rough estimate was that the total amount of gold might exceed thirty-five tons, slightly higher than the system's prediction.

He also took a few personal items from the crew quarters that hadn't rotted through: a ceremonial dagger inlaid with what seemed to be real small gems, and a navigation log wrapped in oilcloth that had miraculously survived, though the handwriting was already blurred.

Leaving the golden fleece, he began to ascend, stopping at different depths for decompression as required.

Returning to the small boat and being pulled onto the deck of the blue whale, Wang Xiaopang immediately crowded over.

"Brother Ran, how was it? Is there really something down there?"

"Yes, it's a large cargo ship. It looks like it was transporting ore. The cargo hold structure is quite intact, and there should be quite a lot of stuff inside."

President Chen Ran took off his helmet, wiped the seawater from his face, and said in a normal tone, "The location and condition have been confirmed. We'll have a professional salvage team handle it later. Let's go to the next spot."

"Alright!" Wang Xiaopang's eyes lit up as soon as he heard there was a lot of stuff.

The blue whale turned its course and sailed toward the second coordinate, C-11 tsars gift.

This voyage was longer and took nearly two days. President Chen Ran rested on the ship to recover his strength while studying the data on the tsars gift.

Nine hundred and fifty meters was close to the theoretical safety limit of his current physical fitness, so he needed to be even more careful.

When he arrived at the C-11 coordinate sea area, it was already the afternoon of a few days later.

The seawater here was darker in color, the sky was piled with some cumulonimbus clouds, and the sea breeze was also stronger.

"Boss, the currents in this sea area are stronger than before. The dive point needs to be recalculated." Banshou reported.

"Prepare according to the new coordinates. I will go down as soon as possible and come up as soon as possible." President Chen Ran looked at the somewhat choppy sea and decided to dive as planned. Time waits for no one.

The descent process was even more difficult than the last time.

The pressure brought by the increased depth was more obvious, and the water temperature was lower. Even with the temperature control of the diving suit, he could still feel the chill.

Around nine hundred meters, it was already close to the upper part of the "Midnight Zone." There was almost no natural light here, and the creatures were even scarcer and stranger.

President Chen Ran saw glass squid with almost transparent bodies and clearly visible internal organs, as well as some deep-sea fish that relied on the faint light from their bodies to lure prey.

The immense pressure meant that every movement required consuming more physical strength.

The tsars gift lay quietly in a relatively flat area on the seabed.

It was a wooden sailing ship with a classical design but a massive volume. Surprisingly, most of the hull was still covered by some seabed sediment and calcareous shells, and the preservation condition seemed better than expected.

President Chen Ran found a damaged stern castle entrance and entered the interior.

The scene inside made him hold his breath.

Although many wooden structures had decayed, many chests and cabinets were relatively intact due to special treatment.

He opened a heavy oak chest, inside of which were neatly arranged Russian Empire eagle-headed gold coins shimmering with a soft golden light, and exquisitely crafted gold and silver utensils.

In another reinforced iron box were several velvet-wrapped, brilliantly colored, and exquisitely crafted egg-shaped objects—fabergé eggs. Although they had been underwater for a hundred years, the inlaid gems and enamel were still shining brilliantly!

There were also several sealed copper tubes, which likely contained documents.

President Chen Ran's heartbeat accelerated, and he collected them quickly and carefully.

Gold, jewelry, eggs, documents... The system's estimated value might still have been conservative.

Especially those few fabergé eggs; each one could be a priceless treasure.

It took him nearly an hour to finish collecting the items in the core cabin.

Finally, in a hidden compartment in the captain's cabin, he also found a small box wrapped in layers of tarpaulin and tin foil. Inside were a few letters written in Russian, sealed with double-headed eagle wax, and an ancient nautical chart drawn on parchment.

Carrying his heavy harvest (both psychologically and physically), President Chen Ran began his return journey.

The ascent process was even longer and required more careful decompression stops.

When he finally broke the surface and was pulled onto the small boat, it was already dark, and the sea breeze was stronger.

"Brother Ran! You finally came up! Why did it take so long this time? Is the situation down there complicated?" Wang Xiaopang asked, peering anxiously from the deck of the blue whale.

"The ship is relatively large and has a complex structure, so it took a bit more time to confirm."

President Chen Ran climbed onto the deck, panting, with a smile on his face. "But the harvest should be pretty good. It's an old-fashioned sailing ship, and there are some old items inside that should be worth some money. We'll know the specifics once we salvage it."

"That's great!" Wang Xiaopang rubbed his hands. "It looks like we're going to make another fortune on this trip! Can we add chicken legs to our meals when we get back?"

"Yes, we'll add them when we get back." President Chen Ran smiled and patted him, but his gaze turned toward the southeast.

That was the direction of Deep Blue Nation, and also the direction for the blue whale's return.

Just as President Chen Ran was collecting the tsars gift at the bottom of the sea at nine hundred and fifty meters, a confrontation was brewing on the high seas about two hundred nautical miles northeast of the new land of Deep Blue Nation.