America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 209 I Believe in God

After sailing on the sea for about twenty minutes, the fishing boat soon arrived at coordinates 236-549-54b in area 65.

Zhang Ailun and his men stood on the permeable barrier, wearing sunglasses, feeling the damp, salty sea breeze blowing in their faces, the boundless ocean filled with the aroma of seafood.

We also spotted several fishing boats in the distance, lingering and exploring the nearby waters, conducting deep-sea fishing, but they mostly came up empty-handed.

The old man walked over with a smile and said, "Guest, we've arrived at the location you mentioned. Are you sure you want to conduct deep-water fishing here?"

"What's the next step?" Zhang Ailun asked the other party. Although it was confirmed that there was indeed a shipwreck treasure nearby, the specific salvage process still had to be left to the professionals.

"We need to deploy radar first to detect the underwater conditions and locate the shipwreck treasure and its surrounding environment. If it were the latest model, it could print a 3D model directly on the screen. But our fishing boat uses an older radar, so we can only use a printer to draw a rough outline on paper. If there are metallic substances nearby, we will get magnetic field feedback," the old man said.

"Okay, do you need my people to help?" Zhang Ailun nodded.

"You just need to wait for our good news." The old man chuckled, lit his pipe, turned around, and beckoned to the crew of the fishing boat to start the radar detection equipment.

They seemed quite relaxed and didn't believe that anything could be salvaged from this area.

Having spent so many years navigating the seas, how could I not know if there are treasures hidden beneath the surface?

As the fishing boat lowered its anchor, the hull swayed slightly. The old-fashioned tower crane, which has been in use since the last century, looked like an excavator on a construction site. It turned and extended its boom. When the safety bolt was activated and pulled out, the coiled steel cable began to fall off the pulley, making a sound of air being sucked in.

A dark-colored radar detector, resembling a sea urchin, carrying a buoy, fell into the seawater, creating splashes.

Zhang Ailun led Sieg into the cabin and saw the staff skillfully operating the radar detector, which quickly descended several hundred meters underwater. The old-fashioned printer next to them started up with a whoosh, printing the general underwater situation and the wavelength signals fed back by the radar onto blank 3D paper.

The seabed is uneven, with coral reefs and hidden reefs. The wavelengths also vary, with occasional metallic red lines, but the fluctuations are very low, indicating that there are basically no valuable or densely packed objects.

After the staff finished exploring one area, they operated the tower crane to move to another area to start exploring again. This process was repeated for more than ten minutes, but there was basically no feedback on any valuable items. The only change was in the fish.

Seeing this, even Sieg, who always trusted the Grand Master's incredible luck, was somewhat moved.

I think the Grand Master is good at picking up bargains on land, but he probably won't be very effective on waterways.

Because of the change in environment.

"Boss, I think we made a wasted trip this time."

Sieg said, "Even if there really were some shipwreck treasure, gold, or jewels here, the underwater conditions are so complex. A small earthquake could wash everything away, scattering it hundreds of nautical miles away! Trying to salvage treasure in the ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

Johnson and Melvin nodded in agreement.

"Boss, it's okay if we didn't find the treasure. At least we made it out of the way. This fishing boat can salvage shipwrecks and catch fish too!"

Zhang Ailun was not discouraged by the radar readings.

"How's it going? Any findings?" The old man chuckled as he approached, pipe in hand, glanced at the printed results, and immediately became satisfied.

He chuckled and said, "Guys, finding shipwreck treasure and getting rich isn't that easy! I served on a guard-class salvage ship for a few years before, and after retiring, I worked on fishing boats for decades. But based on my decades of experience searching for treasure at sea, salvaging shipwreck treasure is not only a job that requires skill, but also luck. The number of times a person can salvage valuable items in their lifetime is pitifully small."

"If it were that easy, anyone could find shipwreck treasure just by acting impulsively. I'd be a billionaire by now! Why would I still be here helping you navigate this ship?"

The old man was just telling the truth.

Zhang Ailun smiled and said, "What you said makes sense. But if you don't believe in me, don't you believe in God?"

"What do you, an Asian, believe in God for? I've lived most of my life and never believed in Him." The old man couldn't help but complain, since God couldn't make him a millionaire.

"Move the boat forward another 150 meters," Zhang Ailun ordered. He realized that this fishing boat wasn't as reliable as he had imagined; its coordinates were definitely off by a large margin!

The intelligence couldn't be wrong, the radar detectors looked reliable, and the staff's methodical and skilled work couldn't be wrong either. So the only thing that could be wrong is that the ship was parked in the wrong place!

"Then we need to retrieve the crane and anchor first before we can move the boat forward and steer it, which will take quite a bit of work," the old man said, a little puzzled. "Do you think I didn't stop the boat according to the standard coordinates you gave me?"

"I never said that. You guys are the professionals, but I did give you tickets. Didn't you follow the other customers' instructions when you went out to sea to fish before?" Zhang Ailun retorted.

"Of course."

Seeing his insistence, the old man didn't say anything more. He simply went out to call the staff, retrieved the radar detector and the tower crane anchor, and continued forward for another 150 meters.

"Place the radar detector here!"

Zhang Ailun personally took over and directed the staff to carry out the deployment, and the radar detector once again penetrated hundreds of meters into the seabed.

The old man shook his head, seeing that he looked like a complete novice. He glanced at the time and realized that there was still plenty of time before the two-hour fee collection period.

So I decided to slack off and started smoking.

Before a few minutes had passed, the radar started beeping.

The old man was instantly stunned. Hearing that familiar name, he almost dropped his pipe. What was going on? Was there really something good?

I hurried back into the cabin and saw an old-fashioned printer rapidly printing on 3D blank paper, detailing the underwater conditions. Judging from the outline, it appeared to be a cargo container, and the radar emitted a deep, almost purple-red wavelength of precious metals!

"Are these containers that the Matson Express cargo ship dropped here?" The old man was completely bewildered. "How did their boxes drift so far after falling into the water?"

The staff were also somewhat stunned, looking at Zhang Ailun and his group with strange expressions. "You guys really managed to find something good! The last time I encountered something like this was two and a half years ago!"

"Have some people made a fortune here? Are they professional gold prospectors?" Sig asked curiously.

"That group of people weren't professional gold prospectors; they were just tourists from other places. It's really ridiculous. They bought a treasure map online for $16, claiming it contained pirate treasure, and drove straight here that very night to search for it. We all thought they were joking, that they'd just randomly pick a treasure location after setting sail, but as soon as they dropped off their radar detector, they detected metallic activity!"

"Finally, we also salvaged a metal box containing several hundred Spanish silver coins!" A staff member said with a hint of envy, "I heard they resold those coins online for $20!"

"..."

That's really a bit outrageous. Luck has always been a mysterious thing.

"I told you there was something here!"

Zhang Ailun smiled, looking at the stunned old man, who was completely disoriented.

He patted him on the shoulder and urged, "Hurry up and figure out a way to salvage the container."

The old man snapped out of his daze and said with some distress, "How could those professional salvage companies be so negligent? Did they really not see such a large container?"

With a sigh, I reluctantly accepted this cruel reality. I have to admit that some people's luck is truly beyond imagination!

They immediately began the retrieval operation, retrieving the tower crane's radar detector and using a professional magnetic adsorption chain boom to descend hundreds of meters underwater, attaching the container to it. Then, using the force of the gears, they slowly pulled it up.

To avoid errors and accidents caused by disengagement, the staff skillfully put on diving suits, secured oxygen tubes and safety ropes, and prepared to work underwater at a depth of tens of meters with fixed grappling hooks.

A bald, black man stood on the gate, warmed up, took a few deep breaths, put on a respirator and goggles, and plunged into the sea.

Holy crap. Is this black guy that fierce?

Looking at the frogman Lao Hei who had disappeared underwater, Zhang Ailun thought that these people were indeed professionals.

Although the leader of the sect is not a complete landlubber, he only shows off his prowess in the swimming pool.

Swimming in the deep sea is much scarier than in a reservoir! There are real sharks and sea monsters in there.

Although sharks don't really like to eat people, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Before long, the grappling hooks fixed to the fishing boat tightened. As the fishing operation continued, the chain was pulled back to a certain extent, and soon, everyone saw the outline of a shadow grow larger, and the blue container also surfaced.

Large amounts of seawater gushed out from the cracks, and many octopuses, oysters, seaweed, and barnacles clung to them.

Once the seawater had been mostly drained, the magnetically attached crane steadily placed the container onto the fishing boat. Old Black also climbed up from underwater.

Zhang Ailun led his men to the container, glanced at the serial number N-296, and confirmed it was correct.

"This is indeed a container from that Mason Clipper ship. There were several similar containers salvaged back then, and they were auctioned off in the port area." The old man examined it and was a little puzzled. The tags were all gone, and he didn't know what was inside.

"I guess it contains some rare metals."

"Why can't it be gold?" Zhang Ailun smiled.

"Oh, you're dreaming. If there really is gold in here, you'll be rolling in it." The old man laughed, not believing it at all.

Zhang Ailun immediately asked the old man to bring over the pliers, and then personally went over and opened the disposable lock.

As soon as the door opened, five or six small crabs scurried out sideways.

A strong smell of seafood wafted over.

Zhang Ailun looked at the wet cardboard boxes and foam boards, rolled up his sleeves, and personally rummaged through them, but didn't find anything.

It wasn't until I reached the deepest part of the cardboard box that I touched the foam board. It was a heavy, strip-shaped object. After wiping off the mud, it was quite dazzling.

It was a 320g golden bar.

One, two, three, four. The Grand Master collected them without any obstacles and brought out a small box.

The old man was stunned, and the crew on the ship were also dumbfounded.

Envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"WTF!!"

"So much gold?"

"Hey buddy, hurry up and take a picture to remember this!"

Old Hei's eyes widened at the sight of so much gold. He even felt a primal urge stirring within him.

But after glancing at the vast ocean all around, and seeing that there were four of them, each carrying a bulging tactical chest pack, he sighed regretfully.

If they really dared to target customers, and someone were to have an accident on a sea voyage, they would not only face police investigation upon their return, but it would also severely damage the treasure hunt. At that point, no one would want to rent boats for sea excursions anymore, making it a completely unprofitable endeavor. More importantly, we simply can't win!

Sieg and Johnson quickly brought the situation under control. Melvin checked the gold bars; each weighed 320g, and there were 25 gold bars in total, which is 8000g.

"Boss, my God! We're rich!! This batch of gold is worth at least half a million!!"

Melvin was thrilled.

Zhang Ailun waved his hand, indicating that he was calm.

The Grand Master has seen all sorts of storms; this is nothing!

The ship's crew also sincerely wished them well and asked to take a group photo. After considering it, the chief agreed and let Sieg and the others take a group photo while holding the gold. He himself did not want to be in the limelight and chose to stay behind the scenes.

After all, we have to cooperate with their publicity efforts!

They got the other party's fishing boat for free and retrieved hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold, so they should give some benefits to keep the treasure hunt going.

After taking the photos, Melvin found a handbag and put all the gold bars away.

I tried lifting it in my hand, and it felt quite heavy.

The burden of 16 pounds is not that great, but if it were gold, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the pressure of carrying it would be too great!

"Guys, take us back." Zhang Ailun greeted the old man with a smile.

"Aren't you going to keep searching for treasure? You guys are so lucky." The old man took a few photos with his phone and said enviously, "If I had your luck, I could have retired long ago."

Really satisfied.

He initially thought they were just a few greenhorns, going out to sea to earn some boat fare as usual, but he never expected that they would make hundreds of thousands of dollars in one trip! That's more than he could earn in his entire life of hard work at sea.

The old man was numb; he had never seen anything so outrageous.

"Luck eventually runs out, and I don't think I can find any more treasures. That's not part of our plan. God hasn't let me search for any other treasures either," Zhang Ailun said.

"Alright." The old man nodded in agreement, signaling his men to begin steering the boat back to shore. Then, he asked curiously, "Which church did you worship God in?"

Zhang Ailun pondered, "What I believe in is the Eastern Supreme Being who created the heavens, held the talisman, governed the calendar, embodied the true Dao, possessed the golden palace and cloud palace, ruled the nine heavens, governed the myriad Daos, practiced the Great Dao, the Bright Palace of the Vast Heaven, the Golden Palace, the Supreme Jade Emperor, the Great Heavenly Venerable who pardons sins, the Mysterious Heavenly High God."

Old man: ?

Wait, why is God's name so long? God has a name?

He can't understand you even if you speak Chinese.

Muddy? Crab muddy.

The fishing vessel Fox 009 returned fully loaded and docked in the port area. Zhang Ailun disembarked, led Sieg and the others to the port, and waved goodbye to the old man.

"Remember, it's useless to worship God in church. You have to go to Chinatown and get a portrait to hang at home. You also have to burn incense and worship during festivals! It has to be an Eastern festival. During festivals, you have to give God dumplings, not turkey."

Zhang Ailun advised, "Sincerity brings results."

"OK, OK." The old man nodded hurriedly and wrote down what he said in his notebook.

He didn't quite believe it before, but now he has no choice but to.

Go back and pay your respects!

Zhang Ailun led his men away from the estuary, placed the gold in the rear driver's seat of the Wrangler, and pondered how to dispose of it.

It's been a long time since I visited Old George. Selling this batch of gold to him at market price would be a good option, since he has the financial resources to buy it all at once and convert it into cash.

(End of this chapter)