The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 177 Salvage Work
The sea area of Beika Town cargo transportation port.

On the ship abandoned by Gin and Vodka, the engineer and several scouts spent a few minutes checking the remains on the boat.

"Reporting to the headquarters, everything up there has been cleaned out. Apart from some water, food, and emergency equipment, there's nothing left."

"Command received. Can you deduce the ship's previous route?"

The voice on the communication system hesitated for a moment.

"It's almost impossible to give a detailed path at this point."

The debriefing officer looked up at the engineer who was checking the data on the boat's dashboard and roared towards the bow in the somewhat violent sea breeze.

"Kevin! How's the situation over there?"

"Fuel consumption is about 27 liters!"

Kevin looked down at the data given by the instrument hanging on his chest.

"Southwest wind force 1.5, wave heights around 2 to meters. If we take the entire harbor as our starting point..."

Kevin gestured to him to wait. He calculated the possible path of the boat in his mind, and with the help of the searchlight above his head, he drew a semicircle on the slightly wet nautical chart spread out on the metal table.

"I can narrow down the range based on fuel consumption and approximate time. Even if the ship was fully fueled when it departed, based on today's sea conditions, it's possible that the radius is about twelve nautical miles centered on the port and the ship!"

"Especially the overlapping areas!"

Ignoring the whistling sound of the sea breeze on the walkie-talkie, the liaison officer at the command center immediately turned around and shouted to the analysis team.

"Twelve nautical miles from the two centers!"

Then he continued to issue orders to the front line according to the instructions from the analysis team.

"Command has received the message. You may evacuate the target vessel. The transport vessel is being dispatched. Meanwhile, please have Group C's active sonar vessels search for the possible locations of the abandoned personnel."

"Please report any unusual situations to command immediately."

At the same time, at the naval base closest to Beika Town, Colonel Gray Cox was commanding the troops in accordance with the instructions of his superiors.

In the darkness of night, the tactical lights on the apron made the scene below appear pale white, and two teams were already ready and on standby.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Everyone hurry!"

With the help of logistics personnel, the two teams of divers are quickly changing into the seemingly bulky deep-diving work suits - which not only have the ability to withstand overpressure, but are also equipped with tactical communication modules and environmental adaptation systems.

Check gas cylinders, adjust breathing apparatus, test wireless communication channels...

After finally confirming that everything was functioning properly, the heavy diving helmets were fastened one by one.

"Attention! Attention! The action team has begun boarding the plane!"

Following the direction of the logistics personnel, each team of three people boarded the MH-60 Seahawk helicopter that had just landed on the apron.

Standing at the command desk, Colonel Gray tried to make his voice heard above the sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air.

"The route has been sent to each of you! Our orders are to search for any man-made objects along the route marked above!"

Everyone was using the small lights on their chests and the lights on the interior walls of the helicopter cabin to check the route map that had obviously been drawn up in a hurry, to remember the direction they would be searching in a while.

"This mission is extremely important!"

Everyone could hear the urgency of the commands coming from the communication system.

"The further back in time goes, the less information we'll likely get!"

"Any suspicious sightings must be reported immediately!"

As the last diver boarded, the helicopter quickly took off.

With navigation lights flashing in the night sky, three helicopters sped towards the designated area in the darkness.

This is just the first batch of GSSRA's Deep Sea Exploration and Emergency Operations Force.

"The second batch will arrive in thirty minutes, and the third batch will arrive in two hours—"

Staring at the data on the screen, Byron slammed the command table, "I want it now!"

The scope of the analysis team's report was too large! Even if the other party had abandoned the ship in an emergency and might not have had time to repair the bow and stern, everyone knew exactly what would happen to the electronic equipment when it came into contact with seawater.

"Report to the commander, because all we need are special equipment, and our current efficiency has reached its limit!"

"What about the harbor?! Haven't our personnel arrived yet? We need to search every warehouse, especially—!"

The sound of hurried footsteps broke the deadlock, and a messenger ran into the command center quickly. He saluted Byron and then spoke.

"Sir, we've received word from the police that they found traces of dismantled communications equipment in a warehouse west of the port!"

His eyes immediately became sharp, but before he could speak, the joy that had just emerged in his heart was completely ignited into anger by the messenger's next words.

"But Group B headquarters has already sent three platoons."

"what?!"

Byron's face darkened. The messenger clearly understood their intentions, but he still had to bite the bullet and continue. "They're taking command of the scene."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and the officers at the command table exchanged glances, but no one dared to speak.

Almost the next second, a few angry curse words rang out in the command room. Byron grabbed the phone and immediately dialed the communication line to the Group B command center.

"I'm in charge of the harbor!"

It was almost a growl, almost close to a roar, and Byron's tone revealed an anger that was difficult to conceal.

"Do you understand what this means? The salvage work here is the navy's responsibility!"

"Report to the commander!" The official voice of a liaison officer sounded on the phone.

“We have received a request for assistance from the police and a GSSRA Ombudsman, under the GSSRA’s Assistance and Assistance Regulations, in emergency situations—”

Byron didn't bother to listen to those bullshit regulations. When did the navy need the army to assist? Could they go to sea?

This is purely to get a piece of the pie! Don't even bother to act!

"German, you old fox, I know you can hear me. Don't let a soldier stand in your way. Answer the phone!"

Seeing the look the liaison officer turned toward him, Hermann walked over. He glared at the officers in the command post who were looking back at him, awaiting instructions. "What are you looking at? The army can't go swimming in the sea? Who made that rule?"

After receiving Heiji's request for help, Germann immediately placed his bet on him.

He had to admit that the boy Heiji was really weird. That kid was so lucky that when he received the call saying "We discovered two people at the edge of science", Hermann jumped out of bed.

Then he immediately called the battalion closest to the port.

After agreeing on a 70% share of the credit, the rescue operation successfully became a non-staff department of the GSSRA Extraordinary Threat Investigation and Defense Bureau and was temporarily commanded by Group B Command.

"There must be equipment at the port. Let them cooperate and find clues for me!"

After giving instructions on the general direction of the headquarters' next move, Hermann took over the phone that was spreading obscenities.

He held the microphone a little further from his ear.

"Hello? Lieutenant General Byron. It's me, Hermann. Is the operation at the port going smoothly? How come you have time to call Team B now?"

Byron didn't want to be delayed any longer by Group B at this critical juncture.

"Have your platoons withdraw their men immediately!"

"This is our Group C's territory! You come here to steal the credit now. I won't say anything else, otherwise I will—"

"Don't worry! I won't steal your credit! The military situation here is urgent, so I'll hang up first!"

"You old bastard, next time I see you I will—!"

Looking at the excited gestures of the messenger running towards him, Hermann hung up the phone.

This time it was all thanks to that kid Heiji, he actually found the location of the equipment that the two men threw into the sea!
Although I definitely can’t take all the credit for this, the good thing is that even if I only get a small share, it will definitely be enough!

He took the photo that had just been faxed over. In the dark night, the computers and other electronic devices tangled with cables, wet and dripping on the ground were clearly visible under the spotlight.

At the edge of the harbor, Hattori Heiji, who had just jumped into the sea to pull the equipment ashore, held the railing and took a few breaths.

After one of Inspector Megure's informants discovered the warehouse, he immediately found the location where the equipment disappeared based on the drag marks on the ground.

The detective then immediately jumped into the water, using a flashlight and a simple breathing apparatus to try to find something in the dark.

Then he luckily found a computer.

After fishing the things out, Hattori Heiji's expression became even more serious. He knew that seawater was highly corrosive to electronic equipment.

"Where's the technical team? Get them here immediately! Contact GSSRA's data recovery department immediately. We need to salvage the data right away!"

Looking at the equipment in front of him that had been soaking for who knows how long, he sighed inwardly.

Now we can only hope that some of the data inside it remains.

Moreover, judging from the signs of demolition in the warehouse, it was definitely more than just a computer that sank into the sea.

"German! I need the support of professional divers! Quick!"

At the Group B headquarters, Germann even kissed the faxed photo whose ink was still wet when he heard Hattori Heiji's anxious voice on the phone.

"Don't worry! Heiji-kun, the backup you need will be here in about 3 minutes!"

——That's why he is not worried at all about that guy Byron coming after him in the future.

After all, isn't that guy needed now?

Following several sudden orders, a helicopter changed its direction in mid-air above the sea area of Beika Town Port and flew directly towards Heiji's position.

Salvage personnel will immediately begin operations near the location where Heiji discovered it.

And the valuable clue just now will be flown to the nearest data recovery center under the escort mission that the helicopter has temporarily received.

(End of this chapter)