When several underwater salvage workers surfaced for the last time, they brought very bad news. They did not find the large amount of cargo left behind by the Oasis underwater.
"How could this be? Has the Oasis been salvaged in the past? But we haven't received any news about this!" Adelaide said in a stern tone, walking around in the cockpit.
Andrew frowned and said nothing, feeling very bad about the news.
An experienced salvage worker hesitated and said: "Sir, I carefully inspected the sunken Oasis and found that its keel had been broken from the middle. I guessed that it was probably broken by huge wind and waves, or
The violent collision on the rocks caused the cargo warehouse to be exposed, so I think the cargo may have been poured from the cargo warehouse into the sea before the Oasis sank, and sank to the bottom of the sea..."
After listening to the diver's analysis and thinking of this possibility, everyone's heart sank.
Although some scattered items from the sunken ship were salvaged today, including the crew's daily utensils and some handicrafts, some of which were worth tens of thousands of dollars.
But this is still too little, too little. Not to mention the income, even the diesel cost of this huge salvage ship and the salary of the salvage personnel are not enough to cover it.
Adelaide thought that this salvage trip would be a good harvest, but obviously the facts he faced made him very disappointed. After thinking for a while, he announced that he would use detection radar to search in the nearby waters tomorrow and spend a day to find the tilted incline.
Cargo on the seabed.
You absolutely cannot go back like this!
It took them half a year to lock the sunken Oasis. They first roughly locked the area based on clues, and then sent ships to explore the area day and night with radar.
The funds consumed in the early preparation stage reached more than three million US dollars!
To put it bluntly, he was unwilling to give up and tried his luck again, but he could only conduct a one-day sea search and could not spend it endlessly, because the salvage ship was not a professional radar survey ship.
The cost of sailing is also too expensive.
Xue Chen was on the deck helping to sort out some scattered items that had been salvaged. There was no doubt that the salvaged items had not been severely corroded by the sea water.
He was holding a candlestick in his hand, which was covered with white salt-like rust, but it could still be seen that the candlestick was produced in China, with a beautiful layer of filigree enamel attached to the outside. It looked like it was used by wealthy people.
It was equivalent to a luxury item at the time and could show off the family heritage.
Andrew came out of the cabin and told him the not-so-good news and Adelaide's decision.
"I thought this salvage would be very smooth, but I didn't expect it would be like this." Andrew sighed, shook his head, and said slightly disappointed.
Xue Chen remained silent. He had been aware of this problem as early as this morning. He used his eagle eye and clairvoyance abilities to search carefully around the sunken ship. Indeed, he only saw some scattered things and nothing.
to large quantities of goods.
"I hope the goods are scattered more concentrated and are not too far away from here, so that there is a chance that they can be searched tomorrow. If the goods are not received tomorrow, the Ord will return and will not continue to waste money here. After that,
Maybe a survey ship will be sent with underwater radar to continue the search." Andrew looked at the western ocean in the distance, which had dropped to sea level, and let out a sigh of relief.
"The survey ship should be able to search for those goods, right?" Xue Chen asked.
"It's difficult." Andrew shook his head and looked at Xue Chen, "The survey ship uses the radar imaging system to detect the situation on the seabed. It can only guess whether there are suspicious objects on the seabed based on the images. If it is a sunken ship, because of its large size and relatively small shape,
It is easy to identify and relatively easy to search. But even so, searching for sunken ships is still the most difficult part of seabed salvage. If the cargo poured out of the ship's cabin is piled on the seabed, it will be even more difficult to search for it. I'm afraid
The success rate may not exceed 10%.”
"That's right." Xue Chen nodded clearly.
"It's a pity. When I came out this time, I thought I could take you to see the seabed salvage and play at sea for two days, but it seems that we will return tomorrow night." Andrew said apologetically.
"Don't be so negative, maybe we can find those goods tomorrow." Xue Chen said.
"I hope God will bless you and give you good words." Andrew made a cross on his chest with his hand.
Because the underwater situation was not optimistic, the crew members on the ship were in a low mood. If they salvaged goods of high enough value, they would also be rewarded by the company, but if they failed to return, it meant that they could only receive basic wages.
As soon as the sun rose the next day, the salvage ship started to search within the actual nautical mile radius around the sunken ship.
Since the keel of the Oasis was broken, even if it did not sink immediately, it would not have been able to drift a long distance in the sea, so Adelaide concluded that the cargo poured into the sea was within this range.
The propellers of the Ord rotated rapidly, pushing the huge hull to sail on the sea. Most of the crew members stayed in the cabin. Andrew and Adelaide stayed in the cockpit, always observing the images presented by the underwater radar system.
to determine whether the Oasis' cargo has been discovered.
Xue Chen, on the other hand, stayed alone on the deck, holding on to the railing with both hands, looking down at the sea, using his dual abilities of perspective and eagle eye to survey the situation on the seabed.
The radar system on the Ord is already the most advanced for civilian use today, but how can it be compared to Xue Chen's direct observation and search with his eyes?
As soon as he glanced at it, he could see all the seabed conditions within a radius of 500 meters. The beautiful sea fish of various colors swimming freely, the fluttering green kelp, and the deep blue water were so beautiful that it made him
He was fascinated.
"Xue Chen, what are you looking at?" Amanda came over and asked in a soft voice. From a distance, she saw Xue Chen lowering his head and staring at the sea. She glanced at the sea, and there was nothing worth seeing.
.
"Oh, I'm looking at the beautiful sea." Xue Chen replied.
"The sea is quite beautiful, um, have you ever snorkeled?" Amanda tilted her head slightly, with bright blue eyes, and asked with a smile. When the sea breeze blew, her silky blond hair fluttered in the wind.
"If the time I jumped into the sea to save Connie counts, it is an experience." Xue Chen said.
Amanda also looked at the sea: "I occasionally go snorkeling. Those corals and colorful fish are really beautiful."
Xue Chen squinted his eyes and looked further into the sea: "Really? If I have the chance, I really want to try it."
Unconsciously, the whole morning passed. At noon, the chef cooked a variety of very delicious seafood, but neither Andrew nor Adelaide had a good appetite, and their faces were a little gloomy.
After a simple meal, Xue Chen ran to the deck again. Andrew and Amanda didn't pay attention. They just thought that Xue Chen liked to watch the sea and they were busy with their own things.
Xue Chen quickly explored the bottom of the sea. In this half-day, he really saw a lot of surprising things on the bottom of the sea, such as an octopus as big as a small boat, swimming as fast as a cannonball, and he also saw three
The dolphin chased a school of silver fish gracefully and sharply, which made him feel novel and mysterious.
Of course, he did not forget about business. He conducted a meticulous survey and search of all the sea areas that the salvage ship passed through, but so far he has not found the large quantities of cargo that the Oasis dropped into the sea.
Several crew members came out of the cabin and began to organize the machinery and equipment on the deck in preparation for the return voyage. Naturally, they were in a very low mood as their bonuses were lost.
When these crew members saw Xue Chen standing alone on the edge of the deck looking at the sea, they all murmured.
"On the whole ship, I saw that he was the only one who was not affected emotionally and was still in the mood to enjoy the scenery." Sailor Yose said unhappily.
"Mr. Andrew has made a not-so-good friend. If it were me, I would definitely stay in the cab and stand in front of the radar screen together."
"Yes, this time the salvage is so unsuccessful, and he will definitely lose a lot of money. He should at least show a lower mood. Even if it is just pretending, it is better than looking like he is indifferent."
Unfortunately, the discussion of several crew members about Xue Chen was overheard by Andrew and Amanda, who had just walked out of the cockpit. Andrew scolded: "Shut your mouths. Who allowed you to talk about my friend behind his back?"
Of bad words!”
When the crew members saw the unhappy looking Andrew, they lowered their heads and continued working.
At this time, Xue Chen also walked back from the edge of the deck.
Andrew said apologetically: "Xue Chen, don't listen to their nonsense."
Xue Chen smiled carelessly, suddenly his eyes flashed, and said: "Andrew, turn the boat around, drive back five hundred meters and stop."
"Huh? Xue Chen, what do you... mean?" Andrew said confused.
Xue Chen touched his chin: "Aren't you looking for the cargo of the Oasis? I think it should be there."
If you don't say anything shocking, you will die! Xue Chen's words shocked Andrew, Amanda and the surrounding crew members.
"Turn around? Turn around five hundred meters?" After receiving this order, the captain felt confused, but he still obeyed the order, turned around five hundred meters, and stopped the ship.
Several pairs of eyes were staring at the radar screen.
The experienced radar observer looked at the screen and reported: "Mr. Adelaide, based on the radar picture, I think there should be a coral reef below."
Both Andrew and Adelaide looked at Xue Chen standing aside with strange eyes, just because Xue Chen was sure that the Oasis' cargo was here!
"Mr. Xue, do you think the cargo of the Oasis is on the seabed below the ship?" Adelaide asked in a very skeptical tone.
"Of course, I won't make such a boring joke, right?" Xue Chen said in a calm tone, but full of confidence. (To be continued)