“Y…Y…Yorick’s ship!”
After the rain had cleared, behind Victor and Wu Ming, the sailors and Verdi and others who had followed saw the sailing ship and all let out sharp cries of alarm.
“Lower the lifeboats, I want to go aboard and take a look!”
As an experienced sailor, Victor could clearly sense something different about this ghost ship. In the sunlight, it looked like a completely dilapidated wooden vessel, its eerie glow and terrifying aura from the storm nowhere to be seen.
“Hurry up! Don’t dawdle!” he shouted. “For a seafarer, being able to personally explore a ghost ship is an extremely fortunate opportunity!”
Clearly, the captain was very courageous, making the decision despite the crew’s objections.
“If that’s the case, may I accompany you?”
Wu Ming smiled as he made a suggestion: “I’m also quite interested in this ship!”
“Hmm… Alright then!”
Meeting Wu Ming’s inscrutable gaze, Victor hesitated briefly before agreeing.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
Alice stood on the deck, her face full of concern. “If anything were to happen to you…”
“This is an adventure! Understand? An adventure!”
To Wu Ming’s slight surprise, Verdi put on a life jacket and also boarded the lifeboat. “A ghost ship on the high seas—this will definitely become a story I brag about for the rest of my life!”
“Truly…”
Wu Ming shook his head with a wry smile, knowing that Verdi had likely dared to come down here only because of him, and inwardly nodded in approval.
Although this guy’s character and perseverance weren’t much to speak of, at least he had a bit of loyalty. Wu Ming decided he might as well help him out in the future.
“Alright, the two of us plus a few crewmen should be enough. Alice, could you please take care of Angelina for me?”
Wu Ming locked eyes with Alice, making it impossible for her to refuse.
“Alright, alright! Based on my many years of seafaring experience, a ghost ship floating on the water under sunlight probably isn’t too dangerous…”
Victor clapped his hands together, and with Wu Ming each holding an oar, they slowly approached the ghost ship.
The massive three-masted sailing ship lay silently on the sea surface, its wooden planks rotten and emitting a foul stench.
“Careful!”
The third officer from the yacht tried to climb aboard by grabbing a wooden plank when suddenly there was a “crack”—the plank broke off in his hand, and he fell into the seawater in shock.
The morning seawater was still very cold, and he was immediately pulled back onto the lifeboat, clearly unable to participate in the subsequent exploration.
“Be careful—the wood on this ship has become very rotten…”
Victor puffed on his pipe, his gaze on the ship filled with nostalgia. “I suspect that even a single wave might break it apart. Such an aged vessel is very rare indeed…”
Wu Ming carefully used a grappling hook to secure a seemingly sturdy mast, and Victor was the first to climb up.
“This floor… makes me feel uneasy!”
Wu Ming immediately followed, with Verdi coming last. As he stepped onto the deck of the three-masted ship, he broke into a nervous sweat.
Decades of neglect and seawater soaking had softened the wooden planks. Although the feeling underfoot was quite soft and comfortable, Wu Ming doubted whether he might stomp right through the deck if he stepped too hard.
“Don’t worry too much—the keel of this ship is still solid…”
Victor carefully examined the vessel and his face showed a trace of puzzlement. “She’s more resilient than I imagined. Could it be the blessing of the ghosts?”
Crack!
Without further hesitation, he directly pulled open the cabin door and entered the interior.
The gas-powered spotlight emitted a bright glow, and a foul stench wafted out. The floor was damp, covered with seaweed and shellfish, creating a sinister and terrifying atmosphere.
“Gurgle! Gurgle!”
Victor casually pulled open a door to one of the rooms, and the entire door crumbled down. Immediately, several white skeletons collapsed, their hollow skulls rolling around on the floor, causing Verdi to scream.
“This should be the crew’s quarters. I wonder what happened to them that they all died here without even struggling…”
Victor’s expression turned solemn as he looked at the scene.
He exchanged a glance with Wu Ming, and they both headed toward the best cabin on the ship—the private space of the captain.
Bang!
The wooden door was directly smashed open, revealing a somewhat outdated cabin.
During the Age of Exploration, due to the limited space on ships, every inch had to be fully utilized for carrying more goods. Having a private cabin aboard a ship was definitely a symbol of status!
Victor’s sharp eyes immediately fixed on the desk, while Wu Ming had already pulled out a thick, black ship’s log.
This book had obviously been well protected against moisture and pests. Despite having been through an unknown length of time, it was still barely legible.
“A ship’s log? A captain’s diary?”
Victor smirked with a slightly mocking smile. “Mr. Steven, do you really think we’re still in the pirate era, where captains would hide their private treasures on a deserted island and leave behind maps?”
After the Industrial Revolution, such inefficient methods had long been abandoned.
Ship captains’ private wealth was either directly deposited in banks with designated heirs, squandered away, or invested in stocks and funds for preservation. Where could there possibly be any left?
As for more important private routes, after the Great Geographical Discoveries, even world maps had already been drawn. Perhaps the route recorded by this deceased captain had once been priceless, but now it was undoubtedly already filled with merchant ships!
Still, Victor was somewhat interested in this captain’s collection.
Although some luxuries had decayed, gold and silver would not rot.
“According to international custom, anything discovered in international waters belongs to the explorers… Mr. Steven, Mr. Verdi, since you participated in this expedition, you will also be entitled to a share!”
Captain Victor smiled as he spoke, ignoring the second officer’s expression.
After estimating the value of these “heritages,” he gave up the idea of keeping everything for himself. After all, there weren’t that many valuable things on this ghost ship, not worth the risk.
When Wu Ming and others had hired him, his appearance, name, and ship had already been registered. Would he really become a pirate for such a small amount of wealth? Especially provoking a group that seemed to have a strong background?
Years of life experience immediately made Captain Victor abandon this idea.
“We also get a share?!”
Verdi’s eyes lit up and he cheered.
It wasn’t that he cared much about how much he could gain, but the thought of obtaining a “proof” of this adventure, something to brag about and collect for the future, was already quite prestigious.
“I’m already very happy to participate in this expedition. I don’t really expect any rewards…”
Wu Ming smiled slightly, but his words made Captain Victor’s expression change. “But… why not give these things away instead of auctioning them off?”
“What do you mean?”
Before Victor could speak, the burly and muscular second officer jumped out and shouted.
“Has the captain figured out the origin of this ship?”
Wu Ming didn’t answer, directly turning to Victor.
“If I’m not mistaken, this should be a slave transport ship that was quite active back then. Of course, as long as it sank in international waters, it became ownerless!”
Victor displayed the extraordinary vision and qualities of a captain.
“Indeed, this is a slave transport ship, and even a very famous one—the Hockhaysan!”
Wu Ming patted the ship’s log in his hand.
“Hockhaysan?! Hock… Hock family!”
Victor gasped in astonishment. “That merchant group renowned in the kingdom’s maritime and shipbuilding industries?!”
“Hmph, even so, do they dare to come after us in violation of the law?”
Verdi and the second officer both showed such an attitude, but Victor fell silent.
“The most valuable things here are just some treasures in the captain’s cabin. In terms of value, they don’t even reach ten thousand gold coins!”
Wu Ming, with his experience as an appraiser, was very qualified to say this. “However, if we return this ship to the Hock family, we will gain their friendship. Captain Victor, are you interested in other business opportunities?”
“Other business?”
“That’s right! I’m very interested in the ruins and treasures in international waters and plan to establish a salvage company! I was originally hesitant about personnel and channels, but now everything is resolved!”
Wu Ming looked at Victor. “If you agree, I’m willing to make you my partner and invest one million gold coins upfront!”
“One million?!”
The second officer gasped. In this era, the purchasing power of gold coins was very high, clearly an extremely astonishing sum of wealth. Compared to this, the ghost ship was practically nothing.
“A deep-sea salvage company?”
Victor rubbed his chin. “Could it be that you have some inside information?”
He strongly suspected that Wu Ming had obtained some sunken ship maps, thus coming up with this idea. Otherwise, such salvage companies were basically like gambling, often ending in losses.
Wu Ming responded with an inscrutable smile. Of course, he wouldn’t say that he just wanted to explore possible ruins in the deep sea and had already prepared to invest money without expecting returns.
Certainly, he couldn’t say that now.
“I just believe that once we have the friendship and connections of the Hock family, and if Captain Victor is willing to join us, our venture will surely be a great success!”
Wu Ming emphasized the last part.
“We can discuss this after we return…”
Captain Victor’s face showed a trace of hesitation, which turned into a bitter smile. “At such a young age, you’ve already thought so much. Now I finally understand why I’ve been a poor man all my life…”
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