Chapter 287 - 260: Salvaging the Shipwreck
「The next day, after some rest.」
Qin Ziwen led the core members of the Hunting Team through the Node, arriving on the seabed on the other side.
This time, he carried a waterproof bag containing a flashlight switched to its highest setting.
The powerful flashlight brightly illuminated the seabed before him.
Before salvaging the wreck, in addition to preparing the necessary tools, he also planned to explore it first.
The ship was severely damaged. Arriving at its side, Qin Ziwen aimed the flashlight through a hole in the hull and peered inside.
A few fish, startled by the intense light, scattered in every direction.
They scurried to flee.
The first thing that caught Qin Ziwen’s eye were the ship’s ribs, which were far sturdier than those of an ordinary vessel. The hull planks were also remarkably thick.
He narrowed his eyes. ’Interesting.’
It seemed the ship’s owner had known about the dangers here—that there were Sea Beasts on the ocean floor. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have specially reinforced it.
Now, however, the thick bottom of the ship was caked in a layer of silt, overgrown with algae and shellfish.
It seemed to have become a breeding ground for various marine creatures.
However, the intrusion of Qin Ziwen and his team disturbed the local inhabitants. A sea snake slithered out from the silt and swam away.
Du Yu struck like lightning with his Fish Spear, instantly piercing it.
He then drew a small knife from his waist and lopped off its head with a single stroke.
The sea snake thrashed for a moment before finally going still.
After seeing the sea snake, the others slowed down, moving with greater caution.
They swam inside. After just a few steps, Qin Ziwen froze. He had spotted several large Crossbow Cannons mounted to the inner walls of the hold.
Structurally, they were somewhat different from their Car-Mounted Crossbows.
Nearby were several scattered wooden crates, filled with heavily rusted Crossbow Arrows.
On the floor nearby lay several coils of unusually thick and durable cable.
At the end of each cable was a large, barbed iron hook.
The hooks were covered in dark red rust. As the flashlight beam swept over one, a blue crab the size of a millstone scuttled out from underneath. It raised its two large pincers and slowly made its way toward a nearby crevice.
’Gotcha!’
Qin Ziwu swooped down with a net, knocking the crab right into it.
When he saw his older brother look over, Qin Ziwu broke into a goofy grin.
Qin Ziwen glanced around. This appeared to be the first lower deck of the hold.
The space on this deck was vast, with stairs and other rooms further back.
He then led the team in a thorough search of the wreck.
The ship had three internal decks below the main deck.
The first lower deck was the largest, and the third was the smallest.
The ship’s interior had a somewhat Western-style layout. Inside the cabins, they discovered several skeletons.
The skeletons showed no signs of external trauma; the crew had likely drowned.
In a room that appeared to be the captain’s quarters, Qin Ziwen found a parchment map.
He gave it a quick glance before stowing it away safely.
Beyond that, there seemed to be nothing else of value in the cabins.
He noticed signs that the ship had already been looted.
...
After a preliminary survey of the wreck, the workers who had consumed the fruit began to cross through the Node. They set to work in the dim water, moving like a swarm of worker ants.
They hauled out one rope after another, securing them to the ship.
The wreck was heavy, and they were prepared to haul it out in two or three sections.
The black ropes were skillfully threaded, wrapped, and looped, forming a massive dragnet that enveloped the wreck.
On the other side of the Node, more than twenty men stood in a circle.
"One, two, three!"
Muscles bulging, they heaved in unison, pushing the capstan.
"CREAK... CREAK..."
The capstan turned slowly.
Back on the seabed, the massive dragnet began to tighten. The wreck, embedded in the silt, trembled slightly, stirring up clouds of murky sand.
The bow shuddered and began to slowly lift.
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Seeing the wreck slowly begin to rise, Qin Ziwen’s eyes lit up. ’It’s working!’
But his excitement lasted less than ten seconds before a deep, violent cracking sound echoed from ahead.
The ship’s deck was slowly breaking away.
The next moment, like a collapsing block tower, the deck gave way and caved in, sending splinters of wood everywhere.
RUMBLE~
The water churned violently as silt billowed up, turning everything murky.
The massive dragnet was now only dragging a fragmented piece of the bow.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Someone hurried to tell the men on the other side of the Node.
The wreck had broken apart. Although the dragnet held the bow section, it wasn’t secure. The bow was slowly slipping free and would have to be re-strapped.
Li Yue swam out of the murky water, his face pale.
His worst fear had come to pass.
The wreck had been on the seabed for too long. Years of corrosion from the seawater had completely rotted out its internal structure.
The only way to keep it reasonably intact would be to encase the entire thing and lift it from the surface with a crane.
Looking at the fractured wreck, Qin Ziwen remained calm. He had been prepared for this; the hull breaking apart was within his expectations.
He gestured for them to continue.
Li Yue quickly nodded, breathing an inward sigh of relief. He moved forward to direct the others, and the team methodically began to separate and re-wrap the sections. They decided to salvage the bow, which made up about a third of the ship’s volume, first.
Just as the team was busy at work, a disturbance came from the rear of the shattered deck.
Qin Ziwen looked over and saw a Bull Shark near the stern, harassing one of the workers. It then rammed its head into the ship’s hold.
"BANG!"
Several planks of the deck splintered from the impact.
The worker hiding behind it scrambled back in fear.
Qin Ziwen was furious.
’My ship is already falling apart, and you’re still ramming the damn thing?!’
’Can you even afford to pay for the damages?’
He took out his One-Handed Crossbow and approached the four-meter-long Bull Shark.
Sensing the human’s approach, the Bull Shark didn’t retreat. Instead, it circled once and charged straight at Qin Ziwen.
At Qin Ziwen’s side, Du Yu raised his Fish Spear protectively.
Just then.
A fiery red figure shot out from behind them.
Red Hare, like a crimson gale, fearlessly charged the Bull Shark.
The Bull Shark froze for a second before hastily swerving aside.
It had dared to charge the humans because of their small size.
But this creature, something it had never seen in the ocean before, was similar in size. Instinctively wary, the shark wouldn’t charge it recklessly.
But while the shark wanted to be cautious, Red Hare had no intention of letting it off the hook.
Underwater, Red Hare was fleet-footed, running faster than the shark could swim. Its four hooves seemed to have an acceleration button, transforming it into a red storm as its hard head slammed heavily into the Bull Shark’s flank.
It nearly flipped the Bull Shark over.
Before the shark could react, Red Hare lunged forward and took a vicious bite.
It tore a large chunk of flesh from the shark’s body.
The Bull Shark, in pain and enraged, lost all reason. It whipped its head around to bite Red Hare, but the horse retreated a step, raised a hoof, and kicked out.
The kick sent the Bull Shark spinning a full 360 degrees on the seabed.
It was quite possibly the first shark in the history of this ocean to be sent flying by a horse.
...
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