When he came to the edge of a seamount, Song Wenbin saw something, and he immediately shouted loudly to the communicator: "Stop, we saw something!"
"
In the endless sea water, the Jiaolong received the order and slowly stopped. From inside the cabin to the screen, Song Wenbin could see a black object lying on the sunken seabed in front of him.
Due to the cover of the thick sea water, the visibility of the object was not high, and only a silhouette could be seen. But that silhouette is clearly in stark contrast to the surrounding natural seamounts and rocks.
In the bulkhead of the Jiaolong, the three people were silent, including the crew members on the mother ship. They were all staring at the screen without saying a word at this moment, with their eyes wide open. Even the technicians controlling the Jiaolong were trembling slightly uncontrollably at this moment.
If the clues are true, then they may have discovered an ancient sunken ship worth tens of billions of dollars, and the discovery of such a sunken ship will definitely shock the world!
At a depth of 5,000 meters under the sea, the Jiaolong slowly approached the black silhouette. As the distance approached, Song Wenbin's heart beat harder and harder, because the silhouette was indeed the shape of an ancient sunken ship. From the silhouette alone, On the top, you can see some messy and overturned masts.
It was wrapped in thick floating objects, which looked like flowing wax wrapping the ship. Those were microorganisms in the deep sea. Even at the bottom of the sea five thousand meters deep, there was still no life. They are everywhere, even multiplying vigorously.
As the Jiaolong got closer and closer, under the strong light of the submersible, Song Wenbin could see that this was a very old wooden sunken ship. It was about ten meters wide, huge in size, and covered with thick sediments. The shape of a lion can be vaguely seen on the beak on the bow of the ship. Likewise, the lion's head is also wrapped in thick microorganisms.
"Oh My God....."
After seeing the ship, Sutina couldn't help but moan.
There is no doubt that with such a landing point, such depth, and such shape, it can almost be concluded that this is the shipwreck of the Van Balen that was shipwrecked hundreds of years ago and sank in the Java Trench.
"Is it really... is it really..."
Huo Yu murmured.
Although they had made enough psychological preparations, when those few clues finally turned into facts before them, everyone in the team felt incredible that they had actually discovered a sunken ship on the seabed.
The image data was transmitted back to the control center of the mother ship, and the engineers in the control center couldn't help but stand up and applaud, as if they had successfully sent people into space.
But under the unfathomable water, when the Jiaolong circled the sunken ship that had sunk for who knows how many years and came to the side of it, a sudden change occurred.
The side panels of the ship are still intact, the railings are carved in the shape of dolphins or snakes, and the broken anchor posts are also decorated with carved wooden monster or lion heads. It looks very exquisite.
However, the position behind the side of the hull was completely shattered. The word "fragmented" is almost not enough to describe it, because this sunken ship at the bottom of the sea has only one bow still intact standing on the seabed, and The hull and stern of the ship were completely missing.
When such a picture was transmitted back to the control center, the control hall that was so excited just now fell silent instantly.
The three people inside the Jiaolong also opened their eyes wide in astonishment, looking at the incredible sight in front of them.
Compared with the Jiaolong, the sunken ship in front of it is more than ten meters high and ten meters wide. It is not an exaggeration to call it a giant. However, at this moment, only one head of this behemoth was left, lying quietly on the bottom of the sea, with its body and tail missing.
Like a plump seabass, after the feast, only the head remains on the plate.
"This this......"
Sutina looked at the broken wreckage of the Van Balen, with disbelief written all over her face: "Where is the hull...where did the hull go...?"
she asked shakily.
No one could answer her question. Song Wenbin didn't know, Huo Yu didn't know, and neither did the people on the mother ship.
"Closer...come closer!"
Sutina ordered loudly.
The people in the mother ship control center ignored the shock in their hearts and sat down, adjusting the Jiaolong and getting closer to the bow of the sunken ship.
On the bow of the ship, there are still traces of the shipwreck hundreds of years ago. The bow collapsed, the keel was twisted, and there were even some black stick-like objects wrapped around the mast. When you get closer, the camera can see, The stick-shaped object was nothing but human bones wrapped in thick floating matter.
The appearance of human bones added another level of horror to the unfathomable seabed. The three of them stared wide-eyed and held their breaths.
After the Jiaolong sank to the broken part of the deck, under the strong light, Song Wenbin could see the broken part of the bow of the sunken ship. The wood pieces there looked as if they had been cut entirely by some sharp blade. They were very smooth and the cross-section was Although the area is covered with microorganisms, it is obviously not as thick as the microorganisms wrapped in the bow and other places.
Song Wenbin was stunned at this glance. Even if he knew nothing about shipwrecks, he could tell that such a flat fracture was definitely not caused by a shipwreck. He could hardly imagine any possibility other than man-made. But once it is human, it is almost self-evident why the other party comes.
"Hold...."
Song Wenbin's tense body slowly withered. As expected, as long as people can make money in this world, there are many people involved in the business of beheading. Even the water five thousand meters deep cannot stop human beings from seeking wealth.
The Jiaolong patiently scanned from the highest point to the lowest point of the sunken ship. Soon, a researcher's cold and rational female voice came from the mother ship: "The metal detection device did not react much. There are some metals. But the spectrum showed that the metal was composed of iron, the same rivets used in the ship's construction."
The cold words were like a ladle of cold water poured on the heads of the three people. Sutina leaned against the bulkhead, her face pale and silent.
With the strong light of the Jiaolong, she could see the full cabins covered in sediment, but the cabins were empty. Except for the clumps of microorganisms, corroded ropes and broken wood, I didn't see the imaginary scene of rare treasures filling the cabin. There was only still water and floating objects everywhere.
"Could the hull... be... crushed by water pressure? Or was it damaged by a shipwreck?" Huo Yu couldn't help but ask, "Let's take a look around, maybe there are any clues."
Although Song Wenbin knew that Huo Yu probably hadn't noticed that the ship had been cut up, he didn't explain it to Huo Yu. Perhaps in his heart, he vaguely hoped that the ship would be destroyed by water pressure.
After detecting the bow, the Jiaolong slowly turned around and searched near the seabed where the bow was located. Soon, they found scattered fragments nearby. This fragment may be the remains of the ship's stern. It is fifty meters away from the bow. Although more than six hundred years have passed, a golden shield can be vaguely seen on the stern. A letter a can be faintly seen under the shield.
Huo Yu poked Su Tina and asked, "Look, the sign."
"That is the coat of arms of Amsterdam. There is an a on the Dutch East India Company's logo. This ship belongs to the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce and the East India Company. There is no doubt that this is indeed the Van Baalen."
When Sutina said these words, she leaned against the bulkhead, her face expressionless, and her voice did not rise or fall. There was no excitement at all, only deep disappointment and unwillingness.
The reason for Sutina's despair was very clear to Song Wenbin, because like the bow, all the fractures on the stern were very smooth, even clearer. Some fractures had not even had time to be wrapped by floating objects, and the wooden texture on it could be clearly seen. .
The Jiaolong continued to search along the seabed. Near the stern and bow of the ship, they saw a large number of scattered planks. There were even obvious drag and cut marks on the sand under these planks, and broken human bones could be seen everywhere. .
These human bones are scattered here and there. In some places there is a black head, and in other places there are broken ribs. Even on the bones, traces of fracture due to cutting could be clearly seen. Song Wenbin saw half of the vertebrae, one at the bow and one at the stern.
The five-thousand-meter deep sea freezes time, and every trace of history is preserved with incomparable clarity. Just looking at those marks, one can imagine the sharp machinery slicing across the seabed.
However, although human bones are everywhere, the so-called treasures worth tens of billions of dollars are nowhere to be seen.
At this moment, even Huo Yu realized that this place had been reached first. The moment she reacted, she felt dizzy.
"Are we late?" she asked in disbelief.
"It seems so." Song Wenbin replied.
"Do you still need to continue?"
Sutina asked hoarsely.
Song Wenbin couldn't answer. He was at a loss and confused. The time from regrouping to falling into the abyss was less than half an hour.
The team that was able to reach the 5,000-meter seabed and cut the ship apart must be a top team from a developed country. If those people came prepared, how could they leave anything of value to them.
"Let's take a look again. Maybe the Nine-Patterned Dragon Treasure Box hasn't been taken away yet." Huo Yu gritted his teeth and said, "After all, there are only three treasures in that box, so it shouldn't be too big."
She pushed Sutina away and spoke to the communicator unwillingly: "Pull off these wooden boards and use the detector to find any place with metal around it!"
Under the deep water bottom, the Jiaolong stretched out two metal arms and rummaged among the scattered wooden boards on the seabed. However, it is obvious that this place has been plundered once. Those with metal reactions, except rivets, are some dark gun barrels in the deep sea, and they are not of much value.
Just when the Jiaolong's robotic arm turned over the pieces of wood near the bow of the Van Balen, a slightly excited female voice came from the mother ship, "There is a metal product 1.5 meters to the left, and the spectrum analysis is gold."
gold?
Su Tina and Song Wenbin straightened up immediately, hope bursting into their eyes.
A piece of wood that had been chopped into pieces was opened by a mechanical arm. Sure enough, under the strong light, they found a broken hand bone under the board. The hand bone stretched out from the sea and was wrapped in sand. There is a small yellow metal object on the wrist bone, which reflects the dim light.
But when the robotic arm carefully removed the yellow object from the hand bone, the hope in Song Wenbin's eyes gradually faded. According to the underwater camera, the thing was a golden ring, probably a bracelet, which was far from the Jiulonglong treasure box they were looking for and the treasures stored in the treasure box. It is neither a golden Buddha, nor a jade dragon, nor a crystal vase.
After that, during the operation of the Jiaolong, Song Wenbin just sat silently in the cabin and watched without expressing any opinions. He had already made up his mind not to have any expectations for this project. The cycle of continuous disappointment, hope, disappointment, and hope had tortured him. Exhausted.
After finding the golden bracelet, the Jiaolong continued to search the seabed for two hours, only finding some scattered gold coins, a few pearls, and a few broken pieces of porcelain.
Afterwards, the Jiaolong had to abandon the exploration due to a shortage of oxygen in the cabin. When they left the bottom of the sea, the atmosphere in the cabin was no longer as relaxed as when they left. The three of them were silent and had bitter expressions.
After returning to the mother ship from the 5,000-meter seabed, the three of them checked the salvage harvest. Several ancient Dutch classic ducat gold coins seemed to be in good condition. Several pearls are large enough and so shiny that they look like they fell off the necklace. The most exquisite one is undoubtedly the golden bracelet.
This is a bracelet wrapped with gold and gemstones. It is flat as a whole and made of extremely fine gold wires. There are four protrusions in it, which seem to be inlaid with gems.
Song Wenbin weighed the bracelet. It was extremely heavy and was undoubtedly made of pure gold. However, its surface was covered in dirt from being salvaged from the seabed, making it difficult to display the luster of gemstones on its surface.
After seeing the bracelet, Song Wenbin felt a little better. Although he failed to salvage the legendary Nine-Patterned Dragon Treasure Box, it was not a day without results. This bracelet seemed to be valuable, but he didn't know it. Can the value of Jiaolong be offset by the cost of using it...
While he was thinking about the value of this bracelet and the cost of exploring the seabed, Song Wenbin suddenly felt a desire around him. He turned around and found Huo Yu squatting next to him, looking at the bracelet in his hand.
】
Song Wenbin handed her the bracelet in his hand. Huo Yu carefully took the bracelet, weighed it, and said, "It's so beautiful... How about... wash it with water first?"
"Can't wash!" Sutina said quickly: "This is a cultural relic fished out from 5,000 meters of water. It has high research value and should be sent back to the country intact!"
Hearing this, Huo Yu put the bracelet back with some reluctance. Sutina dutifully stood in front of the pile of salvaged objects and took pictures of these items one by one.
While filming, Zhang Zhi, the captain of the Xiangyanghong, came over and said, "Comrades, we must leave here immediately. I just heard the news that the Indonesian coast guard ship is coming this way."
