Jiang Hai wasn't sure what material the pocket watch was made of, but he knew it was far from ordinary iron or something similar. If it were made of iron, it would have rusted away long ago. Still, he couldn't identify it exactly, so he decided to take it with him to study further.
He placed the pocket watch in his pocket and continued to swim forward.
The second room was just like the first—violently breaking down the door, but this time, there was nothing inside.
The third, fourth, and fifth rooms... For a sailing ship like this to operate and plunder, nearly a hundred people would be required. It was impossible for all of them to live in a room designed for four. Pirates were naturally divided into different levels. At the top was the captain, followed by the first mate, and then the leaders of each group—some were responsible for logistics, others for lookout, guarding, counting, kidnapping, etc.
In addition to these middle-level leaders, the combatants enjoyed the highest living standards. After all, they led dangerous lives, constantly exposed to bloodshed and threats, so they were provided the best food and accommodations.
Apart from the combatants, the rest were just sailors and errand boys.
The combatants and leaders lived in rooms of four, while the sailors and errand boys had far worse living conditions.
Jiang Hai walked through the rooms one by one. There were only ten rooms with four beds, housing forty people. Six other rooms were designed for eight people, each containing two large bunk beds where the rest of the crew lived.
The rooms where the sailors lived were bare, and they didn't have much in the way of wealth.
So, Jiang Hai only found a few items in the first ten rooms. In addition to the pocket watch, there were two necklaces, the material of which was unclear. After inspecting all the sailors' rooms, he came across some artillery batteries and a warehouse, but there was nothing of value there.
The artillery shells had long since disappeared, and the guns themselves were little more than shabby toys. The kitchen and other areas still vaguely resembled their original forms but had lost most of their previous appearance.
After finishing his inspection of the second floor, Jiang Hai moved on to the third floor. As he had suspected, the valuable items were on the third floor.
He swam straight to the third floor, but as soon as he arrived, Jiang Hai saw that the first three warehouses were damaged. There was nothing inside, and he could clearly see the outer damage, which likely explained why the ship had sunk.
He hoped those people from four hundred years ago hadn't taken the treasure. If the treasure was gone, Jiang Hai's effort would have been in vain.
With this thought, Jiang Hai continued swimming forward and soon reached the fourth warehouse. When he opened the door, several tentacles appeared. With a loud, thunderous sound from the thief's bell, they lashed out at Jiang Hai.
The tentacles were lined with barbed hooks, but Jiang Hai had been prepared. As soon as the tentacles started moving, he immediately fired his spear gun. The spear shot through the door with immense force, piercing the creature inside and carrying it across the hold of the ship.
A loud bang echoed, and the ship trembled several times. When the shaking stopped, Jiang Hai used his headlamp to examine the creature. Sure enough, the thing he had been on guard against had appeared.
"Is this a giant squid or something else? Doesn't matter, you're out of luck now!" Jiang Hai said, looking at the giant squid, which was nearly six meters long. It had been pinned to the wall and was still writhing, trying to escape.
But it was futile. The spear gun Jiang Hai had used was designed for catching whales, and if a whale couldn't break free, there was no way a squid could.
Not daring to use the spear gun again for fear of damaging the ship, Jiang Hai took out his dagger and swam closer to the squid. He grabbed one of its tentacles and slashed it off with ease.
Jiang Hai's dagger wasn't ordinary—under his strength, the tentacle was severed instantly. He threw the twitching tentacle away, then proceeded to cut off the others.
In just a few minutes, the squid had no tentacles left. Its blue blood filled the space, but Jiang Hai didn't care.
Ignoring the now lifeless squid, Jiang Hai turned his attention to the room. The sight that met his eyes made him grin widely.
The hold was full of treasure. Huge boxes were scattered across the floor, many of them broken open, revealing toys the size of the gold coins Jiang Hai had found earlier. These were scattered across the room.
Although moss and other growths had covered them over time, Jiang Hai was sure these were gold or silver coins. Among them, he could see some pearls and gems. Though the strings that once held them together were long gone, Jiang Hai was certain that these were valuable items—certainly not glass.
"I'm going to be rich! Seriously rich!" Jiang Hai said excitedly, shaking his fist. Based on what he saw, there were more than ten tons of treasure in front of him. Not to mention the gold, silver, pearls, and gems, these items were all over three hundred years old—nearly four hundred years old. Jiang Hai knew that, despite some potential obstacles, the value of these items far outweighed the challenges.
Raising cattle may be profitable, but after taxes, Jiang Hai knew he'd be lucky to clear more than ten billion. But this treasure? This was a different story.
While antiques from Europe's Middle Ages weren't as valuable as those from China's Ming Dynasty, these were still rare finds.
A gold coin, if sold by weight, might not be worth much. But a gold coin from three hundred years ago? That could easily double its price. With so many before him, Jiang Hai felt that luck was on his side.
"There's one more warehouse. I have to check it out," Jiang Hai thought, grabbing a handful of gold coins and stuffing them into the bag he brought. He needed to identify these items first and then figure out how to claim the rest of the treasure.
But before leaving, he had to check the final warehouse, just to put his mind at ease.
Ignoring the squid still twisting in the background, Jiang Hai entered the last warehouse.
This room was much emptier. It was slightly larger than the previous one, but there were only two boxes. Jiang Hai swam over, curious. After confirming there was nothing else of note, he smashed open one of the boxes.
Inside, he found a set of armor. The armor had turned black with age, but there was a faint hint of gold. The color was similar to the gold coins Jiang Hai had previously picked up, although this one seemed slightly redder, suggesting it might have a lower gold content.
The armor was unlike anything Jiang Hai had seen before. It was the upper body of a person, and though it might be a full set, it appeared to end with a skirt. But it wasn't an ancient Chinese-style skirt—it looked more like a ballet skirt, wide and open. The waist was unnaturally thin, and the collar was extremely high. There was only this one piece in the box, which left Jiang Hai puzzled. Was this really armor?
Curious but still cautious, Jiang Hai set the armor aside and opened the second box. As soon as he did, he regretted not handling it more carefully. Inside were two vases, and Jiang Hai felt his heart skip a beat.
The vases had a white base with cyan patterns. The top featured intricate dragon and phoenix designs. Jiang Hai's heart raced as he realized the significance of what he was seeing.
He was certain these were genuine artifacts. After all, no one had visited the ship in over three hundred years, and it was unlikely anyone would dive down and place these vases there in all that time.
As he carefully examined them, Jiang Hai realized the vases had to be from the Ming Dynasty. The style, the period—everything pointed to the blue-and-white porcelain of the Wanli period.
"Ming blue and white," Jiang Hai whispered to himself, his voice trembling. The excitement coursing through his veins was almost too much to handle. His thoughts raced—these vases were invaluable!
He couldn't believe his luck. Compared to these vases, everything else seemed insignificant.
Slowly, Jiang Hai picked up one of the vases and turned it over. On the bottom, six large characters read: "Made in the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty."